Chapter 688: Whispers of Evil, Part Two

"I remember. I will always remember. When I went to court to testify, the victim's mother went mad with rage," Srimanny said in a daze. "But what could she do? She was only a peasant woman who had been widowed for years. She could not even afford the bond for a second appeal."

"Great Judge Brennan, that iron-faced and impartial judge," Thales, who had been silent all this time, spoke up. "When the case went to court, did he say anything?"

Srimanny shook his head.

"I was lucky. Brennan was not assigned to that trial," the defense lawyer said with a bitter smile. "But even if he had been, so what? What he understood was the law. What we understood was the statutes. And Jade City's rule of law is the finest in Stars."

Thales was silent.

"That peasant woman. What happened to her afterward?" Hilley pressed.

Srimanny shook his head blankly.

"I do not know. I did not go... I did not dare ask."

He rubbed his face.

"Just like that, I escaped disaster. My superior said I had exceeded his expectations... In short, he kept his promise and gave me a chance to take the exam to become a security officer. 'You will be a good security officer,' he said. A good security officer. Ha..."

Srimanny could not stop laughing, his face full of mockery.

"But what could I do? Could I say no? After giving birth, my wife's health, both body and mind, had never been good. And the salary of a formal security officer..." He sniffed, his eyes wet. "We could finally move into a bigger house. We could afford servants."

But his gaze dimmed.

"Yet when I put on the uniform with such confidence, what they gave me was not a baton, but paper, pen, and ink..."

Thales expected something and frowned.

Srimanny nodded painfully.

"So, under my superior's arrangement, I began writing a second investigation or case-closing report. Then a third, a fourth... the next one, and the next..."

"A grain warehouse outside the city caught fire by itself at the end of the year. I twisted it into dry weather and improper storage. A colleague from the same station accidentally killed a peddler while driving him away. I worked hard to dig up that the deceased already had an underlying illness. Harvest Town wrote four notices and still could not explain the rotten matter of women being trafficked. In the end, I wrote the fifth notice for them, instructing them to lock up the mad women who were protesting..."

"When you think you can escape the test, you are wrong." Priest Chadwi shook his head, his expression sorrowful. "Every escape, every clever shortcut, only makes the delayed test even crueler."

Srimanny spoke faster and faster, as if possessed.

"There were also Cacquiret and the other security officers responsible for receiving the prince. Do you know how he rose from prison guard chief to security officer? And it did not stop there. There were the stolen goods that inexplicably disappeared from the Canal Police Station, the Blood Bottle Gang's drug shipping business in the warehouse, and several murder cases where no one could clearly decide whether they happened in nearshore waters or the high seas..."

The more Thales listened, the more uncomfortable he became.

"Divine Envoy Tamael once said!"

Chadwi suddenly raised his voice and interrupted Srimanny.

"The setting sun at rest shines upon piety. What one is willing to give shall surely be repaid." The scripture from his mouth seemed to possess a certain power, making everyone a little more clear-headed. "The destined Hell's River tests the hearts of men. What is owed shall one day be returned double."

Srimanny came back to himself. He stared blankly at the stove.

"And then, at the very end, I thought, I thought if I just left the police station, it would be enough. But, but..."

He looked at Thales, his eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.

"Look. I once wanted to be a good person, a good husband, a good father, a good security officer, even a good defense lawyer."

"Not someone sitting behind a desk, arranging words and sentences to reverse black and white, confuse right and wrong, frame people, slander people."

Srimanny said blankly,

"Once."

No one spoke. The tunnel was quiet. Only Catherine's occasional painful groans could be heard from her dreams.

"Uncle Hauser, Aunt Gadama, I... I do not want to go to the surface anymore." Dorothy put down her romance novel in disappointment. "Up there... it is so complicated."

Gadama hugged her.

Srimanny took a deep breath and came back to himself.

"Then, perhaps the Sunset Goddess learned of what I had done and sent punishment..."

His gaze froze, his expression numb.

"She no longer protected us. My wife and I... we were never able to have another child."

"Never again."

Srimanny's words echoed in the tunnel, incomparably fragile.

"But if... if your child had been healthy from birth, everything would have been different from the very beginning." Vorniak's voice sounded, trembling slightly between each word. "Then afterward, would everything have been all right?"

Srimanny's eyes cleared for a moment.

He was dazed for a while, then gave a soft laugh.

"Perhaps."

"No." Hilley said coldly, making Srimanny tremble. "Of course not."

Thales sighed and patted Hilley's hand.

"We do not know."

"The goddess's tests are everywhere," Chadwi said. His voice was especially gentle. "A child's birth is a test. A landlord's extortion is a test. A superior's threat is a test. Writing every report is likewise a test. Every moment of life is a test."

"Smoking addiction is also a test," Hilley said disdainfully.

Chadwi froze, his face a little unable to hold itself together, but he still persisted and finished speaking.

"If your child had been born healthy, Mr. Srimanny, then congratulations. Compared with many others, you would indeed have avoided that unfortunate test..."

He paused, then continued.

"But even without that test, if you were still you, without change, without awakening, without self-reflection, then the next time you faced some other different test, would you certainly have done better?"

Srimanny smiled bitterly.

"Yes. Look at me now," he said dispiritedly. "Here I am, at a dead end, with nowhere left to go."

Chadwi frowned slightly. "But..."

But he was interrupted.

"Priest Chadwi, tell me." Srimanny seemed a little lost. There was hope in his words. "My daughter, incomplete as she was, will her soul return to heaven, back to the side of the Sunset Goddess?"

Chadwi took a deep breath. "Of course she can..."

"Of course she cannot," Hilley said coldly.

Chadwi choked.

"The gods' heavens are only stories made up to trick the powerful and wealthy into paying money to redeem their sins, and to trick the powerless into staying obedient. Everyone, every person's soul, goes to the Hell's River after death and is utterly destroyed there. No exceptions."

The light in Srimanny's eyes dimmed.

Thales glanced at Hilley, but her expression was cold.

Srimanny exhaled as if he had given something up.

"Then tell me. Someone as sinful as I am... after death, can I see her?"

Hilley was about to speak, but this time, Thales gripped her hand tightly.

"I do not know," Thales said as gently as he could. "But at least, at least I believe that when you spoke the truth in your heart and truly repented, you passed this moment's test."

Hilley raised her eyebrows, but Thales held her wrist tightly, not letting her open her mouth and destroy the atmosphere.

Srimanny's breath trembled.

He smiled bitterly and shook his head. "It is already too late."

"It is not too late."

Chadwi took over, revealing a smile. Unfortunately, with his appearance, no matter how one looked at it, he resembled a strange uncle trying to trick children.

"No matter when, it is never too late."

But Srimanny seemed encouraged. He sniffed, his eyes wet, and nodded gratefully.

"Thank you."

The tunnel was quiet for a long while. In the end, Priest Chadwi slapped his thigh and broke the silence.

"All right. The sun is beginning to set." He patted his head and pointed overhead. "I need to hurry back to the temple. Otherwise, if they check posts..."

"Then we should head back to our nest too. Bobo, keep up." Hauser stood up and called Gadama and the others. "If there is anything you need help with, come find us at any time. You still remember how to get to our tunnel, right, Wya?"

That huge mess of tunnels turning seven ways and eight ways, going up and down?

Thales smiled.

"Of course."

Ah. Fortunately, the mountains embraced his footprints.

And let him never lose his way.

Watching Chadwi, Hauser, and that large group leave in a scattered line, Vorniak even fiercely waving a fist at Thales before departing, Thales breathed out.

"Then we should go too. Ralf, Tetto, and Glo... mm, Fatty Wya, you stay here on standby and watch them. Someone will come down to relieve you in two hours." Thales called to Ralf and Glover, who had finished resting. "Do not forget our schedule today, Wyana."

Hilley snorted disdainfully, but still stood up.

Srimanny looked up in shock.

"Ah, you are leaving? What about me?"

He looked in terror at Catherine sleeping across from him, then at Glover and Ralf, whose expressions were anything but friendly.

"You are leaving me together with a hunted gang boss and these two thug fugitives?"

Glover and Ralf stared at the defense lawyer and snorted coldly at the same time. Then, when they discovered someone else had snorted at the same moment, they turned their heads to look at each other and snorted coldly a second time.

"Forget it." Thales looked at how they got along and frowned. "Two hours is too long. I will find someone to come relieve them soon."

He turned his head and looked at Srimanny.

"Believe me, Manny. Right now, staying here is safer than going out with us."

"No! Boy! I do not, I do not even know these two people! You at least have to stay with me yourself-"

Srimanny still wanted to say more, but Glover and Ralf, one on each side, both seized his arms and dragged him back without allowing resistance.

Thales exchanged a glance with Hilley and turned to leave.

A few seconds later, Srimanny finally stopped struggling, but he thought of something.

"Wait, young Wya. There is one more thing!"

Thales turned back.

Srimanny hesitated once or twice. In the end, he still made up his mind and nodded seriously.

"Thank you. Thank you, whether for saving my life or for... my daughter."

Thales was silent for a while, then nodded.

"I know."

Beside him, Hilley raised an eyebrow.

"Only him? You are not thanking me?"

Srimanny stared at her once and leaned back in disgust.

Thales glanced at Hilley and could not help curling the corners of his mouth.

"So take care, young Wya. Although I know that is not your real name," Srimanny snorted softly and sat down on the bedding. "Yes, I remember now. The real attendant Wya Caso is not a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old like you. After all, he still has to protect the Duke of Star Lake. He cannot be younger than the fourteen-year-old prince..."

Mm?

Fourteen-year-old prince?

At that point, Srimanny froze.

Thales also froze.

Glover and Ralf frowned at the same time.

In the narrow and dim tunnel, several people blinked separately.

In that instant, the defense lawyer carefully sized up Thales. His eyes widened in shock, and he opened his mouth to shout.

"Sunset above! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! You are, you are that-"

Thales' expression changed.

"Manny! Calm down!"

But Srimanny clearly could not calm down. He pointed excitedly at Thales and shouted loudly.

"My lord, you are... fuck, fuck, fuck! I should have, I should have realized it sooner. In this world, what bastard would dare use the prince's attendant's name to swagger through the streets and even have a maid serving him while going out..."

Hilley had originally been standing to the side watching the show. Hearing this, her face darkened.

Seeing that things were going badly, Thales rushed forward in a few steps. Together with Glover and Ralf on either side, the three of them slammed the excited Srimanny onto the bedding and firmly covered his mouth.

"Manny, listen!"

Thales pressed down on the struggling Manny.

"Listen. You are safe here. Very safe. This big fellow is Royal Guard. The other one is also... someone I trust. So there is no need to be so nervous, all right?"

Manny, whose mouth was covered, understood something and nodded with muffled "mm, mm" sounds.

"So you stay here, keep a low profile, take good care of yourself, and wait for me to send people to get you out of Jade City. All right?"

"Mm, mm, mm!"

"Good. Now I am going to let you go. You are not allowed to get excited, not allowed to shout, and not allowed to struggle. All right?"

"Mm, mm, mm, mm!"

Thales gave them a look. The three released their hands together, freeing Srimanny, whose wig had been knocked off by the pressure.

"Your Highness, you actually personally... heavens, I was actually personally... by the Duke of Star Lake. Right, why did you not reveal your identity earlier?"

The moment Srimanny was free, he could not wait to speak. He gestured wildly, unable to hide the excitement in his tone.

"If you had reported your identity earlier, I would not have, I would not..."

"Someone had to believe it first," Hilley rolled her eyes from the side.

"Oh, calm down, Manny." Thales had no choice but to reach out again and gesture for him to calm down. "At least you know now, do you not?"

"Just like Priest Chadwi said. It is not late. No matter when, it is never too late."

In that instant, Srimanny was stunned.

"Then, see you later."

Thales waved, pulled Hilley along, and left.

But he had only just turned around when Srimanny's voice sounded again.

"Your Highness Thales!"

Thales sighed painfully.

Again?

Srimanny took a deep breath and was just about to continue when Glover and Ralf closed in from the left and right.

"Listen, little Manny. If you dare say one more unnecessary word, just one..." Glover stared at him coldly.

"Hmph! Mm?" Ralf's expression was ferocious as he made a threatening gesture and lifted his chin.

This was bad.

Srimanny swallowed.

But...

"Diop, that wool merchant who was silenced!"

The defense lawyer used all his strength to speak before the two terrifying killers under the prince killed him.

"He was connected to many dignitaries!"

Thales' expression changed, and he turned around.

"Oh?"

"Because, because Diop could do dirty work for them!"

Srimanny said anxiously.

"Diop had many illegal connections in his hands, from locksmiths and thieves on the street to desperadoes of the Blood Bottle Gang. For such dirty work, dignitaries only had to go through Diop's channels. Money was transferred through accounts, and no handle was left behind."

Thales pondered for a while, exchanged a glance with Hilley, and nodded.

"I already know that. Diop managed hidden accounts for Emerald Palace."

At Thales' signal, Glover and Ralf reluctantly let go of Srimanny.

"What? There was that layer too?"

Srimanny was startled, but under Glover and Ralf's unfriendly gazes, he quickly went straight to the point.

"Oh, right. Your Highness, what I wanted to tell you is that Diop was not the only one who died... Not long before Diop died, one of his clients died first."

"Jeff Rene." Srimanny gritted his teeth and gave a strange name. "He was my superior at the police station many years ago. He was dismissed for dereliction and oversight. That was only the official wording. In truth, it was political infighting."

"Jeff Rene?" Thales repeated the name, without the slightest clue.

Damn it. Just like Lausanne II.

Their intelligence on Jade City was still far too thin.

But Hilley, who stood beside him, reacted.

"Wait. You said your superior? Could he be..."

Srimanny sighed.

"Yes. The one who promoted me from a mere temporary worker to a security officer. You could say he was my benefactor, my patron, or..."

He was silent for a second before continuing.

"After being dismissed, Rene relied on his former savings and connections to retire in Blood Bottle Gang territory."

Thales frowned.

"This Rene was Diop's client? How did he die? Why?"

Srimanny nodded.

"According to the police station's death report, Rene was playing cards in an underground casino when he was dragged into a gang fight and died in a washbasin. When he was found, his neck had been cut open, dyeing an entire basin of water red."

Thales was still puzzled, but Glover suddenly remembered something and was shocked.

"A gang fight?"

Zombie glanced at Ralf.

"Wait. You are not talking about the Blood Bottle Gang's underground casino, are you? The one managed by Gamandia? The one where two bodyguards died in one night?"

Srimanny was equally startled.

"Yes, exactly. Gamandia's Harvest Casino. How did you know?"

Zombie turned toward the puzzled Thales.

"Because Gamandia, a leader who manages casinos, reported it at the Blood Bottle Gang meeting. His casino was attacked by the Brotherhood, and two bodyguards died. One of them... also died in a washbasin and dyed the water red, just like this Rene."

Thales frowned. "What does that mean? Rene was killed by the Brotherhood?"

Srimanny sighed.

"I do not know the rest, but as his old subordinate and former gambling companion, I know that Rene had stopped going to the casino a year ago. It was not because that rotten gambler had changed his nature and turned over a new leaf, but because he had eaten through his savings and was buried in debt. The moment he showed his face, people would come after him to collect. You should know that half a year ago, he even came to borrow money from me..."

Thales looked up.

"He should not have been at the casino."

Srimanny nodded.

"He should not have."

"So I continued investigating... According to the information I bought from the barber shop, Rene did not die in the casino," Srimanny continued. "The truth is, he died in his own home. He died just like that, with his neck cut open, from excessive blood loss."

Hilley looked puzzled.

"Wait. Then why would the police station report that he died in..."

"Because that report was modified. I know this path too well." Srimanny sighed. "Rene did not die after being dragged into a gang fight. His corpse was carried to the Blood Bottle Gang's underground casino and stuffed into a real fight. There was evidence, there was a location, and there were witnesses who could serve as circumstantial proof. There was almost no flaw."

Thales reacted.

"Someone was covering up Rene's death, making it look like an accident."

Srimanny nodded and took a deep breath.

"And in Jade City, who has such ability and courage, daring to use the Blood Bottle Gang's territory to cover up a murder?"

"Emerald Palace."

Thales reached the conclusion.

"The Blood Bottle Gang received Zayen's order to cover up Rene's death?"

"Why?"

Hilley spoke in surprise. Her position here made Glover and Ralf even more confused.

Srimanny shook his head, but his expression grew heavier.

"I do not know. At first, I did not take it seriously either, until I continued investigating. On that same night, another person in the Blood Bottle Gang disappeared."

Another one?

Thales frowned. "Who?"

Srimanny swallowed and told the prince his intelligence.

"A boxer. One who fought black-market matches in an underground ring. According to the police station's report, he went missing, and a few days later, his corpse was found in the river."

Glover froze again.

"Wait. It would not happen to be the Blood Bottle Gang's underground ring, the black-fight business managed by Gutierrez, would it?"

Srimanny turned his head, utterly puzzled.

"How do you know that too?"

"Same as before." Glover looked blankly at Thales. "The Blood Bottle Gang's underground ring. The boxers were attacked, and a few days later, a corpse was found in the river."

Srimanny slapped his forehead.

"So this boxer was the same. Another modified death report!"

Thales pressed.

"Who was that boxer? Why did Zayen want to cover up his death?"

"That is where the problem lies." Srimanny's breathing quickened. "That boxer, especially when his name appears together with Rene and Diop, makes everything terrifying..."

"Terrifying how?"

"We will know once we go try it together!"

She turned around from her chair, her voice bright and cheerful as always.

"Do not worry. It definitely will not be as exaggerated as a horror movie..."

"No, I think I will pass." He shook his head and turned back toward his computer screen. "You know perfectly well that I do not like these things..."

"Aiya, you have to be brave enough to try new things! It is a horror-themed escape room..."

That voice was still enthusiastic and flamboyant, urging him to try something new-

[Wake up.]

Mm?

He was slightly startled and raised his head from the code on the screen.

What wake up?

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Are you even listening to me?" that voice urged him.

He shook his head.

Ah. He must have run too many models these past few days, enough to start hallucinating. This damned R language...

[Wake up, Thales.]

Thales?

Who was that?

It sounded like a foreign name?

He sat blankly in front of the computer.

Strange. Why did it always feel as if there was a voice in his heart speaking to him?

[Playing with time is Blood Thorn's specialty. It has broken countless heroes before. But you, Thales Jadestar, the one destined to end fate, should not stop here. You are not that weak. You should not submit to this crude trick before your eyes...]

Time?

Blood Thorn?

End fate?

What?

Had he read too many Brandon Sanderson novels?

That could not be right. He had finished The Stormlight Archive several months ago...

"Wu! Qi! Ren!" That voice began calling his full name. Clearly, if he ignored her any longer, she was going to get angry.

"All right, all right, coming... Uh, what did you just say?"

He answered her while rubbing his ear, feeling inexplicably panicked.

Strange. What had happened?

[You still have your mission to complete.]

Damn it. The voice in his heart was real, and it was still continuing...

His breathing grew more and more rapid. His blinking became faster and faster...

"Wu~ Qi~ Ren~" that voice became increasingly faint, unreal, and distant from him.

As if it were in another world.

No!

He grew more terrified and wanted to reach out toward her, only to realize that he could not find his hands.

What was going on?

Where were my hands?

No, no, no, no.

None of this is right!

[Wake up, Thales.]

This feeling was like, like...

Like I am... dreaming?

The instant he realized this, his forehead jumped.

It was as if something had broken free of its restraints.

[Wake up!]

In the next moment, Thales took a deep breath and woke with a start!

"Ha, ha, ha-"

Still shaken, he patted his chest and gasped for breath, apologizing to the others in the tunnel.

"Sorry. I zoned out just now..."

But Thales froze.

At some unknown time, inside Ghoul Tunnel, Hilley, Srimanny, Glover, and Ralf had all fallen to the ground.

Unconscious.

Only he stood alone in the darkness.

Tap.

Footsteps sounded.

Thales was shocked. He turned around!

"How rare." An unfamiliar voice sounded from the darkness. "You are actually not affected at all, Your Highness."

In that instant, the Sin of Hell's River exploded open!

Like a beast that only woke in shock when danger had already arrived before its eyes.

Caught off guard.

Humiliated.

Burning with fury.

"I am honored, and also relieved. Not everyone can chat with me inside my ability. They named it 'Whispers of Evil.' Supposedly, they took it from the Sunset Scripture. How ironic. Those monsters actually quote the classics of the Sunset faith. Are they worthy..."

Thales instinctively drew the JC dagger, but his mind was still a mess.

What was going on?

What was going on?

I was clearly talking to Srimanny just now...

How did it suddenly-

"I guess the fellow beside you is the defense lawyer the barber said was asking around everywhere?"

In the darkness, that voice continued.

His Hell's senses stirred, and Thales saw the opponent in the dark.

A man wrapped tightly in black cloth from head to toe, even wearing pitch-black goggles, was walking slowly toward him from the other side of the tunnel.

Thales shuddered!

"You are..."

He reacted, finding the description in his memory, both terrified and shocked.

"Lausanne II?"

The black-clothed man in the darkness laughed coldly.

He looked at the ground behind Thales. Srimanny, whose eyes were closed, was drooling and smiling.

"It seems I arrived not too late, before he could keep talking too much. And thanks to that loud voice of his, I could hear him clearly from the surface, which let me find the right place."

Damn it!

Thales gritted his teeth and raised his dagger toward the enemy, while forcefully kicking Ralf and Glover on the ground.

But one of them trembled desperately, and the other muttered something about "apples," with no sign of waking.

How, how was this happening?

Lausanne II, this man he had only heard of in reports, how could he appear here?

Ghoul Tunnel. Was this not supposed to be a place known to only a tiny handful of people?

Most importantly...

What now?

The enemy advanced step by step, his figure slowly appearing before the stove.

"Ah! No, no, no!"

A cry of alarm rang out. Thales turned his head. On the bedding, "Phantom Blade" Catherine woke from sleep and stared in disbelief at the black-clothed man before her.

"Lausanne?"

It really was him!

Thales took a deep breath and forced himself to move. Perhaps it was the effect of the other party's ability, but at this moment, his hands and feet felt cold and numb. His movements were stiff and difficult.

Move.

Move quickly, Thales.

Damn it, move!

"Hello, Little Blade. We meet again." The black-clothed man calmly waved at Catherine, making the latter even more frightened. "You actually woke up. Oh, from the pain. They forgot to give you anesthetic?"

Catherine pressed painfully against the ground and tried to climb up, but immediately lost strength and collapsed.

Thales took a deep breath and forced himself into Iron Body Form.

There was no other way.

Right now, he was the only one here who could fight.

"Iron Body Form. Northland military swordsmanship? That is rather rare." Lausanne nodded with interest and patted the sword at his waist. "Do not worry, Your Highness. I will not fight you."

"Why?" Thales said with difficulty.

Right now, he felt even moving his teeth was strenuous.

"Because my employer gave special instructions not to touch a single hair on you."

Lausanne II, dressed entirely in black, snorted disdainfully.

"Damned Covendier."