With the Blade

This time, Jiang Wenyuan completely understood the reason behind the recent changes.

It was because he himself had experienced the same thing.

It wasn't any teaching or mentoring, but a more brutal method, like prying open his skull and pouring in scalding information like molten copper.

Jiang Wenyuan even thought he smelled a burnt aroma, his brain must have been...

"Cooked!"

A skewer of lamb was handed to Jiang Wenyuan.

"Don't just think about it, this is indeed a bit challenging. Eat a few bites first; it's mealtime now."

"I..."

He looked at the noticeably larger skewer in front of him and then at the giant who was at least twice the size of a normal person behind it.

Jiang Wenyuan let out a cry and turned to run.

"Hey, you haven't eaten yet!"

The giant's voice came from behind, making Jiang Wenyuan run even faster. Right now, he just wanted to get away from this terrifying voice, wishing for a moment of quiet.

"What's going on? These lamb skewers aren't dirty or anything."

Du Chengfeng started scratching his head.

"Could it be he's avoiding something?"

"Maybe, I'll go check on it."

Shan Bing couldn't figure out what was happening. From his perspective, Jiang Wenyuan had just been standing in front of the coffee table, staring at the tablecloth for a while. He had tried calling Jiang Wenyuan several times, but he was ignored. So, seeing it was already lunchtime, he simply followed Master Du to the imperial kitchen to roast meat. During that short absence, Jiang Wenyuan had changed like this.

It didn't seem like he was avoiding food, it seemed more like he was enchanted by something. For safety's sake, Shan Bing decided to check on his good brother.

But this good brother didn't want him to check up at all.

When Shan Bing chased all the way to Jiang Wenyuan's residence, Jiang Wenyuan even took the initiative to push Shan Bing out.

"Let me be silent for a moment, I'm exhausted, I beg you."

"Your situation..."

"I beg you, go back."

"Ah, well."

With words spoken to such an extent, Shan Bing didn't know what else to say. After pondering for a moment, he could only attribute it to his friend not feeling well and that he was the one being a nuisance.

And, after feeling Shan Bing leave, Jiang Wenyuan, who was propped against the door, finally slid down weakly.

"Finally... it's over."

Jiang Wenyuan let out a long sigh, but at this moment he didn't even have the strength to stand.

For no other reason, it was simply because the previous situation was too perilous. He felt like a lone boat on the vast ocean, being pulled into a surging whirlpool. Huge waves came crashing down, threatening to swallow him into an abyssal dark sea. So he fled as fast as he could. He could only run; it was something he couldn't fight against.

But who would have thought that even after escaping home, the aftermath of the great wave still followed him.

Even though the whirlpool named Shan Bing was relatively smaller, it still had the ability to stir up waves. But in his current shaky state, he could no longer withstand any storm. Even though the two were good friends, he ultimately had to drive Shan Bing away.

After all, only by doing this could he have a moment of tranquility.

"Whew... don't think, don't think."

Exhaling a murky breath, Jiang Wenyuan tried hard to organize these chaotic thoughts.

Don't think about it, deliberately forget certain things, that's something he had learned back when he was Chief Constable. After all, back then, he had to face dangerous madmen filled with Evil Qi and even more perilous monsters. There were always some scenes, some information, that after knowing them would bring no benefit but rather torment you. In such an environment, learning to forget was an instinct every capturer had to develop.

But can you really forget?

Actually, you can't, because once you've seen it, you've seen it. No one could truly have some miraculous way to pull those memories directly from the brain. Perhaps it would be simpler to just remove the brain entirely, but by the time you get to that point, you might as well just draw a sword and end it.

What they could do was to keep themselves from thinking about it, stop letting those images replay in their minds repeatedly.

Until the echoes completely died down, the disturbance would cease as well.

"Whew..."

Thinking this, Jiang Wenyuan simply got up and cleaned the place.

It actually didn't need cleaning, since even when he was away, there were always people maintaining it. He just needed some activity to clear his mind, to make himself feel a bit more at ease. After cleaning the whole house, Jiang Wenyuan finally recovered his basic composure.

"Being too perceptive isn't necessarily a good thing..."

Frowning, Jiang Wenyuan rubbed his head. He even wished he could be as obtuse as Shan Bing. If he were as obtuse, he might have simply been influenced instead of now, when he instinctively chose to flee upon sensing the whirlpool that would engulf everything around it.

However, this also provided him with more information.

"All changes indeed stem from the imperial palace."

First, regarding his previous doubts, Jiang Wenyuan made a judgment.

Although on the surface, these changes might seem beneficial, at least under the influence of that Master Du, be it Shan Bing or the other court attendants, even the commoners in Jiankang City, they were all starting to find a path to become stronger. But Jiang Wenyuan always felt like something wasn't quite right.