Hero? Are You Worthy?
Chapter 294 - 184: It’s Fine as Long as It Doesn’t Break the Bottom Line (1)

Chapter 294: Chapter 184: It’s Fine as Long as It Doesn’t Break the Bottom Line (1)

Anthony, sitting across from Asina, fell into contemplation upon hearing her words.

It was a long while before Anthony finally spoke slowly, "A soul injury is very difficult to recover from, and the most commonly used method is to nourish it with abundant magic power, which requires a long time. I have never heard of the method you mentioned."

A frown creased Asina’s brow slightly.

"However, I won’t deny the possibility."

"Precisely because the soul is mystical and unique, it holds infinite possibilities."

"I apologize, as an old man without a wife, I don’t quite understand that feeling, but I’ve heard that afterward, the human brain enters a state of serenity, which seems to be an effect on and a sublimation of the soul."

"The fusion of spirit and desire, that should be the meaning."

"So, although I haven’t heard of it, I feel this method makes a lot of sense."

Asina nodded. Indeed, after each time she was with Qin Chu, her consciousness seemed to enter a very peculiar state, which might be the special state that was healing Lord Jie Luo’s Residual Soul.

"Then, aside from this method, are there other ways to rapidly restore a fragmented soul?" Asina hurriedly asked again.

Anthony’s gaze suddenly turned quirky as he stared at Asina, as if to confirm what Asina really wished to do: ’Miss Asina, if I may ask, what’s your purpose in studying souls? Do you have a friend whose soul is injured?’

Asina smiled lightly. "How could that be? I’m merely curious. I’ve read in this book that there was once a powerful Magician whose soul was destroyed by his enemies, reduced to just a wisp, and yet he actually managed to recover in the end."

Asina held up the book in her hand, "So I feel a bit curious. Is the soul that is so mysterious really that easily restored?"

The skepticism in Anthony’s eyes faded somewhat, "Ah, this book, I’ve read it as well. I advise you not to look for books about souls here; they’re all nonsense."

"The only way to quickly restore a damaged soul is through soul siphoning."

"Extracting by force the soul of another person, and it must be a living person’s soul, then refining it into pure soul energy through a special method, to infuse into the damaged soul."

"It’s a very cruel method, and it requires enormously strong ability to support it. A mere soul fragment couldn’t do it."

Asina understood.

Lord Jie Luo had not told her this method; he certainly didn’t want herself and Catherine to harm others for his sake. What a kind-hearted person.

Then what about Qin Chu’s soul? Would that be possible?

After all, the guy is an utter scoundrel.

Asina pondered in her heart, planning to discuss with Lord Jie Luo the next time he woke up, to see if they could refine Qin Chu’s soul.

This would also count as recycling waste.

His body could serve as the vessel for Lord Jie Luo’s resurrection, his soul as nourishment for Lord Jie Luo’s soul’s recovery—this, too, could be considered an honor for Qin Chu, perhaps.

Having finally met someone with considerable knowledge of souls, Asina was naturally not going to let this opportunity slip. She and Anthony exchanged thoughts for a long time, carefully asking about many things including Soul Fragments, and Anthony gave answers based on his understanding.

This was a very generous Magician; he did not mind sharing his knowledge with others.

"Soul fragments... In reality, a Soul Fragment can store very little of a Residual Soul and memories; at that point, it can’t even be considered a normal soul, much like what humans would call an imbecile."

"If the Soul Fragments are collected and the Residual Souls are restored, that’s natural."

"If some are missing, even by using the method I mentioned, recovery is possible, but whether they are the same person as before is debatable, after all, their soul will have too many elements from other people mixed in."

Anthony’s explanation filled Asina with dread—does this mean that even if Lord Jie Luo were to be resurrected one day, he might no longer be the Lord Jie Luo of the past? At least, not completely.

"Moreover, if it’s a Residual Soul dwelling within someone else’s body, the difficulty of taking over is incredibly high. After all, it’s just an incomplete fragment without much strength. It is more likely to be absorbed by the host. If the Residual Soul is very powerful, at most, it can merge with the host’s soul. As to who will take charge, that depends on whether the Residual Soul or the host’s soul is stronger."

This statement frightened Asina even more, causing goosebumps to spread across her body.

Although she was very confident in Lord Jie Luo’s strength, assuredly stronger than Qin Chu, and that his soul was more resilient.

But now, he is just a Residual Soul.

And this Qin Chu, his strength was growing at an alarming rate, with his soul’s strength increasing alongside. Sooner or later, the day would come when Qin Chu would discover another soul residing within his body... At that moment, what would Qin Chu do?

Drive out Lord Jie Luo’s soul from his body, or even directly consume it?

Even if the fusion of their souls took place with Lord Jie Luo’s will at the forefront, Asina found it hard to accept. She couldn’t tolerate any impurities existing within Lord Jie Luo’s soul.

Calculating quickly in her mind, Asina realized the most urgent task at hand was to find the remaining Soul Fragments of Lord Jie Luo as soon as possible to make his Residual Soul stronger.

And then... through the fusion of spirit and desire, to let Lord Jie Luo recover as much as possible.

Even though she despised Qin Chu, under these circumstances, Asina had no other choice. These days, due to being busy investigating the matter of the soul and thus neglecting Lord Jie Luo’s recovery, she really shouldn’t have.

However, one of Anthony’s statements aroused Asina’s suspicions.

A soul fragment can hold a very limited amount of Residual Soul and memories?

Just like an imbecile?

But Lord Jie Luo didn’t seem to feel that way at all.

After interacting with him, it all felt very normal.

Could it be because Lord Jie Luo was simply too powerful?

Asina’s heart was filled with some inexplicable fear.

...

Meanwhile, Silf had finished her treatment.

She was brushing her teeth.

Looking at her own reflection in the mirror, Silf couldn’t help but smile bitterly at how disheveled she appeared.

She was a dignified Elf, after all, a Ghost Shooter.

But look at her now, pale-faced, emaciated, hair somewhat disordered... and her ears a little red, that bastard Qin Chu had been pinching them continuously, which made Silf feel quite uncomfortable.

The only consolation was that the treatment seemed to have some effect; the two marks under her collarbone had faded slightly compared to before.

In Qin Chu’s words, it was like a part of the evil had been cleansed from her body... although it might be a very small part, it was still a glimmer of hope.

When she asked Qin Chu why he didn’t clean it out all at once, he looked at her as if she was an idiot, "Think about it, you almost died just now. Do you want to experience that again?"

Even now, Silf shuddered at the memory. That sensation was just too horrible, and she would by no means wish to try it again; it really could kill someone.

But at this rate, just to clear the branding left by the Evil God on her physical body completely, she wondered, how many treatments would it take? Dozens? Hundreds?

Remembering the sensation she had just experienced, Silf had the urge to vomit—it was that awful. How on earth did Catherine manage to endure it, or did one simply get used to it?

Besides, there was the even more troublesome branding left on her soul... Thinking of this, Silf could only see darkness ahead.

Her toothbrushing paused, teeth biting her lip, she shook her head vigorously. She couldn’t be this dejected; after all, this was already a pretty good result, wasn’t it?

At least she still retained her purity and might still have the chance to stay by Lord Jie Luo’s side... presumably.

A trace of mockery suddenly appeared on her face. How pitiful people become in their bid to survive... But she definitely would hold on to her bottom line.

It was then that Silf suddenly felt something. Her brows furrowed tightly, as she quickly spat out the toothpaste foam and rinsed her mouth. While wiping her cheeks, eyebrows, and hair of any stain with a towel, she moved swiftly towards the outside.

When she opened her door, there stood a tall figure in the corridor.

Dressed in a tasteful maid costume, beneath its black-and-white hem were shapely, slender legs, encased in white stockings which only accentuated their delicate form.

Swishing gently behind her was a similar shade of green hair to Silf’s.

It was Angelica!

Qin Chu’s maid.

The highest-ranking woman within the palace.

Even though she herself was just a maid and never positioned herself as the mistress, she was always very respectful towards Princess Antasia and Miss Violet, but everyone in the palace knew that she was Qin Chu’s most favored woman and would never be underestimated simply because of her status as a maid.

Before she and Aili moved into the palace, Catherine and Asina both warned her carefully to never offend Angelica, as it would result in troublesome consequences.

Thinking of this, despite looking down on a lowly maid, Silf still tried to show a smile as she nodded to Angelica as a way of greeting.

What made Silf feel even weirder was the inexplicable sense of closeness she felt towards Angelica. Could it be because they both had green hair?

But what really took Silf by surprise was that this mere maid, upon seeing her gesture, just glanced at her with extreme indifference, then, apparently uninterested, shifted her gaze away and didn’t engage with Silf at all, heading directly upstairs, seemingly to find Qin Chu.

Hiss...

As Silf was wiping her hair and cheeks, her body shuddered with a jolt. She’s just a lowly maid, what’s with the arrogance?

Do you think having the Hero’s favor makes you untouchable?

Just wait, the day will come when you fall from grace. When Qin Chu loses interest in you, let’s see what airs you can put on then.

With a fierce glare at Angelica’s retreating figure, she watched her move towards the stairs, likely going to see Qin Chu. That vile woman, probably going to engage in some filthy act again, this shameless maid obtained the Hero’s favor with her disgraceful body, didn’t she?

It’s only because I refuse to lose my purity to Qin Chu that a lowly maid like you has the chance to strut around.

Silf hummed in her heart as she remembered Qin Chu’s words; she had chosen the least effective method of treatment. The other two methods... they would work a little better.

If she kept going like today, who knows when it would end. The prospect of a long, torturous ordeal also made Silf uncomfortable, and no one could guarantee that her condition wouldn’t suddenly worsen during this prolonged period.

Maybe she should try the second method?

As long as her bottom line isn’t crossed, that should be fine, although she felt it was very dirty.

Silf watched Angelica disappearing around the corner of the stairwell, muttering to herself. Something about that maid felt off today.