Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon

...

When Shandela awoke, she found herself lying on a clean and tidy bed, her dirty clothes replaced with new ones. She tried moving her shoulders slightly and felt a minor sting at her back, but it didn’t hinder her movements, indicating that her wounds had been properly treated.

She slowly propped herself up and saw a woman cleaning bandages at a table not far away.

"Jenny... Miss?"

"Ah, you’re awake." The other turned around, exclaiming with surprise.

It was indeed Jenny, a nun from Yeni Temple. Shandela was secretly shocked; it seemed Lady Xia’s information was correct—Paradise wasn’t simply looking to establish a company here, but had transferred the entire influence of Magnificent Castle. What on earth had happened in the meantime?

"Excuse me, Mr. Zhao..."

"He’s in the next room, should I go and inform him?" Jenny immediately guessed her thoughts.

"That would be appreciated."

"No trouble at all, just a moment!" The nun ran out cheerfully, and in less than half a minute, that familiar man had already arrived before her.

"Mr. Zhao, the events in Zhaixing City... How much do you know?" She couldn’t wait to ask, her voice filled with such urgency that the pain piercing through her back and into her heart and lungs caused her to cough violently.

Chaoyang handed her a glass of water, "Don’t rush, take it slow. I know everything... through the Dream Entering Technique."

At the mention of the Dream Entering Technique, Shandela breathed a sigh of relief.

But she immediately tensed again, not bothering to drink the water. "You’ve exterminated the Kingdom Army and occupied the entirety of Thistlefort?"

"Mhm." Chaoyang had anticipated this question, "Because the actual situation deviated from the plan, I had to change my plans, which led to the current outcome."

"Cough... what kind of deviation... cough cough!"

"You need to take a sip of water first, then I’ll tell you."

The one speaking to her now must be Mr. Zhao, Shandela thought. Divinities wouldn’t show such concern for an ordinary person. She had never seen divinities before, but now it was different; when she spoke with Kokomoqi, there was a sense of being non-human—either the other party was non-human, or she was.

She took a sip of water, then fixed her gaze straight on him.

Chaoyang smiled, "It seems you really want to know. Very well, I’ll start from the beginning..." After that, he recounted roughly everything from the day he landed at Thistlefort during the famine, "In the absence of human decency from Airco camp, even if I wanted to run a company, it wouldn’t have been possible. The only regret is, the main culprit didn’t get his due punishment on the spot, but seeing the tide had turned, he escaped to Zhaixing City alive."

Stunned by this tale, Shandela had not anticipated that Lady Xia’s method of gathering resources was like this!

In this way, wasn’t the Kingdom Army stationed at the border no different from bandits and thieves?

When had they fallen to such depths?

Of course, there was another possibility—that Chaoyang was lying.

But Shandela found she couldn’t make such an assumption... She couldn’t imagine the possibility of him deliberately deceiving her. Because even the past events that seemed absurd had all been verified as true.

"I never knew... the lord of Zhaixing City never mentioned this..." she murmured.

"Because it’s not a glorious matter. Even if she is a duke, condoning looting and pillaging by her subordinates would still tarnish her reputation," Chaoyang said nonchalantly, "Besides, she only needs to be accountable to her own people. If the Snow Country United Army could really hold off the Longjiu Army’s offensive, then she would be the local hero... even a savior, in the eyes of her subjects."

"But..."

"Are you worried that if the Paradise Sect declares war on the United Army, it might affect the remnants of the Kingdom Army?" Chaoyang jumped in, "I must admit, that is indeed a problem. But if you think about it, how many people in that army are still your old friends? Or shall we say... how many are left in the Kingdom Army that General Fales Ben used to command? Obviously, Duke Rosha’s infiltration of the border army wasn’t a matter of a day or two, and even the withdrawn guards might not be willing to follow the orders of the general’s daughter."

"..." Shandela fell silent, knowing that everything he said was the truth.

"So I have an idea, why don’t you bring out your young lady and go it alone?"

She blinked, taken aback.

"Her aim is revenge, and yours is to protect her, so she could also join hands with Paradise," Chaoyang said as a matter of course. He had recently received a warning from Dane, stating that the propaganda efforts in the Royal Capital had encountered targeted attacks by the Longjiu Family, indicating that Duke Longjiu’s attitude towards the expansion of the Paradise Sect was far from friendly. Perhaps the era had already changed unknowingly, and the environment where several divinities actively participated in the human world no longer existed.

Going down this path, Paradise would eventually become enemies with the Longjiu Army as well.

"What, you think we can’t defeat Duke Longjiu?"

"Uh... I didn’t mean that," Shandela’s heart raced because if she thought through Chaoyang’s suggestion carefully, she would find it quite feasible, even more reliable than the United Army. She had witnessed the power of the Paradise Sect, whose organizational strength could make any competitor envy. "I’m just worried about Elise’s reaction... I don’t know how she would view Paradise."

"Who knows? It’s not something that can be decided in one or two days."

"But they’re about to arrive at Thistlefort."

By "they," Shandela referred to the punitive forces that were already en route.

Chaoyang spoke lightly, "Don’t worry, I will talk to them personally before resorting to force. In fact, the envoy team has already set off and should encounter their vanguard by tomorrow. If Duke Rosha is willing to pull back, I can also put aside the crimes committed by the Airco camp for the time being."

"You’re still willing to talk to them?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Why not? It’s always a good thing if fewer people die."

Shandela put down her cup and only after a long while did she say, "Thank you, Mr. Zhao."

"You can call me Chaoyang." He waved his hand, "Rest up, you’ve undergone surgery and need time to recuperate."

She hesitated, but just as Chaoyang was about to leave the room, she couldn’t hold back and asked, "Why are you so kind to me? I’m just a former officer with no real combat experience, not even a top-notch warrior, and I even captured you at Magnificent Castle."

"Because you chose Paradise, didn’t you?"

"Me?"

Chaoyang gave a smile but didn’t respond, closing the door behind her.

There was one thing he didn’t tell her, and that was on the day Shandela hurried back to Thistlefort, he saw a fine silver-white thread wafting above her head.

"You’d rather let us carry your shell along, and stay here yourself. The reason is that you don’t want her to misunderstand, right?"

Ailuodi’s minor complaint before setting off echoed in his ears.

"But is it necessary to explain in person? Let Moge and his wife visit the infirmary, and she’ll understand everything. Miss Sandeila is no fool, not so set in her ways that she’ll only believe what you say."

Of course, it was necessary.

Chaoyang headed towards the prepared isolation room—there, he would complete the soul transference to a new body.

The other party is a believer of Paradise.

And as the creator of Paradise, how could he let his believer down?