Saying that the system went silent, Lu Xiaoran noticed its absence and felt relaxed. He turned his attention back to Lu Zhang. Just as he was about to speak, a portal opened in front of him, and his master along with Louriel stepped through.
His master shouted, "Lu Xiaoran, did you hear a voice in your head calling itself a system?"
He nodded. His master then asked, "Did you bind with it?"
Lu Xiaoran explained everything honestly, including his rejection of the system. Upon hearing this, his master Vik frowned and said, "Sigh! Now I have another problem. I don't know why I took these villains as disciples."
Pov: Vik
I sighed while looking at Lu Xiaoran. Obviously, my disciple didn't accept the system's offer, just like me. But now, there's nothing we can do; what's done is done. The most important thing now is to figure out what will happen next. I glanced at Louriel. She looked back at me with pity, so I asked, "Hm, Louriel, why are you looking at me like that?"
She replied, "Because you will face a mountain of problems because of your disciple."
I asked, "Louriel, what does that mean?"
Louriel said, "It means that since your disciple rejected the system's offer, he will be labeled as an anomaly by the Heavens. An error that needs fixing. You don't understand, Vik. This world, and even the whole plane, acts like a huge matrix. Anyone who escapes this matrix must become one of the controllers or key parts of it—the Chosen ones. Now that your disciple rejected that offer, the matrix of fate and heaven will do its best to neutralize him."
I sighed again after hearing her full explanation, but I didn't want to stress any further. I changed the topic, saying, "Forget about it. I'm already an anomaly. Nothing will change if my disciple becomes another one. In fact, it's natural for my disciples to follow my path. Maybe this can be a tradition in my teachings."
I patted Lu Xiaoran's shoulder, and he puffed out his chest, proud to become an anomaly just like his master. Louriel looked at me in disbelief and said, "Vik, becoming an anomaly is not a good thing. You're oversimplifying this."
I nodded and replied, "I know, but we'll deal with that when the time comes. Let's continue our discussion. I'm sure you have information about the Lin family members and Lin Yang. Can you share it with me? This is important for both of us, as we are also technically Chosen ones."
She nodded and said, "Yes, I wanted to bring that up. But first, we need to return to the Azure Mountains. I have Lin family ancestors still alive as prisoners, but we can't interrogate them here."
I nodded, and she opened another portal. Before leaving, I told Lu Xiaoran not to worry about the future and to enjoy his well-deserved good times. As we exited, I noticed someone unconscious on the ground who had wet himself. I recognized him as Lu Zhang, a cousin of Lu Xiaoran.
Seeing his pitiful state, I injected a healing Qi, and he awoke. However, as soon as he opened his eyes and saw me, he screamed and fainted again, wetting himself in the process. Poor kid must be dealing with epilepsy or some trauma. Before entering the portal, I told Lu Xiaoran to admit him to a hospital.
With that, I arrived back at the Azure Mountains, with Louriel standing in front of me and Winston at my side. I saw Winston waving his hands and opening a portal. From that portal, two large skeletons in knight armor emerged, carrying an old man, the leader of the Lin family ancestors.
Honestly, I underestimated Louriel. I can kill experts in the Body and Soul integration realm with my strange fire, but I can't capture them alive. This shows how strong Louriel and her army of the undead are.
Now kneeling in front of me is the main ancestor of the Lin family. I felt a strong urge to interrogate him, so before Louriel could instruct Winston to do it, I said, "Could you let me handle the interrogation? I'm a professional in this field."
Louriel raised an eyebrow at me but said nothing. Stepping in front of the Lin family ancestor, I took out some gloves from my portable space. I gently lifted his chin and said, "Okay, let's start with the interrogation. Why don't you tell me about yourself? Who are you? Where did you come from?"
He remained silent. Louriel tried to speak, but I raised my hand and said, "Officer Louriel, let me handle this. One strike from me, and he'll start singing."
I refocused on the Lin family ancestor and said, "I'm asking again. Start shouting everything I ask. If you don't, you won't just feel pain; you will live with it."
He stayed quiet. Suddenly, Louriel said, "Winston, release him from his binding and do as Vik said."
Winston waved his hand, and the Lin family ancestor began speaking. He said, "My original name is Lin Fu. I am the 21st generation ancestor of the great Lin family. I came from the Lin family in Blue Cloud City. I was also born in Blue Cloud City at the Lin family estate."
I was stunned. Just a simple wave of the hand made him talk. Seeing my confusion, Louriel explained, "Vik, I've turned all those Lin family members and ancestors into undead under Winston's command."
Now I understood why he wasn't speaking during my interrogation.
System: "Host, you didn't actually interrogate him. Even a school teacher asks questions more aggressively than you."
I ignored the system and continued listening to Louriel.
She continued, "I've already searched all their memories, and I found something interesting. All of the Lin family is following Lin Yang's advice. It seems she became a disciple in the name of some mysterious figure. Through this mysterious backer, she learned about the Chosen one. With a systematic approach, they found Lin Chen when he was still an infant."
Louriel added, "At that time, she used some treasure given by that backer to temporarily block Lin Chen's luck and kidnapped him, killing his original family. They then slowly planned everything to make Lin Chen a puppet protagonist."
Hearing this, I asked, "So if we question Lin Yang, she could tell us more?"
Louriel sighed, "Unfortunately, Lin Yang somehow escaped my undead. I don't know how; maybe it has something to do with that mysterious figure. Currently, Lin Yang is far away from here, and I can't locate her."