Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Roy sat up and pinned the shadowy figure to the bed.

One hand firmly locked onto the vital point.

With his other hand, he reached out and pulled up the hood of the shadowy figure.

Revealing a picture—

An unfamiliar face.

He was in his thirties, with a cold and hard face, high cheekbones, and an old scar running from his left eyebrow to his ear.

Roy looked at the face.

do not know.

He looked up at Risa, who was standing a few steps away, her face pale.

"Where did you recruit this Tier 3 Extraordinary?"

His voice was hoarse and deep.

Like a rusty blade drawn from its sheath.

"He's not from the family."

Risa did not answer.

Her body was trembling.

It's not because of fear.

Or rather—it's not just fear.

More than anything, I was shocked.

She made so many preparations.

Poisoning food and drink, placing extraordinary items in the bed to guide the lingering thoughts of evil gods to erode the spirit.

She thought Roy had been tortured to the point of exhaustion.

She thought the person lying on the bed was just an empty shell, only breathing.

But now—

The empty shell sat up.

Moreover, its strength is as abundant as it was at its peak.

"You're not..." Risa's voice was forced out through clenched teeth, trembling with disbelief, "You're not already..."

"I never expected this—"

Roy interrupted her.

His voice was calm, as calm as a stagnant pool.

"You really are the one who ruined my life."

When he said "really," the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

That wasn't anger.

It's disappointment.

A deep-seated, chilling disappointment.

“I have given you everything,” he said. “Name, power, status. In the five generations of the Link family, no patriarch’s wife has been more respected than you.”

He looked down at the dark figure he was holding down.

"And what you repaid me with was placing the remnants of an evil god on my bed, poisoning my food, and finally—"

He gripped the shadowy figure's throat tightly.

"Hire outsiders to kill me."

Risa's lips trembled slightly.

But she did not defend herself.

After the initial shock, her eyes gradually regained a cold and calm expression.

"There's a lot you don't know."

she says.

The voice was cold.

Roy looked up at her.

His gaze was like a knife.

"Is that so?"

He said.

"Then I'd like to know—now that I've captured you, who will come to your rescue?"

His tone changed.

It's no longer disappointment.

It is a trial.

"You wicked woman," Roy said, enunciating each word clearly, "you used extraordinary objects in bed to corrupt me with the lingering resentment of an evil god—do you know what that means? This is apostasy, a crime punishable by the extermination of your race."

Risa did not speak.

Roy lowered his head and looked at the dark shadow in his hand.

"Any last words?"

The shadowy figure struggled a few times under his control, but ultimately could not move.

After a moment, the man stopped struggling.

His gaze shifted from fear, returning to a cold calm.

"Lord Fowles—he will avenge me."

His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against rusty iron.

Luo Yi snorted coldly.

"Let's not even talk about whether you're framing someone or not."

He tightened his grip.

"Even if it really is Fowles—he should think twice about whether he can bear the charge of murdering the Viscount."

His gaze swept over Risa.

"Does he really think I'm afraid of Fowles if he doesn't have the church backing him?"

The moment the words fell—

哢.

A very slight, crisp sound.

Like breaking off a withered branch.

The shadowy figure's body twitched violently.

Then--

It stopped moving.

Loy released his grip and stood up.

His movements were unhurried, as if he had just crushed not a third-tier extraordinary being, but a moth that had accidentally flown into the bedroom.

He patted the dust off his hands.

Then he walked to the door and opened it.

Outside the door, the two night watchmen suddenly stood up, their faces filled with shock.

—The clan chief has woken up.

Roy glanced at them.

"Someone come here."

He said.

The sound wasn't loud, but in the quiet corridor, it was as clear as a tolling bell.

"Lock this sinful woman up."

It was still dark.

The news was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, and the ripples spread in all directions at an unstoppable speed.

The clan chief woke up.

These four words echoed in every corridor and behind every window of the manor.

The second piece of news followed immediately.

The clan chief's wife, Risa, was taken down.

West Wing.

The guest rooms in Xilun.

When the knocking sounded at four in the morning, Xilun was already dressed.

He opened the door.

David stood outside the door.

His face was etched with an emotion too complex to describe in words—shock, excitement, confusion, anxiety, and something deeper that he was desperately suppressing.

"Mr. Celen."

His voice was strained.

"My father—has woken up."

"Um."

Xilun nodded, his expression indifferent.

It was as if this was entirely within his expectations.

David stared at his expression, momentarily stunned.

Then he realized what was happening.

"You know?"

Xilun did not answer directly.

He picked up his coat from the door frame, put it on, and walked out of the room.

"Take me to see him."

……

East Wing.

The patriarch's bedroom was brightly lit.

The corridor was filled with people—guards, servants, butlers, each with a different degree of shock on their face.

Celen followed David into the bedroom.

Loy Link stood by the window.

He had changed into clean clothes.

A dark gray shirt, black trousers, and a dark red vest—not flashy, but every crease was perfectly pressed.

It is no longer that withered tree lying in bed, on the verge of death.

Although he was still thin and his face remained sickly pale, the light burning in his eyes—

It is the radiance of a person in power.

Calm, profound, and unquestionable.

Roy turned around and saw Xiren.

He sized up Xilun for a moment.

Then he nodded slightly.

"You are Xilun."

It is not a question.

"Yes."

"Come and sit down."

Roy walked to the desk and sat down, gesturing for Xilen to sit opposite him.

David stood to the side, his gaze shifting back and forth between his father and Siron.

Roy glanced at him.

"David, go out first."

"But Father—"

"go out."

The tone wasn't harsh, but there was no room for negotiation.

David opened his mouth, then lowered his head and left the room.

The door closed.

Only two people remained in the room.

Roy looked at Xilen.

Xilun was also looking at him.

The silence lasted for about five seconds.

Then Roy spoke.

"Thank you."

These three words were spoken softly, but with great solemnity.

“Your pressure relief treatment was a huge help,” Roy said. “Those filaments of contamination stuck in my heart would have taken at least ten days to heal on my own. You burned them off with your white energy, which accelerated my recovery by a week.”

Xilun raised an eyebrow slightly.

"So—you've always been lucid."

Roy did not deny it.

"Incomplete".

He leaned back in his chair and pointed to his chest.

"About a month ago, I noticed something was wrong with my body. I experienced prolonged weakness and mental confusion—at first, I thought it was just due to old age; even a third-tier extraordinary person's physique can decline at times. But later, the symptoms became increasingly strange."

He paused for a moment.

"I secretly took a drug that induces a state of suspended animation."

Xilun narrowed his eyes slightly.

"A potion to feign death?"

"It's an old item kept in the family's secret vault," Roy said. "After taking it, the body's vital signs will drop to a minimum, almost indistinguishable from true death. But the core heart will not be damaged, and the mind will retain a sliver of clarity."

His gaze sharpened.

"I need to know—who is really behind this?"

"So you bring yourself to the brink of death to lure the snake out of its hole."

Roy nodded.

"The longer the near-death state lasts, the more the people behind the scenes will lower their guard. They will think I am no longer a threat, and thus reveal more of my true colors."

Xilun thought for a moment.

"But what you didn't expect was that—in addition to the parasites, they also released Virus Number One."

Roy's expression changed slightly.

"good."

He admitted it.

"The 'fake death' drug put my body into a state of extremely low energy consumption, which greatly slowed down the rate of parasite invasion. But Virus One was another matter—I only realized the situation was more serious than I had anticipated when that thing started to destroy my internal organs."

He looked at Xilun.

"If it weren't for you—"

He didn't finish his sentence.

But the meaning is already very clear.

"You asked me to pass the information to Risa," Celen said, "were you already certain at that time?"

Luo Yi was slightly taken aback.

Then he laughed.

It was a very faint smile, tinged with a hint of appreciation.

"No," he said, "I wasn't sure until the very last moment!"

His gaze toward Xilun held a deeper meaning.

"I'm asking you to help me scam someone."

Celen did not deny it.

"Your condition is too abnormally good," he said. "A third-tier extraordinary being who has been doubly corrupted shouldn't have such a steady heartbeat. Even if I didn't know you had taken a drug to fake your death, I could guess that you were enduring it."

He paused.

"Risa is the most obvious suspect."

Roy remained silent for a moment.

"You're a smart person."

He said.

It was exactly the same thing Risa said to Susie.

But the tone was completely different.

I will host a banquet tonight.

Roy stood up and walked to the window.

The morning light had already seeped in from the horizon, outlining the manor with a golden edge.

"As a token of my gratitude to you, and also as a declaration of my return."

"As for payment, although I don't know what my child promised you, I will definitely offer you a satisfactory price!"

He turned his head and looked at Xiren.

"But before that—there's one thing I have to deal with first."

"Risa's Interrogation"

"right."

Roy's voice trailed off.

"I want everyone to know—what she did."

……

Nine o'clock in the morning.

The manor's main hall.

Everyone has arrived.

Elders, guards, stewards, and servants.

Daisy stood at the front of the crowd.

She was wearing a plain-colored long dress, her hair was casually tied back, and she had no makeup on.

Her father stood on the high platform in the center of the hall.

Loy Link.

Loy Link, alive, conscious, standing there.

Daisy's eyes welled up with tears the moment she saw her father.

She wanted to rush up and hug him.

But she didn't move.

Because she saw her father's expression.

That's not the expression someone who has just woken up from a hospital bed should have.

That was the expression of someone about to be sentenced.

"Gentlemen."

Roy spoke up.

The sound wasn't loud, but all the whispers in the hall vanished instantly.

"I know many of you here think I'm no longer capable."

He scanned the crowd.

"Some people are genuinely worried, some are secretly delighted, but that doesn't matter. What matters is—I'm back."

The hall was completely silent.

“Last night,” Roy continued, “I personally apprehended a Tier 3 Beyonder who came to carry out an assassination in my own bedroom.”

A collective gasp of astonishment rippled through the crowd.

"This man isn't from the Link family. He's an outsider assassin, and the people who hire him—"

Roy's gaze was like a knife, slowly slicing across every face in the hall.

"—She is my wife."

"Risa".

The moment those two words were uttered, the hall erupted in chaos.

The elders looked at each other in disbelief, the guards were dumbfounded, and the servants covered their mouths.

But all the commotion stopped abruptly the moment Roy raised his hand.

"She poisoned my food for a long time and placed extraordinary items on my bed to guide the evil spirits to erode my mind. She even introduced the No. 1 virus from the outside, attempting to kill me completely when I was at my weakest."

Roy's voice remained unchanged.

It's like reading a death sentence.

"Now, I will conduct a public trial of her."

He gestured to the guards at the door.

"Bring her up."

The side door of the hall was pushed open.

Risa was escorted in from outside by two guards.

Her hands were tied behind her back, her hair was disheveled, and her face was pale—but her eyes were unusually calm.

Like an eagle locked in a cage.

Although he lost the ability to fly, his inherent pride remained undiminished.

She was forced to sit in a chair in the middle of the hall.

The crowd automatically parted to the sides, as if she carried some kind of contagious plague.

Daisy stood in the crowd, trembling all over.

Her gaze darted back and forth between her father and mother.

The father stood on the stage.

The mother sat in the audience.

One is on trial.

One is on trial.

And she—

Sandwiched in the middle.

"No……"

The sound was squeezed out of her throat, as thin as a string about to break.

"impossible……"

She shook her head.

"Mother wouldn't..."

She turned to Loy, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Father! There must be a mistake! How could Mother possibly—"

"Daisys".

Roy called her name.

The voice wasn't loud, but Daisy's words were immediately cut off.

She looked into her father's eyes.

There was no anger in those eyes—only a deep, unwavering certainty.

"I saw it with my own eyes."

Loy said.

Four words.

Daisy's body swayed slightly.

She turned her head and looked at Risa, who was tied to a chair.

"Mother--"

Risa looked up and glanced at her daughter.

She did not deny it.

There was no explanation.

He didn't burst into tears and say that he had been wronged.

She only glanced at Daisy.

Then—they looked away.

That action was more cruel than any words.

Daisy's knees buckled.

She knelt on the ground.

Tears silently slid down her cheeks and dripped onto the cold stone floor.

She loved both of them deeply at the same time.

Father and mother.

But now—one of them wants to kill the other.

And the other one will judge this one.

Which side should she stand on?

What should she choose?

Daisy knelt there, her hands hanging limply at her sides, like a puppet whose soul had been taken away.

On the other side of the crowd.

Susie stood at the very edge.

She was shorter than anyone else, hiding behind a pillar, with only half her face showing.

She heard every word Roy said.

Chief's wife, Risa.

Poisoning.

The evil god is sad.

Virus number one.

Assassination.

Every word was like a hammer, striking a place in her heart that was already riddled with holes.

She knows these things.

She already knew.

Earlier than everyone else in this hall.

She knew what kind of person Risa was.

I know what she did to her mother.

He knew what she had done to him.

They knew what she had done to the clan leader.

But when all of this was made public—

When the truth is laid bare in the sunlight—

Susie, however, felt that—

It wasn't as easy as I had imagined.

She looked at Daisy, who was kneeling on the ground and crying.

The sister who opened the door and hugged me when I was at my most desperate.

It is being torn apart at this moment.

Susie lowered her head.

Her fingers gripped the edge of the pillar tightly, her knuckles turning white.

She didn't say anything.

There's nothing we can do.