Chapter 188 Chapter 189 Rumors (Part 1)
A gray-white vortex appeared in front of me, and I couldn’t tell if it was an illusion, but compared to last time, the color of the vortex was a bit darker, as if it had been electrified.
“I hope this thing isn’t a one-time use,” Jima said, picking up Lianxi Cat and saying, “I’m going to throw you inside.”
Before the dazed Lianxi Cat could react, Jima tossed her into the entrance of the Dream Palace.
Lianxi Cat flailed her limbs as she passed through the vortex-shaped entrance, landing beside a puddle, nearly falling into the water.
“Ah, as expected, it’s not that good,” Jima said. “You can’t bring live creatures in.”
“Meow.”
Lianxi Cat felt that she was a burden to Jima and squatted on the ground with her head down.
“Really thin; I’ve never seen such a skinny orange cat before.” Jima took out a piece of jerky and a bag of water from her food supply (always prepared to flee) and said, “Stay here and call out if anyone comes.”
Lianxi Cat nodded.
“Good.” Jima poured water into a wooden bowl. “I’ll teach you how to turn back into a human later.”
“Meow meow.”
Lianxi also felt that her cat form was not suitable for serving Jima.
Jima opened her personal information system and checked her remaining magical power; it was only at 56%.
If she continued to mess around, her magic power would be halved.
She recited a spell: “Here is quiet and secret.”
After finishing the spell, she leaped into the Dream Palace entrance, arriving in a forest adorned with “cucumbers,” vines, and red fruits—all around her were messy piles of furniture, potions, and alchemical vessels.
Jima rummaged through a wooden box filled with straw, searching for her creations.
“Found it.” She took out a blue test tube, pulled out the cork, and poured the five-colored liquid into her mouth.
After drinking, she felt her magical power gradually replenishing, albeit slowly, but it felt good.
Setting down the empty blue potion bottle, Jima jumped from the Dream Palace, which stood atop white clouds, into the black and white dream.
The daytime dream was somewhat strange, the whites whiter and the blacks grayer.
Flying above Marin City, looking down, she saw that the entire city had only a few dreams, as sparse as a meager harvest of wheat, and those few were concentrated in the rich districts.
“What a hardworking city.”
She gazed out in all directions.
The horizon did not have black smoke like war smoke—if the dream seeds were entrusted to people, she would see the black smoke emitted by the dream seeds when they fell asleep.
“I can only wait until tonight to find George,” Jima said, “but even if it’s just me, I can take down Young Master Is. This is an extraordinary war; he only has money and power.”
After saying this, she looked down at Marin City outlined in black and white. Above it, a thick yellow fog enveloped the area; this yellow fog consisted entirely of the rumors she had sown according to the preferences of the people.
These rumors provided her with the power of lies, enabling the transformation of falsehoods into truths.
At the same time, she contemplated which rumors to employ to undermine her enemies. She focused her gaze on the chaotic mess of rumors below.
There were many rumors.
Including that George had fifty-six lovers—the number and types increasing day by day, recently approaching one hundred and eight. The varieties were as diverse as the creativity of the people. She even planned to add one type—George’s horse, claiming that the horse could transform into a virtuous horse girl, its upper body being that of a fair-haired girl; it would definitely be a hot topic.
Getting off track.
Jima shifted her focus from the rumor “George has one hundred and three lovers” to check the other rumors.
Each rumor was shrouded in yellow mist, distinguished by varying shades of yellow. To the untrained eye, it seemed like messy handwriting where strokes intertwined, making it difficult to discern.
But to Jima, it was easy to tell apart.
She extended her index finger, pointed into the air, “Next, next, found it, the rumor about the green hat.”
A yellow mist abruptly became extremely clear, titled “Your wife’s skirt is hanging in Is’s room, and there are bloodstains on the skirt.”
The word “you” encompassed multiple subjects, all men who had cooperated with Young Master Is. Previously, Jima had divined scenes of alliances with Is, remembering the faces of those involved, then had asked Jenna to open the “Heavenly Eye” to look down from above, checking one by one and recording the data.
Unfortunately, there were too many people, and Jima found it troublesome, so she created this ambiguous rumor, spreading it randomly, without any hope of success or extracting the power of this rumor.
“This rumor is still alive, has considerable power, and seems quite popular among the people; it deserves special attention,” Jima said, contemplating, “No, no, no, right now, it’s best to focus on creating a rumor that can maximize people’s greed. I need to recreate that night in Shalin City to coerce the others into submission. I have to analyze rationally and not be swayed by emotions.”
After saying this, Jima accidentally opened the text area of the personal system, discovering her blacklist.
The latest entry was “Black Stewed Egg Mage blew my skirt, think of a way to deal with him.”
“This guy, if it weren’t for that little dark fellow, Is would have been blown to the sky by now, and he actually blew my skirt.” Jima was instantly furious, flapping her wings and flying back to the Dream Palace.
She sat on a golden cloud and returned to a hall in her Dream Palace, conjuring a meeting table that matched her height. Sitting in a chair, she interlocked her fingers, resting her chin on them.
The light in the room was dim, only her golden eyes shimmering brightly.
“My power of lies is already at thirty percent; if I forcibly use it to give the black stewed egg a green hat, the consumption would be too great and too forced, very likely to fail.”
Matters involving people were difficult to arrange. Even if Is or the black stewed egg’s wife had intentions of infidelity, at this very moment, even Is would manage his situation clumsily.
“Still, it’s better to focus on spreading rumors of sudden wealth to ignite people’s greed rather than going down this route?” Jima suddenly had an idea, “As the saying goes, ‘The voice of the people can melt gold’; if many people see Young Master Is fleeing from his wife’s bedroom window without his pants, wouldn’t that rumor spread all over the city?”
But then she reconsidered: “Oh, as long as he’s not an idiot, he would surely realize something was off and wouldn’t fall for such childish scheming.”
“But letting him go like this leaves me feeling unsatisfied.”
“Decided then, I’ll just give it a try, without investing too many magical resources.”
With a snap of her fingers, the center of the table turned transparent, allowing a view of the outside dream, including the black and white Marin City.
With another snap, the seat beneath Jima elevated by itself, transforming into a throne as she kicked off her boots, looking down on Marin City. At that moment, she felt like a queen.
“Magic mirror, magic mirror, tell me, who is the wife of the black stewed egg?”
A mirror appeared before Jima, in which a young and beautiful woman manifested; she had a slight belly and ivory-like skin. Even better, she was napping on a low bed.
Jima’s lips curled into a smirk as, with a wave of her hand, Young Master Is appeared beside her, dressed in white and wearing a golden mask. He had a diamond rose brooch pinned to his chest, clad in tight pants that emphasized his well-endowed figure.
The good show was about to begin.
