Nightless Sky Yong Lian

As Lin Yu finished speaking, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot exclaimed in surprise, "What did you say? The client for this commission is Mother?"

She looked at Lin Yu: "Are you kidding me?"

Lin Yu shook his head and remained silent.

Someone answered the question for her.

"Alas... Of course he wasn't joking, my worthless daughter."

The voice rang out from beside the two of them. Before they knew it, the Nightless Sky Family Head had appeared between Nightless Sky Fire Apricot and Lin Yu.

With her petite frame and cascading long hair, the Nightless Sky Family Head sat cross-legged on a mountain of books, her hands gently resting on the shoulders of the two people.

"Oh dear, Mother, why did you come out in person?"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot immediately screamed, then grabbed her mother's arm. "You really scared me!"

The Nightless Sky Family Head looked at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, pursed his lips, and said, "Let go. I don't intend to hold you responsible... I've always known your character—although what you did tonight was indeed unexpected, in my opinion, it wasn't outrageous."

Hearing the Nightless Sky Family Head say this, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot released her grip, somewhat disappointed.

"Oh dear, Mother, don't you consider this 'out of line'?"

"As Royal Nobles, you are indeed considered unconventional, but if you want to surprise me, this is far from enough."

The Nightless Sky Family Head spoke, then looked at Lin Yu.

"As for you... you've surprised me. I thought that even if you weren't Sherlock, you would at least remember the kindness shown to you by the Nightless Sky Huo Le."

Lin Yu curled his lip. "Don't try to make me sound like some cold-blooded guy. I was just forced by circumstances."

"After all... I'm not sure what your attitude towards me is. If we're talking about cold-bloodedness, you are the one who is truly as cold-blooded as a machine."

"I highly doubt that you considered paying a fee after you issued this commission?"

The Nightless Sky Family Head chuckled softly, "You already know it was me who issued the commission, do you think I would embezzle your meager earnings?"

"Are those rewards really that much for me, the head of the Nevernight Clan?"

Lin Yu said earnestly, "What if you really want to save this little bit?"

Are you kidding me?

The Nightless Sky Family Head narrowed his eyes and said.

Lin Yu nodded. "Yes, I was just joking... but I am indeed worried about whether you will pay the payment as promised—I'm afraid you might want to silence me."

The Nightless Sky Family Head chuckled and said, "Indeed, even if Arlan chooses not to pursue the matter, for me, it would be most reassuring if everyone involved were dead."

"But don't worry... I won't really do that—release Huo Le."

Nightless Sky Family Head spoke, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot immediately spoke up.

"Freud, you made her swear an oath to the God of Truth."

The Nightless Sky Family Head looked helplessly at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot: "Fire Apricot, are you my daughter or this guy's daughter?"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot wasn't afraid; she simply asked in return, "Has this shocked you, Mother?"

The Nightless Sky Family Head sighed and ignored Nightless Sky Fire Apricot.

"Therefore, you are not suitable to be the heir... With your personality, you would never care about things like family interests or the stability of City That Never Sleeps."

She looked at Lin Yu and asked, "Do you want me to swear an oath?"

"If possible, please send one."

Lin Yu nodded and said.

Upon hearing this, the Nightless Sky Family Head did not refuse and directly raised his finger towards the sky.

"In the name of Nightless Sky Yong Lian, and before the God of Truth whom I believe in, I swear that from this moment on, I will absolutely not harm anyone involved in this commission in any way because of the C-77 commission I issued."

"I swear this oath with my heart, in the name of God, and I will not allow myself to disobey it in the slightest."

Nightless Sky Family Head spoke, several lines of hidden symbols appeared and disappeared behind his head, like a reply from the God of Truth: "Received."

Hearing this, Lin Yu nodded and gently put down the Nightless Sky Huo Le.

"It should have been done long ago, Your Excellency," he said calmly, sheathing his Bone Blade. "Now I feel much more at ease talking to you!"

"I'm actually quite curious why you chose to issue this commission at this crucial juncture."

Although Lin Yu knew that the Nightless Sky Family Head disliked Arter and Arlan —she herself had said so—from a perspective of self-interest, the Nightless Sky Family Head had absolutely no need to kill Arter.

Lin Yu agreed with the analysis given by the Nightless Sky Family Head at the time—which is why he was willing to help the Nightless Sky Family Head kill more than thirty people.

At that time, Lin Yu genuinely believed that the Nightless Sky Family Head was making a deal with him.

The Nightless Sky Family Head rested his chin on his hand. "Can't you guess my motives? Then how did you guess that it was me who issued this commission?"

Lin Yu shrugged. "You were overly enthusiastic in your performance tonight. Although activating the Alchemy Array was something we discussed beforehand, judging from your actual performance... you were the one who truly applied the techniques from the <ABC Murder Case>."

Those thirty-odd people were perhaps someone the Nightless Sky Family Head wanted to kill, but didn't want to do it himself, so he let them live.

However, the task they assigned to Lin Yu as the Nightless Sky Family Head was essentially a cover-up... she was the one who issued the C-77 commission.

"When I killed them first, I already had some doubts about your true purpose," Lin Yu said in a low voice. "And after I did all this, you still diligently maintained the Alchemy Array and didn't even remove the Elemental Gas from the Fire Apricot, which is enough to show... that you also wanted Arter Mercury to die."

"And most importantly, Arlan Mercury arrived far too quickly—you made no attempt to stop him and simply let the Mercury family patriarch, who had come knocking on your door, into the Nevernight Palace's auditorium. This behavior is truly abnormal."

"Doesn't this just prove that I actually want Arlan to stop you?" the Nightless Sky Family Head said, raising an eyebrow. "If I really wanted you to kill Arter, I should have done my best to hold him back."

"That's based on the assumption that you're a fool and can't see my general plan," Lin Yu sighed. "Although Arlan's arrival has indeed given me a headache, if he's already at the Nightless Sky Family, from your perspective... rather than stubbornly holding him back, it would be better to let him in so I can get rid of him once and for all."

"But you must have already guessed that my plan was to disrupt the ritual, so... you obviously did it on purpose."

"Of course, all of the above are just my speculations—the truly decisive evidence is that you let Arlan Mercury in."

"At that moment, I could feel a subtle change in the 'ritual' you bestowed upon me," Lin Yu raised his activated Right Hand. "This was your mistake—because you didn't understand that my Soul Power suddenly surged at that time. In your past tests and observations of me, you may have thought that I couldn't sense your hands and feet at all, so you became unrestrained."

"But... I did feel that change at the time. The moment Arlan attacked me, you were already ready to use the power you left in this Right Hand to save my life."