Possessed by an Evil Spirit?

Hearing the old man's words, Zhou Yun's expression stiffened slightly.

His teacher... it seemed he really knew his stuff.

He gathered his focus and observed Lucretius for a moment.

He saw it... traces of the immaterial universe... so that was it.

Seeing Zhou Yun's somewhat dazed expression, Lucretius thought Zhou Yun had failed to grasp the deeper meaning behind his words.

"I know it may seem strange for me to ask this so suddenly."

"But think carefully. Have your emotions ever fluctuated unnaturally? Have you experienced any hallucinations? Have you had thoughts that did not match your personality?"

"Answer according to the spirituality in your heart, according to your intuition..."

"Yes." Zhou Yun nodded.

"I know this is difficult to understand, but if you think back carefully, you should be able to—yes?"

Lucretius froze for a moment, not expecting Zhou Yun to answer so readily.

His gray-white brows rose slightly as he studied his student in surprise.

In Lucretius's memories, Zhou Yun had been an excellent Scholar, but his thinking had been rather rigid and conservative, lacking sharpness and flexibility.

He could remember a great deal of knowledge, yet found it difficult to understand deeper things. His learning was extensive, but he was remarkably dull toward matters of the outside world, and utterly ignorant of metaphysical matters.

That was precisely why, even though Lucretius had noticed Zhou Yun's talent for spirituality, he had not taught him those ancient "mysteries."

But now, judging by Zhou Yun's tone, he seemed to have long noticed that something was wrong with him.

Was he really that perceptive?

After all, Lucretius had only begun to suspect that Zhou Yun might have been affected by some kind of "mystery" or "sorcery" after hearing Tita say that Zhou Yun had actually attempted suicide.

That meant the other party's skill was extraordinary. Otherwise, Lucretius would not have failed to notice.

Yet his somewhat slow-witted student had actually detected it on his own.

Possession by an evil spirit...

The thought surfaced in Lucretius's mind.

His expression grew slightly grave.

If an evil spirit had possessed his student...

Though it was only an unproven suspicion, though possession by evil spirits was a matter from ages long past—

He still calmly pulled open the drawer beneath the table.

Caution was the key to his survival through so many ancient ruins.

His fingers found the black stone hidden in the drawer.

He had excavated this stone from among the mountains.

The people of Macragge, who had crawled beneath the rule of the King of Sorcery during Old Night, believed that this stone possessed the power to drive away sorcery and suppress evil energy.

The stone truly was effective. Merely holding it made Lucretius feel his "spirituality" being suppressed, while an intense nausea rose in his throat.

He clenched the stone, abruptly rose to his feet, and pressed it toward Zhou Yun's brow.

Bang!

The sound of a leg bone striking the wooden table rang out, and Lucretius felt his body pitch forward.

He flailed his arms, trying to grab something to steady himself, but in the end, he caught only empty air.

His body crashed uncontrollably onto the wooden table and slid forward from inertia.

Then the world spun. The table seemed to circle around him once, and when the scene before his eyes finally steadied, Lucretius realized he was lying on the floor.

It seemed I fell down... That was the only thought left in Lucretius's muddled mind.

"Teacher, why did you suddenly—You gave me quite a fright." Zhou Yun's surprised voice sounded beside Lucretius. He helped him up and guided him back into his chair. "At your age, you shouldn't be making such big movements."

Lucretius was still dizzy, his thoughts confused. For a moment, he could not make sense of what had happened and merely instinctively tried to tighten his grip on the black stone—

Where was the stone?

Lucretius looked down at his palm in surprise and found that the stone had vanished... no, he quickly discovered where it had gone.

Zhou Yun was pinching the black stone between two fingers, examining it with great interest.

This thing...

The moment Lucretius reached for the drawer, Zhou Yun had already noticed.

The old man's little movements could not escape the hunting skills Zhou Yun had inherited from the hunters of the forest, nor could they escape the keen senses Greyfax had trained into him.

So when Lucretius stood and tried to press the stone against Zhou Yun's brow, Zhou Yun merely gave the table in front of him a light kick and tripped him.

Holding this stone made Zhou Yun feel a faint sense of nausea.

His psychic power was being suppressed, and the Veil between him and the Warp seemed to have grown thicker.

This stone could suppress psychic power and weaken the Warp's influence... could it be Blackstone?

Blackstone was a material of unknown origin. All that was known was that it was deeply connected to the Old Ones, the Necrons, and even the C'tan during the War in Heaven. It might have been created by any one of them.

Under normal circumstances, it could suppress the power of the Warp and restrain psychic effects. Yet in certain situations, its polarity could also be reversed, turning it into something that amplified the Warp.

"What is this?" Zhou Yun looked at Lucretius with feigned confusion.

Lucretius stared at Zhou Yun for a while, seemingly wanting to see what effect the stone had on him.

Only after seeing that Zhou Yun showed no reaction did Lucretius relax slightly and say, "This is a relic from the era of the King of Sorcery. People of that time believed... it could suppress evil energy and drive away evil spirits."

"...You think I've been possessed by an evil spirit?" Zhou Yun's expression did not change as he spoke with a trace of helplessness. "Why are you so superstitious?"

He held the stone, which was likely Blackstone, and lightly pressed it to his brow.

Zhou Yun showed no reaction at all.

Lucretius let out a small sigh of relief.

"You've changed a little, and it worried me." As he spoke, he extended a hand toward Zhou Yun, signaling for him to return the stone.

"When someone fails to die after wanting to, they're bound to change a little." Zhou Yun's expression remained unchanged as he stuffed the piece of Blackstone into his pocket.

Lucretius opened his mouth slightly, but in the end, he only waved a hand. "Keep it. Take it as a protective charm."

There were still seven or eight such stones in his drawer.

"Since you've noticed it, I'll speak frankly."

Lucretius's voice turned more serious.

"You've read historical records from the era of the King of Sorcery, haven't you?"

"You may have been affected by ancient 'sorcery' passed down from that era."

"But you needn't worry too much. The era of the King of Sorcery ended long ago. Most sorcery that remains today can only affect and stimulate your mind, make you ill, or cause hallucinations. Even the strongest can only control a few wisps of flame."

"Keep that piece of Blackstone with you. It can help you resist sorcerous interference and break malicious curses."

Could it break the curse from the Yellow Skin too... Zhou Yun muttered inwardly.

Even with the Blackstone on him, the Golden Throne within his will remained just as clear and radiant, seemingly entirely unaffected.

"Of course, compared to metaphysical curses, your debts are the more troublesome problem right now."

"I've heard that during the era of the King of Sorcery, powerful sorcery could tear open vortices leading to purgatory, summon storms among the stars, and even elevate mortal flesh into immortal spirit bodies. But in this age, the threat of sorcery is far less than that of a single debt contract."

Lucretius sighed.

"I heard Tita tell me about your debts. I'll lend you some money as well, enough to get you through the next payment."

"But your debt has been divided into too few installments. Even if you make it through this one, the next will still be difficult..."

"The money you owe belongs to the Semuneta Temple... I have always kept my distance from the followers of Semuneta, the goddess of beauty. I don't know anyone in their temple."

"Hmm... how about this? I have a priest friend in the Temple District. Go find him and ask whether he knows anyone at the Semuneta Temple. See if they can increase the number of installments, even if it means paying a little more interest, so your monthly burden will be lighter."

As he spoke, Lucretius pulled out a sheet of paper, wrote something on it, and handed it to Zhou Yun.

"Take this with you. If he can help you, he definitely will."

The Temple District... Zhou Yun had actually been considering whether to make a trip there.

He wanted to find a suitable environment there and buy the things he needed to help himself break through the "Realm" and awaken his psychic talent.

However, thinking of his tight finances, Zhou Yun looked up at Lucretius.

"Teacher."

"Do you have any spare funds? Can you lend me some money now?"

"Huh?"