After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 81.2

Norman Til approached the pile of books, casually picked up a picture book, and after flipping through a few pages, said, “Are the stories of wandering poets also part of your historical reference materials?”

Eve nodded, “Yes, some wandering poets know no less than we do.”

This statement was not meant to belittle official history in any way.

Simon, being well-informed and experienced, explained, “I remember the wandering poet who ranks second in the world. They are a long-lived species, having lived for a full three thousand years. They are practically a living history book. They have traveled all over the continent, far and wide, telling stories specifically to the common people, not the nobility. Although their stories are partly fictional, their authenticity is no lower than ours. It is said that They have a pair of eyes that can see through ‘time’. On people, They can see a person’s age, and on objects, They can see how long the object has existed.”

Norman Til’s eyes lit up. “So if They look at the continent, can They see how long the continent has existed?”

Simon paused for a moment, then pondered. “Perhaps. Once, I had the fortune to meet Them and heard Their story and interpretation about the Hero Ye Qingyi.”

Norman Til asked curiously. “How was it?”

Simon said: “Without exaggeration, it was only after hearing Their interpretation that I truly understood what real history is, and who the real Ye Qingyi was.”

Previously, he had a rather poor impression of wandering poets, thinking they were uneducated and just loved to travel around with wooden zithers. However, after meeting that long-lived poet, he completely changed his view and developed a deep respect for wandering poets.

There are no simple professions in this world; any profession, when mastered to its fullest, is divine.

Lia was hearing about these things for the first time and couldn’t help but ask Simon, “If They’re so impressive, why are They only ranked second?”

Simon nodded, “Among the strong, there are always stronger ones. The world’s top-ranked wandering poet is even more powerful and mysterious. No one knows Their appearance, nor whether They are male or female, old or young. It’s said that They are also a long-lived species, having lived for at least five thousand years. Their strength lies not only in Their mastery of history but also in the infectiousness and influence of Their words.”

Eve had heard about this, “I’ve heard rumors that wherever They go, revolution follows.”

Lia looked surprised, “Is that true?”

Simon’s eyes flickered with memories as he said. “It’s possible. Language has power. The more incisive and insightful the thought, the more it can inspire people, causing them to awaken, change, and act. That’s probably why They are the world’s top wandering poet.”

After listening, Norman Til felt deeply shocked, “It seems I’m still quite ignorant. I’ve never seen such an incredible being, and I’ve hardly heard anyone talk about Them.”

Simon shook his head. The sunlight shining through the window behind him made the wrinkles on his face more prominent.

“It’s normal. They haven’t appeared for at least a hundred years, so Their legends have faded from the world. Many people thought They had died until the God of Rankings suddenly decided to make a ranking two years ago. Only then did everyone realize They were still alive.”

Simon still remembered that in the ranking scene, there appeared a flock of pigeons. Although They couldn’t be seen, only Their sparse shadow cast on the ground was visible.

However, this topic had strayed too far.

Simon returned to the main subject, “Let’s talk about the hero’s matters.”

Norman Til nodded, “With so many historical materials, it must be difficult to organize.”

Hearing this, Eve turned her gaze towards the door, then used magic to close the doors and windows, surrounding them with a magic field. She then said to Norman Til. “Actually, regarding this matter, we have some obstacles.”

Norman Til understood the situation just by looking.

He asked. “What obstacles?”

Eve’s face darkened. She pressed her lips together and said seriously. “We suspect that the disappearance of several heroes was due to human betrayal.”

Norman Til frowned, his eyes instantly flashing with killing intent. He said in a deep voice. “Tell me more.”

****

Meanwhile, near the forest in the Royal Park, a flock of pigeons was foraging.

Logically, they only needed to come at the appointed time and find that green-eyed youth, who would feed them very delicious food.

But today, the youth seemed to have something on his mind. He sat by the fountain like a statue, motionless, as if sleeping or deep in thought.

They gathered around the youth, cooing, but he didn’t respond to them.

They thought, why?

If he doesn’t feed the pigeons soon, the pigeons will starve to death!

****

At the same time, in a castle in the Roman Empire.

Xiu Si walked along the magnificent corridor, carrying a cat basket in his hand. He occasionally glanced at them, worried they might get bored or accidentally disappear.

Both cats were obedient kitties, how could they possibly disappear?

However, the red cat was particularly sensitive to scents. With people coming and going here, the unfamiliar human scents were too strong, making him want to sneeze.

The little short-legged cat kept its distance from the red cat, not daring to provoke this hot-tempered brother.

But the red cat was carefree, not caring about any of this, just swinging his tail towards the little short-legged cat.

The little short-legged cat furrowed its brows, fearing it might accidentally get stepped on.

A few minutes later, Xiu Si was led by Francis to a magic research room.

As soon as the door opened, several old men immediately rushed over.

They surrounded Xiu Si, talking all at once, explaining their ideas about breaking the curse.

Xiu Si then learned that they had completed their research, successfully analyzing the curse formula on Duke Luo Ke’s body, and correspondingly calculated the curse-breaking magic. However, this magic required extremely high spiritual power. They couldn’t find anyone in the entire country with spiritual power above 95, let alone in other countries.

The old men were exhausted from this matter, seeming to have lost years of their lives. It was evident they had tried their utmost, attempting countless methods, yet still failed to successfully break the curse.

“Mr. Yi Xiusi, you are our only hope.”

One old man, with a face full of worry, placed all his hopes on Xiu Si.

Another old man beside him immediately blocked him, scolding in a low voice. “Don’t pressure Mr. Yi Xiusi.”

That old man instantly broke out in a cold sweat, repeatedly apologizing.

Seeing this scene, Xiu Si couldn’t help but add, “Everyone, I can only promise that I will do my best.”

The group of elders paused, containing their emotions, and only said, “Thank you.”

Francis stood in the back, his eyes turbulent, but he didn’t say anything.

Then, Xiu Si went to a room to slowly study their curse-breaking method.

Meanwhile, the two cats received VIP-level treatment. Francis really sent people to bring high-quality cat food, cat beds, cat toys, and even beautiful fluffy cat beauties.

The two cats were dumbfounded. Although they had lived for a long time, they had never experienced anything like this.

The two cats almost panicked, making them all retreat.

At the same time, the little short-legged cat told Amon about the situation, and asked. “Brother Amon meow, should we ask Sister Buer about curse-related matters meow?”

Amon almost forgot about the loudmouth Buer, “She went to the sisters’ meeting, right?”

Little short-legged cat. “Yes meow.”

Amon pondered. “Based on my understanding and the intelligence you guys provided, I think it’s not yet time for us to intervene with Father. We can’t interfere with the challenges Father wants to take on.”

The little short-legged cat tilted its head.

The red cat was stunned for a moment, then deeply felt this was reasonable, because Agares had said the same thing.

They couldn’t interfere with Father’s choices, they couldn’t become obstacles to Father’s progress.

Amon emphasized. “Anyway, pay attention to the humans around you, don’t miss any glances.”

Both cats nodded in unison.

In the library, Inpos turned to look at Amon and asked. “One of them is the dumbest, and the other is the second dumbest. You’re just letting them follow Father? Are you really not going there yourself?”

Amon’s eyes darkened. After a few seconds of silence, he said. “If we don’t do this, the puppet master behind the scenes won’t appear.”

The pen in Inpos’s hand stopped, his eyes filled with worry. “But…”

Amon suddenly said, “You know, I’ve been thinking for a long time about why Agares used world-class magic to blur our relationship with Father. The conclusion I came to is that only this way would the puppet master behind the scenes dare to appear.”

Inpos: “What?”

Amon: “Think about it. If we had claimed to be the creations of the hero Xiu Si as soon as we left the abyss, and then we ruled for an era, with Big Brother even venturing into the universe, would the puppet master still dare to approach Father? They would definitely flee to the edge of the universe.”

Inpos was stunned. “So Second Brother did this… to fish?”

Amon: “And it worked. Agares must know who it is, but unfortunately, He’s trapped in a dream and can’t appear.”

Inpos nodded, but still had some doubts. “If Second Brother knows who it is, why doesn’t He tell us?”

Amon was silent. “Agares is a riddle master. Usually, it’s because His reaction time is too slow, or because He knows we’ll find out eventually, so He feels there’s no need to tell us.”

Inpos was dumbfounded. He thought, but Second Brother, there’s such a big gap between “not knowing” and “knowing”. Even if we’ll know sooner or later, couldn’t you just let us know directly?

Amon caught a glimpse of Inpos’s confused face and smiled, “Be a bit quicker on the uptake. For many things, what’s important is not the answer, but the [experience] and [process] of reaching the answer.”

Inpos was stunned, still looking puzzled.

However, Botis seemed to understand. “So it’s letting us enjoy the process of solving the puzzle, right?”

As He said this, He looked up at Amon. “This is a puzzle-solving game, isn’t it?”

Amon smiled, “It’s also a cat-and-mouse game.”

Botis: “Is that so.”

Amon looked up, his gaze sharp, as if seeing through space. The young face spoke mature words, “Agares won’t let those who hurt Father off the hook. Sometimes I feel we’re already overprotective of Father, but compared to Agares, we’re far from enough.”

Agares was truly overprotective.

For anything that harmed Father, He would definitely take revenge.

Mere death wasn’t enough; He would drive them completely insane, completely broken.

Amon: “Just watch. The one who should be anxious now isn’t us, but that mouse behind the scenes.”

Inpos seemed to understand but not quite, finally nodding.

****

Around 3 PM in the Roman Kingdom.

In a certain bedroom, Francis sat on a chair in front of the bed, looking lovingly at the increasingly frail man on the bed.

The man was under a powerful curse, his body shrouded in a miasma, his limbs covered in hideous divine markings. His skin was as pale as paper, and his wrists exposed from under the blanket looked like twigs that could snap at any moment. His slightly open eyes were lifeless, the golden irises faded to a dull silver color.

Who could have imagined that the renowned Duke Luo Ke would become such a creature, neither human nor ghost? He couldn’t move, let alone emit even a trace of his aura. If it weren’t for the magic array forcibly halting his deterioration, he would have died long ago.

That god’s curse was this terrifying, like the most vicious virus, frantically attacking the very structure of human existence, determined to completely dismantle a person.

Francis clasped the frail wrists with both hands, trembling as he said. “No matter what, please live.”

His plea seemed like another curse, causing Luo Ke, who was hovering on the brink of death, to reluctantly cling to life.

Clearly, death was merely the end of a journey. Wasn’t that what all Romans believed?

****

Xiu Si knocked on the door, turning his head slightly, and unexpectedly witnessed this scene.

He felt he might have come at an inopportune moment and was about to retreat.

But Francis looked over, his expression suddenly changing, and he immediately stood up.

“Mr. Yi Xiusi, this way.”

Xiu Si paused for a second, then still walked in, with two cats following him one after another.

From afar, Xiu Si couldn’t tell, but up close, he realized that Duke Luo Ke’s condition was truly just a thread away from death.

“He…”

Francis lowered his eyes and said, “Don’t worry about it. Mr. Yi Xiusi, just do your best, regardless of life or death.”

Xiu Si paused, then replied. “I’ve memorized the curse-breaking spell. We can give it a try.”

Hearing this, Francis couldn’t suppress the joy in his eyes. He turned and said, “I’ll find a magician immediately.”

So the room was left with two people and two cats.

This room was on the fifth floor, with large windows and good lighting. Xiu Si walked to the window, inevitably feeling the gentle breeze on his face to be very comfortable, though it seemed inappropriate at the moment.

The person on the bed, who might or might not still be conscious, seemed to be trying hard to look towards Xiu Si with his slightly open eyes.

Xiu Si walked to the bedside, using his eyes to analyze the curse, repeatedly emphasizing [analyze] and [deconstruct] in his mind.

The little short-legged cat looked up. Father seemed to be using His power.

It shook its head, happily swinging its big tail. Like like, Father use more meow!

Meanwhile.

In the Royal Park of the Roman Kingdom.

The youth, who had been as still as a statue, suddenly moved, startling the pigeons on him into a flurry of feathers.

“…”

The youth seemed oblivious to his surroundings, his mind filled with only one question – who had used His [Word Spirit] power?

TN:

“言灵” Word Spirit = refers to the concept that words have inherent magical or spiritual power. It suggests that by speaking certain words, one can invoke supernatural effects, cast spells, or influence the world. This concept is similar to the idea of “power words” or “speech magic” where language itself holds mystical power to shape reality.

It is commonly found in Japanese anime, literature, or games (as “Kotodama” 言霊) and is sometimes used in Chinese works as well, signifying the magical power of language.