Cheng Shi, who possessed a quarter of Le Le'er's divinity, recognized the aura unique to Le Le'er at a single glance.
This was undoubtedly a severed branch of the Mother Tree of Fear, but the question was — why would a surface-world Inquisitor carry a "blessing" from an underground "evil god"?
It wasn't just the two Players who were stunned — even Lid Yara was shocked. She clearly knew what it was, and in an instant her eyes filled with fury and contempt.
"I never imagined you, Keinlaur, would embrace desire and fall this far!
"You've actually beco Corruption's lapdog!?
"Is this your new Benefactor? Is this the Order you want to rebuild!?"
"Alas..."
Keinlaur sighed once more.
"It seems He has already muddled your mind, Lid Yara. Everything you've done since your arrival has been a far cry from the image of the Grand Investigator I rember — the one who solved countless cases and never let a culprit escape.
"As expected, people only believe what they see. They refuse to spend even a sliver of ntal effort reflecting on the true nature hidden beneath the surface."
Hearing this, Lid Yara furrowed her brow and fell silent. She sensed sothing was off about her own emotions, yet couldn't determine whether she'd been influenced by Corruption or, as Keinlaur suggested, by that self-corrupted Order.
When Sun Miao saw Keinlaur produce the branch of the Mother Tree of Fear, she froze, then turned to Cheng Shi and murmured in disbelief:
"Corruption?
"Could the collapse of Order be connected to Corruption?"
"..." Cheng Shi blinked but said nothing.
He had to admit — before Order was replaced, the problems It developed were indeed linked to Corruption.
And after Its fracture, even without Deceit's scheming or Chaos's takeover, in Its guise as Pride-turned-Order, Order would likely have struggled to reclaim its forr glory.
Seeing that Lid Yara had finally quieted down and was willing to hear him out, Keinlaur chuckled softly, held the branch a little farther away, then rubbed his forehead, his entire being sinking into the depths of mory.
"You may know what it is now, but you'd never recall what it once was.
"Several decades ago, this branch wasn't a limb of the Mother Tree of Fear as you see it today. It was...
"Your Birth Gift — a tribute of praise and reverence from the Rainforest Tribe."
"Impossible!" The mont the words left his lips, Lid Yara staggered half a step back, her pupils quaking, her expression drastically changed. "I'm an orphan left behind by tribal conflicts within the Nature Alliance — how could I possibly have a Birth Gift!?"
Hearing this, Cheng Shi asked, puzzled: "What's a Birth Gift?"
Sun Miao's tone grew noticeably excited — she looked like soone who'd just stumbled onto the juiciest gossip.
"When the Rainforest Tribe marries into the outside world and decides to entrust a newborn touched by other faiths to that outside world, the tribe's shamans or chieftains typically petition Prosperity for a sliver of blessing — to ensure the child of the Rainforest can grow up healthy.
"That blessing from Prosperity upon the newborn is what's called a Birth Gift.
"Of course, Prosperity doesn't actually bestow a real blessing — that's just the Rainforest Tribe's way of framing it. They simply take a young shoot from the Rainforest and pray that Prosperity will watch over the child.
"So — the unofficial histories were right after all. Lid Yara really is Esa Res's child!
"But what I didn't expect is that this blessing was genuinely given by Them.
"A branch of Le Le'er — this legacy of the Daughter of Prosperity — ended up in the Grand Tribunal's hands in such a manner. It proves that the Rainforest truly yearned for a peaceful and orderly life back then. They placed their highest hopes in the Grand Tribunal."
"..."
Cheng Shi was dumbfounded. 'Hold on, buddy — I ca here to investigate Order and uncover Its connections to Corruption and War, not to munch on gossip.'
Yet who could have predicted he'd gorge himself on drama while finding not a single real lead? How was that even fair?
Still, at least Corruption had surfaced. He turned his gaze back to the unfolding spectacle. Keinlaur's reminiscence continued.
"You've guessed it — you simply refuse to accept it. But it's fine; Esa Res refuses to accept it too.
"It was nothing more than an accident. The Rainforest, having just been absorbed into the Grand Tribunal's territory, wanted to curry favor with Katouting through this gesture. Their original target was , but at the ti the rebellion was on the verge of ending and I didn't drink from that cup — so you beca Esa Res's daughter instead.
"But none of that matters. What matters is that the Birth Gift they delivered underwent a transformation over the past several decades — slowly corrupted by Corruption, turning from Prosperity's blessing into a branch of the Mother Tree of Fear.
"I won't deny that my current fear of Order has been sowhat amplified by its influence. But if Order didn't warrant fear in the first place, how could this branch have magnified the emotions in my heart?
"In the end, the fault lies with Him."
By now, regardless of whether Lid Yara agreed with Keinlaur's views, the two of them had reached consensus on at least one thing:
Sothing had definitely gone wrong with Order.
But the Grand Investigator's proposed course of action clearly differed from the Supre Inquisitor's. She believed the current situation could still be corrected, whereas Keinlaur's stance clearly leaned toward rebuilding from the ruins — which was why he was allowing the Grand Tribunal to slide into decline.
How much of this was truly about power, Lid Yara couldn't say. But she didn't believe the current Keinlaur possessed the pure devotion he claid.
Once tainted by Corruption, desire always cloaked itself in the garb of instinctive self-justification. Keinlaur may have already sunk into desire without realizing it. She needed to wake him up.
So Lid Yara rebuked him coldly once more: "Stop making excuses for your desires, Keinlaur. You've already fallen. You truly are a disappointnt."
Keinlaur offered no rebuttal. Instead, he smiled and picked up the branch, sliding it across the table toward Lid Yara.
"Since you don't believe , why not see for yourself?"
See for herself?
How?
Lid Yara furrowed her brow. After assessing the current situation and weighing every cost, she set her jaw, stepped forward, and with imnse solemnity, reached out to touch the branch.
In an instant, both Lid Yara and Keinlaur slumped forward, drained of strength. Their consciousness had clearly entered another space.
Now both Cheng Shi and Sun Miao were baffled. They exchanged a glance, realizing this was ultimately a dream — a dream that excavated mories. Such a dream could only trace back to past reality, but once it delved into the realm of consciousness, they were truly nothing more than spectators — spectators "denied entry for lack of a ticket."
"..."
Cheng Shi grew anxious. He felt the greatest secret of this mory trace might lie within the consciousness exchange between these two — and now, at the critical mont, he was locked out. How could this be acceptable?
"Master, is there really no other way?"
Sun Miao's face remained expressionless, but the disappointnt in her eyes was plain for Cheng Shi to see.
"mory may record everything, but the Chronicle of Ti can only take us this far.
"The best-case scenario is that they recap what happened after they erge, so we can hear what transpired at the mont their consciousnesses collided.
"If they skip over the topic once it's over — then it simply ans this mory hasn't reached its ti of revelation."
...
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