Chapter 378: Chapter 378. True Self

Amon entered the principal’s office. Principal Li Niang and Head Tutor Lao Zen were there. Aside from the two, another man was there. Amon had never seen this man before. He was neither a student nor a teacher.

The stranger had the appearance of a middle-aged man. The cultivation of this world made it hard for one to guess another’s age, but the man should not be younger than forty years old. Cultivation could prolong one’s life but could not reverse one’s appearance. The younger someone broke through to a level that prolonged one’s life, the younger his or her appearance was preserved.

“Let me introduce. This is Tuang Paluo, the clan head of the Tuang Clan,” Principal Li Niang told Amon.

Hearing the name, Amon understood what this was all about.

“… Senior Paluo,” Amon gave an honorable salute to the man.

Tuang Paluo did not respond to Amon’s salute. He turned to Principal Li Niang and asked, “Is this the student you told me about?”

“Yes. He is Lin Mo,” Principal Li Niang confirmed.

“He is a very dear friend to your daughter,” Lao Zen added. “They spent a lot of time together.”

“He was also the one with my daughter during her final moment?” Tuang Paluo asked again.

“They were on a mission together. The detailed report of that mission we have already shared with you,” Lao Zen answered.

“I don’t care about the report. I want to hear from him directly,” Tuang Paluo said. He finally turned to Amon. Their eyes met. Tuang Paluo displayed a determined face, but Amon could see from his eyes that they were filled with grief.

“Senior Paluo, I…”

“Not here,” Tuang Paluo cut Amon’s speech. He said, “Follow me.”

He walked toward the exit. Amon glanced at Principal Li Niang and Lao Zen, who nodded for him to follow Tuang Paluo.

*

Amon followed Tuang Paluo. After walking for some time, he learned that the senior brought him to the infirmary. They reported themselves to the staff in the lobby. Tuang Paluo then led him further into the building. All the while, Tuang Paluo never said a word to him.

They entered a room that turned out to be the morgue. Tuang Paluo brought Amon to one of the tables with corpses covered in white cloth. He opened the cloth, revealing the corpse underneath to be Tuang Yin.

Tuang Yin still looked pretty despite having been dead for a while. Amon used a preserver to keep Tuang Yin’s body from decaying when he brought her back to the Royal Academy. Arriving here, the pill masters of this place took over. They submerged her inside an embalming liquid before placing her on this table engraved with special words of power. The word of power enchanted Tuang Yin’s body to remain fresh until her clan came to pick her up.

Amon looked at her face for a while before looking elsewhere.

“Tell me, how did she die?” Tuang Paluo finally spoke to Amon.

Amon complied. He narrated, “We were on a mission together. After spending days investigating the town of Melas Twich, we finally identify a suspected member of the demon cult. We followed this suspect into a nearby woods, where we were ambushed by the other members of the cult. We fought the cult. Tuang Yin fought ferociously. Sadly, during an unfortunate moment…”

“… She received a fatal stab in her back from one of the cult members,” Tuang Paluo injected himself into Amon’s narration. “Your account is as written in your report, word for word. It is as if you have rehearsed it. Is that truly what happened?”

“It is,” Amon answered. He made no change in his expression.

Tuang Paluo never averted his eyes from Amon’s face since they entered this morgue.

“You are as I heard, hard to read, except for the second when you saw my daughter on this table,” Tuang Paluo said. “I saw something genuine in your eyes then. If I was an optimistic person, I would say it was grief, but I think it was more akin to guilt.”

“I will make no excuse. I indeed failed to save her life,” Amon responded.

The two went quiet. They just stared at one another for a good while.

Tuang Paluo was the first to speak.

“I don’t know if you are aware, but Tuang Yin was a daughter outside my legal marriage. She had always been treated as an outcast in my clan. Despite that… I love her, just as I love her mother. Her mother was indeed a prostitute in a brothel I used to frequent. Her mother might be nothing but a plaything at first, but we somehow had feelings for one another… Her conception was not due to a mistake. We both wanted it.

“After she bore Tuang Yin, she brought the child to my clan as I requested. I planned to accept them both into the clan. I knew there would be objections from the other clan members, but I didn’t give a damn. Her mother, however, chose to sacrifice herself so that our daughter didn’t have to keep being reminded that she was the child of a prostitute living in a respected clan. She left without telling me where she went. I never found her again…

“I raised her as best as I could… Despite her mother’s sacrifice, she still grew up with discrimination surrounding her. She was a strong child. She never showed sadness despite her treatment. She was fierce and resilient, and I am proud of her…”

Amon saw a drop of tears roll down Tuang Paluo’s cheek. The old clan head seemed aware of it. He quickly wiped that tear before he continued his speech.

“Even though she didn’t show it. I knew she was not happy in the clan. That’s why I made the difficult decision of sending her to this Royal Academy. She was a talented girl. I knew she would attain success. Even if I had to separate from her, for her to become a respectable kingdom member was a far better fate rather than staying in a clan that looked down on her.

“If only I knew… This was her fate for sending her off. I would have fought tooth and nail to keep her by my side.”

Tuang Paluo caressed Tuang Yin’s cheek while he said that. Tears were coming out of his eyes again. He no longer bothered to wipe them.

His face turned resolute. He covered Tuang Yin using a white cloth and stored her inside his space ring.

“I will never forgive you,” Tuang Paluo told Amon. He then walked out of the room.

Amon remained standing there for a while.

*

When Amon returned to his residence, he walked past a mirror. The mirror was a standard appliance in every residence. His old residences during freshman and junior years also had it. He simply never noticed nor used it. He was not the kind of man who was fussy about his appearance.

This time, however, his reflection in the mirror drew his attention. He approached the mirror and observed himself. He found himself staring at a stranger. He didn’t recognize himself. Despite having been reborn for so long, this face was not who he was accustomed to.

After staring at his reflection for a while, he took out the swan dagger, which he still stored inside his space ring. With the dagger, he started cutting his hair.

He labored until he shaved his head completely. He didn’t stop after he was bald. He proceeded to shave his eyebrows. When he was done, his head was devoid of any hair.

He observed himself in the mirror again. His face was still different, but at least he resembled his original self from the past world, more than he was a minute ago.

“I am back…,” he told himself and grinned.

The final phase of his plan for this Royal Academy was fast approaching, and he couldn’t wait for it.

*

Later that day, he went to meet his underlings. It was their weekly meeting, where Xin Wuming and Gao Lan submitted reports on the progress of Vicious Faction and Demon Gang. The two were surprised by Amon’s new appearance.

“New look, boss?” Gao Lan asked. Xin Wuming was simply speechless.

“This will be my look from now on. Get used to it,” Amon replied.

“No objection from me,” Gao Lan said.

The two gave their reports in the meeting. After they were done, Amon told them, “Three months from now, I want you to gather all our prominent members and those with cultivation above the Strength Stage. Ask them to halt all activities and make themselves available at that time. I need them to perform some important missions.”

Gao Lan nodded, while Xin Wuming asked, “Brother, three months from now, we will roughly only have half a year before graduation. Our faction members would be restless in preparing themselves to pass the graduation. Some might complain if we give them tasks at this time.”

“If they are unwilling, leave them be,” Amon said. “But tell them they will lose the rich rewards I prepared for this task.”

“Yes, brother,” Xin Wuming replied.

“One more thing,” Amon added. “The next time you mention me to other people, do not refer to me as Lin Mo anymore. From now on, my name is Amon.

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