"Of course, it’s about you and that little dog."
"Ade is not a dog, it’s a wolf."
"Whatever, you can think of it as whatever you want."
"...Ade grew up with me."
"What about your parents?"
"I have no parents, only it, and it’s also my Hunter partner."
"Then it went missing."
"With just this level of description, I think it would be hard for you to find it, don’t you think?"
Vic stared fixedly at Bai Wei: "You said you would help me find it."
Bai Wei smiled: "That’s right, I’m helping you now, aren’t I? If you’re unwilling to cooperate, then I can’t help you. You can still leave now."
Vic tightly clenched his fist, feeling very much like turning away and leaving, but ultimately he abandoned the idea, speaking softly: "Ade and I got lost at the Sacrificial Arena."
"The lost Sacrificial Arena?"
"...You actually know?"
"I’ve heard a bit about it," Bai Wei said lightly, "It’s said to be the sacred place of the Senluo Church. The priests of the Senluo Church and their Hunters used to enter the Sacrificial Arena to gain power, but that was something from a hundred years ago, wasn’t it? The God of Senluo and His church have both perished, what use is going there for you now?"
Vic originally didn’t want to answer; it was the last secret of the Senluo Hunters, so he wanted to make up some nonsense to deceive Bai Wei.
But Bai Wei always had a look of ease as if everything was under his control, making Vic dare not do so.
So after a long pause, he slowly spoke: "Not completely perished."
"The power of the Sacrificial Arena has not entirely vanished," Vic said with difficulty, "Hunters can still gain power from it."
Saying it seemed to have drained all of Vic’s strength, causing him to slump onto the ground, full of regret and helplessness.
And Bai Wei understood why Vic reacted this way.
"It seems even on this land, this news is a secret," Bai Wei said with a smile, "Are you guarding against the Wildfire believers?"
Vic said nothing, but evidently agreed.
Before the God of Senluo passed away, Hunters were the core of this land. After the God of Senluo passed, Wildfire believers took the place of Hunters.
But Hunter’s power has not vanished; in the former Senluo Sacrificial Arena, Hunter’s power can still be obtained.
Although not much, it was enough for work and life.
Vic and his hunting wolf Ade both needed this power.
Bai Wei continued to ask: "So who told you this news?"
"So you just believed him?"
Vic looked at Bai Wei: "I have nothing worth lying to."
"That’s true, but why didn’t you consider joining the Wildfire Sect?" Bai Wei said with a smile, "Aren’t they the orthodoxy of this land?"
"Outsiders call them Esoteric Buddhism, don’t they?"
"Is that what you think too?"
Vic fell silent for a while: "I don’t trust them."
"I need a more precise explanation."
Vic seemed helpless: "Smell, I can smell a strange scent from them, like... corpses crawling out of graves."
"That’s quite a vivid description."
Upon hearing this, Vic subconsciously glanced at Bai Wei.
He wanted to say "you have a bit of that smell too," but he dared not. The conversation with Bai Wei was putting him under tremendous pressure, even greater than when he was being pursued by Wildfire believers.
"So, you and your little dog feel there is something wrong with the Wildfire Sect, and don’t want to join them, so you went in search of the former Hunter’s Power," Bai Wei concluded unhurriedly, "And while on the way to the Sacrificial Arena the old Hunter told you of, you and your little dog got lost?"
"That doesn’t matter, focus on the point."
"How exactly did you get lost?"
"...I don’t remember." Vic seemed afraid Bai Wei wouldn’t believe him, so he said rather anxiously, "I’m not lying; I really don’t remember."
"Don’t worry, I didn’t say you were lying to me." Bai Wei smiled, "But why not elaborate a little more? This doesn’t do any harm to you or me, does it?"
Vic took a deep breath.
His memory returned once again to more than ten days before, that ancient building, strange runes, Ade accompanying him.
But soon, the memory began to blur.
When it cleared again, he was already alone.
Vic recounted these to Bai Wei.
But Bai Wei didn’t listen earnestly, because he had "seen" everything, "seen" clearly.
[Listen] combined with [Gaze] allowed him to directly see through Vic’s inner thoughts, even getting a rough idea of Vic’s memories and imaginations.
Of course, this wasn’t easy and required some guidance, as well as bearing some physical burdens.
This was also related to Bai Wei’s current physical condition; Bai Wei was in a very delicate stage right now.
He had obtained a brand-new body, no longer needing to think about how to entice companions to use his power every day, and could do things like a normal person, such as breathing.
After all, for a soul that still hasn’t found its original nose, breathing freely is already quite an exhilarating thing.
But what was the cost, then?
The direct consequence was that to obtain this body, he used the ability of [Visas’s Illusion] during the Holy Sound.