Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Interrogation
Ji Ma woke up and took a cold shower. She immediately felt much more awake and pushed open the window, where the sun was rising, radiating golden morning light.
Her mood improved significantly, and she no longer felt as pessimistic as she had the night before.
Though the lies would eventually be uncovered, she thought, it was better to endure until the day she could spread her wings and fly away.
After all, George was a rare tool, hard to come by in a thousand years.
People tend to believe what they want to believe; as long as she could make George believe in his own desires, then no matter how many doubts were presented before him, he would ignore them.
Ji Ma took a deep breath, exhaled, and stretched her arms widely, encouraging herself: “Today is another day full of fighting spirit; I must deceive well and execute it perfectly.”
Just as she finished speaking, the creaking gate of the yard opposite her window was pushed open, and in walked the tall figure of George.
Ji Ma was startled, her tail went soft, and she quickly shut her mouth, forcing a smile and saying, “Hi, good morning.”
George walked over and asked, “Are you feeling comfortable here?”
“Feeling great.”
“Can you not lie?”
Ji Ma glanced at the empty room; the oil lamp on the table emitted a faint glow. The floor was packed earth, the walls were rough, and nothing was painted. At night, that dim light from the oil lamp was utterly useless. Fortunately, she could see in the dark, so she had grown accustomed to it.
Compared to Saintess Jenna’s house, this was impoverished and shabby, practically a doghouse. It was only somewhat better than those wooden houses in rural areas where pigs were raised inside.
Fortunately, the sanctuary had a water tower and drainage system, so Ji Ma didn’t have to go fetch water alone.
“It feels terrible.” Ji Ma no longer missed her Demon Lord’s palace; she began to miss the inn, “There are no servants to prepare food in advance, no one to fetch things, no cabinets stocked with drinks and snacks. It’s a hassle to heat water all by myself.”
George replied, “That’s a tough problem to solve; it requires money.”
“Right, I thought you were going to lecture me on being frugal, not to be a spoiled girl.” Ji Ma said, “Of course, me venting to you isn’t asking for help in solving it.”
“About last night’s incident.”
“Please don’t mention it, thank you.” Ji Ma sighed, leaning over and supporting her chin with her arm, looking at George and saying, “If we keep discussing it, it’ll make it hard for me to offer myself up to you to solve the eating issue.”
George coughed and said, “I’m always available.”
“This succubus can’t simply offer herself up at any moment; it depends on the atmosphere and feeling.” Ji Ma lazily flicked her tail and asked, “You came to find me for some reason, right?”
“To introduce you to the cafeteria, where you’ll need to buy food yourself, and the internal shop of the sanctuary.” George said, handing Ji Ma a wooden card, “This is your points card; you can use it to redeem various services and products. In White City, many craftspeople and mages serve the sanctuary.”
Ji Ma recalled her departure; George had gone with her to the armory to rent equipment, where there had been plenty and everything was comprehensive. She took the card, which had leather on the edges, her name written in common script on it, along with a serial number.
Ji Ma looked at both sides of the card but didn’t find anything special; it was just an ordinary wooden card.
She asked, “This wooden card doesn’t seem to have any design to identify its authenticity.”
“Exactly; any craftsman could make an identical one with some effort.”
“I thought the sanctuary wouldn’t allow that.” Ji Ma said, “How many points do I have on this card?”
“One hundred.”
“And yours?”
“They haven’t calculated it yet; I guess it should be about ten thousand points.”
“So, if I had someone make a card with your name and number, I could use those ten thousand points?”
“Not possible.” George said, “The card’s owner must be the one to redeem it, and someone will check whether your card is fake. At the redemption center, the area is always shrouded in an aura of honesty, where all lies are exposed.”
Ji Ma smiled and said, “Actually, the original cardholders are all priests who cannot lie, right?”
“Correct.”
“Is there anything else?”
“Saintess Jenna said she would help you heal your chest three days later.”
“Another thing.” Ji Ma said, “I dare say there’s something more important.”
George said, “I hope you won’t misunderstand.”
“Rest assured; I’m not easily frightened; otherwise, I wouldn’t have run to the sanctuary with you.”
“Do you know where the crown fragment of Demon Lord Ji Ma is?”
“I don’t know.” After all, I personally threw it into the sea; God knows where the sea carried it.
“Then do you have any leads on where to find the crown fragment?”
Ji Ma immediately thought of the compass that could find what was in one’s heart. It was an item she left in the treasury for finding the crown fragment, and she was very familiar with it, so she could use this compass to locate it.
Ji Ma remained silent for a moment and asked, “If I don’t answer, will you force me?”
George felt a bit guilty and waved his hand, saying, “If you don’t want to answer, just say so.”
Taking this opportunity, Ji Ma opened her personal system and searched the field “What to do when asked about the crown fragment.”
Suddenly, an article titled “The True Lies of the Crown Fragment” appeared.
She clicked on it and easily found the pre-written lies within.
She never expected that her brain could come up with a flawless real lie in such a short time.
Therefore, the best method was to pre-think real lies, jot them down, and quickly retrieve them when needed.
“There is,” she said, “I remember Demon Lord Ji Ma threw it into the sea.”
“In the sea? What marker did he use?”
“No markers at all.” Ji Ma said, “He just tossed it into the sea; he didn’t even know which sea it landed in.”
“Do you know how he would look for the crown fragment?”
“He might use a divination spell; after all, he had intimate contact with the crown fragment for a long time. From a mystical perspective, it should be easy to find because there was a connection.” Ji Ma explained the methods he might use to find the crown fragment, “He might also rely on some magical item to search based on the connection between the two.”
Ji Ma didn’t finish her sentence and didn’t mention the compass that could point to what was in one’s heart.
George thought for a moment and nodded, saying:
“I have to admit that, in some respects, Demon Lord Ji Ma is very clever and cunning. He hid it using the connection he had with the crown fragment. But this connection will weaken over time. Even if he is resurrected, he won’t be able to find the crown fragment.”
So I prepared the compass.
Ji Ma added silently in her heart.
“Thank you for your honest answer.” George said, “The old-fashioned people in the sanctuary will recognize your contribution; I’ll take my leave now.”
“Wait a moment.” Ji Ma said, “Come here, lean down; I have a secret to share with you.”
George leaned down, bringing his head closer.
Ji Ma suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, planted a kiss on his cheek, and lightly nibbled on George’s earlobe.
He shivered, straightened up, and looked at Ji Ma.
Ji Ma smiled, revealing her small white fangs, licking her lips and saying, “It tastes pretty good.”
