"So, you're the judge or host of this round?" I asked as the girl appeared before us completely and the space between space closed.
I also hinted to all four of them to remain calm as I could sense at least the lady panicking and conveyed to others to not drop their guard while the girl stared at us, towering over us metaphorically.
A miniature sun also materialized, an abstract not belonging to the very fabric of reality. It radiated both physical and conceptual heat and death. But by some arcane witchcraft, it lacked the gravitational pull that should have drawn us in.
The girl bared her fangs, which belonged to some demonic beast but not a vampire. They could have been the fangs of a demi-human from the Bat tribe.
"Yeah, that's you!" I said loudly and continued, "Perhaps we can start the entertainment for the audience and commence the game."
She opened her disgusting but still cute mouth and informed us, "This sun will kill you if you're a liar and get caught."
'The heat of trillions of suns can't kill me, but this? Interesting!' At least that was my thought at that time, and I changed it in an instant.
"Care to elaborate on all the rules, will you?" said the demonic tree.
I controlled my expression because now I knew for sure and had confirmed my suspicion that he had already played this game at least once, a deduction I made from my conversation with him.
"The rule of this round has already been told, but we omitted one crucial piece of information, which is why you need to take this game seriously."
"What? Isn't it just some fun game?" the dumb, needlessly kind woman asked, and she got the support of Qiangsheng Tanji too, because now both of them are a couple, all thanks to me.
"To make this game interesting, we have decided to keep something at stake, and you can try contacting your clan or the sect you belong to or even try reporting to the Daoist court in case you find it unfair."
Listening to this, they tried contacting their clan and even tried to register the complaint to the Daoist court, but to no avail.
This made two of them a little frustrated, angry, and perplexed.
I sighed and asked, "So, what's at stake?"
"You all are going to wager your freedom and will have your souls taken as prisoners if you lose."
"And if we lose, how can we free our souls?"
"There is no freedom, but if you could pay a price that exceeds the value you could provide by merely working for us as slaves. You can attain freedom."
"I take that as an implication that the price need not be in just monetary terms."
'Yes, even a useless piece of information will suffice as long as it exceeds the value you could give us by wagering your soul.'
"The reward better be worth it then," I said to the girl.
"The winner will get the Chi Fruit and the Heavenly Blade Intent Scroll." The Girl assured me.
"Nice Girl." I said and again reminded her "Let's start the game."
"Wait, wait... Young Master, what are you talking about? We can't possibly fall for their trap." Qiangsheng Tanji interjected, and although the miniature Sun was still there, the lady agreed with him. But now they were like puppets who couldn't help but listen to me. After all, they were dependent on me and surrounded by the fear of death.
"I want to play the game," the Demonic Tree said, followed by Cheng Lan, the Demonic Beast of the Dog Tribe. (The term 'demi-human' is a derogatory label coined by upper realm humans of mortal worlds, who were jealous of these beasts that, through cultivation, could attain magnificent forms, similar to beloved and the greatest of all—humans. But since I started to appreciate this demonic beast from this moment, I consciously began referring to him as a "demonic beast" in my mind rather than a "demi-human.)
"Have no fear, you two. Trouble will have to come through me before it reaches you. I will be there to lift you up. I won't abandon you; I will save you," I said to the couple and Passed my Qi through them to and make them feel a cool tingling sensation to ease their mind and approach them holding both of their hands to communicate my honest emotions, thoughts, and sentiments.
"Young master!"
"Young master!"
Both of them screamed in unison in thanks and Cheng Lan had a perplexed expression because I had admitted I was a liar when I was on the ship and now when I said all these lies, he couldn't taste or smell a single lie.
But a lie cannot be a lie when it is spoken with 50% of the truth and 50% of your version of the truth.
And of course with the the additional topping of no regard or ignorance to change of future intention. It becomes undetectable.
For Instance, when one of my many girlfriends said we'll forever be together She was being truthful, but we still needed to separate in the end. So, at the present moment, I was telling the truth, but it was due to ignorance of the future condition that may change my opinion.
However, one problem still has always persisted —— intuition.
I could control my heartbeat, and pupil which was never a big deal because even in my past life everyone including me could do that too along with 100% of people having a photographic memory but I was also in 0.002% having absolute and permanent Echoic memory.
Anyhow you can't help if someone just follows his intuition or instinct. Fucking pain in the ass lowlifes.
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"So Let's commence the game. I hope you only say what you had in mind beforehand over the opinion on truth and lie or You might win the game but would lose the…." She suddenly stopped and smiled in a very creepy way. And I could bet that she was more creepier than any lady whose face was made disfigured due to acid thrown on her face by my innocent henchchild (Teenager henchman). Please do not blame them. I insist. it was merely the result of their Adolescence and bad parenting.
Still coming to the point, the girl stopping her conversation suddenly could mean that the game's original intention is something else which I had deduced right at this moment. But I can still tell that the main thing is you can never win this game by simply being bent on your ego or philosophy.
Though this doesn't construe I couldn't have won this game easily because I could have won even if I had stayed hellbent on my idea of life.
The problem was whatever strategy, planning, or technique I could potentially use could be seen by my Hui Ying and others. Well, others do not know my identity and I was also wearing a robe that doesn't let them see my face, so I was not much concerned about others.
But still, let's say for instance I was not concerned with my image in front of Hui Ying then I could win this round easily by just brainwashing Cheng Lan or just by requesting both the couple and giving them some gifts(bribe). Etc. After all, There are multiple ways, I had calculated through which I could win this game unethically. The key point is unethically, and the issue is when I tried casting Smoke or Qi-Barrier or anything that stopped the Hui Ying and others from watching the show so that I could give them some salvation all my techniques were nullified. Talk about no restriction
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…
Meanwhile, on the ship.
Hui Ying, the one and only Divine Maiden of Heavenly Martial Hall and who is soon to be officially Divine Mother after her destined marriage to Ji Yan gets done, now changed her seat and sat in the reserved VVIP seat. For Ji Yan did not like the mundane conversations of ordinary men or poverty, although he supported her unwaveringly and never questioned her way of life.
Despite this, Hui Ying was filled with grief. Although Ji Yan was very loving towards her and supported her, her intuition told her that he didn't truly love her. She found herself in a dilemma, as her faith forbade any kind of sexual relationship before marriage, making her less proactive in their relationship.
Unfortunately, she couldn't blame her faith because it also commanded her to be honest. However, she was not very honest when it came to her relationship with Ji Yan. She always kept a cold front in front of him, which would quickly break down after a little teasing from Ji Yan, sometimes to the point where she would lose all reason and consider drastic measures.
But what could she do?
In her heart, she believed their connection was fated, bound by an unbreakable red string.
And interestingly she knew all this could be resolved if she were always honest with her feelings.
What a shame she couldn't be honest in matters concerning her feelings but if someone asked her how much she loved Ji Yan, and she could honestly answer, it would be: "I would die for him. I'm crazy about him. I can't live without him."
But if only this change this to, "We would both die for each other. We are both crazy about each other," which was not yet the case.
It was such a tragedy that the woman who believed kindness and caring were her Vihara, destined to attain liberation by chanting the pious names of the Almighty with complete devotion, had fallen in love with a psychopath who defied any psychopathic study.
This man was an egoistic, greedy person, and easily could abandon those traits and become a saint if it benefited him. He hated the Almighty to the core but would still worship Him if needed. This duality was a hallmark of his nature, allowing him to adapt to any situation.
He could feel emotions and regret, was adaptable, and was his own favorite. And He could love others and bow down to them if necessary. He might demand courtesy and respect but would disregard them if a greater benefit was at stake. This chameleon-like ability to change his demeanor made him a formidable opponent.
In fact, he didn't see himself as different from other psychopaths nor did he feel superior to them. He was no longer a loser who killed to feel superior to others, though he would still fool himself into believing so for the sake of the fun and never left any clues at his crime scenes. This lack of ego made him a master of deception.
He is a Killer, Living in the same world as ordinary people, and he never lost to any genius detective or any shell of intelligence and knowledge he ever faced. He can swiftly abandon his ego in an instant, become humble, and then kill his adversary, who might be a hundred times smarter than him. He always had everything under control and would eliminate any threat before it even came close.
And as he navigated the complex web of human relationships, he was never obsessed with proving that he was smarter than other people in this life and even in the past life never kept his toys alive for longer than necessary. Because if the situation demands he is not egoistic, he doesn't want to show them his smartness. This calculated approach to relationships allowed him to stay one step ahead of his adversaries.
Well, his meticulous insight, contingency plans, and foresight are another matter in itself that ensured nothing caught him off guard generally. This attention to detail made him a master strategist.
Thereto, no study can ever analyze him because he is unpredictable and full of lies, both to others and to himself─── 99.99% of the falsehoods he keeps in his mind for others to read, shielding his truth from ever being exposed. His ability to deceive made him an enigma, impossible to pin down.
But all this quality in the end makes him evil. As a matter of fact all the evil Ji Yan did later in his past life was because he could, because he wanted to. He had committed atrocities that went far beyond mere killing, and he felt no shame in admitting it. In fact, he could rape animals and babies when he felt like it, and he had tortured thousands for his own twisted purposes. Fortunately, he only tortured for a purpose, but sadly for his victims, he didn't necessarily kill for a reason, nor gain, but simply because he could.
How insane it was that Ji Yan was fully aware of his heinous actions, and he knew that the Almighty was watching him from above, witnessing him revel in the suffering of others, dancing to the rhythm of their pain. And still, he committed evil.
Because he is a selfish, greedy person. And he would give up these traits and become a saint if it would benefit him. He hates the Almighty to the core but would still worship him if necessary.