Does the Butterfly Effect Really Exist? (18)

After countless failures, Tingmei finally managed to sketch the general outline of the Golden-Haired Noblewoman.

Gazing at the somewhat familiar silhouette in the air, Old Suo felt as if he had seen this person somewhere before, and more than once. Just as Old Suo was searching for the target in the database, his Old Friend, whom he already had in mind, suddenly exclaimed, "Impossible! How could you possibly have seen her before?"

Old Suo was overjoyed to see his Old Friend, who had been so calm and collected, finally react. He immediately began to listen to his Old Friend's thoughts in real time to ensure that he would not miss any important clues.

"This person..."

Tingmei was about to say that she had met this person by chance not long ago, her words were interrupted by Old Suo through the communication function of the contract. Not only that, Old Suo also taught her a new story.

"You mean this person? I met her by chance in a cave a few months ago. I was curious at the time, so I secretly followed her!"

"What did you say? How dare you..."

The angry words came to an abrupt halt, and then the Old Friend suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter.

"Ha ha!"

"Ha ha!"

"I was so stupid, I almost fell for your little trick!"

"Lie to you? Heh! 'Master,' do you think I can conjure up the face of someone I've never seen before?"

"Hmph! Perhaps you really did encounter this person by chance in the cave, but you definitely didn't follow her. Otherwise, would your new master need you to trick me into revealing information in this way?"

Having her little scheme exposed, Tingmei was momentarily at a loss for words and could only stand there waiting for the latest instructions.

"Old Friend, you are indeed impressive, managing to see through our lies! However, your mind and brain are too slow to synchronize, so I still managed to get the information I wanted. Old Friend, your code name is quite fitting; our two families truly are ' Old Friend '!"

"Hmph! You don't need to lie to me, I won't believe you!"

"Oh? It seems my Old Friend is convinced that I failed to get the information you wanted from your heart?"

"Snort!"

Hearing his Old Friend's cold snort, Sordil smiled slightly, then pointed to the figure floating in the air and said, "If I remember correctly, she should be the Queen of the Kingdom of Tsuyioru Xiu — Leshia Fannel, right?"

"Whoever you say she is, she is. It has nothing to do with me!"

"It's alright? Old Friend, you're not being honest! Your heart is still pounding because I recognized her!"

His mask had been torn off, his true feelings exposed, and even his Old Friend could only remain silent. He needed to ensure that his enemies wouldn't gain any more secrets from him, lest they harm his undiscovered allies. However, Sordil wouldn't give up so easily, because these people's existence already threatened the safety of Irene and the others, so he had to uproot these cancerous growths completely.

"Since you and Leshia are allies, that means you are very likely one of Cuiyi'aorshu's people. And among Cuiyi'aorshu, there are only two families with whom I have a deep-seated hatred: one is Langu Cordelia, the former commander of the Western Border Army, and the other is Arthur Gebilie, the former Division Commander of the Royal Mage Corps. So, who is it that you hate me for?"

"Heh! I never expected that Prince Sordil, who is so busy with state affairs, would still remember the person you killed a few years ago!"

Hearing the other person's mockery, Old Suo calmly raised his right hand, bringing the other person's gaze to the same level as his own.

"I remember when Arthur was captured, Belmod said that Arthur was a wandering mage with no family or friends. So, who are you, my Old Friend? Why are you seeking revenge for Arthur?"

"Prince Sordil is so intelligent, surely he can guess who I am?"

Looking at the amused, bitter, and mocking smile on the other person's face, Old Suo suddenly thought of a possibility that was both logical and impossible.

"You wouldn't happen to be Arthur himself, would you? (Old Suo)"

"Ha ha!"

"Ha ha!"

"Prince Sordil is indeed wise! Yes, I am Arthur!"

The other party's frank admission sent shockwaves through Old Suo's heart.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The magic that can bring the dead back to life must not be complete yet. There is no such thing as a way to bring the dead back to life in this world!"

Hearing Sordil's roar, Tingmei and her Old Friend were completely dumbfounded. After a moment, the shrewd old Old Friend... no! He should now call her Arthur! The shrewd Arthur was the first to react, sneering, "No wonder Prince Sordil isn't surprised at all by the resurrection of the dead; it turns out you've been secretly conducting this kind of research all along!"

At this moment, Old Suo was in no mood to pay attention to Arthur's taunts, because all he wanted to know was how this guy had been resurrected.

"Only dark magic can bring the dead back to life, but no one in Ishgar should know such magic. How did you manage to come back to life?"

Although Arthur's body ached from Sordil's unconscious clenching of his fist, seeing his enemy's angry and uneasy expression brought a broad smile to Arthur's face and in his heart. Considering that Sodir had helped him regain his long-lost smile, and also to show off his intelligence, Arthur decided to answer Old Suo's question. (I know this is illogical, making Arthur seem like an idiot, but for the sake of the plot, I have to insult everyone's intelligence. Here, I, the Great Owl, apologize to everyone. Thank you!)

"Prince Sordil, you are right! No magician in Ishgar can bring someone back to life, but there is an ancient magic on this continent that can make a person's soul leave their body and enter another body."

"Soul Transference!"

"Heh! Prince Sordil is indeed learned; he even knows about such ancient magic!"

Upon learning that Arthur had survived by using Soul Transference, Old Suo breathed a sigh of relief. Having successfully avoided the major troublemaker Etherias, calmness and rationality returned to the young master's mind. Only then did he remember his main purpose for this trip—to eliminate his Old Friend and other evil forces.

Now that I've found my Old Friend and dug up his past, it's time to get rid of this cancer!

"Commander Arthur, thank you for clearing up my doubts. Now let's get down to business!"

"Heh! Prince Sordil, I'll say it again: kill me or torture me, it's up to you! But don't even think about getting a single useful clue from me!"

"Alright! Since you insist, I have no choice but to grant your wish and send you to reunite with your own body!"

"Haha! Come on! Anyway, soon all your relatives and friends will be coming to the underworld to keep me company!"

Upon hearing Arthur's words, Sordil exclaimed, "What did you say?"

"Bang!"

Before Sordil's exclamation could even finish, Arthur, whom he was holding in his palm, was blown into a pile of minced meat, splattering all over Old Suo's face.

Smelling the faint smell of gunpowder in the air, Sordil roared angrily, "Damn it!"

"Boom!"

Enraged, Sordil slammed his fist into the mountain behind him, causing an unprecedented earthquake in the Arcana Mountain. Huge boulders fell from the summit, crashing into the caves and filling them to capacity.

After venting his anger, Sordil said in a deep voice, "Tingmei, what did Arthur mean by what he just said?"

Looking at the messy cave and sensing the still simmering anger in its master's chest, Tingmei immediately recounted everything she knew.

"Master, about a few hours ago, I received a message from Ice and Snow, informing me that you were going to send troops to intercept the reinforcements from the Western Continent. So I told Arthur about this. After hearing my report, Arthur ordered me to inform the dragons of the Western Continent and to have them hand over the contents of the Number Four Secret Cabinet to the undercover agent Number Four."

"Who is Number Four? And what is the Secret Cabinet?"

"The Secret Cabinet is where Arthur stores intelligence. As for Number Four, I don't know who he is. I only know that he comes from a Dragon Clan Secret Realm called Montes Sakureta."

Upon hearing the name Montes Sakureta, Sordil instantly pictured a dark-skinned man. At that moment, Sordil felt things were spiraling out of his control, sliding along an unpredictable yet strangely familiar trajectory.

After a long pause, Sordil, regaining his senses, yelled at Tingmei, "Why didn't you tell me such important information sooner?"

Facing the enraged Sordil, Tingmei said weakly, "Because after you heard about Arthur, you urged me to bring you here to capture him, without giving me a chance to say anything. Moreover, your methods were too cruel, and I was so scared that I completely forgot about it."

Upon hearing Tingmei's answer, Old Suo was completely stunned and speechless.

A moment later, wisdom transformed into light and poured into the dragon statue, pulling Sordil out of the endless darkness and restoring its ability to move.

Having gone through the process of mental reorganization during the petrification phase, Old Suo was able to immediately begin arranging remedial measures after his recovery.

"Tingmei, where is the Secret Cabinet? Take me there right now!"

"The Secret Cabinet is on the left side of this cave, but now the cave is full of..."

It was only after Tingmei's 'casual' reminder that Sordil realized the masterpiece he had created.

"Oh my god! (Old Suo)"

After exclaiming in surprise, Old Suo had no choice but to switch to Jade Dragon Mode and then carry out a rescue excavation of the collapsed cave.

It took about fifteen minutes for Old Suo to finally locate the Secret Cabinet. However, the Secret Cabinet was no longer a complete cabinet; it had become an irregular polyhedron. Looking at this cabinet that could become raw material at any moment, Sordil suppressed his breathing and carefully lifted it up.

Just as Sordil was happily preparing to receive his spoils, he found the place completely empty!