Chapter 714 — Speaking the Truth
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
The Beiyila in the dream was probably just a small fragment of the waking Beiyila's subconscious, lacking the necessary memories and the wisdom of experience—but the one before him now would not be so easy to hoodwink. Still, it did not matter much. Speaking openly would actually spare him the effort of considering his "role," which was a relief in its own way.
"Where did you hear the term 'outland wanderer'?" he said casually. "From those Evernighters?"
"It seems you're quite clear on the name the Evernighters gave you..." Beiyila said in a low voice. "I learned your true nature from them. But long before that, I already knew you could not possibly be Gao Yang Cecil—that you are merely an alien soul who stole his body."
Gao Yang's brow twitched slightly upward: "What do you mean by that?"
A hint of mockery seemed to surface at the corner of Beiyila's mouth: "Gao Yang Cecil cannot possibly come back to life. I know this better than anyone. His soul withered long ago. What lies in the iron coffin in the Southern Frontier is nothing but a soulless husk. Perhaps, under the blessing of the elements, that body will not decay—but resurrection from death... is absolutely impossible."
Gao Yang could not suppress his eyes from widening slightly.
This was the first time since he had risen from the coffin that he had heard intelligence about the secret of his own resurrection from another's mouth. It was only a fragment, but one thing was beyond doubt... this Beiyila before him knew part of the truth!!
"Gao Yang Cecil's soul withered? Why do you say that? What do you know? Do you know the arrangements behind his resurrection?"
But Beiyila did not answer his questions: "Ah, outland wanderer... so you have curiosity too. But why should I tell you everything?"
Gao Yang looked at Beiyila quietly, at the other party's emboldened manner—or rather, the manner of one who had already given up on life and death. Even if he cut her down with a single sword stroke, it would probably be useless.
After a moment of pondering, he broke the silence: "Then let's make an equivalent exchange. Is there anything you want to learn from me?"
"Outland wanderer, it's still the same question," Beiyila said slowly. "Why have you taken possession of this body?"
Gao Yang thought it over carefully.
The other party clearly understood some intelligence regarding the outland wanderers. This intimidating identity, which Gao Yang had forged with his own hands, had been through the post-processing of the Evernighters' expert brainstormers and then a bit of fermentation in online discussions. By the time it reached Beiyila's ears, it had probably become an even more bizarre and dangerous version.
The best option now seemed to be to find a point of entry within this identity and let the conversation continue.
He lowered his head, calculating what kind of "persona" he should establish, and what kind of "persona" could shake this druid whose faith had been twisted. His thoughts raced at tremendous speed.
This did not seem difficult, because... the identity of "outland wanderer," though somewhat intimidating, could not exactly be called entirely false.
He truly was a soul that had wandered in from another world. He truly had taken possession of another's body. He truly had "descended" from the starry sky, and he truly had caused an enormous ruckus in this world.
It was just that he had not, as those CG shorts mentioned, piloted a giant robot to save the world, or led a gang of fifty-buck brothers to engage in interstellar pest extermination—and these little details did not matter at the moment.
As he calculated, he had already worked out a mature draft in his mind.
"It seems we 'travelers' have brought you a great deal of pressure," he said, raising his head with a relaxed, calm expression. "I don't know how those Evernighters described me and my kind to you, but I can assure you, I bear no ill will toward this world."