Chapter 656

Chapter 656: Inside the Juantu Gate (Ongoing Supplementary Update)

The rain continued to pour.

Disorderly footsteps and hurried sounds echoed through the streets. Lolan Hill also took this opportunity to step out of the alleyway. The ground was still filled with black snake shadows in the rainwater.

She carefully avoided the places where there were snakes and then walked to the eaves of a closed shop by the roadside, stepping outward. But before she had gone far, a group of people in uniforms and chainmail had already arrived. She was stopped on one side of the street.

“What is your name, and why are you here?” The captain at the forefront looked at the young lady with a slight frown.

In the middle of the night, in the rain, it was not normal for such a beautiful girl to appear here.

“I—” The young lady had no choice but to explain herself.

After listening, the captain’s frown eased slightly. After all, most people knew about what happened during the day, and it was indeed normal for young people to gather together drinking late at night.

“However, you will still need to come with us to the Juantu Gate, stay for a while, and wait until we verify your story before you can leave.”

“Alright.” The young lady nodded slightly.

“Can I borrow an umbrella?” She extended her hand, looking at the water droplets still visible on her palm, while the thin wind barrier around her could not completely shield the dense rain.

“Sure. Give this lady an umbrella.”

An oil paper umbrella was handed to Lolan Hill, who opened it and followed the group toward the city’s official office.

Entering a courtyard with strict security measures, one of the doors had already been opened, with several armored soldiers guarding the entrance and interior.

“Please wait here for now, but you cannot speak freely,” said an armored soldier, then let the young lady enter.

Inside the room, several people were already standing. They seemed to be residents discovered nearby. There were old and young, including a familiar young man, Ying Canxiao, who had become famous during the grand selection.

“Has Miss Jialan been implicated too?” He stood up when he saw the young lady enter and asked.

“Yes.” Lolan Hill shook her head helplessly.

“There’s nothing we can do for now; let’s wait here. Our movements can be verified by many of our peers, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

“Right.” Lolan Hill placed the umbrella in the corner of the room, glanced at the various people standing or sitting inside, and found a place to sit down, closing her eyes to rest.

The small, verdant tree inside her body was still not tall, but its branches were much more lush than before, with thick greenery. The fluffy little bird between the branches had made a nest with twigs and sat inside sound asleep, snoring softly. It seemed to have gained some weight.

The young lady gradually immersed herself in her consciousness, feeling as if she had become that sleeping bird, opening her eyes.

She moved her wings and feet, stood up, and looked at the small berries among the leaves above her head. Some were green, some yellow, and some seemed ripe, emitting a tempting red color.

She tried flapping her wings but still struggled to fly. The world of consciousness was different from the real world. Being able to fly here implied a conceptual change, which required reaching Sequence 3.

Lolan Hill, in the form of the little bird, hopped around the branches, pecked a red berry, and swallowed it. A warm feeling rose from her heart, and she felt her Extraordinary Core had advanced further.

In a short while, she would probably be able to advance to Sequence 3. It was said that at that time, she would encounter mental disturbances, and without wisdom, she might easily be misled and fail to progress.

This was the obstacle for advancing to Sequence 3 in the new era. For human beings and other intelligent life forms, it was not difficult, but for some Demonic Beasts or monsters, it was a significant hurdle, as they could easily be misled by familiar feelings and sink into their instincts.

At Sequence 4, another obstacle awaited. According to Bai Chou, various illusions would come to confuse and disturb you. Some would make you indulge, some would make you terrified, and some would make you reluctant to part, all stemming from various thoughts and fantasies in your heart.

If she couldn’t overcome these obstacles, her Extraordinary Core would disperse into primitive Mana (Primordial Energy) and she would have to start over.

Thinking about the future mental barriers, the young lady shook her head. She remembered another theory: ignoring these disturbances and forcefully advancing with brute force, remaining calm under external fears and pressures. While this could work, it was like skipping classes; today might pass, but the next time would be even harder, and if she wanted to continue progressing, she would eventually have to make up for those missed lessons.

It was like taking exams, starting with simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, then moving on to multiplication, equations, various rational and irrational numbers, and sets.

If she skipped classes several times, facing increasingly complex problems later would leave her helpless and defeated.

As she thought about these things, her breathing gradually calmed, and she seemed to fall asleep leaning against the chair, while her clothes slowly dried.

The next day.

Early in the morning, a government officer brought porridge for everyone in the room to drink, alleviating their hunger. Then, several officials in black robes came in to question them individually. In fact, some questions had already been asked the previous night, but they repeated them again to avoid any omissions and ensure proper documentation.

After questioning, the man in black nodded.

“This disturbance has affected Miss Jialan. You can take your belongings and leave.”

Lolan Hill’s whereabouts were never a secret last night. She had basically stayed with everyone the whole time, and only returned after the banquet ended. It was just a coincidence that she encountered someone on the way, as her inn was nearby, and the route matched perfectly.

Just as Lolan Hill was preparing to leave, she heard some arguments.

“Why did you leave the tavern so early yesterday yet still appeared on that street?” The man asked Ying Canxiao.

“I was waiting for someone there.”

“For whom?”

“For the deceased official, Senior Gao Weiming,” Ying Canxiao answered, his gaze straight ahead, looking at the inquiring official.

“Do you want to understand what happened back then?” The official seemed to know something, frowning.

“Yes,” Ying Canxiao replied solemnly.

“Hmph, do you know how many of our predecessors from the Black Robe Palace fell in this matter? Any connection with this matter will lead to a ban. Although you are Grandmaster Ying’s grandson, if you persist in your ignorance, your relationship with the Black Robe Palace will fade,” the official seemed displeased.

“What if I insist on getting to the bottom of it?”

“Perhaps you will be the one to break first,” the official said, seemingly unwilling to continue, waving his sleeve and walking out angrily.

The young man remained standing in place, watching the departing figure in silence.

Today, approximately 8000 words were updated, with an additional 4000 words beyond regular updates, equivalent to two supplementary chapters. Currently, the supplementary update progress is (2/60).

(End of Chapter)