"Ah… this is the good stuff!"
Chen Zhenlong's throat bobbed as he drained the glass of spirit in one gulp.
After everything Xue Hui had revealed to him, Chen Zhenlong no longer hesitated to uncork one of his most treasured bottles of liquor and pour himself a drink.
Originally, that bottle was something he had been saving for his eldest son's coming-of-age ceremony.
Now, such distant hopes felt meaningless.
If the demon beast horde from Xue Hui's previous life truly descended upon them, everything would be reduced to ashes within nine or ten years.
No one would be able to stop it… not even Lord Ye Mo.
Pouring himself another glass, Chen Zhenlong took a slow sip of the rich, smooth spirit before stealing a sidelong glance at the boy seated across from him.
Honestly, if not for the truth-detection soul technique, he would never have believed a single word the boy told him.
"Here. Do you drink?" Chen Zhenlong asked, offering him a glass of spirit. "How old were you when… we all died in your previous life?"
Xue Hui shook his head, declining the offered glass.
"I don't drink, Lord Patriarch. I only tried it once. Lord Li Jiang dragged me out for a drink, and we both ended up being scolded by Linlin."
Chen Zhenlong snorted.
It seemed his daughter had inherited her mother's temper.
"And my age…" Xue Hui paused briefly. "I was seventeen when Glory City fell."
"Damn… died at seventeen? That sucks," Chen Zhenlong muttered as he downed the contents of the glass he had originally offered to Xue Hui.
By now, he no longer cared about maintaining his air as a patriarch in front of the boy.
Titles and status felt meaningless in the face of such uncertainty.
Chen Zhenlong felt completely at a loss, unsure how to move forward after learning everything.
His daughter, Glory City, everything he knew and cared for… all of it would perish under the demon beast horde's attack, and they would be powerless to stop it.
He felt like a complete failure, both as a family man and as the patriarch of the Divine Family.
Sighing, he decided he might as well cling to any hope the boy could offer.
"Xiao Hui… you mentioned having a plan. Can you really do anything to prevent all those events from happening?"
Hearing the defeat in Chen Zhenlong's voice, Xue Hui didn't make things difficult for him and answered.
"As long as Lord Patriarch's belief in me does not waver even once, I promise that none of the tragedies from my previous life will come to pass in this lifetime."
Chen Zhenlong stared at the boy. Xue Hui's confident tone, reinforced by the truth-detection soul technique confirming his sincerity, made a sliver of hope appear in his heart.
He wondered just how this child intended to achieve something so inconceivable.
"Do I even have a choice?" Chen Zhenlong asked in a low voice.
"Lord Patriarch, you always have a choice. No one can take that away from you. I am only asking whether you are willing to place your bet on me."
Chen Zhenlong sighed, then slowly nodded.
"Alright, let me hear it. What's your plan? If you can save both my Lin'er and Glory City, then I, Chen Zhenlong, will stand as your greatest ally. You can rely on me no matter what."
Hearing his words, Xue Hui nodded with a faint smile, knowing he was already halfway toward saving his friend.
He hopped down from his chair and headed for the door.
"Then I'll hold you to your words, Lord Patriarch. Let's continue this discussion later. I'll go tell Linlin that everything went fine. She's probably feeling extremely anxious by now."
The mention of his daughter immediately pulled Chen Zhenlong out of his thoughts. He sent a sweep of his Soul Force toward Chen Linlin's room, and just as Xue Hui had said, she looked on the verge of tears, her mental state deteriorating by the second.
Seeing this, Chen Zhenlong quickly stood and followed after Xue Hui, intending to personally reassure his daughter that she no longer had to worry.
"By the way, Xiao Hui," he asked as he walked, "did you tell my daughter everything about her condition?"
Xue Hui shook his head.
"I didn't have the heart to tell her how dire her condition would become. I only told her that I was once trapped within my own mind and had been taught the art of healing by a supreme master… and that I would use that knowledge to cure her."
Chen Zhenlong halted at the mention of a supreme master and the art of healing.
All this time, the boy had been trapped within his own mind, being taught by a supreme master. It sounded ridiculous, but the boy standing before him was living proof that it had happened.
'Is that why he seemed so emotionless and soulless all this time? Was his mind under the control of that supreme master?' Chen Zhenlong wondered.
He wanted to press for more details, but ultimately decided to save those questions for later. Right now, what mattered most was comforting his daughter.
Later that night…
After reassuring Chen Linlin that there was nothing to worry about, she gradually calmed down and eventually fell asleep.
Chen Zhenlong and Xue Hui returned to the patriarch's office to continue their discussion.
"So, Lord Patriarch, what would you like to discuss first?" Xue Hui asked calmly.
Seating himself behind his desk, Chen Zhenlong poured another glass of liquor before shifting his gaze toward the boy.
"Tell me about the cause of your previous condition," he said gravely, "and about that supreme master you mentioned earlier. After that… you can explain your plan to save my daughter and Glory City."
Xue Hui nodded, knowing that starting there would be the best way to explain things.
"Lord Patriarch, you must understand that I don't have all the answers about my master. Aside from teaching me the arts of healing and cultivation, he never revealed anything about himself. All I know is that he was an incredibly mysterious and powerful figure."
Chen Zhenlong nodded. After all, a supreme expert capable of sending someone's soul back to their younger self was already beyond mortal comprehension. Expecting Xue Hui to know everything about such a figure would be unreasonable.
With that, Xue Hui continued.
"After I died, the only thing I remember is my mind being trapped in a white room. The only people there were an old man and myself. He told me that from that moment onward, I would be his disciple. I didn't really have a choice in the matter."
Xue Hui paused, observing Chen Zhenlong's reaction to his words. At the same time, he used his overwhelming mental strength to reinforce his every words, making them resonate as absolute truth.
Xue Hui could tell the truth-detection soul technique had deemed his statement genuine from the way Chen Zhenlong nodded at him.
"Over the years, I was forced to learn everything my master taught me, from the very basics of medicinal knowledge to the most profound and mysterious principles. He taught me countless other things as well."
Xue Hui then took a sip of his now luke warm tea, moistening his dry lips after speaking.
"It's also why I've been so absent-minded since I was an infant," Xue Hui added.
"My mind was under my master's control. Only when he deemed my knowledge of healing barely sufficient did he allow me to return, releasing my mind back into my body. But to my surprise, I didn't return to my older self. Instead, I returned to this younger one."
He paused briefly, letting Chen Zhenlong absorb everything he had said before continuing.
"I'm not complaining, though. It's like my master is giving me a second chance to fix everything.
"With all the things I've learned, I'm one hundred percent certain that I can help Chen Linlin, not only treat her condition, but also restore her withered soul realm."
The moment those words left Xue Hui's mouth, it was as if a bomb had exploded in Chen Zhenlong's mind.
He shot to his feet with lightning speed, leaned forward, and unceremoniously grabbed Xue Hui by his shoulders.
Chen Zhenlong was a powerful expert with a strong body, so it was no surprise that he could lift the small boy like a sack of rice and pull him closer.
"Y-You can actually help Lin'er rebuild her withered soul realm?! You can really do that?!"
His entire body trembled as he stared at Xue Hui with desperate hope in his eyes.
Those words carried profound meaning for Chen Zhenlong, so his reaction did not surprise Xue Hui in the slightest.
How many so-called genius doctors had already given up on his daughter's condition?
For Chen Zhenlong, hearing those words was like the answer to all his prayers.
The shock was so overwhelming that he didn't even question how Xue Hui would accomplish such a thing.
Instead, he instinctively clung to the first rope of hope that appeared Infront of him.
"Lord Patriarch… yes, I do have a method to cure Linlin's illness and rebuild her soul realm," Xue Hui said with difficulty, his voice strained. "...but I won't be able to do that if you keep squeezing me to death~"
Realizing he had completely lost his composure, Chen Zhenlong hastily let go and placed the boy back in his chair. Wearing an apologetic expression, he returned to his own seat.
Clearing his throat, Chen Zhenlong looked at Xue Hui and apologized.
"Sorry about that, Xiao Hui," he said as he steadied his breathing. "Could you please explain this method in more detail?"
Xue Hui nodded. He took a long, deep breath, preparing himself, as he knew this was the moment he needed to reveal the truth behind Chen Linlin's condition.
"Lord Patriarch, I will tell you both the cause of Linlin's illness and the solution. But I need you to promise me that you will remain calm and keep your emotions in check. The last thing we want is to alert everyone and cause a huge commotion."
Though unsettled by the implications of that warning, Chen Zhenlong still nodded and signaled for the boy to continue.
"About one thousand li away from Glory City, there is a forest famous for its countless toxic creatures."
Chen Zhenlong's brows furrowed slightly as he tried to figure out which forest Xue Hui was talking about.
"The Toxic Forest," he interjected, earning a nod from Xue Hui.
"Deep within the Toxic Forest lies a place called the Valley of Blood Pungent Butterflies," Xue Hui continued. "These Blood Pungent Butterflies are actually considered some of the least toxic demon beasts in that forest. Because of their rapid reproduction, they are often treated by other creatures as a plentiful source of food."
He paused briefly, letting the information sink in before continuing.
"While the Blood Pungent Butterfly itself is not much of a threat, the same cannot be said for its larvae," Xue Hui explained.
"If a person consumes even a tiny drop of a larva's blood, their muscles, veins, and internal organs will rapidly deteriorate, ultimately leading to death."
Hearing this, Chen Zhenlong's breathing grew ragged. The symptoms sounded terrifyingly similar to his daughter's condition.
Xue Hui continued, his tone growing grim.
"The cruelest part of this toxin is that it doesn't just harm the body. Because the larvae feed on toxic spiritual energy, their blood can also cause the meridians and soul realm of anyone afflicted by it to wither."
Silence enveloped the room.
The two held each other's gaze. Xue Hui allowed his words to fully sink in, while Chen Zhenlong was overwhelmed by a storm of thoughts.
His entire body trembled, his breathing unsteady, and even his Soul Force fluctuated chaotically. Only one question echoed repeatedly in his mind.
"H-How could my Lin'er have ever come into contact with Blood Pungent Butterfly larvae?"
He asked hoarsely, his face cycling through countless emotions.
"She has never left the walls of Glory City, let alone gone anywhere near the Toxic Forest. So how did my daughter end up being afflicted by that thing? I don't understand… Xiao Hui, do you have any idea how it happened?"
As he asked those questions, Chen Zhenlong already had a vague suspicion of how it had happened, but he wanted confirmation from the boy.
"Lord Patriarch," Xue Hui said in a low voice, and a grim expression on his immature face, "there is no way for a Blood Pungent Butterfly larva to ever leave its territory on its own. The only way that toxin could have come into contact with Linlin…"
Xue Hui paused, anticipating what was coming next, and quietly enveloped his body with spiritual energy.
"…is if someone deliberately brought it back and used it to poison her."
Chen Zhenlong's entire body trembled violently.
A storm of emotions surged within him, shock, disbelief, fury, and an overwhelming sense of dread.
The concealment array around them began to crack under Chen Zhenlong's immense spiritual pressure.
Slowly, he turned his head toward Xue Hui, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the boy.
With gritted teeth and a low, murderous growl, he asked,
"Who… poisoned my daughter?"
End of Chapter 13