It was different from last time.
After "Parasitizing," there was now "Growing." "An unknown change" had become "It found a path to continue forward."
It had swallowed something. The resentment, unwillingness, or something else from the corpses in the inn had been devoured by it, and then it had found a path.
What path? The Gray-White Text did not say.
Lu Yuan's gaze darkened.
He drew upon the Key deep within his left eye.
The moment the aura of Authority surged from the depths of his eye, the pale face suddenly trembled.
It sensed it.
The trace of awareness that had just gathered in its hollow black eye sockets scattered completely. It shook its head, and the black aura spilling outward snapped back, shrinking from its spread-out edges to its original range in an instant. The entire face pressed itself against the skin of his left leg and sank downward, utterly motionless.
It was clearly afraid.
Authority could suppress it, just as he had expected. The moment the Key stirred, it behaved.
But that was also the problem.
It could not speak. Lu Yuan poked it, scared it, but could not get a single word out of it. Whether it was good or bad, where that "path" led, how far it intended to grow—he knew none of it.
Tear it out by force? Lu Yuan considered it, then dismissed the thought. The Drowner clung to his left leg, pressed against his skin and blood vessels. If he forced it, it might affect the Key and the Worm of Knowledge in his left eye. If something went wrong, it would be more troublesome than leaving it alone. Besides, the Gray-White Text had never marked it as dangerous.
He withdrew the aura of Authority.
The pale face remained still for several breaths,