No More Material-Waiting for the Punchline

A moment later.

The rune gave no reply.

Yanlin White Tower did not press for one. He simply stood at the street corner, quietly watching the Court.

Silver Wolf stood a short distance behind him.

She did not ask.

Ever since Yanlin White Tower had arrived here, his actions had clearly differed from before.

Apparently, he did not want this meeting to leave overly obvious traces.

About three minutes later.

A narrow side door of the Court suddenly opened.

A figure emerged from within.

The woman wore a black chief judge's robe, with a dark gray short cloak draped over it.

Her golden hair was tied behind her head.

There was no sword at her waist, only a silver judicial insignia.

After stepping out, she did not immediately look toward Yanlin White Tower. Instead, she stood on the steps and looked up at the night sky.

Only after confirming that nothing was amiss did she slowly make her way over along the street.

Elvira Nordwin—the Court's youngest judge.

She was also the friend Yanlin White Tower had mentioned before.

She did not walk quickly, stopping only when she was five or six meters from Yanlin White Tower. "What happened?"

Yanlin White Tower looked at her. "That was faster than I expected."

Avela said flatly, "If you have something to say, say it. I don't like beating around the bush."

She glanced at Silver Wolf beside him, her gaze lingering for only an instant. "And this is?"

Silver Wolf raised her eyes. "Silver Wolf."

Avela nodded lightly. "All right." She did not show any particular curiosity.

Without exchanging pleasantries, Yanlin White Tower went straight to the point. "I want to ask about something that happened here a month ago."

Avela's brows furrowed slightly. "Where?"

"Ostorli."

Avela fell silent for a moment, then said, "Does it have something to do with the Abyss?"

"Mm."

She turned to look at a narrow stone alley nearby. "This isn't the place to talk. Follow me."

The three of them walked more than ten meters down the stone alley beside the Court.

This had originally been an old passage for Court personnel, with extinguished magic lamps hanging along both walls.

Avela stopped at the very end. "This is my testing ground."

She pressed a hand against the wall. A faint ripple of magic spread outward. "No one will be listening."

Yanlin White Tower nodded. "I trust you."

Silver Wolf said nothing, her gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

Even the sounds from the distant street were completely cut off by the thick stone walls. It was indeed suitable for a conversation.

Only then did Yanlin White Tower speak. "A month ago, did anything unusual happen to the Radiant Law Statue in the square?"

Avela did not answer immediately. She lowered her head to straighten her cuffs while recalling the past.

"No." Avela looked up at him. "Did someone desecrate the statue?"

Yanlin White Tower did not answer directly. "We found something capable of affecting cognition."

Avela's expression changed noticeably for the first time. "What?"

"Yes."

Avela fell silent. After a few seconds, she gently shook her head. "How could that be..."

Her voice was low, but fear had already overflowed from her eyes.

"What is it?!" Yanlin White Tower reacted instantly, drawing his sword while chanting a prayer into the air.

Silver Wolf snapped her fingers, dispelling the cognitive alteration on Avela. "Continue... She must have triggered some condition and gotten hit just now."

"Avela?" Yanlin White Tower stepped forward.

The next moment, Avela's body suddenly swayed, as if she had abruptly lost all support.

Yanlin White Tower caught her with quick reflexes. "What's wrong?"

Avela dazedly gripped Yanlin White Tower's arm and muttered, "A mole! A judge! My Lord, can You still hear me? A parasite is inside the noble Court..."

Yanlin White Tower explained, "Miss Avela must have remembered something. Let her recover first."

Silver Wolf, however, was in no hurry.

[Avela]

[Level: 66]

[Class: Codex Arbiter]

[Status: Abnormal]

[Detection: Abyss residue.]

Avela's body trembled slightly. She slowly pushed Yanlin White Tower away, braced herself against the wall, and glared furiously down the path they had come from. "Someone betrayed the Lord! He made us fall under his influence."

Yanlin White Tower did not press further, merely waiting for her to slowly recover. After quite a while.

Avela finally raised her head. Her face was still pale, but clarity had returned to her eyes.

"Griffin Aldermon! It had to be him!"

"Calm down, calm down." Yanlin White Tower patted Avela comfortingly. Once she had truly settled down, he finally revealed the real bombshell. "Your Lord has gone missing."

"Impossible?" Avela instantly looked at Yanlin White Tower, disbelief filling her eyes. "The Lord was still here a month ago..."

"..."

Avela fell silent. She had noticed the crucial timing—one month ago.

Silver Wolf silently watched their exchange, then finally spoke to speed things along. "Let's get to the point. Who has come into contact with your statue? I found something incredible there."

At the same time, Silver Wolf showed her the Ace of Spades. Though Avela could not understand it, she knew Yanlin White Tower would not deceive her.

"...I don't remember. I'll go back and look through the records. Suspicious behavior like that would definitely have been documented."

Yanlin White Tower immediately stopped Avela. "Hey! Don't rush. I want to know about Griffin."

"Him? A treacherous parasite. Over this past month, he leaped from being a blasphemer despised by all into a god-descended one revered by all."

Avela looked thoroughly disgusted as she continued angrily:

"He even represented Ostorli in visits to other city-states. Ugh... He also... made a judge strip and perform in the Court."

"Common-sense alteration?" Silver Wolf rubbed her chin and looked at Yanlin White Tower.

Yanlin White Tower wore a thoughtful expression as well, but he spoke first. "We must dig out that vile parasite and let everyone return to their normal lives."

Avela covered her mouth and added, "He won't return until tomorrow."

"That's good," Silver Wolf said, clapping her hands. "Avela, please investigate who came into contact with the statue a month ago."

Avela paused as she looked at Silver Wolf, then glanced at Yanlin White Tower.

"No problem."

Yanlin White Tower said, "Avela, remember that you never saw us. As for the investigation, it must be entirely your own doing. This concerns the God of Radiant Law."

"I understand."

Avela then let out a long breath, adjusted her state, and left.

Watching Avela's retreating figure, Silver Wolf asked Yanlin White Tower, "How do you know her?"

"She was the guide for my hidden class. I helped her grind achievements, and she helped me exchange materials." Yanlin White Tower casually sat on the table. "A fair trade. She's also the youngest judge now."

Silver Wolf said, "Her position seems a little padded."

"Grinding achievements was real, but so was her strength."