The bishop is unfathomable.

Chapter 88: Extending Life, But a Sacrificial Pawn as Bait

It is obvious that this so-called banquet, and even this castle, is just part of a trap and conspiracy.

Why would an extremely old viscount fake his death?

Why design such a will?

These questions were largely answered when they saw the empty coffin and the trap that was triggered as soon as the door was opened.

All that's left is to verify the hypothesis and find out where this guy is.

Levi turned to Felicia: "Can you find the viscount's location?"

"Since no body was left in the coffin, it means he probably still needs that body to accomplish something."

"Given the situation on the island and the special conditions for the distribution of the inheritance, he should be hiding somewhere in the castle."

Felicia shook her head: "I'd love to help, but I really don't know any tracking or investigation techniques."

"Before I was framed, I didn't have any need to learn this kind of magic or ritual."

Li Wei wasn't too disappointed, as this was within his expectations: "Then let's go and take a look at the Viscount's study and bedroom first."

We went without hesitation. Although we were guests, the location of our room in the castle was not difficult to find, thanks to the directions given by Walter.

The two of them found the Viscount’s study and the bedroom connected to it without much trouble.

Li Wei looked around the study, which was crammed with books, with even the floor piled high with them, and couldn't help but be shocked and speechless.

"You really do enjoy learning, sir."

"There are so many books, enough to fill an entire section of the restricted book zone."

"And is connecting the study and bedroom for easier reading?"

Felicia nodded: "It's not exactly a rare occurrence."

"In fact, most extraordinary individuals who have undergone formal training have this habit."

"Knowledge is mystery, knowledge is power."

"Falling from a height may be easy, but climbing upwards requires countless efforts and the acquisition of a great deal of knowledge."

"These are the most basic rules of this world."

Li Wei asked curiously, "Where did this theory come from?"

"This isn't theory," Felicia said, holding up one finger. "This is the truth about energy level advancement."

"Scholars generally believe that there are actually seven energy levels."

"From one to six, these represent the categories of human beings."

"And seven is the realm of God."

As she spoke, Felicia closed her eyes and tried to recall: "Hmm—what did that passage in the book say again?"

"The first is the beginning, the third is the appearance, and the fourth is the essence. The superposition of appearance and essence is the number of vertical transcendental paths to reach one."

"That's right, that's what it says in the book. Looks like my memory is still pretty good."

"This is knowledge I learned many years ago when I first started school."

Li Wei extracted some points from Felicia's words that were unrelated to the energy level knowledge she was discussing.

That was about what Curator Barris said about the introduction to mathematics.

"One, three, four, seven—was that what the curator was trying to say?"

"But there are so many things in the world that are related to these four numbers, and not everything is related to them."

"What do appearance and essence represent respectively?"

"Forget it, I'll think about these things slowly."

"The most urgent thing is to deal with the troubles here first."

"And the sixth level is indeed the limit that mortals can reach."

"But what exactly is so special about the seventh level, which distinguishes gods from mortals?"

Putting aside his doubts and focusing on the present, Li Wei began to examine the books and notebooks on the table.

Based on the book titles provided in the analysis section and the conclusions drawn by Li Wei after a cursory glance.

He surprisingly verified his previous conjecture without much effort.

What Viscount Walter wanted to do was almost exactly what Levy had guessed.

He wanted to quantify "life" and extract the quantified "life" from others.

Actually, Li Wei initially thought that the other party wanted to possess his body with their soul.

After all, the plot of possession is more in line with the current environment.

But now it seems—

The viscount's ideas seem to be more direct and brutal.

It is also more effective.

Indeed, among the few people he managed to deceive, not a single one was a superhuman.

The only superhuman was his old butler, who wasn't exactly young either.

No matter how I look at it, it's more suitable for me to restore my youthful body.

Even the handling of death reports—if the person involved is not dead, withdrawing the false report or simply passing it on to the grandson or guest who will inevitably die by then—is a very simple matter.

He was, after all, a nobleman. In his own territory, he could kill one or two people who had a problem with him or even spread rumors about his death, and even the supervisory bureau couldn't do anything about it.

So that's what they were planning.

Li Wei murmured to himself, just about to call Felicia back to the banquet hall, when he heard Felicia's startled cry as she rummaged through the Viscount's bedroom.

"Hey boss, come quick! I've found some treasure!"

"Look, here it is. It concerns the Son of the Sands!"

"This viscount has connections with the city council and the Son of Dust! There are even records of him helping with the plan to infiltrate the city!"

"Honestly, these letters aren't destroyed in time, they're just hidden in the bedside table. I don't even know what to say."

Upon hearing this, Li Wei went inside and took a letter from Felicia, who was squatting on the ground reading letters and gossiping.

"So that's how it is—the conjectures in the diary, the forbidden books borrowed from the library, and even this plan to extend lifespan, are all because of the disappearance of the Holy Grail and Agnar's death?"

"Originally, I intended to use the Holy Grail to achieve immortality, but barring unforeseen circumstances, I can only use the backup plan I had prepared beforehand —"

"Although it was rough, we had prepared other methods in advance."

"but----"

Li Wei stared at the contents of the letter and realized that immortality was merely a means for the Sons of Dust to bribe the council and the nobles.

That's not their real purpose.

Just like the suspicions of the Inspectorate, the Church of Radiance, the Royal Gendarmerie, and everyone else.

Their goal from the very beginning was the expo that would be held a month later!

Even from the very beginning, they were prepared for exposure and failure.

One could even deduce from this letter to Viscount Walter that they never believed immortality could be achieved or that the ceremony could be arranged smoothly.

Both Agnarr and the Holy Grail are bait that can be discarded, bait used to distract attention.

Even Walter himself was like that.

However, he did more than others.

For example—transporting a mysterious cargo through the sewer system to secretly enter Beldor.