Chapter 713: Choice

Since it was summoning his own messenger, Lu Mi'an did not perform the ritual under the name of "The Fool," but simply caused the "Penitent" Bayinfei—dressed in a black clerical robe, resembling a charred corpse, with patches of black flame clinging to his skin—to appear before him.

"I'd like to sign another contract with you," Lu Mi'an said with a smile.

He briefly explained in Ancient Fusaic the power of fate, the nature of the special contract, shared abilities, possible costs, and negative effects, then waited for Bayinfei to decide for himself.

Bayinfei fell silent for several seconds, then replied in a low, gravelly voice:

"If you're not worried about the negative effects, I have no problem."

"What exactly are the negative effects?" Lu Mi'an asked cautiously.

Within Bayinfei's hollow, pitch-black eye sockets, the dark flames serving as pupils flickered twice:

"It depends on your choice."

"I can leave the final step of the contract to you—you'll learn the exact negative effects and decide for yourself whether to proceed."

Different choices lead to different negative effects? What choices? Curious and puzzled, Lu Mi'an uttered the "Secret Words of Fate," watching the silver-and-black symbols, characters, and patterns descend onto a parchment-like surface, forming a brief, potent, and sinister contract text.

Through the connection granted by the "Secret Words of Fate," Lu Mi'an sensed Bayinfei's traits and abilities.

The "Penitent's" power was closely tied to shadows and darkness, but most of it lay submerged beneath a dark, still surface—he could sense their presence, yet could not discern their exact nature.

The two abilities visible above the "surface" were "Shadow Activation" and "Spirit World Transit," and his trait was "Ancient Corpse."

"Shadow Activation" was exactly what I need… This is probably Bayinfei showing me deliberately… He's truly unique, utterly unlike the Spirit World entities like "The Headless Bride," "Pus-Swollen Severed Hand," or "Human-Faced Mantis"… Being able to communicate meaningfully is a great advantage… Lu Mi'an mused as he delved deeper into the ability of "Shadow Activation."

It was an active ability that could animate one's own or another's shadow—the former allowed swapping positions with the original body to escape fatal harm when evasion was impossible, while the latter would entangle the target's corresponding shadow, hindering their movement, though causing little direct damage and rarely fully restraining them.

Its greatest advantage was instant activation and immediate effect—otherwise it couldn't serve as a death substitute—but its flaw was that only one shadow could be animated at a time.

If the animated shadow died while serving as a decoy, Lu Mi'an would have to wait until the next sunrise or sunset before a new shadow formed, and shadowless beings were instinctively terrified of sunlight.

Previously, instability came from layered emotions and desires; now it's layered fear of sunlight? If I ever face a mid-rank Exalted of the "Sun" domain, won't I dare even open my eyes? Fortunately, this negative effect only appears after the shadow decoy is destroyed—it won't persist… Lu Mi'an looked at Bayinfei and asked sincerely:

"What offering do you require—or what price must I pay?"

So far, he still hadn't figured out what the negative effects of contracting with Bayinfei would be.

The "Penitent" Bayinfei, whose bones were barely covered by a thin layer of charred skin, replied:

"Any one of your miraculous items."

Any one… Is this the so-called choice? Choosing which miraculous item to sacrifice directly determines the final negative effect? Lu Mi'an realized this and mentally listed his own miraculous items.

His first thought was "Armor of Pride"—after all, he couldn't effectively use it himself anymore—but seeing Bayinfei's charred corpse form, he felt this wasn't an offering, but an attempt to murder his own messenger. Besides, while he himself couldn't use the "Armor of Pride" for now, Fleurca, Jianna, and Anthony had no issue—he had already taught them the proper techniques.

The core principle was simple:

Don't wear it—only exploit the negative effect, and let the target trigger it!

As for the more advanced technique of deliberately triggering the negative effect to gain area-wide damage, he couldn't teach that—it required improvisation based on environment and enemy traits. Still, witches would surely love this method—it was devastating against targets without decoy abilities!

"Glimpse Glasses," "Torture" gauntlets, "True Eye," "Lie" ear clips, Mr. K's finger, "Hate Symphony" bone flute, "Wrath of the Sea" brooch, "Traveler's Satchel," Oumibela's umbilical cord remains, the expired "Coin of Misfortune" and "Banknote of Bad Luck" now ordinary objects, the "Serial Killer" Exalted essence… Lu Mi'an recalled each item one by one.

Eliminating non-miraculous items and those crucial to his current needs, Lu Mi'an ultimately decided to choose between the "Glimpse Glasses" and the "True Eye."

Their abilities overlapped somewhat—keeping one was sufficient.

After brief deliberation, Lu Mi'an chose to sacrifice the "True Eye" to Bayinfei.

He judged that, with controlled usage, the "Glimpse Glasses" had milder negative effects than the "True Eye." Moreover, the "True Eye" had only one trait—seeing truth—while the "Glimpse Glasses" could at least be used to draw supernatural illustrations and makeup. Since becoming a "Penitent," Lu Mi'an could now effectively suppress the urge to draw triggered by the "Glimpse Glasses"—only drawing when needed, and abstaining entirely otherwise.

Lu Mi'an pulled out the oddly shaped "True Eye" and handed it to Bayinfei.

The moment Bayinfei grasped the spectacles, seemingly woven from flesh and veins, Lu Mi'an suddenly sensed what the contract's negative effect was:

In scenes closely tied to Bayinfei's past, he would see truths he was not meant to see.

It was acceptable if this effect only occurred in contexts related to this messenger's mysterious background—if not, I'd have to abort today's ritual and wait to find a suitable contract partner… As Aurora and Fleurca had said, seeing truths you shouldn't see is equivalent to a death sentence… Lu Mi'an weighed it briefly, then replied solemnly to Bayinfei:

"The contract is valid."

As he spoke, the brief, sinister contract ignited without fire, dissolving into silver-and-black symbols, characters, and patterns that linked end-to-end and settled onto Lu Mi'an's arm.

Lu Mi'an lowered his head and gazed at his shadow, watching it twist and writhe as if dancing a vigorous, rhythmic dance.

A smile appeared on Lu Mi'an's face.

About ten seconds later, his shadow calmed.

Lu Mi'an thanked Bayinfei, ended the summoning, and collected all items from the altar.

"Did it work?" Fleurca asked eagerly.

She wasn't doubting Lu Mi'an could control his own messenger—she feared the ability's traits might not suit their needs, or that the negative effects were too severe.

Lu Mi'an nodded and briefly explained "Shadow Activation."

As he walked toward the hollow exit of the quarry, he told Fleurca, Jianna, and Anthony:

"Now we can plan how to deal with Moran Avini."

"Fleurca, contact the 'Black Witch.' Tell her we're about to act, but to avoid alerting Moran Avini's family or hidden forces, she need not come near to observe—just provide an emergency summoning talisman that works through mirrors, in case the 'Mirror Man' has allies. Also, test the 'Black Witch's' stance toward the Tamara family and the 'Mirror Man.' And inform the 'Eternal Sun' Church representative to prepare to let things slip."

"Jianna, write to 'The Judge' and inform her of our plan, in case the 'Black Witch' and the 'Mirror Man' are allied."

"Anthony…"

Lu Mi'an's thoughts flashed as he assigned different tasks to his companions, considering every detail.

Fleurca, Jianna, and Anthony didn't passively accept orders—they actively contributed ideas, helping Lu Mi'an plug gaps and brainstorm.

Back at Apartment 702, 9 Aoluosaijie, Anthony left early to continue ingratiating himself with the Triel Psychological Doctors' Society; Jianna changed into a darker, black hooded gown and hurried out to seek opportunities to embody the "Witch."

Soon, only Lu Mi'an and Fleurca remained in the apartment's living room.

The atmosphere turned awkward; a long silence hung in the air.

Lu Mi'an broke it casually:

"How's Jianna's progress with the 'Witch' potion?"

"Very good," Fleurca breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "She's found a way to embody the 'Witch.' If you ask around the market district, you'll hear rumors of a witch appearing at night to punish drunken troublemakers. Some drunks claim they fell into icy streams; others woke up aching the next day; some suffer violent headaches every evening and dare not drink again. Their common thread? They all encountered someone dressed as a witch. And some… simply vanished."

Fleurca's voice lowered, adopting the tone of a ghost story.

"The ones who vanished were severe criminals? The others were guilty of beating family members, harassing passersby, or flirting with women?" Lu Mi'an smiled, making an educated guess based on his knowledge of Jianna.

"Exactly," Fleurca nodded vigorously, her smile bright.

"Aren't you worried the 'Black Witch' will hear this rumor and send someone to investigate?" Lu Mi'an asked after a moment.

Fleurca beamed, pointing at herself:

"Me! I'm in charge of market district affairs in the Witch Cult!"

She then sighed:

"Jianna truly has talent. In less than a month, she's developed a mature embodiment method. She might fully digest the 'Witch' potion before I ascend to 'Pain.'"

"Without all that happened, she'd have been an outstanding actress—embodiment is her strength," Lu Mi'an agreed.

Silence fell again.

After a few seconds, Fleurca adopted a martyr's posture:

"That… that stuff I said and did in the mirror world and near the altar—you absolutely cannot tell Jianna, or anyone else!"

Lu Mi'an feigned confusion:

"Did you say anything strange or act oddly back then?

"I don't remember anything…"

Fleurca froze, then wore an expression of sudden understanding.

She relaxed into a smile, stood, walked over to Lu Mi'an, and patted his shoulder gratefully:

"You're a true brother!"

She felt all awkwardness had ended.

…………

Several days later, while Moran Avini attended a ministerial meeting, Lu Mi'an appeared around the villa provided for him by the government.

PS: This volume still has many chapters. Though I expect it to end this month, it won't be early in the month.

(End of Chapter)