Thriller Paradise Chapter 228: Cangling's Debate of Swords (36) - Novel Cool

Chapter 228: Cangling's Debate of Swords (36)

Chapter 228: Cangling's Debate of Swords (36)

Feng Bu Jue's mind exploded into a frenzy as he witnessed the scene, a torrent of thoughts crashing through his consciousness.

Yet these thoughts didn't cloud his judgment—on the contrary, he remained eerily calm, his analytical mind sharper and more efficient than ever.

Within two seconds, he sprang into action.

His Terror Value remained at zero, his movements steady and deliberate. Even his expression, however, bore an unusual intensity rarely seen on his face.

First, Feng Bu Jue picked up the Equipment [spider silk glove], equipping it directly. He stuffed the flashlight into his pocket, then walked over to retrieve Si Yu's lamp.

Holding the lamp close to his eyes, he scrutinized the footprints on the ground. After triple-checking the direction Si Yu had been dragged, he set off without hesitation.

When alone, Feng Bu Jue moved at blistering speed. Earlier, he'd deliberately slowed his pace for Si Yu's sake, while also scouting the forest for potential item Equipment.

Now, however, he raced to rescue someone. As a man utterly devoid of fear, he could navigate even hell itself with five meters of visibility.

The deeper he ventured, the denser the darkness became. The air thickened, almost stagnant, while the eerie whispers around him abruptly vanished. Soon, Feng Bu Jue found himself enveloped in a suffocating silence.

Suddenly, a clearing emerged ahead. At its center stood a wooden post. Bound to it with heavy iron chains was Si Yu. She hung midsection-tethered to the pole's middle, her feet half a meter above the ground, wrapped so tightly in chains that only her shoulders and lower legs remained free.

Seeing his teammate secured, Feng Bu Jue exhaled in relief. Holding the lamp aloft, he quipped, "What's this? A giant's shish kebab?"

Si Yu had no time for jokes. Her voice cut through the tension. "She's nearby."

"I know", Feng Bu Jue replied. "But... I don't understand. If she could capture you so easily, why not take me too? And... has she really grown this strong? What's the point of playing if we're already outmatched?" As he spoke, his gaze swept the shadows, his hand instinctively slipping into his inner jacket pocket.

"You'll never guess", a third voice chimed in—a child's sweet, melodic tone.

Feng Bu Jue turned to see Ling Er. Dressed in a coarse padded jacket with braided hair, her cherubic face contrasted starkly with her unnaturally pale complexion and adult-like demeanor.

"Guessing games, huh?" Feng Bu Jue smirked at the ghostly child. "You took my friend, expecting me to panic, run around like a headless fly. But I didn't give you the satisfaction, so you skipped straight to phase two... planning to torture us for fun?"

"Brilliant deduction."

As Ling Er's voice echoed, Feng Bu Jue's vision blacked out. A tiny hand clamped around his throat, yanking him backward with irresistible force. He heard Si Yu shouting something—muffled, indistinct.

Seconds later, he found himself chained to the same post, lamp gone. A faint glow now illuminated him from behind.

"Quite the trick", he muttered.

"Hey, you okay?" Si Yu's voice came from directly behind his head.

"Eh?" Feng Bu Jue twisted his neck nearly ninety degrees, realizing they'd been bound back-to-back on opposite sides of the post. He chuckled bitterly. "Ling Er, you really know how to party."

Ling Er approached, lamp in hand. The boss had actually looted a player's Equipment—a detail Feng Bu Jue found genuinely surprising.

"Do you know how many centuries I've lived?" Ling Er's tone and expression mirrored an adult's, even surpassing most in maturity. "You dare call me 'little girl'?"

"I thought women loved pet names, regardless of age", Feng Bu Jue shrugged, adopting his signature "dead pig doesn't fear scalding water" attitude. "So, dear Ling Er sister, may I ask what torture awaits us?"

"Hmm... torture..." Ling Er placed a delicate finger against her lip. "You seem fearless even of death... Oh, you clearly care about her."

Feng Bu Jue's expression flickered. He forced a grin. "Actually, not as much as—"

Ling Er vanished from his sight, circling behind the post.

A strangled cry erupted from Si Yu.

Feng Bu Jue felt his chains constrict violently. The air filled with the metallic tang of blood.

When Ling Er reappeared, her right hand still held the lamp. Her left cradled Si Yu's severed foot—ripped cleanly from the calf, flesh and bone exposed, dripping crimson.

Blood speckled Ling Er's pale face as she smiled bloodily. "Guess what I'll bring next?"

"I'm fine..." Si Yu's trembling voice tried to reassure him.

"Indeed", Feng Bu Jue's face hardened into an icy mask, eyes piercing like soul-seers. "Cangling Town's villagers made no mistake killing you. If you'd grown up, the world would never know peace."

Ling Er tossed the limb aside. "What nonsense?"

"At Ringing Temple, I saw your execution scene", Feng Bu Jue explained. "One detail puzzled me—why call your mother 'mama'? Shouldn't it be 'niang'? And always, your cries and words felt... rehearsed. Like performances seeking pity."

Ling Er's eyes darkened. Her smile dissolved.

"The villagers called you 'monster'—before and after your death", Feng Bu Jue continued. "They showed only anger and fear, no guilt. Why? Conscience makes even the ignorant remorseful after wrongdoing. That guilt comes from self-reproach, not fear." He fixed her with a contemptuous stare. "Cangling's villagers felt none of that. Their actions rested on one absolute belief—they saw you as a demon."

A hollow laugh escaped him. "From the moment we entered these mountains, you manipulated us. Every sight and sound conditioned us to believe you were an innocent girl wrongfully killed. But when I heard villagers blaming droughts, failed crops, and birth defects on you? My trust in them hit rock bottom."

“Maybe it’s just my personal bias showing, but the way they talk is no different from how Europeans in the Middle Ages accused innocent women of witchcraft. A bunch of ignorant fools who credited all their happiness to God’s blessings while blaming every misfortune on some fictional scapegoat—then burning a helpless girl alive just to ease their own guilty consciences. This kind of thing happened all over the world in ancient times. I assume you’d agree with me on that?”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about…” Ling Er replied coldly.

“Is that so?” Feng Bu Jue countered. “Then did you know that the word ‘mama’ originally referred to a brothel madam during the Song Dynasty? It wasn’t until the Qing Dynasty that it became a general term for elderly women, and only after the New Culture Movement did it become widely used to address one’s mother. So in your era, you could’ve used ‘niang,’ ‘niang qin,’ or simply ‘ma’—but not ‘mama.’”

“Just because of this tiny detail… you’ve decided I’m guilty?” Ling Er glared.

“I haven’t decided anything yet, but I can make a few bold guesses,” Feng Bu Jue interrupted. “For instance… a person born with the ability to see the future; a soul that time-traveled into a little girl’s body; or perhaps… a powerful consciousness from a higher dimension?”

Ling Er’s expression darkened, then turned icy. “Hmph… Let’s say your reasoning is correct for now,” she spat, no longer caring to avoid foreign words like “reasoning.” “Fine. I am a higher-dimensional will. I was exiled to this world and trapped in this child Ling Er’s fragile body. My physical form was as weak as an ant, but I still retained some special powers.

I hid myself well at first. Unfortunately, after accidentally killing my ‘parents,’ my abilities were exposed. The villagers uncovered my secrets and burned me alive. Losing my body turned me into a dibuling—a land-bound spirit—bound by countless restrictions. That’s why I can only harvest souls on this mountain and can’t reach beyond Cangling Town.”

Feng Bu Jue nodded. “If the villagers’ story was true, then the tree and the monk must’ve lied. Once you realize that, everything falls into place.” He sneered. “Those two demons implied Ling Er was just a wronged ghost, guiding us to enter this lingzhong realm with that false belief, leading us straight into your hands…”

“You’re wrong there,” Ling Er retorted. “How could such simple-minded spirit-possessed corpses like them possibly know my secrets?”

“So they were fooled too…” Feng Bu Jue mused.

“Of course,” Ling Er smirked. “Only by deceiving them could I use them to lure all those monks and Daoists who came up the mountain to exorcise ghosts into this lingzhong realm. That’s why no one could ever perform a ritual to free me—the ‘ghost.’”

“There’s still one thing I don’t get,” Feng Bu Jue said. “Over all these years, among so many high-ranking monks and masters, wasn’t there a single one who could defeat you?”

“Only one,” Ling Er admitted. “He was incredibly powerful, managing to fight me to a stalemate and escape alive.” She scoffed. “That one actually had some skill. After fleeing, he drove all the villagers out of Cangling Town, renamed it Cangling, and restructured the land’s spiritual energy to suppress my resentment energy. But it was pointless. I’m not some wronged soul—not even a thousand years would free me.”

“Hmm…” Feng Bu Jue hummed thoughtfully. “Well, I’ve got no more questions.”

Ling Er’s face twisted into a cruel expression. “Then it’s my turn to ask questions… traveler from another world?” she threatened. “You know what’ll happen if you answer poorly, don’t you?”

“Traveler from another world?” Feng Bu Jue echoed. “So before you possessed this body, you were one of the Four Pillar God’s subordinates? And not just a lowly one either.”

“You really do know quite a bit…” Ling Er raised her small hand. “But now it’s my turn to ask questions. Who gave you permission to keep talking?” She waved her hand, attempting to rip Feng Bu Jue’s leg off with telekinesis.

But… nothing happened.

“Huh?” She tried twice more, with no effect.

“Strange… Why isn’t my power working anymore? Could it be…” Feng Bu Jue’s expression turned chilling. As he spoke, his arm slipped free from the chains. The gloved hand clutched a small, dented silver Bell—clearly damaged beyond use.

“You see, the moment I arrived here, I asked myself a question: ‘Has she grown so strong that we don’t stand a chance?’ I’m sure you heard that.” Feng Bu Jue continued, now fully freeing himself and standing firmly. “At the same time, Si Yu, who was bound to the other end of the chains, was also partially released. Though not completely free, she now had one foot on the ground and limited use of her arms.

“Destroy the Bell,” Feng Bu Jue ordered without looking back.

Si Yu immediately pulled her own Bell from her satchel and smashed it against the hard ground, crushing it.

Ling Er’s face darkened, though the childish expression still looked oddly cute.

“I’ve always been the type to ask a question out loud while my brain races for answers. Years of practice,” Feng Bu Jue continued. “At that moment, I considered countless possibilities. Let me share the most plausible one: In the lingzhong realm, your power is stronger than in the outside world. On this island, it’s even stronger still. But the key factor was something we brought with us—something essential—that let you manipulate us like puppets.”

He tossed the Bell to the ground and stomped on it. “After entering the mountain, we got these Bells from your minions. I admit I was slow to react. The description even said, ‘This small Bell seems to share a connection with a powerful evil spirit.’ Such an obvious hint… Luckily, I managed to crush mine before you bound me.” He strode to Si Yu’s side and handed her the -500.

Without hesitation, she swallowed a piece. Instantly, her severed foot began healing before their eyes.

“The Daoist who fought you to a draw must’ve been clever too. Before you mortally wounded him, he realized the truth and discarded his Bell,” Feng Bu Jue said. “As for us… we’re just lucky to be travelers from another world.”

Ling Er’s expression shifted several times before settling into a calm, cruel smile. “But have you considered… why that Daoist still ended up in a stalemate with me?”

Before her words faded, she transformed into a black shadow, lunging toward Feng Bu Jue and Si Yu.

(End of Chapter)

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