“Are you really… really thinking like that?”

“Every word is from the bottom of my heart, absolutely no falsehood!” Standing up, Jiang Cheng said righteously, “Please, sir, tell me what exactly the昏侯 (Hūn Hóu) did to offend the emperor and bring about this disaster.”

The person behind the screen held their breath for a long time, finally sighing slowly, "For three years, Jiangbei suffered a severe drought, with no harvest, thousands of miles of parched land, and a million disaster victims eating grass roots and tree bark. Wherever they went, it was like a locust plague, leaving not a blade of grass. Even at night, they hid in remote places and exchanged children to eat. Human life was as cheap as weeds, the misery beyond description. But the disaster relief grain and silver were deducted at every level, and less than one in ten reached the disaster victims. Skeletons lined the roads of escape, the stench of corpses could be smelled for miles.”

“In the spring of the second year, the disaster slightly subsided, and it was time for disaster relief and consolation. Someone petitioned the emperor, suggesting using the imperial treasury to rebuild the palace, to deter foreign countries and strengthen our royal power. The officials all echoed the suggestion. The Hūn Hóu advised against it three times without success, and was finally forced to submit thirty-three indictments in the court, before the emperor, his sharp words directly targeting the powerful ministers. Finally, he even requested the emperor to issue an edict of self-reproach to apologize to the people.”

“First indictment: treacherous villains in power; second indictment: persecuting loyal and good people; third indictment: deceiving the emperor and concealing the truth; fourth indictment: enriching their own pockets; fifth indictment: bullying and insulting women; sixth indictment: repaying kindness with enmity; seventh indictment: selling out friends for personal gain; eighth indictment: eunuchs disrupting the country…”

Hearing this list, the fatty broke out in a cold sweat, thinking to himself that no wonder the Hūn Hóu was sentenced to death by the emperor, and died so miserably. This not only tore off the superficially peaceful fig leaf of the court officials, but also slapped the emperor in the face, completely placing himself in the position of public enemy.

If someone else had encountered such a disaster, perhaps someone would have stepped forward to intercede, and the emperor might have taken the opportunity to show leniency, giving a slight punishment and letting it pass. But the Hūn Hóu had offended all the officials, who would plead for him? It would be good enough if they didn't kick him when he was down. Perhaps some upright officials wanted to save him, but they were powerless due to the emperor's authority.

The Hūn Hóu had enlightened the court at that time, but he had brought about his own death.

As the mysterious man revealed the truth about the Hūn Hóu, Jiang Cheng finally confirmed the other party's identity. There was no mistake, the person behind the screen was the Wàngyán Hóu, the owner of that blood corpse tomb.

Seeming to no longer want to hide his identity, the shadow of the mysterious man on the screen gradually changed. The body changed little, the biggest change was in the head and upper body, widening in an indescribable way, and widening again, until the head, along with half of the upper body, became almost a square.

A few seconds later, Jiang Cheng’s pupils shrank suddenly. He understood, wasn’t this the way a person looked when reading a newspaper? That rectangle was the raised newspaper!

Newspaper Man!

The owner of the tomb, the so-called Wàngyán Hóu, was the Newspaper Man!

Finally… found him.

Seeing the Newspaper Man appear, Jiang Cheng strangely didn’t feel much fear, but rather a sense of relief. This Newspaper Man was in some ways similar to the Ghost Bride. Who would have thought that the only two law enforcers on the bus were not heinous villains? The Newspaper Man was loyal and righteous, hating evil as if it were his enemy, while the Ghost Bride was devoted to her love, and after learning the whole truth, she chose to leave these ignorant villagers a way out.

Jiang Cheng steadied his mind, he knew that he had to settle things with the Newspaper Man. He took a step, and walked towards the screen in the fatty's terrified gaze.

He wanted to face the Newspaper Man and see the face beneath the newspaper.

But just as he was about to touch the screen, suddenly, the screen that had been close at hand suddenly moved further away from him. Jiang Cheng continued to walk, and as soon as he raised his hand, the screen was again a few steps away from him.

This feeling was extremely strange. Clearly, neither the screen nor the Newspaper Man behind the screen showed any signs of moving, as if the main hall was constantly extending backwards.

"You don't need to see my face, my face… is terrible."

The voice from behind the screen was hollow, and even had a hint of slurred speech, as if something was in his mouth. Jiang Cheng recalled what Liu Xueyi had said about golden water being poured down his throat, and he could roughly imagine what the other party looked like. This was probably why he chose to cover his face with a newspaper.

Jiang Cheng didn't force it, he just had many questions to ask, "What should I call you, Hūn Hóu, Wàngyán Hóu, or… Newspaper Man?"

Hearing this, there was a slight rustling sound from behind the screen, as if the other party was flipping through the newspaper, "A title is just a code name, so many years have passed, I almost can't recognize who I am anymore. What about you?"

The topic changed somewhat abruptly, and Jiang Cheng didn't understand why the other party threw the question back to him. He frowned subconsciously, "Me?"

"Yes, who exactly are you? Jiang Cheng, doctor, or… Lu Jianli?"

As the three words Lu Jianli came out, Jiang Cheng suddenly felt a strange aura coming from him, a feeling he had never experienced before, spreading from his bone marrow, "Lu Jianli… how do you know this name?"

The first time Jiang Cheng heard this name was in the Ghost Bride's mission. The Ghost Bride's beloved who she had been waiting for was called Lu Jianli, and looked exactly like him.

But that was just a paper figure, made by the Yin Practitioner using evil magic.

But thinking about it now, an uneasy atmosphere was brewing in his heart. Was there really… really such a coincidence, a paper figure that looked exactly like him?

Or… was this paper figure replicated based on a real template? At least… at least those Yin Practitioners had seen someone who looked exactly like him, otherwise how could they make such a complete and exquisite paper figure?

At the same time, Jiang Cheng's thoughts returned, and he thought of his first meeting with the Night Watchman. The other party was stunned after seeing his face. He had clearly seen him before, or even… even knew him, but this process should not have been pleasant, because he noticed a hint of unrestrained fear in the other party's initial gaze, until the other party confirmed that he was not the guy he remembered, and then his gaze calmed down.

Who was the guy he knew who looked exactly like him…?

Seeming to have noticed Jiang Cheng's thoughts, the Newspaper Man said in an even deeper voice, "I've seen you, a long, long time ago. You were completely different from now, a very pure, and very terrifying guy."

"Back then, you traveled through different worlds, doing whatever you wanted. We didn't know how to describe you, let alone how to stop you."

"Your appearance is completely different from us. On you, there's a scent from that world. You represent another kind of power that we can't understand. You are the key, and even the ultimate."

"But the current you is not complete."