Chapter 185

Chapter 185

Lin made Dwayne Tang-Haitang’s past play out in the mirror but found another place to quickly review his impoverished life.

Dwayne Tang-Haitang was not born in Tieliu City; he came from another city. During his middle school years, he was expelled for getting a female classmate pregnant. Afterward, he managed to join the Aberrant Cult and, after passing several tests, was allowed to take up his position, thus becoming a demon.

He advanced to a mid-level demon on his own. According to the Pillar God Church's assessment of talent, he was considered gifted among professionals. The Aberrant Cult had roughly the same view of talent, so after he advanced to mid-level, they invested more resources in him and assigned him a mentor—Yuan Sen Zebao, whom Lin had seen earlier.

Then, this mentor, who was even cuter than Dwayne Tang-Haitang, quickly became everything to him.

His experience illustrated the essence of being a demon: demons can manipulate others with their desires, so they objectify everyone except themselves. However, those who objectify others cannot escape being objectified by others. To higher-ups, lower-level demons are merely objects.

The Blade of the Mind must be particularly cautious not to follow the old path of demons. Facing the corrupted Lin might require even more attention to this issue than Bai Li.

Hmm, I should assign Bai Li some homework, let her write an analysis report on demons.

Thinking this, Lin recorded all the demons Dwayne Tang-Haitang had encountered.

Back in the Divine Realm, he first recited the names of the female demons.

A few names summoned mirrors, revealing the names of the Mirror Eyes that they had mentioned inadvertently, lighting up their mirrors.

But Lin glanced through them briefly and found none were apostles.

He pondered for a moment and then recited the names of the male demons.

The Divine Realm responded, but these male demons were even less likely to be the Silver Moon Maiden apostle Lin was looking for.

Finally, Lin recited the last name.

"Yuan Sen Zebao."

No response.

Lin: "..."

How strange, why did he have more expectations for this name?

Well, the judge of Tieliu City, Riel Qin, is a Volcano Bunny, so he sent a fellow bunny apprentice to Tieliu City. This tactic is very similar to the one used to incite the Gray Dove demon to come to Spire City.

But it probably isn’t this guy.

Dwayne Tang-Haitang’s inner personality mentioned "Mirror Eye."

However, considering this inner personality, it was just Dwayne Tang-Haitang’s perception of Yuan Sen Zebao, essentially not the same person as the real Yuan Sen Zebao. The real Yuan Sen Zebao, according to Dwayne Tang-Haitang, came to Spire City. When Lin recited his name, there was no response from the Divine Realm. Does this mean he is dead, or that he never mentioned "Mirror Eye"?

In the Divine Realm, the young god propped his head up, thinking.

***

"Miss Yuan Sen, you seem to be recovering well."

On the western coast of the continent, in Protein City’s Sacred Heart Hospital, the Blood Doctor, who served as the hospital director, walked into a ward and greeted the patient.

The Minkman girl lying on the bed, leaning against a pillow and reading a book, put down the hardcover at the sound of her voice and gave the Blood Doctor a delicate smile.

"I think so too," she said, "I had significant mood swings a few days ago, which was hard to control, but things have improved a lot since yesterday."

"This indicates that you are gradually adapting to your new body," the Blood Doctor said happily, "I believe you can be discharged in two days."

"That would be great." Yuan Sen said, her round face smiling more genuinely.

The Blood Doctor noticed the book she was reading and glanced at it, finding it to be a "Brief History of Ritual Studies."

She recalled the patient’s age, remembering that she should be in seventh grade of middle school, at the stage where students start to decide whether to go to university or work, and asked casually, "Are you planning to major in rituals at university?"

"Yes, I do have that idea," the gentle and adorable girl lowered her head, caressing the cover of the book with ritual arrays and materials drawn on it, "But my math scores aren’t good enough..."

"Don’t worry about it," the Blood Doctor reassured her immediately, "There’s still half a year until the college entrance exam, and you have time to improve."

Seeing this girl, who suffered from gender dysphoria and was bullied at school, unable to fully engage in school, the Blood Doctor felt a surge of affection and offered more comfort, "A new life is calling to you. You are already different from before."

The Minkman girl’s smile turned shy, and she whispered, "Thank you."

At this moment, the patient’s family returned to the ward.

The Buffalo parents brought dinner, but it was rather meager—only noodles, vitamin tablets, and calcium tablets, along with a single egg.

For a patient who had just undergone body reshaping surgery, this meal was nutritionally insufficient. However, the Blood Doctor could sense the pitiful rumbling of the couple’s stomachs. Their child... daughter, at least had an egg, while the couple probably only ate some cheap noodles and mushrooms.

Because their child had gender dysphoria, they were willing to empty their savings and spend over thirty thousand on surgery to reshape their child’s body.

They truly love their child. Such a family, even if they encounter difficulties temporarily, can overcome them.

With this thought, the Blood Doctor, after checking the patient’s hormone levels, left the ward, leaving the space for the family.

And she didn’t notice a huge problem until she left.

That was—

How could a Buffalo couple have a Minkman child?

***

"Yuan Sen Zebao..." Riel Qin murmured, "Note this guy and add him to the wanted database."

Huan Banxiang and another judge nodded, while the Hisike Werewolf took out a small notebook and diligently wrote down Yuan Sen Zebao’s facial features.

The playback paused here, and the Mirror Eye reappeared in the dressing mirror. The three judges, who wanted to see more, couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

The silver-eyed deity looked at them and asked, "Shall I leave this playback in the mirror so you can move it back and watch it whenever you want?"

Riel Qin: "No need—"

Mirror's Pupil: "Alright, let's do it this way."

Riel Qin, whose opinion was utterly useless, shut her mouth and watched the Evil God assign tasks to His practitioners.

After assigning the tasks, He looked over again.

Riel Qin wanted to remain silent, but as the Chief Judge protecting this city, she couldn't anger the Evil God before the citizens were safely evacuated.

Before the New Era, when the Evil God wasn't isolated from the world, how did the court handle such situations?

Was it necessary to drag the entire city's residents into their doom to prove one's stance to the Evil God? No matter what, Riel Qin couldn't bring herself to do that.

She took a deep breath and asked, "Your Highness, is there anything else?"

"Oh," Mirror's Pupil said, "I want to ask how you plan to deal with my followers."

How to deal with them? Bai Li Bomei had completely exposed her true nature during this mission, so she should be executed according to the law—

Huan Banxiang and another judge followed this line of thought, one biting her lip, the other's gaze darting between Bai Li and Riel Qin.

They couldn't plead for Bai Li, but they remembered how Bai Li saved their birdman teammate.

At first, the magical glow in Bai Li's eyes was evidence of her casting a spell. However, this evidence wasn't solid; the glow could also be attributed to Bai Li being influenced by the target monster.

But later, when Bai Li saved their birdman teammate, they saw her casting the spell clearly, leaving no room for argument.

Should they execute Bai Li for saving someone?

They became as conflicted as the higher-ups of the Tieliu City Court had been recently.

But Riel Qin had already set aside her conflict and said, "I will report to headquarters for instructions."

Reporting? If it's a report, Lin believed he and the headquarters of the court, along with the Grand Judge, had some understanding.

He asked, "Before the headquarters makes a decision, should she be detained or monitored as usual?"

"Her condition isn't suitable for much contact with ordinary people," Riel Qin replied, "I hope you understand."

"That means temporary detention," Lin said. Bai Li didn't react, but Huan Banxiang sighed in relief.

"Since it's almost the New Year, we can put the performance work on hold," he said to Bai Li first, then asked Riel Qin, "But she can't just sit idle during detention. If she's held in your headquarters' prison, can you arrange for someone to teach her?"

Riel Qin: "?"

Riel Qin: "What kind of courses do you want to arrange for your follower?"

Mirror's Pupil: "Start with the first-year curriculum for probationary judges?"

Riel Qin: "..."

"Quite confident." The speechless Riel Qin thought she heard someone mutter something to her, but upon careful reflection, it seemed like an auditory hallucination.

Completely baffled by Mirror's Pupil, Riel Qin gritted her teeth and replied, "I will include your request in my report to headquarters."

"No problem." Mirror's Pupil chuckled lightly and looked back at Bai Li.

"As a beginner practitioner, taking down a mid-level practitioner in a similar field, you've done well," He encouraged, "Keep it up, study hard."

"I will!" Bai Li said happily.

The young man in the mirror disappeared.

Duvie Haitang's Chronicles, which had paused, resumed playing on the dressing mirror.

Seeing that Mirror's Pupil had indeed given them the crucial information, Riel Qin clenched her fist and finally waved her hand, ordering, "Move this mirror and send it... send it to Huan Banxiang's branch office. The Sealing Department and Intelligence Department will come to collect it soon."

Otherwise, it couldn't be left in the hotel, Riel Qin thought, feeling a headache.

Huan Banxiang replied, "Yes!" but turned to see Bai Li approaching her, extending her hands, showing her wrists.

She indicated that Huan Banxiang should cuff her.

Huan Banxiang: "...What about Xiao Yu?"

Bai Li's happy smile softened slightly, "She's still in full-time daycare. Could you check on her every other day?"

Huan Banxiang stared at her, and Bai Li's smile faded a bit, but her eyes showed no sign of backing down.

Her faith in Mirror's Pupil was genuine, even if He sent her to jail, Huan Banxiang realized.

The Hisike Werewolf clenched her teeth, cuffed her, and then heard Bai Li say, "By the way, I asked Director Hanhai to help Miss Qisulan borrow money. Could you find out if she got enough funds?"

Upon hearing that she knew about borrowing money from Qisulan, everyone in the room opened their mouths in surprise.

There was such a way to get money!

***

Even Lin was shocked, pondering for a long time in his divine realm how to use this method, only to realize that with his bank account under close surveillance by the Internal Affairs Inspectorate, he couldn't do it.

He could only retreat into his dream, pretending to wake up, and sat up.

It had been two hours since Hui Cui forced him to sleep.

Lin wasn't much more relaxed, but he had discovered the circle of monsters associated with the Aberrant Cult. By following the social circles of these monsters, finding the new apostle of the Silver Moon Maiden shouldn't take too long.

With a heavy burden lifted, Lin's mind began to drift.

It drifted so far that when he grabbed the slipping blanket and sat up, seeing Hui Cui and the three children sitting at the dining table, mixing starch to prepare steamed noodles, and all looking at him because of his movement, he dazedly smiled at them.

Three seconds later, Lin's brain told him, "The Chief Judge is cooking with Luo An, Black Spot, and Short Tail."

Lin: "Hmm."

Lin: "Hmm?!"