The soundproof barrier was re-established, and Megan stood outside the study, finding a different way to continue listening.
Inside the room, without the presence of wives and children, the two societal outcasts dropped their pretenses and began to speak frankly.
"What’s gone wrong with you, being chosen again, are you insane, aren’t you afraid of exposing yourself?"
"It was a situation I had no control over, I had to do it..."
Wayne joined the censored conversation, taking out a stack of photos and slapping them in front of Austin: "These fourteen people, I’ve already saved them, arranged their identities. No matter who they were before, from now on they’ll be Lundan’s people."
Fourteen candidates for Holy Maiden, each more beautiful than the last, Austin glanced over them, furrowing his brows heavily: "What do you mean, all fourteen are your new lovers?"
The tone was sarcastic and the words were bitingly harsh.
Austin warned Wayne not to go too far; his patience had limits.
"What are you thinking, could my body handle that?"
Wayne mocked with a snort, explaining: "They’re already dead. Now they’re just like Ah Bin and Ah Bo, special undead beings, complicated to explain, but you can think of them as magical beings."
"There’s no rush, explain it slowly, we have plenty of time." Austin squinted his eyes, very curious about the secrets Wayne was hiding.
Wayne didn’t say, instead taking out four bottles of Dragon Blood: "I got these from Saina, six bottles in total. These four are for the teacher and Megan, for you to deliver to them."
Wayne deliberately changed the subject, and Austin didn’t say anything in response, accepting three bottles of Dragon Blood: "Megan doesn’t need Dragon Blood, take this one back for Veronica."
Wayne nodded, taking back the bottle of Dragon Blood before continuing: "Regarding the Dragon Blood Curse, I’ve discussed it with Saina. She told me everything. The so-called curse is actually a choice of evolution, along with the consequences that come with choosing..."
He detailed the Dragon Blood Curse and then added: "I don’t have a good solution right now. The teacher dares not venture into the Legendary Domain because of it. I’m still researching, maybe I could find a solution through the Protogenos Bloodline, but that’s very dangerous."
"I’m also trying to find a way, if it doesn’t work, then I’ll get Hefei a new body, to free her from the curse forever." Austin spoke with a grim face.
Body swapping was a desperate measure with a very low success rate.
Dragon Blood had altered Hefei’s path of evolution, and it was not just the body, but her thinking had also undergone irreversible changes.
If changing her body could avoid the curse, that would be underestimating the life level of a Giant Dragon.
"What’s your method, tell me about it."
"Can’t reveal it just yet, just an idea, I’m still researching it."
Wayne shook his head; he could contaminate Hefei right now, but it definitely wouldn’t work, he needed to wait a little longer.
Then, he alluded to the contamination of the Protogenos Bloodline and the consequences of changing the evolutionary path, noting his lack of experimental materials. If Austin had a surplus, he hoped for some societal outcasts to be recommended.
Austin pondered for a moment: "I know your character, you wouldn’t want innocent people, and ordinary death-row inmates have no research value. Looks like we’ll have to target the Magic Department."
"What about the Red Leaf Forest Asylum?" Wayne asked.
Austin weighed the possibilities, shaking his head: "We can try, but the mages locked up in the Asylum are all unstable, they could turn into The Forgotten at any moment; their thoughts are already a mess, the experimental results will be flawed."
Wayne sighed upon hearing this, regretting that he had killed Flora. If only he had listened to Attilia’s advice to keep Flora locked in the basement for study, then he would have both experimental materials and arms, a win-win.
Unfortunately, that was not to be!
Though risky, transformations held potential benefits, but Flora didn’t deserve to reap them.
"I’ll make arrangements for the Asylum, we’ll find a few test subjects for you to experiment with." Austin squinted his eyes; if all else failed, he would let the Dark Knight kidnap people from the Dark Church. There were plenty of ways to do it.
Wayne was only responsible for the research. Leaving the selection of candidates to Austin, he simply stated: "I killed Flora, you don’t have to wait for her anymore, pick someone else to carry out the plan."
"You shouldn’t have killed her, I told you, I wanted her." Austin scolded, regardless of what Flora had done wrong, she should not have died so recklessly.
"I know, but it’s useless to talk about it now that she’s dead."
"Wait, could she still be alive?"
Austin’s face changed, speculating: "She’s very beautiful and a former Holy Maiden. You knew I wanted to kill her, so you took her for yourself, using the identity of the Naturalist Knight’s heir to transfer her to Church headquarters."
This baseless suspicion was utterly illogical. Did he look like a lecher?
"It’s not a matter of appearance..."
As if possessing mind-reading abilities, Austin saw right through what Wayne was thinking. After a bit of back and forth, Austin finally believed that Flora was indeed dead.
"Strange, with her beauty, what exactly did she do to make you decide to end her life?" Austin asked incredulously, probing, "Did she cause any trouble for Veronica?"
"With me looking after Veronica, Flora wouldn’t have the chance."
Wayne sighed, to prevent Austin from jumping to false conclusions, and given that Veronica had lost her purity, it was highly possible that misunderstandings would arise, he confessed the real reason honestly.
"Haha, Flora killed her own student, and you liked that student, you killed her out of revenge." Austin scoffed coldly a few times.
And you say you’re not a lecher!
Wayne had no strength to retort, whispering: "Her beauty but death proves I am not a lecher."
Rumors stop with wise men. For the sake of slandering him, Austin would rather not be the wise man. Wayne knew this all too well and, since one can’t wake a person who is pretending to sleep, decided to just let go and generously admit to the rumor being true.