It Was Him

For many people, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

The Guardians of the Contract Land, delegations from the Seven Churches—everyone gathered around an opened tent, staring at the enormous body lying dead inside.

The corpse belonged to the Warden. It looked as though some immense force had severed him at the waist. Strange tentacles spilled from the wound in his abdomen, tangled with the sealing chains around his upper body, making them difficult to distinguish at a glance.

But there was no disputing the fact that he was dead.

The Warden of the Contract Land, a living fossil who might have survived since ancient times, had died silently just like that?

"Do you have anything else to say?" The leading Guardian looked coldly at Isaiah, who was surrounded by Guardians yet showed little change in expression.

"I have nothing to say," Isaiah replied calmly. "Because I didn't do it."

Upon hearing that, the leading Guardian suddenly stepped forward. His massive body, scarcely shorter than the Warden's, pressed down on Isaiah like a small mountain.

"Do you take us all for fools?!" The Guardian angrily drew his sword and pointed it directly at Isaiah's chest. "Do you think no one can punish you anymore?"

The instant the blade left its sheath, everyone felt a distinct pressure weighing down on them, making the magic within their bodies sluggish.

This was the unique sealing power of the Contract Land Guardians. The runes on that sword could suppress not only Visas, but ordinary magic as well. Thus, when fighting a Guardian, everyone's strength would first drop by thirty or forty percent.

Mina, standing beside Isaiah, felt it even more clearly. She was already nearly unable to use magic, yet she still gritted her teeth and stood by her teacher's side.

"Where is your evidence?" Mina said through clenched teeth. "Without evidence, it is slander."

"Evidence?" the Guardian said. "Other than him, who here has the strength to kill Lord Warden?"

"So you suspect my teacher simply because he is powerful?"

"Heh. If you put it that way, then why don't you explain your teacher's whereabouts tonight?" The Guardian stared fixedly at Isaiah. "What did you go off to do after using those methods to evade our surveillance?"

Mina suddenly did not know how to answer. She instinctively looked toward Luo Qi in the distance. Luo Qi wore a grave expression, as if saying, "How could something so terrible happen tonight?" Yet he clearly had no intention of stepping forward to testify for Isaiah.

And Mina did not know whether Isaiah had actually met Luo Qi, so she could only force herself to say, "My teacher can go wherever he wants. He is not your prisoner. Your surveillance of him is the greatest insult!"

The explanation was so feeble that the Guardian could not even be bothered to respond. He simply ignored her and continued staring coldly at Isaiah.

"Will you continue remaining silent, Mr. Isaiah?" the Guardian said. "Or are you thinking about how to kill all of us?"

Isaiah said nothing, but neither did he continue standing there in a daze. Instead, he lifted his foot and walked directly toward the Warden's corpse.

The Guardian who had drawn his sword did not stop him. He merely watched coldly. Everyone else's eyes were focused on Isaiah, while Isaiah's gaze alone rested on the Warden's body.

Without a doubt, Hand Eye had done this.

But not at the moment he met Luo Qi. It had happened earlier.

The body had merely been discovered at the time he met Luo Qi. That was why Luo Qi had fled so decisively. According to the timeline, Isaiah could indeed have gone to meet Luo Qi after killing the Warden.

In other words, Hand Eye had once again seen through his actions tonight. Everything Hand Eye did was aimed at him.

But how had he done it?

With so many facilities and devices in the Contract Land designed to counter Visas's power, even Isaiah did not dare use the power of his right eye recklessly. That was why Isaiah had dared to use that deception. In his view, Hand Eye, who likewise could not further use the power of his eyes, should never have been able to see through his disguise.

Yet Hand Eye had seen through it in an unbelievable fashion, as though he were a worm living in Isaiah's stomach.

And how had this fellow taken out the Warden without anyone noticing?

The Warden's strength was beyond question. Even Isaiah could not gauge his true depth, yet Hand Eye had dealt with him just like that?

Just how powerful was he?

And judging from Isaiah's earlier backlash, this fellow had already completely mastered the power of the right eye.

How had he done that?

Countless doubts surged into Isaiah's mind, constantly reshaping his understanding of Hand Eye. Isaiah could not help wondering whether he should reveal everything about Peach Blossom Paradise to ensure Hand Eye could be killed.

Before this, Isaiah had never entertained such a thought, because he felt that doing so would be surrendering to Hand Eye.

But if he did not do that, how was he supposed to proceed from here?

"Still haven't thought of an excuse?" the Guardian behind him said. "Your time is running out, Mr. Isaiah."

Isaiah turned around, but he did not look at that Guardian. Instead, he looked beyond him, toward the representatives of the various churches.

He knew Hand Eye and Ring Finger were among these people.

Isaiah pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "I'll say it again. I did not kill the Warden."

"Then who did?"

"Ulu," Isaiah said. "It could only have been him. He has already come here."

Upon hearing Isaiah say this, everyone present showed strange expressions.

They had come to attend the gathering, so naturally they knew who Ulu was. And now Isaiah claimed that Ulu had arrived here. Judging from his expression, he even seemed to be saying Ulu was among them.

If not for what had happened in Nameless Town, everyone would have found nothing wrong with those words and might even have immediately begun searching for the man.

But now, they only felt that Isaiah's explanation was far too outrageous.

However, Isaiah was not saying this for them to hear. He was saying it for Ring Finger.

After Luo Qi fled without caring about right or wrong, Isaiah had realized relying on that man was worse than relying on a dog. Since that was the case, he had to find a way to establish contact with Miss Ring Finger.

And he knew that under these circumstances, Miss Ring Finger would be even less likely to contact him voluntarily.

But Isaiah still had to say it. "That Ulu is dangerous. Everything happening now is part of his plan. The Warden is already dead. If you use Obedience of Heavenly Voice to deal with me as well, then truly no one will be able to deal with him anymore. So think carefully. I have no reason to kill the Warden."

Diana in the crowd narrowed her eyes slightly, deep in thought.

"You have no reason to kill the Warden?" the leading Guardian said coldly. "Everyone here knows that the Warden decided to use Obedience of Heavenly Voice on you."

"I know that too, which is why I would be even less likely to do this." After all this repeated back-and-forth, Isaiah's patience had run out. His tone gradually turned cold. "If you truly have conclusive evidence, then act against me directly. If you do not, then go find it instead of wasting time here playing meaningless deduction games with me."

"You!!"

The leading Guardian was already about to swing his sword down when a faint cough sounded.

"Since there are doubts, why don't we simply ask the Warden himself? The person involved should have more to say on this matter."

The statement was so outrageous that everyone involuntarily turned their heads, wanting to see who had said it.

Then they saw the Netherworld Envoy walk out with a smiling face.

Oh. Then it was fine.

The leading Guardian looked at the Netherworld Envoy in slight surprise. "What do you mean?"

The Netherworld Envoy stepped out from the crowd. His voice was low and hollow, unlike that of a living person. Of course, he truly was not alive.

"To be honest, your reactions just now surprised me somewhat," the Netherworld Envoy said slowly. "You have all been saying that the Warden was killed."

"What is wrong with that?" The Guardian frowned slightly. "Are you saying the Warden is not dead?"

"No, no, no. Your Warden is indeed dead." The Netherworld Envoy walked up to the Warden's severed lower body and stopped. "But he did not die tonight. He died a thousand years ago."

With just one sentence, the scene immediately fell silent.

Only Ina reacted, asking, "Could it be that the Warden's state is... similar to yours?"

"As expected of Lyra's envoy." The Netherworld Envoy smiled at Ina. "Your minds are certainly nimble, far more capable than old antiques like us who possess no vitality. Yes, strictly speaking, the Warden may also be regarded as a disciple of My Lord."

Those words carried an even greater impact than the previous sentence. Even the Guardians present could not help showing stunned expressions.

"Mm... it seems the Warden never told you anything." The Netherworld Envoy swept his gaze across the Guardians present. "But that is not strange. After all, you are living people, while he is not. The living and the dead have never had much common language. If not for My Lord's command, I would not have wanted to come here either."

Luo Qi's mouth twitched slightly.

Was this dead man making a bad joke?

"The reason the Contract Land can remain independent of the Eight Great Churches is because it was the only place created jointly by multiple gods rather than a single god," the Netherworld Envoy said. "Thus, this place contains the powers of many gods: Rhine, Holy Sound, Lyra, and My Lord, the Netherworld. Your Warden was a creation of My Lord, the Netherworld. He was a true, complete dead man. He died a thousand years ago, and the only reason he could still walk the world was because, like us, he had sealed his soul within a broken body."

The Netherworld Envoy then explained the characteristics of their church.

The dead could not walk the world without bodies. Even by borrowing flesh, they could not last long; detached souls would rot the flesh at an extreme speed. The Netherworld Envoy was an example. When he left the Netherworld, his body had still belonged to a healthy man. By the time he arrived here, it had become a rotting corpse, and before long, it would completely turn into rotten flesh.

The Warden was the same, except his body had been specially modified by the Lord of the Netherworld. The seals on those chains were not meant to seal Visas, but to seal the Warden's own aura of decay.

The Warden's identity had not been a secret a thousand years ago. But as time passed and generations of Guardians changed, that identity gradually became nothing more than "immortality." The current Guardians knew none of the finer details, and the Warden had no intention of explaining them. Perhaps time had become too long for him, and he had grown tired of explaining.

After hearing this, the shock on everyone's faces gradually faded. At the same time, the representatives of the various churches finally understood why, during the daytime meeting, the Warden had been noticeably friendlier toward the Netherworld Envoy.

This was what a true fellow townsman looked like.

"Then can the Warden come back to life... or die again?" the leading Guardian immediately asked.

"Of course." The Netherworld Envoy nodded slightly, revealing a rotten smile. "My Lord grants Protection to souls, and souls cannot be killed."

"Then how did the Warden...?"

"His flesh suffered an enormous impact, scattering his soul," the Netherworld Envoy said. "But both the Warden's body and soul were specially modified by My Lord, the Netherworld. He will gradually recover, and his scattered soul will return to this body."

Seeing that the Warden could "live" again, the Guardian breathed a sigh of relief. But he quickly realized something and pressed further, "How long will that process take?"

"About a week."

The Guardian's brows, which had just relaxed, immediately furrowed again. Then he looked once more at Isaiah, who had not spoken for a long time.

A week?

If they waited another week, would that not give this fellow another peaceful week?

With the Warden absent, no one else could withstand the pressure and forcibly activate Obedience of Heavenly Voice. And if what Isaiah said was true, if someone else had attacked the Warden...

The Guardian asked again, "Can you speed up the process?"

The Netherworld Envoy showed his rotten smile again. "Of course. I can use Spirit Summoning to bring his soul back right now."

The Guardian said nothing.

"Heh, do not look at me like that," the Netherworld Envoy said. "Spirit Summoning spells carry risks, because they cannot precisely target an individual soul."

"What does that mean?"

"For example, if two people die in the same village, the soul summoned back may belong to either one of them, or even be a fractured entity formed by the mingling of both souls," the Netherworld Envoy said. "That is why it is generally only used when one can ensure that only one person has died."

The Guardian immediately relaxed, then said, "Please rest assured. Tonight, only the Warden has 'died.'"

"Are you certain?"

"I am."

"Then there is no problem."

The Netherworld Envoy stepped forward and placed his hand on the Warden's severed body.

Immediately, strange magic surged. Everyone present saw a pair of ghostly green hands emerge from the Warden's body and sway gently through the air.

Like someone gathering dandelions, those enormous hands seized one fragment of soul after another and stuffed them into the Warden's body.

And the Warden began to "come back to life" at a visible pace.

The sight was equally soul-shaking, and only Isaiah frowned deeply.

Logically, the Warden waking up should have been good news for him. It could also clear him of suspicion. After all, there was no more effective way to catch a killer than having the victim identify him personally.

Yet for some reason, Isaiah's heart remained filled with unease.

At last, the Warden opened those abyss-like eyes.

"Lord Warden!" The Guardian immediately stepped forward. "Are you feeling better?"

The Warden nodded, though his movement was very slow. He had clearly not fully recovered, but the Guardian was already too impatient to wait.

"Who attacked you?" the Guardian asked in a low voice.

The Warden slowly blinked, then, under everyone's watchful gazes, gradually raised his chain-wrapped hand.

Amid the teeth-grating screech of metal rubbing against metal, everyone saw that hand point at... Isaiah.

"It was him."

Bai Wei said so.