Chapter 2: The Invisible Cage
Chapter 2: The Invisible Cage
Lin Sai was stunned, his eyes fixated on the girl's beauty. He had seen many pretty girls in his life, but none compared to this. Her gaze seemed to pierce straight into his soul.
"Yes, this is your dinner."
"Tomorrow is the Harvest Festival, and today is the eve of celebration. The village has prepared food for you too."
Lin Sai was indeed shocked, but his experience as a human allowed him to quickly regain his composure.
"And, hello."
Lin Sai entered the mill, offering the food he was holding to the girl.
As he did so, he couldn't help but admire her stunning beauty.
The girl sat on a sack, wearing a silvery suit of armor, but without the expected sword at her side. When Lin Sai entered, she was propping her cheek with one hand, a smile on her face as she watched his actions.
Something seemed off about this situation.
"Thank you."
As Lin Sai pondered, the girl spoke up to thank him, but she didn't get up from the ground.
She quickly took the food and started eating, still sitting on the sack.
Today, a Law Enforcement Knight had come to the village...
And now, a guest in the village...
Lin Sai connected the dots, and a bold idea came to mind.
"You... you're the Law Enforcement Knight?"
"..."
"Pffft—"
The mill fell silent for a moment before the girl's laughter filled the air.
"Hahaha!"
It seemed Lin Sai had asked something he shouldn't have.
The blonde-haired girl burst into laughter, her violent reaction causing her to choke on her food.
"Cough! Cough, cough!"
Seeing this, Lin Sai realized his mistake.
He hurried over and patted her back, only to feel the crisp sound of his hand against her metal armor.
"I just guessed your identity wrong. Is it that funny?"
"No, sorry." The blonde-haired girl stood up and smiled, shaking her head at Lin Sai, "It's just that the term 'Law Enforcement Knight' applied to me is a bit sudden."
Lin Sai persisted, "If you're not the Law Enforcement Knight, then you must be the one accompanying him, right?"
This time, the girl didn't refute his guess but confirmed it, "Yes, that's not wrong."
"But, kid, you're asking this, it's not just out of curiosity about my identity, is it?"
The girl's question was direct and to the point.
And as she asked the last question, her gaze became intensely aggressive.
Lin Sai wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the curiosity and exploratory look in her eyes seemed to transform into a tangible substance, filling the space within the mill.
Lin Sai thought hard and decided to be honest, "I want to know how to become an Awakened."
"..."
"I was talking about that guy, Bagert. How could he possibly let an Awakened with no self-defense abilities get close to me? So, you're an Autonomous Awakened, huh?"
Trouble!
With just that one answer, Lin Sai felt a sense of crisis.
But as he thought about how to escape...
"Don't worry, I mean you no harm."
The blonde-haired girl didn't try to intimidate or control Lin Sai.
Instead, she sat down on the ground, even patting the ground with her hand to gesture for Lin Sai to join her.
Then, she explained frankly, "To put it simply, I'm the prisoner of the Law Enforcement Knight you mentioned. He's secretly escorting me here, bound in this place."
Lin Sai scanned the mill, which was empty.
There were no chains or restraints on the girl, and she called herself a prisoner? "Bound? Prisoner?"
The blonde-haired girl noticed Lin Sai's confusion and decided to show him the truth. She reached out and touched the wall beside her.
A crackling sound filled the air.
In an instant, golden light erupted from the mill's wall, and the girl's finger was pushed back by the light.
Lin Sai was astonished by this magical sight, "This... what is this?"
The girl didn't hide her explanation, "The Law of the Law Enforcement Knight, is what binds me."
Lin Sai couldn't help but ask, "Don't you have another way to escape?"
"Yes," the girl glanced at Lin Sai, her eyes holding a hint of mockery, "If I pinned you, a small Awakened, to the ground and drained the Essence from your body, then escaping wouldn't be a problem."
Lin Sai finally remembered their earlier conversation.
Realization hit him, "Wait, you said I'm an Awakened. What do you mean by that?"
The blonde-haired girl replied, "Exactly what it sounds like. You've already Awakened."
"Huh?!" Lin Sai couldn't accept this, "You're joking, right? Me, an Awakened? That's impossible!"
But the girl asked back with certainty, "Think about it. Today is the day to sense Essence and self-Awaken."
"There must be something special you haven't noticed yet."
"There's no way I could be wrong about this!" Lin Sai was about to retort, but the next second he was left speechless.
Because today, he had awakened the memories of his past life.
No matter how many wondrous experiences there are in the world, this was absolutely a miracle worthy of mention.
"See, I knew you'd understand."
Lin Sai's silence delighted the girl.
But she didn't mock his dullness; instead, she immediately offered advice:
"However, child, I must remind you. Self-awakening is a precious gift, and you must grasp it well."
Lin Sai noticed the key point in the girl's words:
"Self-awakening?"
The girl continued her explanation without reservation:
"Once every decade, the source essence of the world becomes active, and those with superior talents can awaken at this moment. Those who are slightly inferior can still awaken with the help of stronger individuals by feeling the source essence."
When she reached the latter part of her explanation, the girl pointed to herself:
"A long time ago, I was one of those with slightly inferior talent, and I could only awaken with the help of others."
The girl had made herself clear, and Lin Sai's question changed accordingly:
"Since I've already awakened, why don't I have any special abilities? Both White Pine Master and the Village Elder can do so many amazing things."
Lin Sai's question amused the girl.
She laughed and knocked on the weathered wall of the mill, but the next second, a golden light restrained her.
"Tsk!"
The girl glared at the golden lines on the wall.
Then she turned and continued:
"Communicating with the source essence only means you have the energy to perform techniques."
"Those wondrous abilities of various sects still require each person to practice and cultivate their own techniques before they can manifest their true effects."
Having the mana, or energy, but not having learned any skills.
Lin Sai immediately understood his current situation from a gamer's perspective.
A new question arose:
"Then where should I go to learn techniques?"
The girl gave a reassuring answer:
"Once you become an Awakened, you have a lifetime to explore your own techniques. Or, with your self-awakening talent, you can join a certain sect. Believe me, it's quite popular. In any case, this isn't a problem..."
As she spoke, the girl suddenly raised her eyebrows.
She looked towards the center of the village, and her words changed accordingly:
"Child, you should head back."
"The Law Clause that imprisoned me has been triggered several times, and Bagert will definitely come to check. His stubbornness has been twisted by the Law Clause to the point of almost losing his humanity. If he sees you, you'll be in deep trouble."
The Law Enforcement Knight was indeed not someone to provoke.
Lin Sai knew it was time for him to leave.
But before bidding farewell to the girl prisoner, he had two more questions:
"You just said you could control me and extract my source essence. Why didn't you do that?"
The girl answered with a calm expression:
"If I forcefully took the source essence from you here and then escaped, the Law Knight would consider you an accomplice to the fugitive. Simultaneously, this village would be branded as a rebel camp, and they would start purging the rebels."
"Even if I were to escape, I wouldn't put others' safety at stake!"
Lin Sai asked his second question: "What crime did you commit?"
Facing a child, the prisoner didn't deceive or abduct, and even offered friendly suggestions.
From the entire conversation, Lin Sai didn't think this was a vicious criminal.
"What crime did I commit?"
Since their meeting, for the first time, the girl scratched her cheek in slight distress and propped her head up with her right arm:
"Um... plotting rebellion and overthrowing the dynasty?"
"To be honest, I really don't think this is a crime."
At this moment, the girl rested her chin in one hand and pulled the food tray closer with the other, picking up a piece of bread and popping it into her mouth.
It was this action of opening her arms that caught Lin Sai's attention.
He noticed the emblem on the girl's chest armor, which featured a pattern of a long sword, thorns, and a law book intertwined.
—The emblem of the Young King in "The Young King's Righteous Journey," the ruler of the Law Capital.
The ruler's emblem, appearing on a prisoner? And the person responsible for escorting her was...
None other than the Law Knight who was supposed to serve them!
Lin Sai knew he shouldn't dwell on this question, which was as good as asking for trouble.
Bidding farewell to the girl in the mill, he headed back towards the village, his mind filled with tangled thoughts.
"Awakened, Law Knight, rebellion..."
As Lin Sai muttered, returning to the center of the village, he saw the straw deer, a symbol of the harvest, which was usually erected, now lying on the ground.
A knight stood on the deer's head, his demeanor stern and commanding!
(End of Chapter)
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