0118 There Is Only One Truth

“What?” Someone looked at Andy with complete confusion, utterly unable to fathom how his mind worked.

Andy seemed relaxed as he smiled at the person. “If you’re a four-element mage, then you’re automatically cleared of suspicion. Now we only need to focus on one person.”

“W-what do you mean?” the person was completely lost.

“Literally,” Andy’s smile grew more sincere once he confirmed the person was indeed a four-element mage, and the weariness on his face seemed to lessen. “It won’t hurt to tell you now. Do you know why Mage Summer sent you and Lance to the palace first, then sent Liang Yin and some soldiers to the Beast Forest to seek reinforcements?”

“No, I don’t.” The person’s instincts told them Andy was about to launch into a long, tedious psychological thriller story, so they kept their words brief and tried to brace themselves for a potentially endless conversation.

“Mage Summer suspected there was a spy in our team, so she sent everyone suspicious out, just in case,” Andy said deliberately. “Those who were sent all share a common trait: unclear origins or incomplete records. Among them, Liang Yin and you have slightly more traceable backgrounds. Liang Yin needs no introduction—a wanted criminal in Carinia with a high bounty still active. But despite being such a notorious thief, her birthplace, family, and early life before age sixteen remain undocumented. After that, she was taken in by the Grant family’s young master as a substitute for the second young lady. As for you, your information is even harder to find. Except for a few years ago, when there were records of buying medicinal products from the Mage Guild and being hired by the Grant family as a guard, there’s almost nothing else. It’s impossible not to arouse suspicion.”

“I completely understand.” The person nodded in agreement. “I’ve always been aware of these things.”

“So both of you are suspects. Lance is also suspected for similar reasons,” Andy shrugged. “Of course, the coincidence of the three of you crossing paths with Huanluo is another suspicious point.”

“Got it, got it.” The person nodded repeatedly, either sleepy or truly agreeing with Andy’s viewpoint.

“The last point of suspicion comes from this war. Originally, you two successfully completed the mission, and Mage Summer eased her guard on you. But your return timing coincided too perfectly with the battle’s outbreak,” Andy’s expression darkened as he spoke. “Moreover, as far as I know, there are only two ways in this world for someone to rapidly heal from severe injuries. The first is a four-element mage. Every truly powerful four-element mage, during training, allows themselves to nearly die in battle once, gambling on whether nature will favor them. If luck strikes, the natural magical elements in the air automatically enter the body, repairing severely damaged organs. Once repaired and nourished by these elements, the organs become the ideal foundation for cultivating four-element magic.”

“I didn’t realize you knew so much…” The person was stunned listening to Andy’s lengthy discourse on four-element mages. “Do you have a relative who’s a four-element mage?”

“Congratulations, you guessed right.” Andy didn’t hide it but didn’t elaborate further. “So you should be grateful I discovered you. Otherwise, you’d be on the White Tower’s guillotine right now.”

The person instinctively touched their neck. “Can’t I skip the guillotine?”

“Then it’s the stake,” Andy generously offered another option.

“Better the guillotine…” After thinking it over, the person chose the swift and clean death. “If the fire’s not hot enough, it’ll take forever to burn me, and I won’t even have a place to cry.”

“Now, after rationalizing your rapid healing, all suspicion shifts to Lance,” Andy ignored the person’s wandering thoughts and continued. “The second way for rapid severe injury recovery is—possessing beast bloodline.”

“What?” The person was taken aback.

“That’s right. Unless Lance is also a four-element mage like you and similarly favored by nature, this is the only explanation for his rapid recovery. Beasts have far stronger regenerative abilities than humans. Unless you strike a vital spot or decapitate them, after some rest, they can slowly regain health. The purer the beast’s bloodline, the better the healing.”

“You’re lying!” The person was incredulous. “You say there are only two possibilities, so there are only two? Then how do you explain Huanluo’s wounds?”

“Huanluo’s injuries stem from the use of killing intent. When killing intent accumulates to a certain level and is fully activated with an artifact like Dragon Fang, the body temporarily self-heals wounds to maintain peak condition for killing,” Andy explained calmly. “After a short time, the killing intent dissipates, and the wounds reappear, often worsened by the intense movements during combat. This is only recorded in ancient texts, which I recently verified with my elders.”

“So, all this long-winded talk boils down to you thinking Lance is the spy?”

“I’m just presenting the evidence. The conclusion is yours,” Andy maintained a mysterious expression, acting detached.

“Oh yeah? Besides me, who else came to this conclusion?” The person ground their teeth angrily.

“So far, only my elders and I have reached this conclusion. Soon, Huanluo will also have the chance to deduce it,” Andy replied calmly, glancing at the unconscious Huanluo.

“You’re not guiding inference; you’re guiding the conclusion, damn it!” The person was furious, burning with the urge to kick this annoying man out the door and never let him mislead anyone again. Yet, seeing Andy’s exhausted and lean figure, they couldn’t bring themselves to do it. Instead, they stomped their foot to vent and threw a glare at Andy before turning and walking toward the door without another word. “Just you wait!”

Andy cheekily called after them, “Where are you going?”

Grinding their teeth from afar, the person replied, “I’m going to visit the prison! To find! The! Truth!”