NOVPUBChapter 186: Chapter 185 The Shape of Symmetry
Chapter 186 -185 The Shape of Symmetry
“What’s the situation at sea? Have we got any results?” Ge Wei asked after a moment.
“The enemy was much trickier than anticipated, and they couldn’t control the Joy Goddess. Thankfully, most escaped by jumping into the sea.”
The Priestess wasn’t clear about the specific arrangements of the Paradise side, only knowing that they had deployed six people, so Chaoyang didn’t have to tell the truth about the total annihilation of the troops, “However, they managed to obtain a lot of information about the Seventh Evil God, such as its Divine Envoy who calls himself…”
He suddenly lowered his voice in the middle of speaking.
Everyone present sensed something off about him.
“What’s wrong?” Ailuodi asked.
Chaoyang looked towards the direction of the study’s door and moved two steps to the left, slowly extending one foot into the fallen chandelier.
“Stand behind me and take a look.”
The Angel curiously moved to his back, “…Apart from the ruin, there’s your back – what are you trying to show me?”
“Oh, right, I forgot you’re rather short. Step back a few more steps.”
Ailuodi gave him a look and stepped back a few more steps. This time, the picture became much clearer—Chaoyang was facing the door of the study, with a bookshelf standing on each side of him. Although the books on them had been chopped up, their overall frame hadn’t been destroyed. Beyond the bookshelves, one side had a painting and the other didn’t; and finally, at the corner of the wall on the left was a stone pedestal for art pieces, while the other side’s brick wall had collapsed, the broken bricks forming a small slope.
“Bookshelf, painting, stone pedestal. Bookshelf, blank space, ruins?”
“It’s not a blank space. The painting frame was smashed; the nails for hanging paintings are still in the wall,” Chaoyang reminded, “And the strike extended all the way to the corner, causing the brick wall to collapse.”
“You mean to say… This arrangement is symmetrical.” Ailuodi couldn’t help but mutter, “If a stone pedestal were placed at the right corner of the wall, that is.”
“What on earth are you talking about? Can someone explain this to me?” Ge Wei was utterly perplexed at the side.
“Order of Causality. This is the name Mr. Fork gave to the Evil God,” Chaoyang rapidly recounted the information obtained from the ship, “And among his worship practices for the Evil God, one of them was symmetry.”
A bolt of thunder suddenly exploded in Ge Wei’s heart!
Her expression changed, and a trace of vigilance crept into the eyes she directed at Chaoyang, “You don’t mean to suggest…”
“It’s just a hypothesis. The study has been destroyed too severely; we need other evidence.”
“And what about the corpses on the ground? How do you explain that!?”
“Didn’t Aibuvich also ‘die’? My people saw him on the ship—of course, we’ve confirmed that it definitely wasn’t Aibuvich.”
“But this makes no sense at all; I cannot think of any reason to connect them! Most followers of Heretical Cults are mad, not for any other reason but because only a madman can endure the influence of the Evil God and in turn believe they’ve gained its favor—while those who can’t cope are called hysteria patients. Do you think the Earl is mad? He is not in a desperate situation, why would he need to commit an act that entails such a high risk and brings him no benefits at all? Just based on this flimsy symmetry, you want to accuse Li Qiang Ola, the Earl, of a relation with the new Evil God? No one in the world would believe you.”
Anyone could see Ge Wei’s agitation.
It was the first time she had spoken so much in front of the two men.
Even when the Lord was discovered killed by an evil being in the study, she hadn’t been this agitated.
After all, if a Lord died, there would be a new one to replace him.
But what if this person is connected to a Heretical Cult, perhaps even holding a fairly high position within it?
Replacing him with another High Priest might not be something they’d look forward to handling.
“Calm down; what I said was just speculation in that direction,” Chaoyang’s tone, on the contrary, seemed rather relaxed, “Besides, if he is a cultist, many questions will have answers. For instance, why there are so many cultists hiding among the nobility and rich, yet the outside world has no reaction. Or why the former Commander of the City of Defense could be easily taken out by someone’s plot… perhaps even your deployment to Magnificent Castle was just a trap set by the other party to round up the rebels all at once.”
…” Ge Wei gazed at him for a while before sighing out loud, “I thought I was annoying enough, but it turns out you care even less about the norms of this world. Of course… your power allows you to do so, but once some things are done, the situation you’ve created in the world may collapse.”
“Why do you say that?” Chaoyang couldn’t understand.
“No one can slander a noble with a title and get away with it because reputation and interests are intertwined, and interests are something that no noble can discard—in this regard, one could say they are even more united than the members of a heretical cult.”
“I think what she means is that accusing an Earl must be done with great caution, even if he is already dead. His family and other nobles won’t let bygones be bygones just because of your slander,” Ailuodi interjected. “So if you accuse without evidence, it’s almost like making the whole world your enemy.”
Even so, Chaoyang showed no signs of changing his mind, “I’m not asking the whole world, just you. If more evidence points to the lord, would you turn a blind eye, or join me in driving him into a corner?”
Ge Wei took a deep breath, her eyebrows arching, then she revealed a crazed smile, “Come on, let’s see if he’s truly a member of a heretical cult.”
“Good, let’s go find Shandela.”
Chaoyang nodded in satisfaction.
“You’re going to confront her outright? She’ll kill you.”
“I’m looking for evidence, not a confrontation,” Chaoyang corrected, “After all, aside from the housekeeper and attendants, she knows the lord’s manor best. Leisk, we’re off.”
“Leisk?” It was only then that Ge Wei realized there was another person in the room, “Who is this—”
“Oh, I forgot to introduce him.” He touched his forehead and shook his head. “His name is Leisk, a follower of the Hidden Mist Sect, and I suppose he’s half a Divine Envoy…”
“A member of the Hidden Mist Sect?”
Ge Wei’s eyes flashed with murderous intent instantly.
The Ouroboros hissed, separating and biting onto her arm!
“Wait, the Hidden Mist Sect is not a cult of the Evil God; it’s like The God of Mechanism, they are both Latter Gods!”
Chaoyang hurriedly stopped her.
“What are you saying? The Hidden Mist Sect is a legitimate religion?” Ge Wei’s reaction was even stronger than before, her disbelief painted across her face, no longer bothering with formalities, “They are the culprits who destroyed the City of Defense!”
“Don’t rush; this story is quite long. We’ll talk about it in the car.”
“It’s pointless.” Leisk seemed to have become accustomed to this kind of treatment. “She is doomed not to remember.”
“Then I’ll just repeat it several times a day,” Chaoyang smiled. “Later, we’ll have the journalists write this history in the newspapers. Once the past of the Sect of Hidden Mist is circulated, even if some people forget, they’ll quickly be informed again.”
He didn’t continue.
When Ailuodi drove the three of them to the military base in the City of Defense, Chaoyang had already finished explaining the ins and outs of the Hidden Mist Sect.
“So now you understand… why the Envoy of Mist wanted the New World covered in fog, right?”
Ge Wei blinked, as if snapping out of a daze.
“Ah, please continue.”
“I’ve already finished,” he patted the shoulder of the person in the passenger seat. “So this boy named Leisk…”
“Wait, who is this person?” Ge Wei suddenly showed a surprised expression, one hand touching the cross, “When did he get on the car!?”
Chaoyang and Ailuodi were taken aback.
“Didn’t I say not to mention my lord’s name, especially when dealing with the truth?” Leisk’s smile held a hint of solitude.
Chaoyang imperceptibly closed his eyes and upon reopening them, he had adopted another beaming smile, “You don’t remember? His name is Leisk; he is a follower of the Paradise Master.”
