Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 691 Evil Whispers (Part 2)

“I remember, I will always remember, when I testified in court, the victim’s mother was furious,” Slimani said absently. “But what could she do? She was just a widowed peasant woman who couldn’t even afford the bail for the second appeal.”

“Grand Inquisitor Brennan, that impartial and incorruptible judge,” Thales, who had been silent until now, spoke up, “did he say nothing when he appeared in court?”

Slimani shook his head.

“I was lucky that Brennan wasn’t scheduled for that trial,” the defense attorney said with a wry smile. “But even if he had, what difference would it have made? He knows the law, while we know the legal provisions—and the rule of law in Emerald City is unparalleled.”

Thales remained silent.

“What happened to that peasant woman?” Hilly pressed.

Slimani shook his head blankly:
"I don't know, I didn't go... I didn't dare to ask."

He rubbed his face:

"And so, I escaped unscathed. My superior said I exceeded his expectations... Anyway, he kept his promise and gave me a chance to take the exam to become a guard officer. 'You'll be a good guard officer,' he said. A good guard officer, haha..."

Slimani couldn't stop laughing, his face full of sarcasm.

“But what can I do? Can I say no? My wife has been in poor physical and mental health since giving birth, and the salary of a regular guard…” He sniffed, his eyes welling up with tears, “We, we can finally move to a bigger house and afford servants.”

But his eyes dimmed:
"But after I confidently put on the uniform, instead of a baton, they gave me paper, pen, and ink..."

Thales seemed to have anticipated something and frowned.

Slimani nodded painfully:
"So, under my supervisor's instructions, I started writing the second investigation or case closing report, then the third, the fourth... and the next one, and the one after that..."

"The grain warehouse outside the city spontaneously combusted during the year-end inspection, and I managed to twist it into a case of improper storage due to dry weather; a colleague in the same department accidentally killed a vendor while chasing him away, and I painstakingly dug out that the deceased had underlying health conditions; four notices were written in the town of Havistown, but they couldn't explain the mess of women trafficking, so I wrote them a fifth one, instructing them to lock up the protesting madwoman..."

“When you think you can escape the test, you are wrong,” the priest Chadwi shook his head, his expression sorrowful. “Every attempt to escape and take shortcuts only makes the postponed test more cruel.”

Slimani's speech grew faster and faster, as if he were possessed:
"And then there are the guards like Caqueret, who were in charge of receiving the prince. Do you know how he rose from head jailer to guard? And that's not all. There's also the mysteriously missing loot from the Canal Guard Bureau, the Blood Bottle Gang's drug trafficking business in the warehouse, and several murder cases that are unclear whether they occurred near the coast or on the high seas..."

Thales felt increasingly distressed as he listened.

"The messenger of the gods, Tamer, has spoken!"

Chadwi suddenly raised his voice, interrupting Slimani.

“The setting sun, as it rests, illuminates the faith; what is given will surely be given in return,” the scripture he spoke seemed to possess a power that brought everyone to a slightly clearer state of mind. “The river of hell, destined to be the test of the heart, will surely repay what is owed.”

Slimani regained consciousness and stared blankly at the stove.

"And finally, I thought, I thought all I had to do was leave the guard room, but, but..."

He looked at Thales, his eyes filled with confusion and helplessness:
“Look, I once wanted to be a good person, a good husband, a good father, a good vigilante, and even a good lawyer.”

"Instead of sitting behind a desk, using words to distort the truth, confuse right and wrong, and frame and slander others."

Slimani said blankly:

"once."

No one spoke; the tunnel was completely silent, save for the occasional groans of pain from Catherine in her sleep.

“Uncle Hauser, Aunt Gadama, I... I don’t want to go to the surface anymore,” Dorothy said disappointedly, putting down her romance novel. “It’s... so complicated there.”

Kadama hugged her.

Slimani took a deep breath and came to his senses.

"Then, perhaps the goddess of the setting sun learned of what I had done and sent down punishment..."

His gaze froze, his expression blank.

"She no longer protects us. My wife and I have never been able to have children again."

"Never again."

Slimani's words echoed in the tunnel, sounding incredibly fragile.

“But if your child was born healthy, everything would be different from the start,” Vonniak’s voice rose, trembling slightly as he spoke, “would everything be alright then?”

Slimani's eyes cleared for a moment.

He was in a daze for a moment, then chuckled softly:
"Maybe."

“No!” Hilla said coldly, making Slimani tremble. “Of course not.”

Thales sighed and patted Hilly's hand:
"we do not know."

“The goddess’s tests are everywhere,” Chadwi said, his voice unusually gentle. “The birth of a child is a test, the landlord’s blackmail is a test, the boss’s threats are a test, writing every report is a test, every moment of life is a test.”

“Smoking addiction is also a test,” Hilly said dismissively.

Chadwi paused, looking somewhat embarrassed, but he still insisted on finishing his sentence:

"If your child was born healthy, Mr. Slimani, then congratulations. Compared to many others, you have avoided this unfortunate ordeal..."

He paused for a moment and continued:
"But even without this test, if you remain the same, unchanged, unawakened, and introspective, will you necessarily do better next time you face different challenges?"

Slimani gave a bitter smile.

“Yes, look at me now,” he said dejectedly, “I’ve reached a dead end, I’m at my wit’s end.”

Chadwi frowned slightly: "But..."

But he was interrupted.

“Priest Chadvi,” Slimani said, somewhat lost in thought, his words tinged with hope, “would my daughter, so incomplete as she is, have her soul return to heaven, to the side of the goddess of the setting sun?”

Chadwi took a deep breath: "Of course..."

“Of course not,” Hilla said coldly.

Zha Dewei choked.

"The gods' heaven is just a fabrication, a way to deceive the powerful into paying for their sins and the powerless into keeping to their own devices. Everyone, everyone's soul will go to the River of Hell after death, where they will be utterly destroyed, without exception," Hillai said coldly.

The light in Slimani's eyes dimmed.

Thales glanced at Hilly, but the latter's expression remained indifferent.

Slimani let out a sigh of relief, as if he had given up on something;
"Then tell me, with sins as heavy as mine, will I be able to see her after I die?"

Hilly was about to speak, but this time, Thales gripped her hand tightly.

“I don’t know,” Thales said as gently as he could, “but at least, at least I believe that when you speak your mind and truly repent—you have passed the test of this moment.”

Hilly raised an eyebrow, but Thales gripped her wrist tightly, preventing her from speaking and ruining the atmosphere.

Slimani's breath hitched.

He shook his head with a wry smile: "It's too late."

"It's not too late."

Chadwi took over the conversation, a smile on his face, but unfortunately, given his appearance, he looked more like a creepy old man trying to fool children.
"It's never too late."

But Slimani seemed encouraged; he sniffed, his eyes welled up, and he nodded gratefully.

"Thank you."

The tunnel remained quiet for a while before the priest of Chadvi slapped his thigh, breaking the silence.

“Alright, the sun is starting to set,” he patted his head and pointed to the sky. “I have to hurry back to the temple, otherwise they might check up on us…”

“Then we should head back to our hideout, Popo, follow me,” Hauser stood up and called to Granny Gadama and the others, “If you need any help, come find us anytime. You all remember how to get to our tunnels, right? Wyatt?”

Those numerous winding, up-and-down tunnels?
Thales smiled and said, "Of course."

Ah, thankfully, the mountains embraced his footsteps.

May he never lose his way.

Watching the large group of Chadian peacekeepers and Hauser leave in a scattered manner (Woniak even gave Thales a hard punch as he left), Thales let out a breath.

“Well, we should go now, Rolf, Teto, and Bro, um, Fatty Wyana, you guys stay here and keep an eye on them. Someone will come down to take over in two hours,” Thales called to Rolf and Brolf, who had finished resting. “Don’t forget our itinerary for today, Wyana.”

Hilly scoffed, but still stood up.

Slimani looked up in surprise:
"Oh, you're leaving? What about me?"

He looked in horror at the sleeping Catherine opposite him, then at the grim-looking Golov and Rolf:

"You're going to leave me with a gang leader who's being hunted down, and these two thugs on the run?"

Glov and Rolf stared at the defense attorney and snorted in unison, but when they realized that someone else had snorted at the same time, they turned to look at each other and snorted a second time in unison.

“Never mind,” Thales frowned as he watched them interact. “Two hours is too long. I’ll find someone to take over the shift soon.”

He turned his head and looked at Slimani:
"Trust me, Manny, it's safer for you to stay here now than to go out with us."

“No! Kid! No, I don’t know these two at all! You have to stay here with me, right? —” Slimani wanted to say something more, but Golov and Rolf grabbed his arms on either side and dragged him back without giving him a chance to resist.

Thales and Hilly exchanged a glance, then turned and left.

A few seconds later, Slimani finally stopped struggling, but then he realized something.

"Wait, Brother Wyman, there's something else!"

Thales turned around.

Slimani hesitated for a moment, but finally made up his mind and nodded seriously:

"Thank you, thank you. Whether it's for saving my life or for... my daughter."

Thales was silent for a moment, then nodded:
"I see."

Hilly, standing beside him, raised an eyebrow:
"Only him? Aren't you going to thank me?"

Slimani glanced at her and leaned back in disgust.

Thales glanced at Hilly and couldn't help but smirk.

“So take care, young Wyah, although I know that’s not your real name,” Slimani chuckled, sitting down on the bedding. “Yes, I remember now, the real Wyah Cassel Attendant wasn’t this thirteen or fourteen-year-old you. After all, he had to protect the Duke of Starlake; he couldn’t be younger than a fourteen-year-old prince…”

Ok?
A fourteen-year-old prince?

Slimani paused, stunned.

Thales was also stunned.

Glov and Rolf both frowned.

In the narrow, dimly lit tunnel, the group of people blinked.

In that instant, the defense attorney scrutinized Thales, his eyes widening in shock, and exclaimed:

"Sunset, ah! ah! ah! ah! You are, you are—that one!"

Thales's expression changed:
"Manny! Calm down!"

But Slimani was clearly unable to calm down; he pointed at Thales excitedly and shouted:

"My lord, you are... damn damn damn damn! I should have known, I should have realized it sooner. What other bastard in this world would dare to use the name of a prince's attendant to swindle people on the street, and even have maids serving him when he goes out..."

Hilly, who had been standing to the side watching the show, frowned upon hearing this.

Seeing that things were not going well, Thales rushed forward in a few steps, and together with Golov and Rolf on his left and right, the three of them threw the agitated Slimani onto the bedding and covered his mouth tightly.

"Manny, listen up!"

Thales held down the struggling Manny:
“Listen, you’re safe here, very safe. This big guy is from the Royal Guard, and the other one is…someone I trust. So, there’s no need to be so nervous, okay?”

Manny, whose mouth was covered, understood something and nodded with a "mmm" sound.

"So, you stay here, keep a low profile, take care of yourself, and wait for me to send someone to rescue you from Emerald City, okay?"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

"Very well, now I'm going to let you go. Don't get agitated, don't scream, don't struggle, okay?"

"woo woo woo woo!"

Thales gave a signal, and the three of them simultaneously let go, freeing Slimani, whose wig had been knocked off by the pressure.

"Your Highness, you actually came personally... Heavens, I was actually personally... By the way, why didn't you reveal your identity sooner?"

As soon as Slimani was freed, he couldn't wait to speak, gesturing wildly and his voice filled with barely concealed excitement:
"If you had identified yourself earlier, I wouldn't have had to, I wouldn't have..."

“But that depends on whether someone believes it,” Hilly rolled her eyes.

“Oh, calm down, Manny,” Thales had to gesture for him to calm down again. “At least, now you know, don’t you?”

"As the priest of Chadvi said, it is never too late, it is never too late."

For a moment, Slimani was stunned.

"Well, see you later."

Thales waved his hand, grabbed Hilly, and left.

But he had barely turned around when Slimani's voice rang out again: "Your Highness Thales!"

Thales sighed in anguish.

Why come again?

Slimani took a deep breath and was just about to continue when Golov and Rolf flanked him from the left and right.

“Listen, little Manny, if you dare say another word, just one word…” Golov stared at him coldly.

"Hmph! Hmm?" Rolf made a fierce gesture with a ferocious expression and gestured with his chin.

Oops.

Slimani swallowed hard.

but……

"Diop, that wool merchant who was silenced!"

The defense attorney strained to speak before being killed by two of the prince's most ruthless assassins: "He has connections with many high-ranking officials and nobles!"

Thales' expression changed, and he turned around.

"Oh?"

"Because, because Diop can do the dirty work for them!"

Slimani said anxiously:

“Diop has many illicit connections, from locksmiths and thieves on the street to outlaws of the Blood Bottle Gang. These dirty jobs, as long as the high-ranking officials go through Diop’s channels to pay and settle accounts, will leave no trace.”

Thales pondered for a moment, exchanged a glance with Hilly, and nodded.

“I already know—Diop is the one who manages the secret accounts for Kongming Palace.”

At Thales's prompting, Golov and Rolf reluctantly released Slimani.

"What? There's this layer too?" Slimani exclaimed in surprise, but under the unfriendly gazes of Golov and Rolf, he quickly cut to the chase:
“Oh, by the way, Your Highness, I should tell you that Diop wasn’t the only one who died… shortly before Diop died, one of his clients died.”

Diop's clients?

Thales's gaze sharpened:
"Who?"

“Jeff Rene,” Slimani said through gritted teeth, uttering an unfamiliar name. “He was my superior in the Security Bureau years ago. He was dismissed for dereliction of duty—that’s just a way of putting it; it was actually political infighting.”

“Jeff Rene?” Thales muttered the name, completely clueless.

Damn it, just like Lausanne II.

They still have too little information about Emerald City.

But Hilly, who was beside him, realized what was happening:
"Wait, you mean your boss? Could it be...?"

Slimani sighed:

"Yes, it's the person who promoted me from a temporary worker to a guard. You could call him my benefactor, my savior, or..."

He paused for a second, then continued:
"After being dismissed from his post, René lived out his retirement in the Blood Bottle Gang's territory, relying on his previous savings and connections."

Thales frowned:
"This René was Diop's client? How did he die? Why?"

Slimani nodded:
"According to the death report from the Security Bureau, René got caught up in a gang fight while playing cards at an underground casino and died in the sink. When he was found, his neck had been slashed, turning the sink water red."

Thales was puzzled, but then Golov remembered something and was startled.

"Gang warfare?"

The zombie glanced at Rolf:
"Wait, you're not talking about the Blood Bottle Gang's underground casino? The one Gamandia runs? The one where two bodyguards died in one night?"

Slimani was equally surprised:
"Yes, it's Gamandia's 'Harvest Casino,' how did you know?"

The zombie turned to the bewildered Thales:

"Because Gamandia—a casino boss—reported this at a Blood Bottle meeting: his casino was attacked by the Brotherhood, and two bodyguards died, one of whom... also died in the sink, staining the water red, just like this René."

Thales frowned. "What do you mean? Rene was killed by the Brotherhood?"

Slimani sighed.

"I don't know about the others, but as my former subordinate and gambling partner, I know that René stopped going to the casino a year ago. It wasn't because this gambler reformed, but because he was living off his savings and was heavily in debt. If he showed his face, he would be chased by creditors. You know, he came to me to borrow money just six months ago..."

Thales looked up:
"He shouldn't be in the casino."

Slimani nodded:
"He shouldn't have."

“So I continued my investigation… According to the information I got from the barbershop, René did not die in the casino,” Slimani continued. “The truth is, he died in his own home, just like that, his neck was cut open, and he bled to death.”

Hilly looked puzzled:

"Wait, then why did the police report that he died in the casino..."

“Because the report was tampered with, I know that all too well,” Slimani sighed. “Rene didn’t die because he was caught up in a gang fight. His body was taken to the Blood Bottle Gang’s underground casino and stuffed into a real fight—there was evidence, a location, and witnesses to corroborate it, and it was almost flawless.”

Thales realized:
"Someone is covering up René's death, making it look like an accident."

Slimani nodded and took a deep breath:

"And in Emerald City, who has the ability and audacity to use the Blood Bottle Gang's territory to cover up a murder?"

"Kongming Palace".

Thales concluded:
"Did the Blood Bottle Gang receive orders from Janne to cover up Rene's death?"

"why?"

Hilly spoke up in surprise, her position here only further perplexing Golov and Rolf.

Slimani shook his head, but his expression grew increasingly serious:

“I didn’t know, and I didn’t take it seriously at first, until I continued to investigate: on the same night, another person from the Blood Bottle Gang disappeared.”

again?
Thales frowned: "Who?"

Slimani swallowed hard and told the prince his intelligence: "A boxer, who fought in underground rings, went missing according to the Security Bureau's report. A few days later, his body was found in the river."

Golov was startled again:
"Wait, could it be the Blood Bottle Gang's underground fighting ring, the underground boxing business managed by Gutierrez?"

Slimani turned his head, puzzled:

"And how did you know that?"

“Just like the last one,” Golov stared blankly at Thales, “the Blood Bottle Gang’s underground ring. The fighters were attacked, and a few days later, their bodies were found in the river.”

Slimani slapped his forehead:
"So, this boxer is the same; it's yet another death report that's been altered with instructions—some big shot doesn't want the news of this boxer's death to get out!"

Thales pressed on:

"Who was that boxer? Why did Jenn cover up his death?"

“That’s the problem,” Slimani said, his breathing quickening. “That boxer, especially when his name is linked with Rene and Diop, things get really scary…”

How terrifying is it?

"Let's go try it together and we'll see!"

She turned around in her chair, her voice as bright and cheerful as ever:
"Don't worry, it's definitely not as exaggerated as in horror movies..."

“No, thank you,” he shook his head and looked back at his computer screen. “You know perfectly well I don’t like these things…”

"Hey, you have to be brave enough to try new things! That's a horror-themed escape room, you know..."

The voice remained enthusiastic and exuberant, urging him to try something new—

【wake up.】

Ok?
He was slightly startled and looked up from the code on the screen.

What woke you up?
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Are you even listening to me?!" the voice urged him.

He shook his head.

Ah, it must be because I've been running the model too much these past few days; I'm hallucinating from all the running. This damn R language...

[Wake up, Thales.]

Thales?
Who is that?
It sounds like a foreigner's name?

He sat blankly in front of the computer.

It's strange, why do I always feel like there's a voice inside me talking to me?

Manipulating time is Bloodthorn's forte, having brought down countless heroes. But you, you, Thales Star, are destined to meet your end. You should not stop here. You are not so weak. You should not succumb to this clumsy trick before you...

time?

Bloodthorn?
End of fate?

what?
Have you been reading too many Brandon Sanderson novels?
Wait a minute, I finished reading Hurricane Chronicle several months ago...

"Wu! Qi! Ren!" The voice started calling his full name, clearly indicating that she was about to get angry if he ignored her.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming... Uh, what did you just say?"

He answered her question, rubbing his ears, feeling inexplicably flustered.

Strange, what happened?

You still have your mission to complete.

Damn it, the voice in my head is real, and it's still going on...

His breathing became more rapid, and his blinking became more frequent...

"Wu~Qi~Ren~" The voice grew more and more ethereal and illusory, fading away from him.

It felt like being in another world.

Do not!
He grew increasingly panicked, trying to reach out to her, but found he couldn't find his hands.

what happened?

Where are my hands?

No, no, no.

Nothing is right about this!
[Wake up, Thales.]

This feeling is like, like...

It's like I'm...dreaming?
The moment he realized this, his forehead twitched.

It was as if something had broken free from its restraints.

【wake up!】

The next moment, Thales took a deep breath and woke up with a start!

"Ha, ha, ha—" Still shaken, he patted his chest, panting heavily, and apologized to the others in the tunnel, "Sorry, I was distracted just now..."

But Thales was stunned.

Sometime later, in the Ghoul Pit, Hilla, Slimani, Golov, and Rolf all lay on the ground.

Unconscious.

He stood alone in the dim light.

What...what happened?
Thales stared blankly at everyone on the ground.

What happened?
tread.

Footsteps sounded.

Thales was startled and turned around!

“That’s truly remarkable,” a strange voice echoed from the darkness, “that you remain completely unaffected, Your Highness.”

In that instant, the Sin of the River of Hell exploded!

It's like a wild beast that only awakens when danger is already upon it.

Be caught off guard.

Angry from shame.

Angry.

“I’m honored and gratified. Not everyone can chat with me through my ability—they call it ‘Whispers of Evil,’ supposedly taken from the ‘Sunset Cult’. How ironic, those monsters actually quote the classics of the Sunset Cult. Do they deserve it…”

Thales instinctively drew his JC dagger, but his mind was still a mess.

what happened?

what happened?

Just a short while ago, I was talking to Slimani...

How could it be so sudden—

"I bet the guy next to you is the lawyer the barber was talking about, the one who's been asking around everywhere?"

The voice continued to ring out in the darkness.

His hellish senses were heightened, and Thales saw his opponent clearly in the darkness:

A man completely covered from head to toe in black cloth, even wearing dark goggles, was slowly walking towards him from the other side of the tunnel.

Thales was jolted awake!
"You are……"

He realized what was happening, retrieved the description from his memory, and was filled with fear and shock:

"Los Sanch II?"

The man in black in the darkness gave a cold laugh.

He looked at the ground behind Thales—Slimani, with his eyes closed, was drooling and smiling.

"It seems I wasn't too late. Before he continued to ramble on—and thanks to his loud voice, which could be heard clearly even on the ground, I was able to find the right place."

Oops!

Thales gritted his teeth, raised his dagger at the enemy, and kicked Rolf and Golov on the ground.

But one of them was trembling violently, and the other was muttering something about "apple," showing no signs of waking up.

What, what happened?

How did the King of Lausanne II, a man I had only heard about in reports, end up here?

Shouldn't the Corpse Pit be a place known only to a very few people?
The most crucial question is... what do we do now?
The enemy slowly appeared in front of the stove, step by step.

"Ah! No, no, no!"

A gasp rang out, and Thales turned his head: 'Phantom Blade' Catherine, who had been fast asleep on her bedding, was jolted awake, staring incredulously at the man in black before her.

"Losang?"

Sure enough it was him!

Thales took a deep breath and forced himself to move—perhaps due to the other party's superpower, he now felt cold and numb in his hands and feet, and his movements were sluggish and difficult.

Move.

Get moving, Thales.

Get moving, damn it!

"Hello, Little Knife, we meet again," the man in black calmly waved to Catherine, making her even more terrified. "You're awake—oh, it's in pain, did they forget to give you anesthesia?"

Catherine pressed her hand to the ground in pain, trying to get up, but then collapsed.

Thales took a deep breath and forced himself into an "iron body" position.

no solution anymore.

Now, he's the only one here who can fight.

“Iron Body Style – a sword technique used by the Northern Army? That’s quite rare,” Losang nodded with interest, patting the sword at his waist. “Don’t worry, Your Highness, I won’t fight you.”

"Why?" Thales asked with difficulty.

Now, he feels that even moving his teeth is difficult.

"Because my employer specifically instructed that you must not be harmed in the slightest."

King Lausanne II, dressed entirely in black, scoffed disdainfully:
"Damn Kevin Deer."

(End of this chapter)