Chapter 020: A Difficult Choice

The Chosen One?
Du Fan snorted inwardly. He wasn’t sure whether to believe or not this outcome. If Bruce wasn’t lying, then given Chenchen’s mystery, it was impossible for her not to know what the Origin of Gods meant. So why would she do this?
After pondering for a moment, Du Fan said indifferently, “Ferei, send someone to summon the cathedral’s healers to treat them, but don’t let them go yet. In a few days… As for you, Lord Bruce, I’ll have to hold you here temporarily. Once I finish what I’m doing, I’ll let you go…”
Of course, if you’re still alive by then.
Du Fan said these words silently before turning to leave. He had many things to do right now and didn’t have the time to worry over Bruce’s words. Once he understood Roland Academy’s intentions toward him, he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage when dealing with them in the future.
…
After leaving the dungeon, Du Fan returned to the basement. Chenchen seemed to have expected him to come and hadn’t left.
Seeing Du Fan enter, Chenchen simply smiled faintly and asked, “What? Did you find out something?”
Du Fan rolled his eyes and said, “Chenchen, you know I wasn’t really trying to ask anything. I just wanted an excuse to put those people together. Since Bruce dared to attack me, I certainly don’t need to be polite with him… You’ll have to help me with what comes next.”
Chenchen tilted her head and asked, “Help you with what?”
Du Fan snorted and said, “How could you not know what I need? Naturally, I’m asking you, Miss Chenchen, to use your power to give each of them a Word Spirit… The effect should be absolute obedience to my orders. My demands aren’t high—three days of effect should be enough!”
Chenchen replied softly, “That’s easy. I understand.”
Du Fan nodded and said, “After doing that, think of a way to unleash their potential. If we’re going to do this, we should go all out. If they’re not even worthy of being part of Aldas’s forces, wouldn’t it be a waste for me to go through all this trouble?”
Chenchen couldn’t help but sigh. “Du Fan, you really are…”

“Enough talk,” Du Fan said as he stepped in front of Kris and gave her a brief glance, then frowned. “How is Miss Kris? She can’t possibly not last three days, right?”
Chenchen replied calmly, “It’s hard to say. They used elf magic on her; I don’t know what effects it will have… At this moment, unless there’s a special method, she might really not be able to last three days.”
Du Fan nodded. “In that case, I need to speed up my plan… But Chenchen, isn’t there any way you can save her life?”
Chenchen snorted. “I do have a way, but aren’t you planning to kill her anyway? Why go to the trouble then?”
Du Fan frowned. “Then I’ll have to ask you to do it… Kris is a crucial part of my plan. If she dies, things will get complicated for me… So please find a way to save her life.”
“Anything else?”
“Besides, she was pretty kind to me back then. At least among the people from Roland Academy, she was the best to me. Even though we’re on different sides now, and I can’t save her life, it’s only fair to talk to her a bit, right?”
Chenchen replied coldly, “As you wish. Here’s a bottle of antidote. It won’t cure her poison, but it can at least keep her alive for ten days. You might as well talk to her properly. But expecting me to bring her back to life is completely impossible!”
With that, Chenchen tossed a bottle of potion in front of Du Fan.
Du Fan caught it and said softly, “Thank you!”
Chenchen smiled lightly. “As long as you don’t forget how much I’ve done for you, that’s enough. Why worry about anything else? My little master!”
After saying that, Chenchen left with a smile. Du Fan was puzzled as to why Miss Chenchen suddenly acted like this, but this wasn’t the time to discuss such things.
Then, Du Fan’s gaze shifted to Miss Kris. Though her eyes were closed, her grace and elegance were far beyond ordinary people’s. He stared at her a few more times, feeling a bit sorry—such a delicate beauty was actually the lover of his arch-rival. If it weren’t for his need to maintain a decent image, he might have pushed her aside.
It was a shame that this woman had been quite kind to him before… Even if he were extremely heartless, he couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing!

What a pity! Truly unfortunate!
With that thought, Du Fan slowly helped Kris to her feet, letting her lean against the wooden bed. He then poured the antidote from his hand into her mouth and stood by, watching quietly.
After a while, Kris coughed softly a few times and gradually regained consciousness. She looked up at Du Fan weakly but couldn’t help smiling slightly and said, “It’s really you!”
Du Fan was slightly taken aback and asked, “Did you guess it?”
Enduring the severe pain, Kris slowly sat up straight. She stared at Du Fan and said, “As soon as I was captured, I realized that although there are many people in this world who want to deal with Aldas, they’re far from numerous. And the only one who could cause him such a huge loss is probably you, Young Master Du Fan.”
Du Fan frowned at her. This woman, just like before, still wore that calm smile. Though he had felt some fondness for her at first, it had long vanished—after all, she was Aldas’s woman!
Du Fan sighed and asked, “Aren’t you afraid of me?”
Kris retorted, “Why should I be afraid of you?”
Du Fan replied calmly, “Because I had you brought back so that I could use you against Aldas. You must be aware of what kind of person Aldas is. If he finds out you’re in my hands, he’ll do anything to save you… See, it’s a simple plan. But the simpler something is, the more effective it is… Right, Miss Kris?”
Kris said in a low voice, “That’s true. But Young Master Du Fan, there’s one thing I don’t understand. Since you want to use me against Aldas, why did you wake me up? Aren’t you afraid I might do something crazy?”
Du Fan laughed heartily and said, “You won’t. If you dare act recklessly, I’ll kill you, and those hundred people from Roland Academy will die with you as sacrifices. If I, Du Fan, weren’t prepared for even this, how could I deal with Aldas… I woke you up today just to give you a choice… Of course, this choice is a bit difficult, but it’s not impossible either.”
With that, Du Fan took out a dagger and threw it in front of Kris. “There are two choices. First, you die along with Aldas. Second, you kill Aldas with your own hands… So make your choice, Miss Kris—by yourself, or both… This multiple-choice question isn’t hard, is it?”

“Speak then,” Du Fan clapped his hands and stepped back to the door. He smiled faintly and said, “What will the outcome be? I… am really looking forward to it…”
Du Fan left the basement but didn’t go anywhere else. Instead, he headed straight to the central square of Moduo City—the very place where Lord Haixin had had his head cut off that day.
But by now, the area had been thoroughly cleaned. All the heads that had once hung above the square had been removed long ago.
At the center of the square stood a thick stone pillar. Hundreds of Temple Knights were busy arranging pieces of nanmu wood in proper positions, as if trying to form a huge magic array.
Dressed in military attire, Joshua stood on a platform opposite the stone pillar, directing them. If even one piece of wood was placed in the wrong spot, he would immediately correct it.
Special magic arrays were set up at all four exits of the square, with a pair of Temple Knights guarding each one. Unless an army launched a forceful attack, it was impossible to enter through those exits.
From afar, seeing Du Fan arrive, Joshua waved his hand, signaling his deputy to take over his duties. Then he slowly stepped down from the platform and approached Du Fan, sighing softly. “Du Fan, I don’t know why you want me to arrange all these things. Do you really intend to try a heretic?”
Du Fan smiled slightly. “Do I not have the right to do so?”
“No… According to the Holy Scriptures, you do indeed have the right. But Du Fan, you must also understand that an ordinary white-robed priest couldn’t possibly organize such a grand spectacle. Have you gone through all this trouble just to burn one person?”
“Oh, does Lord Joshua know who I intend to burn?” Du Fan chuckled lightly. “But that doesn’t matter. I have a hundred pieces of evidence to prove that the person I intend to burn is indeed a heretic… So, Lord Joshua, don’t worry. I will definitely give you an explanation.”
Joshua snorted. “I hope so.”
Du Fan smiled faintly but said nothing more. He looked up at the scene before him, an eerie smile appearing on his face.
Book 16: The Road to the Imperial Capital