Chapter 114
Chapter 114
My heart churned with turmoil at Old Zhao Seven’s words.
I thought I had finally eradicated that monster, Du Ruhai, and could finally give the victims the justice they deserved. I was one strike away from the end, only to be told at the final moment that this was a Body Double?
I stepped closer and scrutinized the Impostor. I truly couldn’t see any difference between him and Du Ruhai; I couldn’t even distinguish a difference in their temperaments.
The only thing that suggested something was wrong was his skin. It didn’t look like the skin of a middle-aged or elderly man; it looked like that of someone in their twenties or thirties.
I had found it strange before, but thinking back now, many things about him seemed off.
He had said one thing to Du Yuwei: “He is waiting for you.”
The “He” there must have referred to the real Du Ruhai.
And when he said I wouldn’t understand what it meant to “strike a stone with an egg” until I died-now I understood. He meant that I would have died without ever knowing he was a fake, and that the person who killed me was merely a Body Double.
The real Du Ruhai was playing God, toyed with everyone.
I have to say, the rich really know how to fucking play, even going as far as using a Body Double.
My face turned green with rage. I raised my hand and slapped the Impostor.
“You bastard, you wasted my emotions!”
“No class at all! Using these deceptive tricks!”
The Impostor looked up and glared at me. Even though his life was in peril, his gaze remained stubborn. “That’s why I say you’re all stupid. You think you’re worthy of fighting him? Reflect on your own status.”
Slap!
Old Zhao Seven also raised his hand and delivered a slap, cursing, “You’re just a Body Double, what are you acting so arrogant for? You think you’re the real deal, trying to boss me around?”
“Let me ask you, where did the tattoos on your body come from? Who is your Master? Are you and Du Ruhai people trained by The Organization?”
I didn’t understand what Old Zhao Seven was talking about.
But the Impostor remained defiant. He seemed unafraid of death as he glared provocatively at Old Zhao Seven. “I know nothing, and I will say nothing. What can you do to me?”
He received a brutal beating for that, but no matter how hard Old Zhao Seven hit him, he wouldn’t reveal a single piece of information.
This man was incredibly stubborn.
“Fine, you want to play the martyr? I’ll let you live a little longer.”
Old Zhao Seven hauled him up and told me to follow him to a certain place.
I hurried over to peel the Yellow Talisman off the corpse of the One-Eyed Old Man and tore away the yellow cloth wrapped around his eyes.
The moment I ripped the cloth away, a dark shadow lunged out of his body. It moved rapidly toward the pool, diving into the water and vanishing instantly.
I noticed Old Zhao Seven had pulled out more talismans. He seemed to want to capture Du Yuwei, but in the end, he didn’t make a move.
I went back to pick up Li Xiumei’s ashes and peeled off the talisman covering them.
However, Li Xiumei didn’t react at all. It was likely because Old Zhao Seven was here, and she didn’t dare to move.
Previously, we all thought Old Zhao Seven was also afraid of Li Xiumei, but looking at it now, it wasn’t clear who feared whom.
Old Zhao Seven was too mysterious; his actions were even more unpredictable.
“Seventh Master, where are we going?”
“To the Basement.”
“There’s a Basement here?”
“Of course there is. Why else do you think I was hanging around with him?”
Old Zhao Seven glanced at me. “If you lot hadn’t caused me trouble time and again, making Du Ruhai suspicious of me, I could have uncovered even more. After you came here last time, he gave the order to have me hunted down.”
I shrank back, looking embarrassed. “Who told you to keep messing with us? Why can’t we just work together?”
Old Zhao Seven looked dead serious. “Do you know why we can’t?”
I asked him why.
“Because you’re stupid!” he shouted, getting worked up. “Stupid, do you hear me? Even this Impostor says you’re stupid!”
I was getting chewed out thoroughly.
Even the Impostor let out a mocking chuckle at my expense.
I snapped, slapping him across the face. “What are you laughing at? Be serious!”
At that moment, the beastly markings on Old Zhao Seven’s face faded, and his eyes returned to normal, though his complexion remained pale.
I wanted to ask what kind of spell that had been, but before I could, he spoke up. “Even though you’re stupid, you did manage to find things I hadn’t. I didn’t know Du Ruhai was actually Lv Zhengxian at first.”
I said, “But you knew him before you ever met us.”
Old Zhao Seven nodded. “He paid me a fortune to consult with him on a few matters.”
“What kind of matters?” I asked.
Old Zhao Seven replied, “How to bring the dead back to life, and some general metaphysical knowledge.”
I frowned. “Doesn’t he already know the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange?”
Old Zhao Seven grew solemn. “His version of the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange is incomplete. I only found that out recently. I told you before that the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange has inherent limitations; the most common flaw is that it leaves the practitioner with a defective Fate Pattern. But that’s only one of its drawbacks.”
“Fifteen years ago, the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange was performed twice. Lv Zhengxian’s Soul Seizure of Du Ruhai was the second time. However, Lv Zhengxian learned the technique from the person who performed it the first time. When that person taught him, they deliberately altered a small part of it. This caused a fatal flaw in the second ritual-a flaw he still hasn’t been able to fix.”
“So, the first Seven Deaths for Life Exchange fifteen years ago was the most successful one. But that’s only relative to the second; even the first exchange had its own defects.”
It was a bit of a mouthful, but I managed to grasp the gist of it. My expression darkened. “I was the subject of that first Seven Deaths for Life Exchange fifteen years ago. What defect do I have…”
Old Zhao Seven seemed to be intentionally avoiding that question, skipping right over my words. “The flaw in the second exchange manifests in both Lv Zhengxian and Du Ruhai needing to remain alive. When one soul occupies the other’s body, the former’s original body cannot die, and that body must contain the other person’s soul.”
I was completely lost. I didn’t understand the flaw in the second Seven Deaths for Life Exchange at all.
“Could you explain that a bit more simply?”
“Essentially, after Lv Zhengxian performed the Soul Seizure on Du Ruhai, Lv Zhengxian’s original body had to stay alive, and Du Ruhai’s soul had to be transferred into Lv Zhengxian’s body. If either body dies, both of them die instantly,” Old Zhao Seven explained again.
I was shocked. “So the real Du Ruhai is actually still alive? Is it possible for them to switch back?”
Old Zhao Seven sighed. “The reason your father was blackmailed is that Lv Zhengxian has already become Du Ruhai. Your father can’t testify against him, but he can ruin your father’s life forever.”
“The only way to bring Lv Zhengxian to justice is to force his soul back into his own body.”
“I’ve been working toward that goal ever since I discovered the secret of that Basement.”