“Soul extraction?”
The attendant called “Xiao Ba” blinked in confusion, obviously not understanding the meaning of “soul extraction.”
“What does that mean?”
“As the name suggests, a soul has been drawn out to another place.”
Moya’s holy light had already shifted from fine investigation to gentle healing, to alleviate the decaying signs beginning to appear in the Cloaked Figure’s body after his soul had been drawn out.
Under the organization of divine arts, the milky white and pale gold holy light flowed into a soft curtain, shining over the Cloaked Figure’s body, gradually stabilizing his vital signs.
“What place?”
Xiao Ba looked a bit dazed, not immediately catching Moya’s implication.
“Think about it, where were that pair of true and Fake Lords taken?”
Seeing that Moya was focused on healing the Cloaked Figure and not in the mood to answer Xiao Ba, Aide picked up where Moya left off and patiently explained to Xiao Ba.
“Oh oh, the spirit world!”
Under Aide’s patient guidance, Xiao Ba finally understood.
“The Dream Circus you mentioned earlier!”
“That’s right, when the Crystal Ball erupted, it took not only the Fake Lord and Qigai Nühai, but also the soul of the Cloaked Figure under the royal prison. However, that pair of true and Fake Lords were taken body and soul, while the Cloaked Figure only had his soul drawn away.”
Xiao Ba listened to Moya and Aide’s explanations, thought for a moment, and then continued to ask.
“So did this Cloaked Figure cut off his tail like a gecko to survive, or was he forcibly taken away?”
“Most likely forcibly taken away. After all, without my divine arts to stabilize him, this body would likely decay and die within three days, and then the Cloaked Figure’s soul would also perish. Probably to prevent the cloaked man from confessing under torture.”
Moya frowned slightly, answering while continuing to stabilize the Cloaked Figure’s body.
“But it’s fine. Since the Cloaked Figure’s soul was taken, I can use his body left in reality to track the whereabouts of his soul.”
Saying this, Moya’s feathered ears trembled with excitement.
If this idea could be implemented, she wouldn’t need to use a large reserve of holy light for a “carpet bombing” search, and naturally wouldn’t get her salary deducted by the church.
“How are you going to track it?”
Aide stepped forward, his gaze falling on the Cloaked Figure’s pale face.
Moya condensed a strand of holy light as thin as a hair from her palm and gently pressed it into the Cloaked Figure’s brow.
After the strand sank into the skin, it trembled slightly in one direction, as if pulled by some gravitational force.
“Even if the soul is drawn away, a faint connection remains between the body and soul, like an umbilical cord. No matter how far the soul and body are separated, the soul far away instinctively knows the way back to the body, just like the process of our consciousness returning to the body. So as long as we trace this connection in reverse, we can find where the soul has gone.”
Moya closed her eyes tightly, trying to perceive the direction of the Cloaked Figure’s soul along the holy light thread.
“Northeast of the Royal Capital, the old district.”
—
The old district of the Royal Capital.
The setting sun dyed this old-style block a dark red.
Compared to the bustling crowds in the center of the Royal Capital, the old district was obviously much quieter.
Elderly residents sat lazily in shabby shops, curiously sizing up the two strangers who had suddenly appeared in the old district.
Moya pulled the brim of her cloak lower, covering her slightly trembling feathered ears.
Following the direction transmitted by the holy light thread, Moya and Aide walked deeper into the old district.
“We’re getting closer,” Moya said quietly, but she didn’t speed up.
Although she really wanted to clock out, Moya understood that when dealing with emergency situations like this, rushing often backfires.
Aide walked beside Moya, his peripheral vision constantly scanning the old district surroundings, guarding against a possible ambush.
Following the alleys of the old district deeper in, they arrived at a small, dilapidated square.
Gray-green flagstones were covered in moss, and in the center stood a dried-up fountain.
The fountain’s sculpture was a winged pegasus, but its wings were broken, and most of its head had been deliberately knocked off.
“This is about the place.”
After confirming that there was no one around this deserted small square, Moya removed her cloak.
“Relax your body, it’s time to enter this place’s spirit world.”
Moya still had that expression of not caring about anything, but Aide noticed that her eyes lacked their usual laziness.
It seemed that she was indeed taking this commission seriously this time.
Before Aide could react further, Moya had already condensed holy light around herself and Aide, forming an intricate divine formation that enveloped them both.
The surroundings began to change drastically.
The dilapidated square of the old district twisted and faded like melting wax figures, replaced by a constantly shifting void.
Aide understood that Moya was using divine arts to transport both of their physical bodies to the spirit world.
This was his first time experiencing such a thing;
Previously, entering the spirit world had only been done by extracting their consciousness from their bodies.
“Don’t look at the scenery around you.”
Moya’s voice sounded in Aide’s ear, with a rare seriousness.
Her palm pressed against Aide’s shoulder, and holy light seeped from her palm, wrapping them in a thin light shield.
“The void of the spirit world is no good place. Stare too long and you’ll easily lose yourself. Then you won’t even know who you are, and I’ll have to go through the trouble of fishing you back.”
Aide closed his eyes as instructed, feeling his body being pulled by some gentle force, as if sinking into warm water.
The void around him murmured, as if countless people were whispering in his ear, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying.
After who knows how long, Moya’s hand gently patted his shoulder.
“We’re here.”
Aide opened his eyes, and what came into view was a huge circus park.
It was still the scene Moya had seen last time.
The huge circus park was brightly lit, colorful flags flapped in the wind, cheerful music came from all directions, and the air was thick with the sweet smell of popcorn and candy.
All the performances were proceeding as usual.
Clowns did somersaults in front of empty seats, animal tamers directed magical beasts to leap through hoops of fire, acrobats flipped and twisted in midair, and musicians played incongruously festive tunes for all the acts.
Still no audience, and no one paid any attention to Aide and Moya’s arrival.
“This is really peculiar.”
Unlike Moya, who had been here once before, Aide was visiting this place for the first time.
Watching these people immersed in their performances, Aide found this place, which exuded an eerie atmosphere everywhere, quite novel.
“If you think it’s interesting, you can perform with them. I’ll definitely applaud for you.”
Moya didn’t like this place at all, and replied in a displeased tone.
Intentionally or not, everyone here was diligently and wholeheartedly devoted to their work, which was simply incompatible with her nature.
However, just as Aide and Moya thought this strange yet orderly state would continue, all the clowns, tamers, acrobats, and musicians stopped their movements and, as if by agreement, looked in one direction.
In the depths of that direction, Qigai Nühai was holding the hand of the reluctant Fake Lord, struggling to escape.