Chapter 198: Silver Dragon X Merman X Confessional (3) + (4)

Chapter 198: Silver Dragon X Merman X Confessional (3) + (4)

-1-

The system swiftly caught up on the full content of the song and fell into a vast silence.

Keding said confidently, "This song is a bit too much even for modern people, I know."

It was the rebelliousness that surged up when he saw someone who wouldn’t even expose their arms...

System: "It's hard to imagine how the whole city will react tomorrow."

After some casual chitchat, the destination was soon reached.

As the merman parted ways, he pointed out two clusters of fish schools to the whale shark hunting team. Before getting off the highway, he patted several great white sharks on the head.

So elastic, it felt good to touch.

He was alone again, swimming upstream against the current, getting closer and closer to Jiang Yi.

The system checked the map using radar; there was an undercurrent leading directly to the underground river, which could lead to the cave where Jiang Yi was located.

"I wonder if he's been locked up," Keding said. "My combat strength isn't enough; if push comes to shove, I'll need to find a substitute fighter."

"For now, it doesn't seem dangerous. The only high-energy entity nearby is Jiang Yi."

By this time, it was night.

The merman swung his tail in the pitch-black, long river, only emerging to the surface after a long time to take another breath of fresh air.

The system was a bit excited: "We're here! About ten meters away!"

Moonlight filtered through the cracks in the rock walls, and fireflies hovered in the air like wandering stars.

Keding, with his not-so-good night vision, looked again and again, only seeing the silent mountains in front of him and hearing a few insect calls.

He groped his way out of the water, exchanged points for a temporary robe, and cautiously stepped forward on the sand.

There was clearly… nothing.

Before the system could say anything, the mountain began to move.

Keding: "Wait, wait!! Is it alive!!!"

Two giant, cold eyes like those of the winter moon suddenly opened, illuminating the entire cave.

Keding took off running: "There's no way I can fight this!!"

System: "Don't run!!"

The young man leaped back into the underground river at an incredible speed, while behind him, the sound of collapsing mountains and earth rumbled.

The entire mountain range began to shift and move, causing the rock walls to tremble, with more sand and stones falling down with a crash.

The Silver Dragon snorted, asking with its spiritual sense: "Is it you?"

The voice of the ancient creature was old and deep, causing an instinctive, genetic bone-chilling sensation.

Keding hid behind a giant rock, cautiously peeking out: "Doctor Jiang?"

The Silver Dragon nodded slightly.

The system said slowly, "Isn't this just like Keding pretending to like dragons?"

Keding protested, "I didn't run! I swear!"

The merman had not yet retracted the fins on his sides, and with reverence and caution, he revealed his entire body, observing the full form of the giant dragon before him.

The dragon was so enormous that its back and tail were out of sight, and even its exposed claws were longer than Keding’s entire body.

The Silver Dragon snorted again, and more glowing lights appeared around them, allowing the youth to see more clearly.

The dragon's scales looked like platinum shields compared to the gem-like scales on the merman's tail, appearing even more resilient and imposing.

Keding hesitated, reaching out to touch whatever part of the dragon he could reach.

The mountain-like dragon silently lowered its head, tolerating his every action.

"Why have you been here all this time?" Keding asked. "Are you trapped?"

"You came to find me," the Silver Dragon’s voice carried a hint of exhaustion. "That’s wonderful."

The dragon shifted again, and a misty fog surrounded Keding. The collar of his robe was gently lifted, and he was deftly raised to a higher spot by a spell.

He was set between the dragon's horns and finally got a clear view of the whole cave.

The cave was as large as four or five football fields, but to the dragon, it was merely a cramped resting place.

To the northwest, something glowed faintly.

Keding leaned over, holding onto the dragon’s horn to get a better look, and the Silver Dragon lifted its head slightly.

"Careful not to fall," the dragon warned gently.

"Given how big you are, it must be at least a 1:200 size difference..."

Keding was a little dizzy from the height but was completely distracted by the concentric circular grooves.

Something silver was emitting a soft glow.

Just looking at the silver rings filled him with an incredible sense of peace and a strange, almost sacred feeling.

"Is this... a magic circle?"

"It’s a bloodletting groove."

Keding suddenly realized, "Wait, you're talking about dragon blood?!"

Could it be that the three items were all gathered now?!

Dragon blood, the magic circle, and the eternal jade, right?!

The system chimed in, "So, those poor emperors who were drained of their blood..."

Keding coughed.

The Silver Dragon lay down again, its tail slowly swaying.

The merman was placed in its embrace but was so tiny that he was merely sitting on one of its scales.

"I need to decipher its composition and then bring it back."

"I've actually been meaning to ask," Keding was still involuntarily looking at the eternally glowing dragon blood, "how were you able to take the Eternal Jade across time and space before?"

If he could already transfer items across space, then a whole-person traversal would be just around the corner, making all of this unnecessary.

Jiang Yi explained slowly.

From the very beginning, what he had broken through was merely the bottleneck of brain science.

Ever since Keding left, his consciousness could jump and switch between numerous time-spaces, but it would always return to Jiang Yi’s own body in this world.

The device could set a mandatory return time, ensuring his consciousness wouldn’t be stranded in any primal world.

His body had always been lying in the experimental chamber, waking up regularly every five days.

"Nothing can be easily taken away from time-space, except for one thing," Jiang Yi said, "memories."

Memories were the only content he could rewrite and take away, and because of this, he could rely on his inherent abilities to obtain more assistance in other modern and post-modern parallel worlds, infinitely expanding his academic repository.

Each field was systematically covered and expanded, breaking through bottlenecks in different time-spaces, gathering into the foundation stones for traversing worlds.

"Even so, due to ability restrictions, I can still assemble some devices in the modern world, but I need to completely change my approach in the medieval era."

"I’ve told you before, the Eternal Jade in one world was a leaf in a certain temple."

"I couldn’t take it away, so I had to try to deconstruct it and then replicate it."

Using physics, molecular structures, magic, spells, and incantations.

He knelt in the temple for hundreds of days and nights, finally returning with a flawless memory to the modern age.

Deconstructing and restoring, waiting for the gaps to settle before trying to find the one person he hadn’t seen in a long time.

"So..." Keding tried to scratch the giant dragon’s itch, "you’re just memorizing this stuff?"

Jiang Yi: "..."

Jiang Yi: "You could say that."

"How much have you memorized?"

"Less than a third," the giant dragon said, flipping onto his back and letting Keding rest on his chest. "It’s more complicated than writing a PhD thesis. Every time I return to reality now, I’m chugging coffee."

Keding muttered, "So that’s why I called you several times, and you didn’t pick up."

The Silver Dragon froze for two seconds. "I think my phone was on silent."

Keding: "Oh."

The dragon’s tail cautiously wrapped around and gently brushed against him with its tip.

"Don’t be mad."

The merman, muffled against the Silver Dragon’s chest, said, "I'm not."

"I just... really miss you."

After confirming Jiang Yi was not in any danger, Keding did feel relieved and quickly began planning his own tasks.

Long-distance relationships aren't exactly a good idea, and since you're memorizing lines—why not fly over to a new place and continue rehearsing?

Before, he was a sneaky rebellious merman, but now he could be a jerk merman backed by a fearsome dragon!

"Wait a moment," Jiang Yi said, trying not to laugh, "Am I automatically taking on the role of aiding the tyrant?"

"You can be!" Keding exclaimed, his eyes shining, "This place is covered in moss and sand; you probably can't sleep well here. Let's move!"

"Move now?"

"……um, now?"

A pair of massive wings spread slowly, and with just an adaptive flap, stirred up a gust of air like a giant wave.

The youth hugged the dragon's scales tightly, "Slow down! Slow down! Slow down!!"

The Silver Dragon lifted him onto its long neck and soared into the sky.

Like a comet streaking through a sea of stars, it spread its wings and flew in the direction from which he had come.

Keding clung tightly with all four limbs, afraid of falling off. After flying for a while, he suddenly shuddered again.

"What's wrong?"

"Blood! Your blood!" Keding said anxiously, "I should find a bottle to collect it."

The Silver Dragon didn't care, "Just let it go."

"What a waste—"

"If you turn back now, you might see centaurs and man-eating spiders fighting over it."

Keding: "……I kind of want to see that."

He gradually dared to relax a bit, half-reclining and watching the flowing clouds below and the hazy outlines of the countryside under the starry night.

"You've become such a holy presence, even your blood looks like melted stars."

"At our last meeting, you were still an old cadre with a thermos cup of goji berries."

The Silver Dragon turned its head slightly, intending to see his expression, but then turned back and continued flying forward.

"Do you feel strange?"

"No." The youth hugged him tightly, lightly rubbing his face against the dragon scales.

"I was just thinking how long it's been since I last saw you."

On the way back, he told him about his current internship, his cousin in California who looks similar, and the database that Arnoth kept hidden deep within.

Jiang Yi listened attentively, occasionally asking a question or two, and smiling along.

The strong wind made what should have been a four- or five-hour journey much shorter.

It felt like they hadn't finished talking by the time they reached Mitronos City.

There seemed to be some commotion in the city, with a large area illuminated by firelight and people gathering.

The dragon landed quietly on the far side of the river, unnoticed.

"You go on ahead, and I'll come find you after I'm done."

Keding had already responded when he asked, "Can you transform into a human?"

The Silver Dragon tilted its head and thought for a moment.

"I've been too busy memorizing scriptures to think about it."

Keding didn't say the rest of what was on his mind, nodded, and said, "I'll be on my way then."

His forehead was gently touched, the breath fiery yet tender.

The young man was momentarily dazed before realizing it was the dragon's kiss.

"I really don't want to let you go." The man smiled. "I should keep you here to accompany me while I recite texts."

Keding said, "Does that even sound like something a person should say?"

-2-

"Father! I've returned with the potatoes!"

Allen wiped the sweat from his head and pushed open the door, only to find no one in the chapel.

A monk from the neighboring room had heard the noise and poked his head out to greet him.

"What have you been busy with?"

"I went to the nearby Teleron City to haul a cart of big potatoes. Thank the Lord, that merchant donated a considerable amount."

"You didn't know, did you?" The monk pointed north. "The inquisitors have caught several sinners and are preparing for a public flogging."

"At this time of night?" Allen, fighting off sleepiness, said, "Is nobody sleeping?"

"Father Jerome is livid; he said nothing this ridiculous has happened in ages." The monk himself wanted to go watch but still had scriptures to bind. "Father Hobart must be there too, go ahead."

"…Thank you!"

The young man hurried through alleys and bushes, quickening his pace as he saw the flames.

At the center of the Saint Iris Square, three long poles held bound sinners, and the flogging had been going on for some time.

The crowd had gathered in a circle, with bonfires spitting scorching flames.

Keding had wanted to get closer but was jolted awake by the heat, looking at the three condemned.

Father Jerome held a scripture high as he stood above, and an inquisitor shouted sternly.

"Do you see this? Alcohol! It’s a sin!"

"Drinking while painting, two men and a woman sharing a room late at night—this is debauchery!"

Another inquisitor showed the painting to the crowd. "Their paintings have no divine presence, only laughable landscapes—blasphemy!"

When the sharp whip came down, two of them had already passed out, while the one still conscious, gagged with a rough cloth, let out a muffled groan of pain.

Crimson blood soaked their robes, and raw flesh was exposed everywhere.

Keding stood frozen, as if awakening from a dream of dragons and starlit skies.

He could bring about a torrential rain, but he couldn't save the lives of these three people.

He slowly looked at the crowd, resembling lambs, and the thought uncontrollably surfaced.

"Aren't you pissed off? Why aren't you fighting back? Why the hell are you all so quiet?"

In an instant, the inquisitor thrust his arm into the air and bellowed, "Guilty!!"

More people woke as if from a dream and shouted in unison, "Guilty!!!"

"These three have betrayed our God! They’ve spit on our teachings! They’ve turned their backs on everything we hold dear!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Burn them alive——"

"They must have been seduced by the devil!!"

"Guilty!! Guilty!!"

Father Jerome held up the painting—a landscape devoid of any divine presence—and tore it in half before everyone’s eyes.

The people's anger soared higher, with shouts rising and falling continuously.

"Judge her! Judge that wicked woman!"

"Burn them! Sinners of the devil!"

The heat from the flames made it hard to breathe, but everyone’s robe still covered them from head to toe, leaving not even an inch of skin exposed.

They were wrapped tightly, absolutely refusing to make any mistakes.

Allen was stunned as his foster father suddenly yanked him into the shadows.

"You're back?" Father Hobart immediately checked if his attire was proper, and only after confirming there was no danger did he sigh in relief. "I didn’t expect you back tonight. There are many bandits near Teler City, and I was worried about your safety. Thank the Lord you’re safe."

"Doesn’t it feel like it’s burning up in here? Or is it always this damn hot?"

"We need to get used to this. We should have already."

Before they could continue talking, Bishop Gegil appeared, flanked by a group of priests.

Father Jerome immediately gave up his position, signaling the crowd to follow the guidance of someone from a higher authority.

The old man didn’t expose a single hair; his red robe clung tightly to his body, while the gold and gemstones on his shoulders and neck gleamed brightly.

The bishop cleared his throat and began to read Chapter 6 of Volume 5 of the scriptures.

"Joy and desire are poisoned apples, wrapped in the coils of venomous snakes."

"For the afterlife, we should repent in silence."

The crowd echoed like a choir, "We should repent in silence."

Behind the priests, the human pillars were swallowed by flames, their desperate screams drowned out by the relentless chanting of scripture.

"—For the afterlife."

"—For our original sin."

Allen stood silently in the shadows, not uttering a word.

"Child, go back and sleep," said Father Hobart, pulling his hood tighter. "You're too tired."

After saying goodbye to his adoptive father, the young man exchanged his points for an Assassin's Creed mod and spent the night jumping across rooftops, installing loudspeakers.

The system commented, "You look like a rebellious high school student right now."

"Everyone, don't sleep," said Keding, striding forward. "Fifty? I'm installing eighty tonight!"

Placed inside the church's stone walls, in the nests of chestnut trees, and in the cracks of bell towers, in places where everyone can hear but no one can reach!

Tomorrow, I'll blast you all with the raunchiest tunes and silver party anthems, you jerks!

As vulgar as it gets, stuffing your ears with the filthiest things!

The system commented, "It's childish, but I'm totally on board."

Keding snapped, "They're not childish; they just multiply like crazy! The Catholics get pregnant just by rubbing their belly! We've never seen anything vulgar!"

The system said, "I could make a joke about someone in the stable, but I'd better keep quiet."

"It's an alternate history fiction… that's the setting after all…"

At five in the morning, the explosive music lit up the entire city.

At this hour, the first light of dawn scattered across the earth, and after enduring a night-long ordeal, people were too exhausted to react right away.

Soon, the deafening lyrics detonated everyone's expressions.

"My God..."

"I can't hear, I can't hear!!"

"Where is that sound coming from? Damn it, I can't hear anything!"

Allen was still dozing in the hay when the chaos outside sounded like a war zone.

"Don't sleep," said another stable boy anxiously. "Quickly, prepare the horses for the lords! Something big has happened!"

Allen was almost flipped over, slowly preparing the saddles and reins, and he too heard the extremely explicit chants.

Passionate and straightforward, interwoven from south to north, like a grand silver party choir.

The stable boy desperately covered his ears. "I didn't hear anything, I'm already feeling nauseous. The bishop is so angry he's having chest pains and has gone to find the exorcists and demon hunters."

Holding a bundle of saddles, Allen asked innocently, "What are they even singing?"

The stable boy grimaced, trying to explain. "Those words are blasphemy! Filth! You don't want to know!"

The missionaries and inquisitors were in disarray, reportedly running around the city to perform exorcisms without even washing their faces first.

Meanwhile, hundreds of fainting women had been rushed from the nearby convent, and the smelling salts were nowhere near enough.

The nuns were frantic, continually praying over them.

It was unclear whether the eerie sounds came from the drainage pipes or beneath their feet, but they just wouldn’t stop.

Several women screamed and passed out, while their husbands desperately called out their names.

"Don't leave me! Please, come back to life!"

Even the nuns turned pale, clutching their chests, and some even collapsed mid-sentence.

"Smelling salts!! Where are the smelling salts!!"

Keding witnessed the entire scene and for a moment truly thought something had happened to them.

"How did it turn into something like a bio-chemical attack..."

"Half truth, half false," the system said. "They have to put on this performance to show their purity and their refusal to submit to the devil, even if it means death."

"Purity?" Keding asked. "Is listening to a bit of dirty music really such a stain on someone’s life?"

The whole city was practically brought to a standstill.

The dirty songs were only played for half an hour, but medical accidents and suicide attempts kept occurring one after another.

Though there were no real casualties, most citizens went into full-on dramatic mode, gradually recovering as the priests performed exorcisms and blessed them with holy water.

"I take back what I said earlier," Keding remarked. "The essence of the world isn't a giant void."

The essence of the world was a giant hysteria.

One by one, they all lost their minds, and even after they recovered, they still drooled.

At 5 a.m., the dirty songs played for half an hour, and by 5:30 p.m., there were still people weeping in confession at the church.

The three priests were so busy that they didn’t even have time to drink water, working alongside the other clergy to calm the panicked citizens.

Perhaps at the bishop's behest, Father Laman moved the donation box to a conspicuous spot.

Rich and poor alike came with their families to atone, and the sound of clinking coins never stopped throughout the day.

The donation box seemed too small, and halfway through the day, Laman had it carried back to be emptied, only for it to be full again by evening.

Keding watched as a poor, ragged old man dropped a silver coin into the box, then limped back to his slum home, barely getting by on two pieces of stale black bread.

"What do you think?" the system asked. "Playing it this big has kind of backfired, hasn’t it?"

"Indeed," Keding said. "We pushed the dosage too high at the start. I saw three or four people who seemed to go completely mad. I can't tell if it’s real or not."

"To stay alive, they’ll need to keep up the act of madness for a while," the system said. "To them, you're not much different from the plague god."

"So, planning to stop?"

"Not a chance," Keding said. "This is just the start. We should ease into it with smaller doses for desensitization."

The next morning, the citizens woke up to deep, resonant readings.

"Penis."

"Pe—nis."

"□□."

"Breasts."

Someone in a dark corner is flipping through an English dictionary, sincerely reading aloud through a voice changer.

"Secret—liaison."

"Mating."

"Adultery."

"Copulation."

System: "Do you call this desensitization therapy, friend?"

"Please, the guy who was pretending to be crazy yesterday is about to hang himself."