Chapter 18: You Lied
A month of silence passed in the blink of an eye.
Just as Mo Bai had guessed, Nuoding City was a worthless small city that almost no one paid attention to; even those exploring outside Nuoding City only used it as a place to stay.
A month of gaining nothing had already discouraged ninety percent of the people, and half of the remaining ten percent were locals of Nuoding City.
The last half percent came from Spirit Hall.
But the dispatched Soul Saint had already left, and the highest-ranking ones remaining were only Spirit Ancestors around Rank 40, posing no threat.
"I can finally continue."
Inside the dormitory, Mo Bai sighed softly, his pen tapping on the paper in front of him. At the very top of the paper, in large characters, was written—Plan to Hypnotize Xiao Wu.
The matter with Xiao Wu couldn't be rushed right now. His current body couldn't absorb the Soul Ring of a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast. If pushed too hard, even a rabbit would bite; Xiao Wu could use the Sacrifice method to counter-kill any one of them.
That massive energy wasn't something an ordinary person could withstand. The best method was hypnosis.
Previously, she had resistance, but after his Rank increased by one after absorbing the 800-year Soul Ring, he was currently a Rank 24 Great Soul Master, with a full 10-Rank Soul Power difference from Xiao Wu.
A difference of an entire major stage.
After a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast transforms, its Spiritual Power is no different from a human's. With the support of the 100,000-year Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone, this gave him a lot of room to maneuver.
Even so, this was far more difficult than hypnotizing that trash Yu Xiaogang.
The best way was to break her psychological defenses first and then strike while she was vulnerable! Undoubtedly, the best way to break Xiao Wu's psychological defenses was—exposing her identity as a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast!
"From the beginning, my second Soul skills was prepared specifically for you."
Mo Bai got up and walked out of the dormitory, glancing at Xiao Wu, who was acting suspiciously and peeking around not far away.
This was the time when he and Xiao Wu usually answered questions to farm gold coins. Months of the same behavior had long since eroded Xiao Wu's vigilance; she was very simple and easy to fool.
He was very satisfied that he could reach this level with just a few gold coins.
Money never betrayed his trust.
Mo Bai beckoned, and Xiao Wu's eyes sparkled as she strode over. After making sure no one was watching, they entered Mo Bai's dormitory together.
"Hurry up, hurry up, I've already made plans to go out and play with others," Xiao Wu said some bold words as soon as she entered.
Mo Bai smiled and didn't refuse, starting the Q&A as usual.
He looked directly into Xiao Wu's clear, foolish eyes. "First question: how many years is my second Soul Ring?"
"Hmph, over 750 years. I checked with Little San beforehand." Xiao Wu showed a proud look; she knew he would ask this question. After all, Mo Bai had gone out to hunt for his second Soul Ring, so this was a mandatory question.
And the next question—
"What is my Soul skills?" Xiao Wu and Mo Bai said in unison. Then, Xiao Wu raised her head even higher and said loudly:
"I don't know!"
Mo Bai smiled slightly. It seemed Xiao Wu had figured out his routine. Her defenseless appearance was truly cute! It was a perfect time to strike!
"So? What is it?"
Xiao Wu looked at Mo Bai expectantly. Usually, for questions like this that she couldn't answer, Mo Bai would tell her the answer afterward, and it might be tested again next time, so she had to remember it well.
"Breaking Delusion. It sees through all delusions."
"Hmm? What does that mean?" Xiao Wu's brows furrowed.
"It means that all falsehoods are useless before me, whether it's the lies you speak, the untruths of the world, or... deep-level disguises."
As the word "disguise" was spoken, Xiao Wu's pupils shrank suddenly, and her mind immediately became highly focused, but on the surface, she forced herself to pretend she didn't understand.
"Huh? What? I don't quite understand."
"You will."
As soon as he finished speaking, a yellow Soul Ring appeared around Mo Bai's body. His golden pupils emitted golden, flame-like Soul Power that drifted as he stared straight at Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu's heart tightened, and she instinctively closed her eyes, but then she thought this was "seeing" rather than "eye contact." She opened her eyes again, just in time to meet Mo Bai's eyes. Her little heart pounded wildly, as if her body was being seen through completely by the person in front of her.
She couldn't help but take half a step back.
At that moment, Mo Bai withdrew all his Soul Ring's Soul Power. He had indeed seen through the Xiao Wu in front of him—after all, it was Clairvoyance; at such a close distance, even her pores could be seen clearly. However, the person in front of him didn't know...
Xiao Wu stared ahead guiltily. Her half-step back just now was a preparation to flee or counterattack at any moment.
"Third question."
Hearing this voice, Xiao Wu finally breathed a small sigh of relief, and her mind relaxed. That's right, how could a Rank 20 Great Soul Master see through her True form? She was overthinking.
"Xiao Wu, do you know why I'm here? Clearly a Genius with Innate full soul power, yet I didn't go to a higher-level academy for further study, but came to Notting Academy instead?"
When this question came out, Xiao Wu was truly stunned.
She had come to Nuoding City to avoid humans while adapting to human culture; Little San's Martial Soul had mutated.
But Mo Bai was different. He had a Family and strength. Why would he come to this remote small city?
"I don't know." Xiao Wu shook her head honestly, also looking at Mo Bai with curious eyes, waiting for the answer.
"My clan's Martial Souls are all eyes. A year ago, a Clan Elder exhausted his life and overextended his Spiritual Power to glimpse a sliver of the future. Do you want to know what it was?"
"The future?" Xiao Wu's face froze, and her mind became tense again. It was another word that could potentially expose her identity.
The next second, what Mo Bai said made her face turn pale in an instant:
"There is a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast in Nuoding City."
Mo Bai's deep gaze stared at Xiao Wu.
"Is... is that so?" Xiao Wu forced a smile, but her feet quietly moved back a few more inches. Her heart pounded even harder than before, and her eyes darted around. She heard from Little San that Mo Bai had a Soul King guard. Did she still have a chance to escape?
Just as Xiao Wu's face became increasingly tense.
Suddenly, Mo Bai gave a long sigh. "Alas, the great battle a month ago was likely caused by people coming to hunt the Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast. We didn't make it in time after all."
Xiao Wu's figure paused, and her eyes lit up. The great battle a month ago? Mo Bai didn't see through her identity? He even linked a series of things together.
Was she safe?
Xiao Wu immediately breathed a long sigh of relief, her mind relaxing once more. This back-and-forth pulling had truly made her mentally exhausted.
"Then, are you about to leave?"
Xiao Wu returned to her normal state and asked quietly and curiously. To be honest, she was a little reluctant to see him go, but if he didn't leave, there was a risk of her identity being exposed. Mo Bai, you should probably leave.
"Pretty much." Mo Bai sighed softly, then fixed his gaze on Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu's heart tightened again, and her mind was once more on high alert.
"Xiao Wu, as a Genius with Innate full soul power, wasting your talent here is too much. Why not come with me? My Family can definitely guarantee your growth."
"No, no, no, forget it."
Xiao Wu waved her hands repeatedly in refusal. Thinking about a Family where all the Martial Souls were eyes and could see through disguises—if she went there, she would definitely be killed within a few days to have her Soul Bone taken and her Soul Ring refined.
Walking into a trap like that...
She could never do it.
Mo Bai gave a relaxed smile, seemingly not noticing Xiao Wu's abnormality. "What? Are you afraid we'll eat you?"
Of course I am! Xiao Wu really wanted to answer like that, but for safety's sake, it was better to decline politely. "Of course not. I don't really want to leave Nuoding City. I'm already used to it here."
"Oh?" Mo Bai smiled, then suddenly seemed to remember something. He took out a gold coin and handed it to Xiao Wu. "I forgot just now. This is the reward for the first question. As for the second question...
Xiao Wu, do you still remember what my Soul skills is?"
Xiao Wu took the gold coin, and a smile immediately appeared on her face. "I remember it's called Breaking Delusion, right? It sees through something-something disguises...
And sees through lies..."
At this point, Xiao Wu paused. Noticing Mo Bai's gradually forming smile, for some reason, alarm bells rang loudly in her heart.
Mo Bai had already leaned forward, close to Xiao Wu's ear, and whispered:
"You lied, Xiao Wu."
Xiao Wu's heart and body shook violently, and she quickly turned her head, only to be met by a pair of pupils emitting a pink light.
"Oh no!"