The Mighty Mage
Chapter 295: The Truth

Chapter 295: Chapter 295: The Truth

Auric’s face went pale as Gu Jin’s words sliced through her last fragments of composure.

She clutched at her wig, hands shaking, realizing with horror just how exposed she was.

Her voice, once strong with defiance, now barely managed a whisper,

"You... you knew? All along?"

Gu Jin raised a brow, her smile laced with quiet amusement.

"Did you think a cheap disguise and some smoke could fool me?" Her gaze shifted to the wig and colored lenses.

"It’s a rather valiant attempt, I’ll give you that, but I don’t need my eyes to see through deception."

Auric backed up slowly, her movements stilted, watching Gu Jin like a cornered animal.

"You think you’re so clever, don’t you?"

Her voice shook, yet there was a desperate edge to it as if hoping to regain some footing.

"You may have won the crowd today, but they’ll turn on you the moment they see you for the fraud you are!"

Unmoved, Gu Jin took another step forward, her aura cold and composed.

"A fraud?" she echoed softly.

"The real fraud here is the one who hides behind disguises and attempts to steal the efforts of others for her own gain. You think the people can’t see the truth for themselves?"

Auric’s breathing grew labored as she pressed herself against the wall, her earlier bravado slipping through her fingers.

"Don’t try to lecture me, Gu Jin," she hissed, clutching the wall for balance.

"You don’t know what I’ve had to do just to get here... the sacrifices I made!"

Gu Jin’s smile faded, her gaze hardening as she replied with chilling calm.

"Sacrifices? To manipulate people and take credit for their suffering and survival? Don’t mistake ambition for cruelty."

Her voice softened, each word like a dagger in the silence.

A flicker of panic flashed in Auric’s eyes, her voice growing strained.

"Anyways, you should leave! You can’t trespass on my house! I will call the police!"

Gu Jin raised an eyebrow.,

"Call the police? Sure go ahead. I was thinking about how to punish a person who tried to impersonate me."

A chill ran down Auric’s spine and she instantly calmed down. In a trembling voice, she asked,

"What do you want?"

Gu Jin smiled widely,

"See, we can still talk if you know your position."

She slowly backed away from Auric and sat on the sofa. Looking at the injured maid who was trembling with fear, Gu Jin chuckled,

"I feel very distressed for the maid. Poor her, she is loyal to a master who doesn’t care about her loyalty and beats her.

If I had ever injured her, I would have compensated her."

Auric gritted her teeth, as she stared into Gu Jin’s eyes and said word by word,

"Fine, I will compensate her! Now tell me what you want."

Hearing Auric words, the maid was slightly delighted.

Who would like to get injured for a job paying just 45000 yuans?

Gu Jin motioned for the maid to leave and she left even without taking Auric’s permission.

Auric was fuming with anger in her heart, but her face showed a calm appearance. She knew that if she wanted to win against Gu Jin, she would need to act as if she was not in a disadvantageous position.

Instead of repeating her question, Auric stared at Gu Jin with an intense look in her eyes.

For the next few minutes, no one backed down. But soon a clear winner appeared as tears started to stream down Auric’s face.

Gu Jin chuckled,

"Hey, I haven’t even started to interrogate yet and you are already crying? How weak."

Auric: "..." I want to kill her!

"What... what do you want to know?" she managed to stammer.

Gu Jin’s smile widened, revealing a hint of amusement mingled with malice.

"Oh, we’ll get to that, Auric. But first," she leaned in closer, her voice low and dangerous, "let me make one thing clear.

If you don’t give me the real answer to my questions, I will have no choice but to make this... interrogation... rather unpleasant."

Before Auric could reply, Gu Jin’s hand lifted, summoning a thin vine from the ground that snaked up toward Auric’s neck.

It wound loosely around her throat, soft as silk but radiating a dangerous energy.

Auric’s hands flew up, trying to pry it off, but the moment she tugged, the vine tightened in response, cutting off her air supply.

Auric’s eyes widened in panic.

"Wh-what are you...?" she gasped, her fingers trembling as she struggled against the relentless grip of the vine.

"Are you... trying to kill me?"

Gu Jin leaned back with a cold smile.

"Kill you? Not yet. This is merely a measure of... honesty assurance. For every lie that slips past those lips of yours, the vine will tighten just a little more."

Her smile grew wider, but her eyes remained as icy as ever.

"You’ll find, Auric, that lying under such circumstances becomes... very uncomfortable. After all, there are many who love to lie to me, and I don’t want to waste my time. So be careful."

She had seen many people who would agree to get interrogated and lie during the entire interrogation and she hated those types of people the most.

Auric’s chest rose and fell rapidly as fear coursed through her veins.

She opened her mouth to argue, but her voice failed her as the pressure of the vine seemed to anticipate her next words.

Tears started to stream down her face as she realized she couldn’t escape through Gu Jin’s hands if she lied.

She regretted trying to steal Gu Jin’s credit!

Seeing Auric’s trembling state, Gu Jin’s expression softened slightly, almost mockingly.

"What’s wrong, Auric?" she cooed, voice laced with feigned concern.

"The great, ambitious Auric, reduced to begging for mercy before we’ve even begun? I thought you were made of sterner stuff."

"Fine," Auric croaked out, her voice little more than a whisper.

"I’ll... I’ll tell you what you want to know."

"Good," Gu Jin replied, satisfaction glinting in her gaze. "But one last thing—"

Auric’s fear deepened as she watched Gu Jin calmly pull a vial from within her cloak, tipping a single drop onto her fingertips.

Before Auric could even register what was happening, Gu Jin flicked the liquid into her face.

The drop landed against her skin with a sharp, prickling sensation, spreading an icy numbness that seeped into her muscles.

"What... what did you just do?" Auric stammered, the numbness swiftly spreading through her veins.

"Oh, that?" Gu Jin responded casually.

"Just a bit of insurance. This poison will paralyze your magic for the next three hours. A little trick I’ve picked up."

She studied Auric’s terrified expression with a hint of a smile,

"You’ll find that resistance isn’t quite an option, so let’s keep this civil, shall we?"

Auric’s body trembled, her fingers twitching as she tested her magic to no avail.

It was as though her energy had been drained from her very soul, leaving her defenseless.

The realization struck her hard, and the final threads of her bravado vanished.

"I’ll tell you everything," she whispered, her voice barely holding. "Just... just please, don’t... don’t kill me."

Gu Jin’s lips curved into a smile.

"Good girl. Now, let’s start with something simple. Why did you want to steal my credit? What drove you to act as if I were the one who took it from you?"

Auric felt the tightening of the vine at her neck, and in a moment of clarity, she realized that any hesitation on her part could result in pain.

With a trembling voice, she began to spill her thoughts,

"I... I worked so hard to get where I am. I sacrificed so much. People didn’t see me, Gu Jin!

They only saw you! I wanted to be recognized, to have the power and influence you possess. I thought... I thought if I could just outshine you, then I could take my rightful place!"

Gu Jin rolled her eyes,

"Because I was the one who did everything. Why would they even give you recognition?"

Auric remained silent.

Gu Jin rolled her eyes and asked,

"And you thought that lying and deceiving the very people who had faith in you would earn you that recognition?"

"Yes! No!" Auric shouted, her panic rising.

"I didn’t mean for it to go this far. I’m sorry! I didn’t want it to end up like this! Please, just give me another chance. I’ll never provoke you, I promise!"

Gu Jin interrupted, her voice low and menacing.

"What were your real plans for me? Did you think I would just disappear quietly, letting you take everything I built?"

Auric faltered, the tightness around her neck reminding her of her precarious situation.

"I thought... if I could convince people I was the one who saved them, they would support me instead of you.

I wanted to build a following, gain power, and eventually... I wanted to push you out of the picture entirely. I was foolish, I know!"

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