Purifier

There are three great illusions in life: your phone is vibrating, she likes me... and I can turn the tables.

Gu Bei realized he had fallen into the third illusion.

Trusting the system's replay function, he focused on the incantation, intending to learn the Binding Spell as he had before and use it to turn the tables on Michelle. The system did not betray his trust either, dutifully repeating the incantation over and over.

The one who betrayed him was himself.

No matter how many times the system replayed it, no matter how intensely Gu Bei concentrated, he could not learn the spell.

By focusing his mind, he returned to his Consciousness Space. Everything inside was unchanged: boundless darkness, blue Triangle Glyphs glowing peacefully. The system's replayed incantation also entered the space, echoing again and again like the Water Ball Spell incantation from before.

Nothing happened.

Gu Bei felt as though he were tossing stones into a lake, hoping to raise great splashes. Yet the lake's surface had long since frozen over, and everything he did was useless.

"That metaphor isn't very appropriate."

Suddenly, the system stopped replaying and cut in. "No splashes don't mean the lake is frozen. In your case, the lake has completely dried up."

Gu Bei had not intended to play word games with the system, but after thinking it over, he felt there was another meaning behind its words.

"What do you mean?"

The system seemed to have finally found something to be proud of. It cleared its throat pretentiously, then began speaking slowly.

"The lake is your Consciousness Space, and the incantation is the stone. When you liberated your Consciousness Space before, you used a stone to smash through the frozen lake surface. However, a Consciousness Space can only be liberated once. If you want to use the same method to learn a second spell, that's definitely impossible."

"Then how am I supposed to learn it?"

"Well..."

The system paused for several seconds before shamelessly continuing, "You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"

"..."

As expected, he should never have hoped for anything from this guy.

Gu Bei shook his head.

Although the system babbled nonsense like some old charlatan, he had to admit that its theory about liberating the Consciousness Space did make some sense. It really was unrealistic to expect to learn the Binding Spell through the same method.

If not that method, then what?

The drawbacks of figuring things out on his own were now showing. He had become a mage, yet he lacked even the slightest theoretical foundation. Chairman Mao had said that theory guided practice. As things stood, he was completely in the dark on the path of magic, left with no choice but to follow Deng Xiaoping's example and feel his way across the river by stepping on stones.

Gu Bei was furious. He wanted nothing more than to walk right up to Michelle and say, "Miss, could you teach me some magic?"

"You can't learn that spell. What a shame."

Finally free from the endless loop, the system's voice was brimming with delight.

"If I can't learn the Binding Spell and Michelle kills me in the end, you'll die along with me," Gu Bei reminded it.

The system immediately fell silent.

The method of replaying the incantation had already failed. Gu Bei simply stopped paying attention to the system and focused instead on the entire Consciousness Space.

This liberated Consciousness Space was the source of all his magical abilities. If there was anything that could change Gu Bei's current situation and answer all his questions about magic, then the answer had to lie somewhere in this darkness.

Staring blindly would not help. After thinking for a moment, Gu Bei walked over to the Triangle Glyph.

He stretched out a hand toward the glyph and recited the Water Ball Spell incantation.

The glyph seemed to turn into a real triangle, lightly struck by an invisible force. It vibrated and gave off a crisp ding. The sound was like a moist ripple, instantly spreading throughout the entire Consciousness Space.

A strange sensation rose within him.

At that soft chime, Gu Bei felt a resonance pass through him from the inside out, leaving his entire body tingling.

When he came back to his senses, a ball of water was quietly floating above his palm.

"So amazing! You can make a water ball too!" The mechanical voice suddenly piped up in an exaggerated tone. "Quick, tell me, how are you going to use a ball of water to uphold justice and defeat evil Michelle?"

Gu Bei ignored the system's mockery.

At the instant the water ball formed, the space suddenly became much clearer in his eyes. Like a blind man seeing light for the first time, the unprecedented sense stunned and delighted him.

Though it lasted only an instant, he still saw quite a lot.

This space was filled with a strange kind of energy.

Normally, that energy simply floated peacefully like air. But the moment he recited the incantation, the Triangle Glyph sent out a ripple. Under its influence, the idle energy suddenly gathered like tadpoles fighting over food.

And thus, the water ball in his hand formed.

Use the glyph as a vessel, drawing in the scattered energy around it for one's own use!

Gu Bei felt that he had discovered the essence of magic.

Yet he soon became depressed again, because he realized this did nothing to help his current situation. On the contrary, it extinguished the last sliver of hope he had left.

Because he could sense that this energy had an attribute.

That moist, life-filled sensation was water.

And when he recited the Binding Spell incantation again, he could feel a force of rejection from that energy.

Clearly, the Binding Spell did not require "water" energy.

Gu Bei also tried to sense energy of other attributes, but unfortunately, all the energy in his Consciousness Space was "water." And when he left the Consciousness Space and tried hard to sense the energy in the real world, the only thing he could feel was still "water."

It was like picking up children after school at a kindergarten entrance. You could only pick up your own child. No matter how much you called for someone else's child, they would not go with you.

What was more, Gu Bei's "child" seemed rather naughty. Even when he gave it his all, "water" would only obey him slightly within a limited range. To command it as easily as his own limbs, he still had a long way to go.

"Who would've thought that after being clever all my life, I'd end up tied to a useless water type like you?" The system seemed to have noticed as well and began wailing dramatically. "Why can you only handle 'water'? What the hell is that useful for? It isn't even enough to wash your feet!"

Unwilling though he was, Gu Bei could only agree with the system.

This Water Ball Spell was completely useless!

His plan to turn the tables with magic had already fallen through. He had only just acted tough about switching hunter and prey ten minutes ago, yet karma had come back to slap him in the face so quickly. Gu Bei could feel the malice of this world.

There was no way out. No way out!

Gu Bei opened his eyes, left the Consciousness Space, and returned to the real world.

The evening breeze was unchanged, stirring the rustling canopy. Michelle crouched on a nearby branch, motionless as a statue, her hood hiding her face. Gu Bei had no idea what expression she wore.

In fact, ever since transmigrating here, Gu Bei had never seen Michelle's face clearly. She was like the most wicked and mysterious witch in a movie, full of bad intentions and seemingly always brewing an even more terrifying plan.

Gu Bei stared at her, wanting to find some flaw in those inscrutable robes.

"Finally, are you ready to sacrifice your looks?"

The system popped up at the worst possible moment again, prattling on. "You've finally seen reason. I'm deeply gratified. Here, read this Weibo post with over ten thousand shares, <You'll Be Left Behind If You Don't Read This! One Hundred Love Confession Secrets from Italy>. I guarantee you'll win her over..."

Gu Bei ignored it.

He planned to find a sliver of hope through Michelle, though certainly not through the system's rotten suggestion. Even if he could bring himself to do it, she might not be interested in him. From everything that had happened since his transmigration, it was clear that he did not possess the protagonist aura that made women throw themselves at harem leads.

He intended to talk to Michelle.

Or rather, he intended to negotiate with Michelle. Just as he had when he first arrived in this world, he would use the last bargaining chip in his hand to persuade Michelle into making a deal and let him live.

It sounded hopeless, but things had reached this point. He was willing to try anything. Even if it was a bad idea, could things possibly get worse than they already were?

He was not about to give up so easily.

So, he adjusted himself and spoke.

"Miss Michelle, your current situation is very dangerous."

The first principle of negotiation: act superior, bluff, and make dire warnings. It was the same as a fortune teller telling everyone they met that their forehead was dark and they would soon suffer a bloody calamity. The point was simply to scare them.

Of course, he knew that one sentence alone would not frighten Michelle. He had a follow-up.

This was the conversation Gu Bei imagined.

"Miss Michelle, your current situation is very dangerous."

Michelle scoffed. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Gu Bei gave a cold smile. "You thought sacrificing Annie would delay the pursuers, but unfortunately, the Riser Family already knows your target is the Treasure Vault. They're waiting there for you to walk straight into their trap!"

Michelle turned pale in shock. "Impossible! How could they know?"

Gu Bei threw back his head and laughed. "Hahahaha! I left signals along the way long ago and notified the family pursuers. Didn't expect that, did you? Hahahaha! Admit defeat, Michelle. Your intelligence is far inferior to mine!"

Michelle looked as if struck by lightning, her face drained of color. "What do I do? What do I do? Am I going to die? You must know how to save me. Tell me quickly, I'll do anything you say."

Then Gu Bei could take the opportunity to make a deal with Michelle, promising that after returning to the family, he would find a way to help her obtain the Treasure Vault. Michelle would be overwhelmed with gratitude and escort him back safely. As for whether he would actually help Michelle... once he had escaped, did he really need to honor such an empty promise?

That way, he would escape safely while Michelle lost both her money and her prize.

Simply... perfect!

Gu Bei stroked his chin, unable to stop himself from feeling smug.

However, as anyone with a functioning brain would expect, things did not go nearly so perfectly.

Michelle ignored him.

Gu Bei did not panic. He knew things would not go as smoothly as they had in his imagination. The road was winding, but the future was bright. How could such a tiny setback possibly stop him?

So he continued.

"I'm not trying to scare you. Your situation really is extremely dangerous. Michelle, don't you believe me?"

At last, Michelle spoke.

"I believe you. You're right."

Gu Bei was momentarily speechless.

Something felt off.

Michelle was as calm as a eunuch in a brothel. "You left signals along the way and notified the Riser Family's pursuers. Unfortunately, they already know that my target is the Treasure Vault and are waiting there for me to walk into their trap."

"..."

Gu Bei was utterly dumbfounded.

The system spoke in his mind in a tone of heartfelt indignation. "I hate people like this the most. They don't follow the script, and they even steal everyone else's lines. How is the person playing opposite them supposed to respond?"

Though the metaphor was painfully cliché, Gu Bei still wanted to say that he really wished he could crawl into a hole.

Even without seeing Michelle's face, he could feel the mockery and intellectual suppression pouring from beneath her hood. He had still held onto a shred of hope that Michelle had not noticed the signals he left, but...

He had no choice. The words were already out, so Gu Bei could only force himself to continue.

"Uh... even if you noticed the signals I left, you may not have cleaned them all up."

But Michelle said, "No, I didn't remove your signals. They're still there."

Gu Bei was somewhat surprised.

She had not removed them? Then the Riser Family's pursuers could see those signals. They would wait at the entrance to the Treasure Vault, and Michelle would not get what she wanted. In that case, Gu Bei had bargaining power. This was no different from his original plan!

Why? Why would Michelle shoot herself in the foot?

Gu Bei was starting to get curious.

"Why? You know this doesn't benefit you."

A cold laugh came from beneath the robe.

But just as Gu Bei thought she was about to explain something, a sudden change occurred. Michelle pulled a dagger from somewhere and swiftly pressed it against Gu Bei's throat.

"If you don't want to die, don't make a sound!"

The blade pressed tightly against the skin of Gu Bei's neck. The icy touch sent a chill down his spine.

What the hell was this woman doing?

If the dagger moved forward even a single millimeter, there would probably be a fountain of blood in this forest.

Gu Bei realized that in that brief instant, he had broken out in a cold sweat.

Though badly startled and engulfed by the shadow of death, he still forced himself to calm down.

No matter how crazy Michelle was, she still needed him. She would not kill him for no reason. Since she had told him not to make a sound, something must have happened. He should watch for now and really keep quiet...

At that moment, a disturbance suddenly came from the distant forest.

Gu Bei could not help holding his breath.

He saw a solemn squad of knights gradually emerge from the darkness.

There were roughly a dozen people in the squad. Though they rode horses, their formation was as orderly as a geometric model from a math problem. Everyone was covered from head to toe in armor, its surface carved with dense patterns that were gorgeous without losing their solemnity.

Even more astonishingly, in the dark forest, those suits of armor emitted a faint golden glow on their own. Bathed in Holy Light, these knights looked like gods descending upon the world, inspiring an involuntary urge to worship.

There were only a dozen of them, yet they carried the presence of an army of thousands.

The moment the knights appeared, Gu Bei could clearly feel Michelle's entire body tense.

Gu Bei could not help feeling curious.

Who were these knights? What did their appearance here have to do with Michelle? Why was she so nervous? Could they... be the pursuers sent by the Riser Family?

Of course, Gu Bei was not foolish enough to call for help. The dagger was still at his throat, and asking for help would only make him die faster.

The knights did not notice Michelle and Gu Bei hiding in the tree either. They seemed to merely be passing by, moving quickly and disappearing from Gu Bei's sight before long. After they had gone far away, Gu Bei could feel Michelle visibly relax.

After a while, Michelle withdrew the dagger.

Gu Bei touched his neck. The coldness of metal still lingered there, leaving him shaken.

What exactly was Michelle trying to do? Who were those knights? And... why had Michelle not erased the signals he left earlier?

At that moment, his mind was filled with too many questions.

Before he could ask, Michelle spoke.

"Lord Riser, please forgive my rudeness. It was only for the sake of safety. Relax. Now, I can answer your earlier question."

Michelle wiped the dagger with her sleeve and put it away.

Then, looking in the direction the knights had gone, she continued, "As for your signals, unfortunately, I had no need to remove them at all."

Gu Bei was unsettled. "What do you mean?"

Michelle fell silent for a moment. As though recalling something, she spoke with a hint of mockery.

"Did you really think pursuers would come to save you? Unfortunately, both you and Annie were deceived. There are no Riser Family pursuers. The only ones who have been following us are them."

No pursuers?

Gu Bei could not process it for a moment.

How could that be? Had the family already abandoned him? The "Riser Family pursuers" Michelle had kept emphasizing all along, and which even Annie firmly believed in, had merely been a lie?

What the hell was this?

This woman had been plotting against everyone from the very beginning. She had not even spared her own "underling." Gu Bei, a novice transmigrator, had naturally fallen for it. He had spent the entire journey making little calculations over these supposed pursuers, wasting a whole night of emotion. Even "what the hell" was not enough to describe how he felt right now.

Without pursuers, wasn't he doomed?

"Wait, then... who are they?"

Gu Bei forcibly calmed himself from his shock and fear of death. After thinking for a moment, he pointed in the direction the knights had gone and asked. That squad of knights had left an extremely deep impression on him.

His instincts told him that those knights were his last hope.

Yet Michelle's tone was somewhat strange as she answered.

"They... are the Church's 'Purifiers.'"

Gu Bei pressed on. "Purifiers? What do they purify?"

At that, Michelle fell silent for a while. Then she suddenly laughed a few times for no apparent reason, her voice hoarse like rusted blades grinding against each other. She looked toward the direction the knights had come from and spoke with a touch of disdain, though it also sounded somewhat like self-mockery.

This was her answer.

"They purify Annie."