Chapter 4: The Death of Lei En

Changing into clean clothes, Lei En sat at the desk, his face showing a pensive expression.

He was carefully recalling the causes and consequences of his own death.

Although his memory was somewhat fragmented and lacked many details, Lei En was very clear about the mastermind behind all this, namely two people.

One was a classmate from the academy, named La Mu Qi, who had once been a very close friend but also the executor who dealt the fatal blow to him.

The other was Ai Si Bo Ge, a true transcendent, who was the mastermind of his murder.

Lei En didn't know much about Ai Si Bo Ge, only that his transcendent profession might be a "Ranger" or a "Shadow Warrior", which share some similarities at lower levels. Without fighting him or watching him directly, outsiders find it hard to identify his profession accurately.

Ai Si Bo Ge's swordsmanship was superb; he was a teacher at a renowned sword school in Longshandecheng.

Lei En had some talent in swordsmanship, having studied under the academy's teachers for three years, placing him in the upper middle among his classmates, yet when facing Ai Si Bo Ge, he couldn't even parry a single sword!

His acquaintance with Ai Si Bo Ge was thanks to La Mu Qi's introduction.

Half a month earlier, Lei En fell out with his father and returned to Longshande, seeking a job to earn a living. But aside from a bit of sword skill and literacy, he had virtually no other abilities, and unwilling to take a menial job as a laborer or postman, he hit dead ends everywhere.

Later, outside the academy, he ran into La Mu Qi; because they got along well, Lei En told him about his difficulties.

The next day, La Mu Qi proactively introduced Lei En to a job, joining the "Maroni's Sword" sword school as Ai Si Bo Ge's assistant.

Maroni's Sword was one of the city's most famous sword schools; even as an assistant the pay was very generous, several times that of an ordinary worker, and quite respectable. Lei En accepted without hesitation, feeling deeply grateful to La Mu Qi.

After that, Lei En officially worked at the sword school, securing his position with decent sword skill; Ai Si Bo Ge was also pleased with him, occasionally giving personal sword guidance.

La Mu Qi was also Ai Si Bo Ge's assistant, working together at the school; Lei En's relationship with him grew, treating him almost as a confidant with whom he shared everything.

Until yesterday.

Before finishing work, La Mu Qi mysteriously told Lei En that Ai Si Bo Ge had an important task for them to carry out, to meet after dark at a tavern on Perfume Street.

Lei En didn't think much, arrived at the tavern on time, and then followed La Mu Qi to board a strange carriage behind the tavern.

The carriage windows were covered with black cloth, obscuring the outside.

On the carriage, La Mu Qi took out two sets of fine leather armor to change into, and handed Lei En a long sword, clearly prepared in advance; Lei En felt puzzled but didn't ask further.

The carriage traveled through the city for a long time; Lei En didn't know where they were, finally stopping in a secluded alley.

After they got off, Lei En saw Ai Si Bo Ge already waiting.

Ai Si Bo Ge was also clad in black leather armor, with a long and a short weapon hanging from his waist, a black scarf covering half his face, standing motionless in a corner, his figure hidden in the shadows. If he hadn't stepped forward, Lei En wouldn't have noticed his presence.

Then Ai Si Bo Ge began to lay out the operation.

At that moment, Lei En finally understood what they were to do. Ai Si Bo Ge intended to break into a house and murder the family inside the wall of that alley.

He didn't understand why Ai Si Bo Ge brought him along; fear and resistance filled his mind.

But Ai Si Bo Ge gave Lei En no chance to refuse; he ordered La Mu Qi to keep watch from a hidden spot at the alley entrance and told Lei En to follow him inside and act. Lei En wanted to flee, yet he knew that if he tried to back out now, Ai Si Bo Ge would kill him first, so he forced himself to go in.

The ensuing slaughter gave Lei En a massive psychological shock.

Ai Si Bo Ge's target was a "mechanical artisan", wealthy but not a transcendent. The two guards at his home were ordinary people, powerless against a powerful transcendent.

In just a few minutes, Ai Si Bo Ge bloodied the entire family, including the artisan himself, his wife and two children, five or six servants and guards, almost all meeting a gruesome end.

Only one guard was deliberately spared by Ai Si Bo Ge; after rendering him immobile, he ordered Lei En to kill him.

After several bouts of torment and struggle, Lei En, to survive, finally thrust his sword once, piercing the guard's heart.

Next, Ai Si Bo Ge called La Mu Qi inside, and together they ransacked the mechanical artisan's house, obtaining a large sum of valuables. Their experience was extensive; many hidden valuable items were uncovered, clearly indicating this wasn't their first time doing such a thing.

Lei En didn't take part in the looting, still reeling from the shock of his first killing.

Ai Si Bo Ge returned to the carriage with the loot, this time intending to ride back with the two of them.

On the way back, Lei En said nothing. La Mu Qi continuously tried to comfort him, assuring that after disposing of and selling these items, he would also get a share, enough for Lei En to pay his academy tuition and still have plenty left for a respectable life.

While La Mu Qi spoke, Ai Si Bo Ge kept staring from beside, putting great pressure on Lei En.

Lei En didn't answer immediately; his mind was almost frozen, dazedly returned to the earlier tavern, changed clothes before leaving.

Alone on the way back to his apartment, Lei En finally realized.

The night's operation was actually a trap; Ai Si Bo Ge and La Mu Qi wanted to pull him in, making him part of them. If he agreed this time, he would fall into depravity, and even worse things would await him later.

Lei En immediately decided to report it!

Although he was forced to kill a guard, it was unavoidable; even if tried, the charge would be lighter, better than being beheaded later for committing greater crimes. Moreover, reporting Ai Si Bo Ge would earn merit enough to offset that charge.

Thus, Lei En turned and headed straight for the Church of Justice's chapel.

However, barely a short distance out, at a street corner, Lei En saw Ai Si Bo Ge's figure from afar; terrified to the point of losing his soul, he tried to turn and flee but was knocked unconscious.

When Lei En woke again, it was from being beaten awake.

He found his head wrapped in a sack, unable to see anything, his mouth gagged, only hearing La Mu Qi's frantic God's Curse, followed by several hours of brutal beating, during which he lost consciousness several times.

His last memory was a heavy blow to the back of his head, the most fatal strike.

When Lei En regained consciousness again, he was already in a river; his body remained the same, but the soul in his mind was no longer the former "Lei En".

Lei En reflected on all this and let out a sigh.

His former self was still too young, only nineteen, having never witnessed the treachery of human hearts, lacking sufficient experience.

Reporting Ai Si Bo Ge was right, but he realized too late; he should have thought it through on the carriage back, pretended to be moved by the money, and first accept La Mu Qi's invitation.

Not answering immediately then already raised suspicion in Ai Si Bo Ge and La Mu Qi; after leaving the tavern, the two silently followed behind, and the former Lei En had no guard at all.

When he diverted toward the Church of Justice, Ai Si Bo Ge immediately sensed his intent and, of course, gave no further chance.

If he had first returned to his apartment and waited until the next daytime to report, even with La Mu Qi watching from the shadows, the crowd during the day would have made it harder to be ambushed.

In fact, even if Lei En succeeded in reporting and exposing Ai Si Bo Ge's crimes, he would not have a good fate. A transcendent like Ai Si Bo Ge, judging from his actions, needs to recruit people, and is likely backed by a powerful organization.

Even if Lei En's merits offset the charge, avoiding trial, he would still be hard to escape retaliation.

"I still got burned as a youngster, too naive."

Lei En whispered once, after a long pause, thinking: "I'll take this vengeance for you, as compensation for occupying your body."

The former Lei En died, but the current Lei En still has to keep living.

He doesn't yet know how to exact revenge, but hasn't considered giving up and fleeing elsewhere to survive.

Currently, his biggest advantage is that Ramzi and Aisberg don't know he's still alive; the enemy is in the light while he is in the dark. Although Ramzi knows the apartment's address, he personally kills and discards bodies, and afterwards will never go to the apartment to check, lest he arouse suspicion.

Under normal development, Lei En's corpse would be found in the river, reported to city hall, and a security officer dispatched to investigate; due to lack of clues, it would eventually go cold.

Or, Lei En's corpse might not be discovered, and he would simply disappear. He lives alone in Longshande, with only the people from the Swordsmanship Hall having any contact. If Ramzi doesn't report to city hall, the landlord won't notice Lei En's disappearance until next month's rent is due.

"If I were Ramzi, I definitely wouldn't proactively report to city hall; the longer the delay, the more advantageous it is for me."

Lei En makes a judgment.

"The next rent is due in a little over half a month; by then the landlord will realize the tenant is missing, and after reporting, the security officer will go to the Swordsmanship Hall to look for people."

"During this half‑month, Aisberg and Ramzi won't think I'm still alive."

"But I also can't keep staying in the apartment, otherwise after half a month, if no one goes to the Swordsmanship Hall to investigate, Ramzi will come to the apartment to check, discover I'm still alive here, and that will bring another death‑by‑blade disaster."

"I must remain missing, hide in the shadows, to make revenge easier."

Lei En quickly clears his mind and decides to leave the apartment immediately.

However, before leaving there is one more thing to do. He slides the desk aside, exposing the wall behind, lifts a loose brick, and pulls out an envelope from inside.

"This way of hiding money is too old‑fashioned; if Ramzi searches the apartment, he'd find it in less than a minute."

Lei En smiles, shakes his head, pushes the desk back into place, then empties the money from the envelope.

The money isn't much—a small stack of banknotes plus a dozen or so minted coins.

The Oriense Empire's monetary system is complex, with printed banknotes as well as three denominations of metal coins in circulation.

The coins come in copper lisu, silver kron, and Gold Shield, while the banknotes are valued equal to copper lisu and are called copper yuan.

A one‑copper‑yuan banknote equals one copper lisu; there are also 5‑, 10‑, 20‑, 50‑, and 100‑copper‑yuan notes. One silver kron equals 20 copper yuan, and fifty silver kron equal one Gold Shield.

In other words, one Gold Shield can be exchanged for one thousand copper yuan.

In daily life, people mostly use copper yuan banknotes and copper lisu, occasionally silver kron, and only for large sums do they exchange Gold Shields.

For example, the tuition at the Extraordinary Academy is twenty Gold Shields per year.

For a common family, that's already a huge sum; even in Longshandecheng, few families can afford such steep tuition.

Lei En counts them: six 100‑copper‑yuan notes and five 50‑copper‑yuan notes, the rest being a handful of small‑denomination notes and a small pile of silver and copper coins.

This adds up to a little over a thousand copper yuan, just enough to exchange for one Gold Shield, with a little change left.

He runs his fingers over the thin banknotes, feeling the delicate pattern; the pale‑green paper emits a pleasant ink scent; a few silver and copper coins clink together, producing a crisp ding‑ding sound, also pleasant.

Although the smell and sound differ slightly from his previous life, they still feel very familiar when smelled or heard.

The banknotes and copper coins each bear portraits of several figures: a majestic middle‑aged man, a wise elder, and even one looking very young.

Lei En recognizes none of them, yet each appears quite friendly.

This is what he saved over the past three years, not a lot, equivalent to a worker's two months' wages, enough to live in Longshande for a while.

He puts the money away, hidden in a pocket close to his body.

Lei En pulls a sun hat from the wardrobe, puts it on, wipes away any traces of his recent return, then stuffs the damp clothes he just changed into a bag and, seizing a moment when few people are around, lowers his head and leaves the apartment.