Chapter 352: Ghost Level Hypnosis

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The guard warrior Li Ster, with a full beard, said bluntly, "Isn't that just what people are saying? Everyone said you were taken by a mysterious person into the fourth layer of the Illusory Realm. To be honest, a few of us got drunk and made bets the other day. Guess what? You made me lose money!"

"I told you long ago to trust me when gambling," Old Wang lazily rolled his eyes at him. This guy was a notorious gambler at the bar, losing every bet, earning him the nickname "cash cow" there. "Should've listened to me - now you're out of pocket again."

Li Ster burst into laughter, slapping Wang Feng heavily on the shoulder. "Why do you think I bet you'd die? It's precisely because I always lose! Hahaha, but this is the first time I'm happy to lose money!"

Old Wang paused, then laughed too. "Well, thanks for that. I’ll buy you a drink later!"

After just a few words of casual chat, a soldier had already reported Wang Feng’s return. As soon as they bid farewell to Old Li and entered the military camp gates, before walking far, a messenger came running swiftly: "Wang Feng, the Sword Demon summons you!"

In the command post of the Edge Fortress, the exorcists on either side of the sand table had withdrawn, leaving it empty. Yakray and several deputies were present.

When Old Wang pushed open the door, the hall was buzzing with low conversations. The appearance of Haikula was a recent event, and most of their discussions had revolved around it. When the messenger reported Wang Feng’s return, they found it hard to believe and immediately summoned him.

As Wang Feng entered, a brief silence fell over the room, all eyes instantly focusing on him.

Honestly, all the Holy Sanctuary disciples who had entered the Soul Illusory Realm and returned alive bore changes in demeanor and strength that couldn’t escape the notice of these battle-hardened commanders. Yet, this Wang Feng... seemed completely unchanged from before entering the Illusory Realm. It was as if this life-and-death trial was nothing more than a short trip for him, which had them scratching their heads. Clearly a man who only cares about rune research—to such a person, nothing in the world besides runes could possibly move them, could it?

But how did a Tiger Peak disciple—or rather, someone who didn’t even seem to have reached Tiger Peak—survive under Haikula in the fifth layer of the Illusory Realm? What exactly happened inside?

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Kid, you deserve congratulations."

There was a hint of sincerity in Yakray’s words, perhaps justifying the Teleportation Pearl he had given Wang Feng.

"Take any seat. This isn’t a formal meeting; no need to stand on ceremony." Yakray’s face betrayed no emotion. His previous interaction with Wang Feng had been out of respect for an old friend’s sentiment. Now that the matter was settled, he had no further connection with Wang Feng. A glint flashed in Yakray’s eyes—what concerned him more were the events that followed in the Soul Illusory Realm. "Tell us what happened after the third layer."

Wang Feng had already prepared his response on the way back. He now wore a look of frustration. "Sir, I truly don’t know... When that person abducted me, he pressed something on me, and I passed out immediately. When I woke up, I saw a terrifying monster with nine heads. Its aura alone nearly suffocated me. The man intended to use me as bait, but the nine-headed monster suddenly roared at us—the sound was horrifying! I fainted again. When I came to, I was already in the desert... Sir, I really have no idea what happened!"

The listeners frowned. They had hoped to uncover the truth from him but were met with utter cluelessness. Then again, for someone as weak as Wang Feng, being manipulated by either the mysterious man or Haikula was to be expected.

"What was the situation when you saw Haikula? Wang Feng, take your time. Look into my eyes, don’t be afraid..." Gu Jilian’s questions were more detailed, like a woman’s intuition, but more importantly, her gaze locked onto Wang Feng. Within her pupils, a faint blue glow swirled, forming a small vortex as if trying to drag his soul into its depths.

Old Wang’s gaze stiffened slightly before going blank. His eyes glazed over as he stared dully at Gu Jilian and replied, "What situation? I was terrified out of my mind..."

"For instance, the surroundings, the landscape, etc."

"...I remember a little. It seemed to be on an island," Old Wang said dully, his eyes blank but his brow furrowed as if straining to recall. "There were a few statues on the island... The nine-headed monster was chained..."

"What kind of statues?" Yakray asked.

"One looked like a beastman, carved very robustly. The others were probably human statues?" Wang Feng struggled to remember but eventually shook his head. "It's all fuzzy... Oh, one statue stood out because it had no legs, but what looked like a fish tail."

Gu Jilian pressed further, "Anything else? Like the person who abducted you—what did he look like? Any distinguishing features?"

"...I don’t know. After waking up, I was always facing away from him. Never saw his face. Only knew he was male, with a hoarse voice and a strong Nine Gods accent."

Gu Jilian asked a few more questions, her eyes with blue vortices never leaving Wang Feng throughout his answers.

An absolutely reliable method—a ghost-level exorcist using hypnosis on a Tiger-level, especially when the target was unprepared. Unfortunately, Wang Feng’s answers left them disappointed.

Yakray waved his hand, signaling Gu Jilian to stop. The blue vortices in her pupils dissipated, and the blankness in Wang Feng’s eyes quickly cleared.

He massaged his temples tiredly, as if suffering from dizziness, and said apologetically, "Sorry, sir. I must be dead tired. I think I dozed off just now..."

"No need to apologize." Yakray nodded, seeing they'd gotten all they could. "Go rest properly. You’ve been through a lot these days."

After Wang Feng left, a brief silence fell over the room. In truth, even before his return, their desk had been piled with relevant materials—lists of personnel from various factions infiltrating Dragon City. There were bound to be omissions, but those who should have appeared yet weren’t were conspicuously missing from the list.

"Wang Feng mentioned that the man had a hoarse voice with a Nine Gods' accent, which could serve as a reference," Tamucha said. "After all, in that man's eyes, Wang Feng was already a dead man. There was no need for him to fake an accent in front of Wang Feng."

Gu Jilian, however, shook her head. "If he wanted Wang Feng dead, he wouldn’t’ve needed to expend any effort at all. Leaving Wang Feng alive might’ve been precisely to use these signals to confuse our judgment."

As the two voiced their analyses, the room grew lively. Other vice-captains chimed in, saying, "The other party probably just wanted to capture bait, but facing Yakray, it wouldn’t’ve been of much use. I think Yakray broke free on his own. After all, no one has any experience with such an environment."

This viewpoint gained the approval of most, as luck would be useless against such a monster.

"Cough... What do you think?" someone asked skeptically. "Is it possible Wang Feng was lying just now? I felt he regained his clarity a bit too quickly. Maybe he obtained the secret treasure from the fifth layer of the illusion..."

Everyone paused, then burst into laughter, dispelling the recent tension. Overall, the Holy Sanctuary came out ahead this time.

"Lao Jin, are you doubting my hypnosis skills?" Gu Jilian glared, then added, "I didn’t sense any resistance from him, and his consciousness was natural. As for regaining clarity quickly... after all, he’s the one who invented the Fusion Rune. Great intelligence often comes with strong willpower. Such a recovery speed is within the normal range."

"A being like Yakray isn’t someone Wang Feng could outwit or take advantage of," Yakray also waved his hand with a faint smile. "Wang Feng’s words are highly credible. Based on his description, the stone statues suppressing Yakray perfectly match the ancient records of the Four Sages’ suppression. Perhaps the intruder’s battle triggered some condition to break the seal, or perhaps Yakray and the intruder reached some agreement, leading to its escape... Now that the illusion has dissipated, no one knows whether that mysterious intruder is alive or dead, let alone where they might be. Uncovering the truth behind this is beyond our capabilities. The Holy Sanctuary will find an answer. Such matters should be left to more specialized professionals to investigate slowly."

The vice-captains all nodded. The Commander then said, "The fact that Nine Gods and the League of Blades didn’t settle their score in the illusion isn’t a good sign for us. Heh, I bet the conservatives will have even more reasons to cut our border defense budget. Shouldn’t we..."

The room fell silent, expressions turning serious. The outcome of Dragon City held profound significance, greatly influencing confidence across all levels in the League of Blades’ ability to defeat Nine Gods. Without victory, both the upper echelons and the common folk would grow apprehensive, and the conservatives might gain even more ground.

Yet Yakray wore a faint smile, seemingly unconcerned. He simply waved his hand, cutting the Commander off. "Don’t overanalyze or speculate needlessly. The duty of the Blade Fortress is to guard the border. We must focus on our responsibilities and not meddle in matters beyond our scope. Discussions like this are forbidden from now on... Alright, dismissed!"

Yakray had no choice. Military funds were vital—soldiers needed to eat and feed their families. But he couldn’t allow unrestrained discussions among the ranks, or discipline would suffer.

......

After leaving the command center, Old Wang made a beeline for his dorm.

He felt both amused and lucky. Gu Jilian’s hypnosis was quite skilled. Had it been before he obtained the second Heavenly Soul Pearl, he might’ve resisted her control but certainly couldn’t’ve acted so naturally and effortlessly. The twin Heavenly Soul Pearls in his spiritual sea now spiraled like twin stars, slowly orbiting each other. Only now did Old Wang feel he had sufficient confidence to face this world.

Whistling a tune, he returned to the dorm, only to find it empty. The other bunks were still occupied—Mo Tong’s large bundle remained, and Kela and the others’ belongings were scattered about, clearly indicating they hadn’t left the Blade Fortress yet.

And nobody even came to greet me.

Old Wang smirked, took a shower, and changed into fresh clothes. He was genuinely exhausted. From the fourth layer onward in the illusion, he hadn’t gotten a moment’s rest. His stomach growled, but his eyelids were heavier. He face-planted onto the bed and was out instantly.

As night fell, he slept soundly—until a loud noise startled him.

Bang!

The door was kicked open. Even in deep sleep, such a sound would wake anyone.

Bleary-eyed, Old Wang saw several dark figures burst in, their eyes glowing ominously in the dark, instantly jolting him awake.

"Who’s there?!"

Before he could finish, a small figure lunged at him fiercely.

Holy shit—! Old Wang nearly activated the Heart-Eating Curse, thinking it was an enemy, until he heard a familiar voice: "Waaahhh— you jerk!"

It was Winnie! He realized just in time.

Snap!

The lights snapped on as Xue Zhiyu stepped in. Winnie’s eyes were red, but her hands were relentless. Like a wildcat, she pinned Old Wang down, yanking his ears while yelling furiously, "Wang Feng, you heartless bastard! We’ve been searching everywhere for you, going crazy with worry! And here you are, not even bothering to say a word, just sleeping like nothing happened! Did you sell your conscience to a dog?! I’m so pissed!"

Looking for me? Ah!

Old Wang smacked his forehead, caught between laughing and facepalming. When the fifth layer of the illusion vanished without him reappearing in Dragon City, of course they’d gone nuts searching for him. They must’ve spent the whole day tearing up the desert around the city... He’d completely spaced on this. He should’ve had the guards give them a heads-up when he got back.

It was his own fault. Old Wang smiled and patted Winnie on the head, about to say something comforting, when a dark figure lunged forward, squashing Winnie and Old Wang flat on the bed.

Ah Xi was laughing through tears, his voice hoarse but brimming with excitement: "Sob—Feng! I thought I’d never see you again!"

The sincerity in the chubby guy’s emotions was palpable. Old Wang wanted to pat his back but couldn’t reach, instead feeling suffocated under the weight—this guy was getting heavier by the day.

"Damn it!" Winnie was squished into a human pancake, her temper flaring. "You overstuffed dumpling! Get the hell off me!"

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