I'm a villain in the superhero world.

Do you want to understand the meaning of your existence?

Do you want to know why you exist in this world and possess this power of the sun?

Do you want to find that figure that always appears in your childhood memories?

[Perhaps you weren't satisfied with our slightly abrupt invitation last time, but that's okay, I think you wouldn't mind talking to me again...]

After all, nobody doesn't want to know about their past, right?

Two days later, in Sihanoukville, an auction will be held aboard the "Oriental Pearl" cruise ship, which is about to depart.

I await your arrival, carrying all the answers I have.

This was the first message Ji Mingyang saw on his phone after opening his eyes this morning.

The sender was anonymous, but without a doubt, this person was the mastermind behind that treacherous banquet not long ago.

If the description of Yin and Yang is correct... then this person should belong to the Yin-Yang Bureau.

At this moment, Ji Mingyang no longer cared which side this person belonged to.

At this moment, only two questions left him bewildered and stunned:

Who are he/she?

Why did he/she know about their background?

All of Ji Mingyang's current memories begin from when he was four years old—

He couldn't recall almost any of his previous memories.

This includes one's own background and parents.

To outsiders, he was an unwanted child, abandoned by his parents at an orphanage from a young age.

But only Ji Mingyang knew that it was absolutely not like that!

He must have parents, and he was definitely not abandoned.

Because occasionally, when Ji Mingyang has nightmares at night, he always dreams of a huge, scarlet fire.

In that blood-red purgatory...

All Ji Mingyang could ever see was his mother's blurry face and another black figure walking toward him.

He didn't know what it was, but it was enough for him to realize that there were doubts about his origins.

For so many years, Ji Mingyang had no clue about this.

Today, the mastermind behind it all actually pointed out the problem that had puzzled him for over a decade.

He said he had the answer...

She said she would be waiting for him on the "Oriental Pearl" cruise ship the day after tomorrow, carrying the mystery of her origins—

Should we believe it?

Or rather, should we go?

After realizing what had happened, Ji Mingyang faced a difficult decision.

No one wants to be unaware of their origins and history.

But with everything unknown, do I really want to take this risk?

Ji Mingyang is actually quite arrogant at heart.

He didn't like it, and he didn't think it was a matter of course to bother others, even if that person was his only friend.

Even if he just asked, Lü Buyi would definitely lend a helping hand.

He originally didn't want to trouble Lü Buyi with this matter, nor did he want to implicate Yin Qing.

But when I finally made the decision and decided to go alone...

Ji Mingyang then thought of Lü Buyi, who possessed overwhelming power and knew almost everything about him.

Can I really hide my current actions from him?

Compared to acting alone, wouldn't it be much better to just honestly confess?

Ji Mingyang hesitated for a moment when he thought of this.

"Ultimately, no matter what choice we make, we can't get around Old Lu..."

"and--"

"Is it possible that, like in those melodramatic plots in novels and comics, he actually already knows about my background, and that hiding it from him would be pointless?"

Ji Mingyang believes the probability of this idea and possibility is very low.

Although it's unknown how the mastermind learned about his background.

But if Lao Lü knew, why hasn't he told me yet?

"In short, it's best to tell him about this."

"Anyway, in some ways, I'm already so debt-ridden that I have nothing to worry about—"

After making the final decision, Ji Mingyang learned of Lü Buyi's current location by asking Gu Yu.

Without much hesitation, he walked toward the library standing beneath the tallest tree in the Glory Courtyard.

I knocked gently on the door, then pushed it open and went inside.

—Gu Yu is right, Lü Buyi is sitting deep inside right now.

He was reading through an ancient book compiled entirely in a language that Ji Mingyang could not understand.

Since Ji Mingyang's arrival was not unexpected, Lü Buyi didn't even look up before beckoning him to sit down next to him.

He approached, sat down, and leaned over to look intently at the ancient book that Lü Buyi was reading.

Ji Mingyang was immediately intrigued by the incomprehensible text.

He is very interested in history.

When he was in school, he sometimes thought that if he didn't have the ability, becoming an archaeologist might be a good choice.

Therefore, although Ji Mingyang could not recognize the characters on it, he could roughly tell the size of the ancient book in Lü Buyi's hand.

This should be a scripture—

Ji Mingyang made this judgment.

However, because he had little knowledge of religion, he couldn't tell which sect's scriptures they belonged to.

It doesn't matter if he doesn't understand, as long as Lü Buyi next to him can understand.

Moreover, Lü Buyi could always see what he was thinking.

So even before Ji Mingyang had asked, he had already started Lü Buyi's Miaomiao Classroom.

Do you know which religious sect's scriptures this is?

"have no idea."

Ji Mingyang answered honestly, and Lü Buyi, showing great professional ethics, gave him his answer as well.

"This is a rubbing of a scripture left by the Nizari branch of the Ismaili sect of Shia Islam."

"Do you know what's written on this?" Lü Buyi asked, shaking the pages of the book in his hand without looking up.

"I don't know, please enlighten me, Professor Lü."

Ji Mingyang, as always, provided ample emotional value, and Lü Buyi didn't keep anyone in suspense.

"أنالستُقيدَأحدٍ،ولاالقيدُفيَّ"

"Ana lastu qayda ahadin, wa-lā al-qaydu fīya——"

Lü Buyi first read aloud the sentence inscribed at the top of the page where the scripture was located in Arabic and Roman.

Finally, he translated it and told Ji Mingyang the meaning of the sentence:

"I am not anyone's constraint, nor are I bound by any constraints."

"I am not free because of exemption, I am exempt because of freedom."

"The general meaning of the two translations above is essentially the same."

Ji Mingyang nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite: "So what does this sentence mean? Or what does it refer to?"

He was very perceptive; he could guess from just a few words that it must be describing the essence of some kind of power.

Lü Buyi was not surprised by this, just as he had said before, he knew Ji Mingyang better than Ji Mingyang himself.

"——عص"

"This is the name of the ability that the previous sentence referred to. There are many translations, so I won't list them all."

"As for its effectiveness, I'll tell you when you've learned Arabic."

Lü Buyi always liked to stop halfway through his sentences, leaving people with endless room for imagination.

This is why Ji Mingyang is now looking at him with a resentful expression, her face clearly showing her deep disgust for his "riddler" behavior.

But Lü Buyi didn't care about this. He simply closed the ancient book in his hand, shrugged, and turned to look at Ji Mingyang beside him.

"Alright, let's get down to business. What did you come to see me about?"

"Are you here to chat, ask for advice, or have something come up and you'd like my help?"

Ji Mingyang blinked: "If I said there's a little bit of both, would you accept that?"

"Alright." Lü Buyi said calmly, "Please state your question, Mingyang."

Something happened to me.

Ji Mingyang paused for a moment, then continued:

"About my background..."