The atmosphere in the room grew subtly heavier.
Wei Qing lifted his eyes to Ruan Mei. She tilted her head slightly, a strand of hair slipping down her cheek as she waited with focused patience for his response.
"Something closer to the core…" he repeated.
"Lady Ruan Mei, you're more impatient than I expected."
Ruan Mei's expression didn't change. Her lashes lowered as she calmly refilled Wei Qing's half-finished tea.
"Dian Dao is misunderstanding me. I'm simply stating a possibility."
"If we're fishing for a deep-sea monster, how could it bite without a bait enticing enough?"
Firefly glanced at Ruan Mei, then silently picked up a pastry and took a bite, deciding she wouldn't meddle in this probing, trap-laden exchange.
Senior had his limits… probably.
"And," Ruan Mei continued, "what you call impatience is simply my thirst for the unknown."
"Time, to scholars like us, is both ally and enemy. The guest we are waiting for may possess endless patience—but our window of opportunity may not remain open forever."
She rose, and for the first time that morning, made a formal invitation.
"Dian Dao, would you be willing to spare time today and accompany me to the laboratory?"
"In the past few days I organized several new hypotheses regarding Paths. They may offer a new perspective—one that helps our waiting."
Here we go again, Wei Qing thought. Elegant sentences that I still don't understand.
He glanced at Firefly. She no longer reacted the way she did at the beginning; after ten days of Ruan Mei's meticulous care, she'd clearly become "softened by kindness." Now she only whispered private warnings for him to be careful.
"A new perspective?" Wei Qing smiled faintly. "Lady Ruan Mei, the perspectives you've offered these days are more than enough."
"At this point I'm starting to wonder… whether the fish you truly want to hook is the Silent Lord—or me."
Ruan Mei's gaze flickered, but she didn't retreat. Instead she met his eyes head-on.
"Does Dian Dao believe my sincerity is still insufficient?"
"No," Wei Qing stood as well. "On the contrary."
"Your sincerity is too abundant. So abundant that if I don't respond with something, I'd look discourteous."
A faint light appeared in Ruan Mei's eyes, but her composure remained intact.
"You exaggerate. Scientific research requires candor and commitment from both sides. I'm simply doing what I can to create a suitable environment."
"A suitable environment," Wei Qing chuckled.
He turned to Firefly. "A-Xing, eat slowly. Lady Ruan Mei and I will be back soon."
Under Ruan Mei's guidance, the two passed through the elegantly furnished sitting room and entered a corridor where the light dimmed.
A gentle scent of medicinal herbs mixed with aged paper drifted through the air—quiet, solemn.
But Wei Qing quickly realized something:
In ten days, this was his first time here.
This wasn't the same lab as before.
Ruan Mei stopped before a wooden door that looked ordinary. No ornate carvings, no grand symbols—only a piece of warm white jade embedded at the center.
"Please wait a moment," Ruan Mei said, placing her right hand lightly on the jade.
The door slid open without sound.
Behind it was a silver-white passageway full of clean, clinical technology—sharply contrasting the old-world elegance outside.
"This laboratory must maintain absolute energy stability and information isolation," Ruan Mei explained, stepping aside to let him enter. "So I've set some restrictions. Please."
Wei Qing walked in. The door behind him closed softly.
The passage wasn't long. Its end opened into a spacious, circular lab.
Soft lighting. Machines lined the walls. And in the center, a pale-blue energy field hovered in midair, as if sealing something within.
Ruan Mei went to the main console. Her fingers tapped, and a set of data appeared on the screen.
"Please look," she said, pointing to a curve with clearly abnormal behavior.
"This is an initial model I built using the blood samples you provided over these days."
"It can now simultaneously represent the traits of multiple Paths within you."
Wei Qing stepped closer, studying the intricate model.
He wasn't a researcher. Most of what she showed him was incomprehensible.
But even so, he could tell how deep her analysis had gone in only a few days.
Within that small model, he could feel the faint imprint of his own Path aura.
Weak—yet undeniably present.
And the most surprising part?
It even included Finality.
Even Elio was mediocre at actually "handling" Finality, and the Aeon behind it didn't exactly hand out blessings freely.
Wei Qing had stepped onto Finality's Path, yes—but his progress there was nowhere near an Emanator.
Of course, that wasn't him boasting. Emanators weren't cabbages in a market stall.
It was simply that the other three Paths were… absurdly generous with him.
Destruction and Abundance: he was a reserve candidate.
The Hunt: two blessings, a depth not inferior to the other two.
If anyone in the universe learned this, they'd go mad with jealousy.
Ruan Mei hadn't wasted a single day.
Wei Qing's gaze lifted from the model.
"Lady Ruan Mei, I can see you didn't idle these days."
"But I still don't understand: what is this 'new perspective' you mentioned?"
As he said, the model was impressive—but what did it do?
If Ruan Mei merely wanted to observe Paths, Wei Qing could grant blessings—except for Finality.
Clearly, she wasn't aiming for that.
Ruan Mei turned toward him, brows knitting slightly—as if she were the one confused.
"Dian Dao… haven't you noticed what's special about this model?"
"…There's a special part?" Wei Qing stared at the screen again. "Let me look."
No matter how he looked, he only saw the faint Path traces.
Damn it. I need to grow a brain.
He gave up with decisive honesty.
"Lady Ruan Mei… why don't you just tell me the answer."
Ruan Mei paused, then spoke with a gravity he hadn't heard from her before.
"Based on the cellular model I built from your blood and tissue…"
"I discovered a shocking fact."
She looked straight at him, each word steady and lethal.
"This model is telling me…"
"Dian Dao—Wei Qing—"
"…you are, in fact, a human."
Wei Qing froze.
"What…?"
He blinked once. Slowly.
Then pointed to himself as if confirming his own existence.
"What do you mean 'I'm a human'?"
"If I'm not human, what am I supposed to be—"
"A Demon Pill?!"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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