Chapter 16: Lies

For a moment, Aierwei didn’t know what to do.

Even the longsword she held slipped from her grasp, clattering sharply against the ground.

A surge of fear and panic rose up inside her. Her thoughts spun into utter chaos, like a tangled ball of yarn rolling off a table.

The harder she tried to grasp the thread, the more the yarn tangled and unraveled, countless strands scattering in all directions, yet she couldn’t catch a single one.

When she suddenly turned back, she could only stare in despair at the strands spreading across the whole world, her mind a blank.

Those unbreakable threads wrapped tightly around her like bonds.

Aierwei just wanted to curl up like a kitten and wait for someone to unfold her.

At that moment, the man on the altar looked toward Aierwei through the Blood Mist.

His pale face was stained with mottled blood, and his handsome features had twisted into something grotesque.

“Wh-why?”

Aierwei whispered, her eyes hollow as she looked at the familiar face before her.

She couldn’t understand why her Master was here—participating in the Evil Cult’s ritual.

“Because I want to live… don’t you want to?”

Li Ang tilted his head strangely and reached out a hand, pinching someone in the crowd.

With a scream, a person in the crowd instantly turned into Blood Mist, flowing into Li Ang’s body.

His pale skin visibly flushed with new color.

Li Ang wore an expression of enjoyment, then slowly spread his arms and said, “See, just a few people like this let me live longer…”

“I can’t die yet. I still want to watch you grow up.”

His tone was gentle as he looked at Aierwei, just like before.

Yet this scene felt so terrifying in Aierwei’s eyes.

She felt the man before her was utterly unfamiliar—nothing like the kind Master she knew.

“You’ll help me, right?”

Aierwei sniffed the blood in the air, her ears filled with the miserable wails of people—like a living hell.

The girl slowly lowered her head, furrowing her brows in confusion, then her expression twisted into terror.

When she raised her head again, her eyes burned with uncontrollable rage.

“N-no… you’re not Master! Fake! You’re a fake!”

Her whole body trembled as she spoke, each word punctuated by her fingertips digging deep into her palms.

Finally, her eyes bloodshot, she shouted at Li Ang.

Her Master would never do such a thing.

He was a true Knight…

He was such a kind, good person…

“Aierwei! Attack now!”

On the other side, Chris couldn’t help but curse silently and shout.

If this went on, he was going to be cut down by this woman right in front of him.

She showed no mercy—every strike deadly!

Where the hell did Li Ang find someone like this?

Not professional at all!

Aierwei noticed Li Ang reaching out toward the crowd again.

She realized that if she didn’t stop him, more innocent lives would be lost.

In the darkness, the girl bit her lip until it bled, staring hard at Li Ang’s face to find any difference.

She gripped the sword hilt tightly again, trembling like a frightened kitten, and with a hoarse voice charged at Li Ang, “G-give me back my Master!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she lunged forward fiercely.

The blade in her hand cut through the air with a sharp gleam, incredibly fierce.

Li Ang seemed unprepared for her swift attack.

He only managed to raise his arm to block.

The longsword, sharp enough to cut through anything, suddenly halted just before Li Ang.

The girl bent her elbow and struck his arm with the sword’s pommel.

The powerful force sent him flying over ten meters, crashing heavily against a stone wall nearby.

Blood spilled from Li Ang’s mouth as he coughed dryly, the blood continuously flowing out.

His already weak body struggled to hold up.

The backlash of magic within his body caused him to faint immediately.

When Aierwei snapped out of her fury, the man before her was covered in blood, looking frail as he collapsed among the ruins.

The girl suddenly panicked, a strange fear enveloping her heart.

She didn’t know why—she was saving someone, yet why did she feel so afraid?

“N-no… you’re not Master. You’re not… Master wouldn’t do this.”

Her lips barely moved, her hoarse voice trembling with a hint of sobbing.

She refused to accept the reality before her.

But the moment she touched him earlier, she had already confirmed that this cultist—who tried to sacrifice dozens of lives—was the very Master she spent day and night with.

How could this be… how?

At this moment, the girl felt as if the entire world was false, the truth stabbing her heart like a sharp knife.

She just stood there dumbfounded, staring blankly at the unconscious Li Ang not far away, memories flashing through her mind—countless days and nights spent together, and Chris’s demonic words.

Elsewhere, Chris seemed to have finished the battle.

The woman left decisively after seeing Li Ang fall.

The rescued people wept tears of joy, a wave of relief washing over the basement. But soon, someone noticed the bloodied Li Ang on the ground.

Fear of the Evil Cult and near death suddenly turned into boundless rage.

Several bold men grabbed stones and threw them at Li Ang.

The stones hit Li Ang’s pale face, blood gushing from the wounds, quickly covering his entire face.

Chris’s expression darkened at the scene.

He stepped forward and stopped the civilians, his voice firm and just: “Everyone, please rest assured. The Ashen Knight Order will give you all an explanation. We will hold a public trial for the cultist on the Judgment Platform!”

While speaking, he ordered his subordinates to take Li Ang away, then explained, “We need to interrogate him thoroughly. We hope you understand.”

The survivors dared not speak further and only kept thanking Chris for saving them.

Some wanted to thank Aierwei too, but after seeing her dazed expression, no one dared approach.

Chris looked at her through the crowd with a heavy heart.

He wondered if she could endure this—maybe the blow was so great she’d lose her sanity.

Aierwei’s mind was completely blank, deaf to even the slightest sound.

Her world was on the verge of collapse.

The last time she felt this way was when she witnessed her mother’s death.

But why did her heart ache so much now?

Was it because she was deceived?

She… was lied to by her Master?

Could it be that their entire time together was one big lie?

Aierwei crouched on the ground and closed her eyes, struggling for breath.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she curled up into a ball, as if she were the only person left in the world.