The Unveiling of Deceit

It hurt… It hurt so much… This pain, a torment of the soul, was a hundred, even a thousand times more agonizing than the physical anguish she had just endured. Jing stared in disbelief at Grandma Ila and Grandpa Joseph, who had only moments ago been speaking and smiling with her. Now, blood ceaselessly welled from their chests, and frothy crimson bubbles escaped their lips.

“No… Don’t… Grandma Ila… Grandpa Joseph…”

Jing watched their bodies collapse to the ground, life draining away, and cried out in utter despair.

“Jing… be… strong… Live…”

With his last reserves of strength, blood bubbling from his mouth due to shattered organs, Grandpa Joseph spoke, his voice barely a whisper.

“No… Grandpa Joseph… don’t die… We promised! We were going to eat Grandma Ila’s Wuli Rib Porridge together this morning!”

Jing knelt on the ground, unable to suppress the overwhelming grief that tore at her heart.

As Jing tried to cover Grandpa Joseph’s chest wound with her hands, she suddenly noticed her own hands were stained crimson, as if they had been submerged in blood. Why? She wondered, her mind reeling.

At that very moment, Bo Aibiyi, standing on the podium, broke free from Mr. Hake’s grip, whose hands had gone weak with shock. Bo Aibiyi then shrieked, his voice tinged with madness.

“Look! This demon murdered her own kin with her own hands! It’s that demon! While you weren’t watching, she used those terrifying claws to kill two elderly people who had trusted her without reservation! The demon’s claws are still drenched in blood!”

Bo Aibiyi’s face was a mask of contorted malice as he pointed a finger at Jing, who sat on the ground, her face etched with sorrow.

Jing, hearing Mr. Bo Aibiyi’s words, looked at the man on the podium, the one she had once held in some regard, with an expression of utter disbelief. She had never imagined why Mr. Bo Aibiyi would frame her.

Why had the formerly gentle and refined Mr. Bo Aibiyi revealed such a terrifying countenance? Why had Mr. Bo Aibiyi… killed Grandpa Joseph… and Grandma Ila…? They were such kind, such gentle people… Why would Mr. Bo Aibiyi do this?

Jing felt her heart gradually being consumed by an emotion, a malicious sentiment slowly brewing within her. This was a feeling the old Jing had never known, not even when her world was destroyed, or when her parents became cold weapons to protect her. She had never felt this kind of emotion.

“No… Jing… you mustn’t…”

Umi’s voice suddenly resonated in Jing’s ear, attempting to stop her. Yet, Umi’s usually endearing voice now sounded, like Jing’s own thoughts, akin to a demon’s whisper.

“Why… why Umi? I feel so much pain. Why? Grandpa Joseph and Grandma Ila were so innocent. Why did Mr. Bo Aibiyi kill them… and why is he framing me…?”

Hearing Umi’s voice, Jing abruptly suppressed the surging malice and whispered, her voice laden with sorrow.

“Father and Mother left me by your side precisely to prevent this. Jing, you absolutely must not be controlled by such malevolence, you absolutely must not…”

Umi’s voice grew fainter and fainter, until it finally faded into silence.

Jing cast a complex gaze at the distorted face of Bo Aibiyi on the stage. Then, she rose to her feet, drawing [Penetrator] from her back. The blade’s tip aimed at Bo Aibiyi, and she made a forceful downward swing.

Jing’s gaze sent an instinctive chill down Bo Aibiyi’s spine. When he saw her draw the long blade from her back and make that sweeping motion, cold sweat broke out all over his body.

‘Why… why was none of this going according to plan? Shouldn’t this naive woman, abandoned by everyone, have fallen into despair and become his plaything? Could these lowly people…’

Bo Aibiyi’s eyes swept over the villagers of Balyaas Village. Seeing the hateful stares directed at him from all sides, his face twisted even further.

“You damned pieces of trash! Didn’t you see that demon behind you just commit murder? Why aren’t you afraid? That demon has drawn her blade now to slaughter all of you lowly wretches! Why! Why are you looking at me like that?!”

Bo Aibiyi instinctively took a step back under the villagers’ scrutiny, then roared, his voice laced with resentment.

“Bo Aibiyi, you ungrateful wretch, you foolish liar, you despicable murderer! Do you truly think you can deceive us with your clumsy lies? We initially thought you were only framing Jing for some unknown reason, but now, you’ve actually murdered two people just to uphold your idiotic deception!”

Mr. Hake stood behind Bo Aibiyi, his voice seething with rage.

“What are you saying? I’m the murderer? Ha… haha, what a joke! I am Lord Bo Aibiyi, great among the powerful and commanding the masses in Morgan City! I came to your dilapidated village out of the goodness of my heart to point out the demon, and you dare to suspect me?”

Upon hearing Mr. Hake’s accusation, Bo Aibiyi burst into an exaggerated, twisted cackle, shouting furiously.

“You should know that I’m an old mercenary. However, you would never guess that, despite my physique, I’m not a warrior, but a mage, would you? From the moment you first arrived here, I sensed a constant magical aura around you.

“And just now, before you killed Grandpa Joseph, because we were so close, I clearly detected the spell you cast. If I’m not mistaken, it was [Water Ray], correct? Then you used some magic to stain Jing’s hands with blood, intending to fake the appearance of her being the killer… It’s regrettable that I didn’t realize your depravity then, and didn’t intervene in time to stop you. I must say, Bo Aibiyi, as a human being, your vileness is truly beyond words.”

Mr. Hake watched Bo Aibiyi’s face contort further with each of his words, and a mocking smile played on his lips.

“This disgusting scum, this murderer! Uncle Hake, don’t let him get away!”

“A life for a life! This scoundrel thought his plan was brilliant, but it’s riddled with holes! He kept boasting about how clever he was! He’s just an idiot!”

“Don’t worry, everyone, I’ve already sent word to my elder brother in Morgan City. He’s with the Morgan City Guard, and he definitely won’t let this killer go!”

“But he said he’s a peak-level Archmage. He wouldn’t kill all of us to silence us, would he?”

“What a joke! There are so many of us in Balyaas Village, how could he kill us all? Besides, don’t we still have Jing and Uncle Hake?”

“Heh heh… hahahaha… hahahahaha! You… you truly are enough! Why… why can’t you pieces of trash just quietly remain as refuse! Why do you defy me again and again? I’ll give you one last chance… make that woman give me the two blades from her back, and I’ll spare you… Otherwise, all you ants will die!”

Listening to the villagers’ words, Bo Aibiyi erupted into a manic laugh, though his laughter was punctuated by the grinding sound of his teeth.

“I knew you had ill intentions, but I never expected your goal was truly Jing’s two long blades… You damned bastard, I remember warning you not to target Jing, or else all the villagers of Balyaas Village would become your enemies!”

Mr. Hake looked at the man, who seemed on the verge of losing his sanity, with an expression of amusement.

“You’re just a retired old mercenary. Even if you were once a mage, do you truly believe you can stop me, a peak-level Archmage? I was originally going to spare your life, considering you saved me, but now it seems you’ll be the first to suffer!”

Bo Aibiyi clutched his forehead with one hand, speaking in a venomous tone.

“Mr. Bo Aibiyi, Mr. Hake only just mentioned he used to be a mage. However, you might not be aware that Mr. Hake is not just a mage, but a Great Mage.”

Village Chief Rica, standing beside Mr. Hake, interjected.

“A… a Great Mage? Impossible! How could a Great Mage live in such a small village? You’re lying to me! [Ice Crystal Blade]!”

Hearing this unexpected news caused Bo Aibiyi’s brain to momentarily freeze. Although he was already a peak-level Archmage at a young age, Bo Aibiyi, having been at that peak for a long time, knew perfectly well that the gap between an Archmage and a Great Mage was far more than a mere rank.

Even a low-tier Great Mage could effortlessly toy with and kill four or five peak-level Archmages. However, Bo Aibiyi, his mind clouded by rage, chose to refuse this information. He immediately unleashed a fifth-tier instant-cast ice spell at Mr. Hake.

“[Mirror Reflection][Ice Ray]”

Mr. Hake merely waved his hand dismissively at the ice crystal hurtling towards his face. A mirrored surface suddenly materialized before him. The ice crystal Bo Aibiyi had fired instantly reflected upon impact, redirecting itself towards Bo Aibiyi’s own body.

Then, Mr. Hake slid his finger forward, and a wrist-thick ice blade shot forth, piercing through Bo Aibiyi’s thigh with incredible speed. It struck the very same leg that had been injured before.

“Ahhhhhh! It hurts! It hurts so much!”

Bo Aibiyi had sensed trouble the moment the mirrored surface appeared before Mr. Hake. His ice shield had only just managed to block the reflected ice crystal, but Mr. Hake’s ice blade had mercilessly pierced his thigh.

Although not much blood flowed due to the ice blade’s freezing effect, the intense pain made Bo Aibiyi instinctively collapse to his knees, screaming incessantly.

“You brat, I believe you should clearly understand the disparity in our strength now, shouldn’t you? Transform Jing back immediately, and I will personally take you to Morgan City to inquire about the proper punishment for a murderer who has committed such a crime within the Norachi Kingdom!”

Mr. Hake looked down at Bo Aibiyi, who was kneeling on the ground with an ice blade impaling his leg.

“Ha… ha… I… I never thought that a plan I believed would be so easy… would encounter so many complications… Thankfully… thankfully, I had a backup… Haha… hahahaha!”

Bo Aibiyi, still kneeling on the ground, gasped for breath, then burst into laughter.

“What? You—”

Mr. Hake, about to unleash a torrent of curses at Bo Aibiyi, suddenly felt his legs give way. He found himself unable to control his body, despite his mind remaining perfectly clear.

It wasn’t just Mr. Hake; at that moment, all the villagers of Balyaas Village, including Jing, collapsed to the ground. An unsettling look of apprehension flickered in their eyes.