Chapter 287

Chapter 287

Laughter.

Familiar laughter.

The deity laughed and said, "Very good, you finally understand—"

—You finally understand that the blade is not omnipotent.

"If destruction were truly so useful," He remarked without malice, "the Contradictory Twin would not be the Contradictory Twin."

Bai Li did not pay attention to what He was saying, as the patient struggled more fiercely. At this moment, her revered Lord had descended here, yet she could not afford to be distracted.

A moment of distraction might pierce through the little affection left in the patient.

Thus, Bai Li did not see the pair of silver eyes blink on the windowpane at the head of the bed, revealing a look of relief towards her.

It seemed like it was not long ago when Lin told Bai Li that the knife was good and asked her to pick it up.

Then Bai Li began to rely on the knife to survive, or rather, she relied on the guidance Lin gave her to live.

She used her fear as a weapon to control the cultists who came to kill her, she held a paper cutter while searching for Huan Banxiang and encountered a Fiend attack, she pulled out her own emotions to form a blade in the trap set by the Aberrant Cult... She was brave, but one could also say her mode of action did not change much.

Until now.

Until now, before Lin even said anything, she questioned herself: Is there a way to save this person other than with a blade?

Lin sighed and said, "There is."

"Blade of the Mind"—finally, you have grown strong enough to no longer need to rely on a blade, although you can still continue to fight with it, you chose to let it go.

The Pupil in the Mirror elevated you, bestowing upon you a fixed talent.

Thought Blade Shaping—now, shaping this Thought Blade is not just about sharp fear. You fill it with more emotions, allowing you to alter the shape of your Thought Blade.

The silver dagger in Bai Li's hand melted, stretching like a thread, becoming a ribbon that wrapped around the fragile heart of the patient.

The female bird person, who almost overturned Huan Banxiang, suddenly weakened her strength. Huan Banxiang, drenched in sweat, slowly released her grip, nervously observing. She saw the woman, whom the doctor had deemed insane, lying on the bed with lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath.

Huan Banxiang, ready to control her again, held her breath and waited. After a long time, she saw a tear seep from the corner of the woman's eye, slide down, and disappear into the grotesquely cut ear feathers.

The tall Hisike Werewolf widened his eyes in astonishment.

Perhaps because the tears moistened the woman's eyes, she felt a faint light in the patient's gaze.

Huan Banxiang opened her mouth in shock. She had served as a judge for some time and had seen many people whose hearts were dead. Among them, those with strong wills could walk out of the darkness, but even the strongest would not have such an immediate effect.

She turned to look at Bai Li and found the Pomeranian Human kneeling astride the patient with her legs apart, the manifested Thought Blade disappearing once again from her hand.

Now, Bai Li pressed her hand against her own chest, making eye contact with the patient, slowly extending her hand to rest on the patient's chest.

Two hearts beating together.

The patient, who had stopped struggling, had completely calmed down. She blinked and slowly closed her eyelids.

Seeing this, Bai Li quietly got off the bed, untied the ropes, and removed the uncomfortable cloth from the patient's mouth.

After waiting with Huan Banxiang for a while, she heard the patient occasionally sobbing, but her breathing had become gentle.

The tormented woman had fallen asleep.

Huan Banxiang couldn't help but lower her voice and ask, "Bai Li, how did you do it?"

Bai Li whispered back, "I let her feel my heart... I let her feel my emotions?"

Though her tone was uncertain, Bai Li already knew where she had gone wrong initially.

Cutting away rotten feelings and thoughts was acceptable, but after cutting these away, the patient's emotions and thoughts were left with only a tiny bit.

The patient thus felt an overwhelming emptiness, akin to how an amputee might feel phantom pain in a missing limb, suffering and going mad from the vast void.

"It's not transplantation or parasitism," Bai Li tried to describe, "I just told her, this is happiness, this is sadness, this is pain, this is peace."

The patient filled the void with Bai Li's emotions. As long as the connection lasted long enough, the remaining part of her heart could draw nourishment from Bai Li, grow on its own, and recover to wholeness.

"..." Huan Banxiang fell silent for a moment, sensing a hint of dark holy light, and asked, "How long does it take exactly?"

"I don't know." Bai Li, doing this for the first time, tried to remain calm, "But anyway, I have to keep the Thought Blade on her until she gets better."

"But isn't that your weapon?"

"A weapon serves this purpose."

Bai Li said firmly, then realized something.

The Thought Blade should dissipate within thirty seconds after being released.

But now, the Thought Blade... the ribbon-shaped Thought Blade had not dissipated, because...

Thought Blade Delay—you can spend some magic power to delay the duration of the Thought Blade after releasing it. The longer the delay, the farther the distance, the more magic power it costs.

...Because, new spell!

Bai Li was stunned.

How could there be a new spell? Wait, how could there be a new talent?

The authority of the deity combined with human will, and a new spell list appeared in Bai Li's mind.

In addition to Delayed Blade, there are Enhanced Blade and Blade Storm.

Enhanced Blade — Depending on the emotion, enemies struck by your blade will be affected differently. You have grown accustomed to the paralysis caused by fear; now, you can also try the numbness brought by indifference or the intense pain from the intent to kill.

Blade Storm — Countless blades revolve around you. You strike all enemies within reach of your held blade with a single slash.

Blade Explosion — Throw your blade. When it hits an enemy or upon your mental command, your blade will explode. The fragments of the exploding blade attack surrounding enemies in an area, causing significant physical and mental damage.

This spell can be used simultaneously with Enhanced Blade.

Bai Li, who had just been contemplating putting down her blade, was now eager to test each of these abilities among the cultists of the evil deity!

It took her some time to calm down. With shining eyes, she said to Huan Banxiang, "I think... I've become an intermediate professional!"

"Oh!" Huan Banxiang was shocked, "Don't you need a ceremony to advance?"

Huh? Why would a ceremony be necessary? Bai Li was puzzled.

Huh? Can one really advance without any preparation? Seeing Bai Li's confusion, Huan Banxiang was also puzzled.

Then, Huan Banxiang, a legitimate professional from the Radiant Dragon Church, after a moment's pause, recalled that in the knowledge she had learned, there were circumstances under which one could advance without a ceremony.

Divine Favor — A deity’s favor or gaze can allow a professional to transcend their limitations and advance directly without a ceremony.

In other words...

Huan Banxiang's fur suddenly bristled as she realized that Mirror Eye was watching them!

And Bai Li also reacted, amazed that she hadn't noticed this for so long. Her eyes were already searching for mirrors, and she called out mentally, "Lord!"

"I am here," came the familiar voice.

No, this voice wasn't quite as familiar anymore, because just hearing it made Bai Li feel a powerful pressure, making her thoughts stall and briefly turning her mind blank.

But Bai Li resisted this pressure, sensing the familiar essence in the voice.

Tears streamed down her face in the hospital corridor, startling the others who were quietly observing her.

Huan Banxiang pulled her away from the ward, standing in the hallway outside, listening to her friend wipe away tears and choke out, "You're alright... It's so good that you're alright, I... I've been so worried..."

These words, similar in meaning to what the ermine had said, moved Lin deeply due to their sincerity.

Bai Li wasn't thinking about nothing. Upon discovering her inexplicable filthy thoughts, being sought out by the contradictory apostles, and seeing her colleagues and the few remaining believers of Mirror Eye, she realized that something was wrong with her Lord. Her colleagues were as inexperienced as she was, and many of her fellow believers couldn't stand on their own as humans.

She suppressed these concerns, not letting them lead to doubts about Mirror Eye, but instead worrying more about Mirror Eye's situation during this time.

Not a powerful deity, not even a fully grown young god, felt a warm affection in the divine realm.

"Sorry," the softened deity said to the human, "for making you worry. There were some misunderstandings I didn't clarify, and I even involved you recently."

"Are you okay now?" Bai Li asked, not minding.

"I'm fine," the deity replied, though the one who had appeared before her had yet to show up in the mirror, "though I had to pay a price, I achieved the results I wanted.

"You should know," He continued, "I obtained legal preaching rights, and I have a seat among the Pillar Gods. You won't be imprisoned again."

"Even if I were in prison, I didn't suffer much." Bai Li, who had learned a lot, said more seriously, "I only grieved over my weakness. In the previous divine war, I seemed to help you very little..."

"You helped a lot," the deity reassured her, then changed the subject, "By the way, there's something I need you to do now."

What!

The small Hisike Werewolf's ears perked up, and her tail raised high.

"The church needs to train more professionals. I need you to summarize your experience," Mirror Eye said casually, "like just now, when you advanced, what were you thinking?"

"What I was thinking..." Bai Li was puzzled, "I just wanted to help her..."

"Why did you have such thoughts?" Mirror Eye asked conversationally, "I remember, when you went to find Huan Banxiang, Huan Banxiang was always helping you. Later, you saved several judges, why did you take action?"

"Because... it wasn't just Huan Banxiang who helped me, but many judges too..."

"You saved a girl who was almost kidnapped and raped."

"Because I wanted to disrupt the actions of the Deviant Sect." Here, Bai Li's tone became firm.

"Now you're helping patients here."

"Because they are your believers..." Bai Li's tone was equally firm but wavered at the end.

She looked at Huan Banxiang, who was waiting for her.

The Hisike Werewolf's large blue eyes gazed back at her somewhat foolishly.

"Because," Bai Li delved deep into her consciousness, speaking slowly, "because you and my friends are setting examples for me, teaching me how to help others..."

Yes, she didn't become like this out of nowhere.

Today, she filled the patient's empty heart with her emotions, but the reason she instinctively adopted this method was because, not long ago, she, whose heart was also once empty, relied on the emotions of her Lord and Huan Banxiang to regain a complete heart.

Realizing this, Bai Li, who had been keeping her back straight, relaxed her shoulders slightly.

In the ward, the sleeping patient smiled in her sleep.

In the hallway, Bai Li, with a clearer heart, smiled at Huan Banxiang and said, "I miss Xiao Yu."

No longer projecting her weakness onto her daughter.

At this moment, she felt that she was now qualified to raise a child.

"Let's go get Xiao Yu!" Bai Li became excited.

Huan Banxiang, eager to play with the child, also got excited and cheered, "I bought a lot of things for Xiao Yu, let's move in together!"