Published at 20th of January 2023 3:24 pm

Chapter 346: No Secular Desire

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Lin Jie had no doubt about who those hands belonged to.

Besides Lin Jie, who didn’t treat himself as an outsider and came in whenever he was free, the only other person that would appear in this dream was Silver, who was the owner of this dream realm.

Moreover, Lin Jie knew this voice very well. He smiled but didn’t remove the hands covering his vision. Instead, he closed his eyes and leaned back.

As he had expected, the back of his head touched a soft and slightly cold body. This familiar friend was hugging him from behind for Lin Jie to lean on. Due to her height, she even considerately adjusted the angle for him to lean more comfortably.

By logic, such intimate contact already far exceeded the boundaries of a ‘friend’.

However, perhaps due to this being a dream realm, there wasn’t any secular etiquette. There was no need to overthink on how to interact and get along. Simply following the intimate actions of whatever one felt deep down seemed natural and ordinary.

Similarly, when he was here, Lin Jie often felt that he had no secular desires or worries.

Without any restrictions, naturally, he could speak freely.

Compared to Lin Jie and Greg, Silver was evidently more suitable at being a ‘tree hollow’.

After all, dreams were just dreams and would never affect reality… right?

Silver smiled and did not show any surprise despite Lin Jie saying such a scary thing out of the blue. She whispered in his ear, “Was it just one person?”

She rested her chin on Lin Jie’s shoulder and said faintly, “The Fred Clan… Other than the year-old Fitz Fred, who knew nothing, and the servant who was deliberately released to make a report. The other servants and guards, even a five-year-old child who witnessed everything did not survive.

“Hmm… Let me count. A total of 376 people.” Silver’s voice was as gentle as ever as she raised her head slightly. “In your opinion, did you kill only one person?”

Lin Jie’s eyes were covered, but his expression did not change. He said firmly, “I only killed John Fred.

“In fact, it can’t really be considered killing.” Lin Jie shrugged nonchalantly. “Since he wanted to categorize people, I just earnestly told him the simplest way. However, I have to admit that what he said makes sense. There is indeed an insurmountable gap between humans and livestock.

“Beasts would only bite and claw when they kill, giving their prey a most primitive and barbaric death. However, humans can kill without bloodshed…”

Silver cocked her head. “So, the other 375 were just your killing tools that were sacrificed on the altar to prove your point?”

Lin Jie was rather amused with this way of phrasing. “I’m not some god that can respond to wishes. Nothing would be provided even if sacrifices are offered to me… I merely wanted to see the look on that guy’s face as all that he has comes crashing down.

“Everything he’s proud of was brought about by innumerable sins. I want him to know that the arrogance built on the lives of others is just a weak self-deception. He himself is actually just a pitiful worm that thinks of the leaf he is on as his most powerful weapon.”

Slightly lowering his voice, Lin Jie continued to mutter, “Having power makes one arrogant, be it authority or force… Although I didn’t hesitate much today and don’t have any regrets, John’s death is actually a wake-up call for me.

“As for the others…” Lin Jie shrugged. “I didn’t kill them.”

Silver’s eyes narrowed and her expression became a peculiar one. “Wasn’t it your…” She then paused abruptly, then said begrudgingly, “Well, it wasn’t you. I understand.”

Lin Jie couldn’t see the change in Silver’s expression, but he assumed that his dream friend must have understood that he didn’t want to reveal Blackie’s existence, so she had adjusted her words accordingly.

She is still the same gentle Silver… Choosing to confide in her is the best choice indeed.

With that, the last bit of worry in Lin Jie’s heart disappeared. He was worried that the sudden mention of this matter would make him seem less reliable in Silver’s opinion.

But indeed, as long as he explained himself, Silver would understand him.

At this point, Lin Jie hesitated for a moment, then he reached out to touch Silver’s hand that was covering his eyes. The latter seemed to immediately understand his intentions, loosening her fingers, but had no intention of moving her hand away.

Thus, Lin Jie’s hand ended up over Silver’s hand and his smile widened. He coughed dryly to cover it up and asked, “Speaking of which, when will the ‘secret’ and ‘surprise’ you are always mentioning be ready?”

Silver tilted his head, seemingly rubbing the side of his face against Lin Jie’s ear, and said, “That… will be soon. My preparations are almost complete.”

With a hint of joy in her tone, Silver added with a chuckle, “I can reveal a bit in advance, consider it a gift. I’ve spent a long time preparing and I hope you’ll like it.”

“I definitely will.” Lin Jie replied decisively.

While he had yet to see the shadow of the gift, it didn’t stop Lin Jie from saying it out of politeness.

Silver chuckled. “You’ve nearly mastered the sword techniques and spells that I taught you. So, according to our original agreement, I’ll tell you the truth about the transition during the Second and Third Era.

“In fact, you have probably learned quite a bit yourself. Candela and the whole of Alfords weren’t facing an epidemic, but a certain existence from the darkness. ‘His’ overwhelming power and strength made those that saw or came into contact with ‘him’ mutate… However, Alfords’ sins were far greater than that. Both cowardice… and greed. They tried to master the power of mutation, so they began experimenting.”

Lin Jie was taken aback. “Experimenting?” There were no records of this at all, and Candela’s memories were blotchy, as if deliberately avoiding it.

“Yes, experimenting,” said Silver. “They needed a large number of samples to find a way of controlling this power, but outstanding warriors were one in a hundred. How could they be used as consumables? So…”

Lin Jie’s eyes narrowed. “So the weak became lambs.”

It should be said that the truth of history was always shocking… How was this any different from the Fred Clan that Lin Jie had raided today?

Silver whispered softly, “But eventually, the power of the abyss grew out of control and many of Alfords’ people were mutated. In the end, the last king failed to end the source of the mutation by killing the god and could only raise his sword against the subjects he had once protected.”

Lin Jie suddenly grasped what he had always missed. “So, Candela wasn’t crazy?”

Silver smiled and said, “Who knows…”

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