Dead?

Did the original Zhou Huai actually die in that attack five years ago?

Huge waves churned up in Zhou Huai's heart at this moment.

From his perspective, it was indeed true that the original Zhou Huai had died.

But he had only died a few months ago.

At that time, the current Zhou Huai had just undergone Transmigration.

How could it be that in this Luo Ming's mouth,

the original Zhou Huai had already been dead for five years?

How could this be possible?

Zhou Huai manipulated Moria, the muscles on his face not twitching in the slightest, yet his voice had already become hoarse beyond recognition.

"That Zhou Huai is clearly still alive right now."

"Why do you say he died long ago?"

Luo Ming let out a chuckle, his smile full of drunkenness and mockery.

"Alive?"

"Does that even count as being alive?"

He shook his head, as if trying to shake off some of the alcohol in his mind to make his thoughts clearer.

"That's why I said my brother just casually did a small favor."

"Zhou Feng's ex-wife and his unlucky son indeed stopped breathing in the car at that time."

"Their bodies had already gone cold."

"However..."

Luo Ming drew out his tone, a trace of a complicated expression flashing in his eyes.

"Just as the Zhou Family was preparing to handle the funeral affairs, his ex-wife's older brother found my brother."

Zhou Huai's consciousness suddenly tightened.

"Wait a moment."

Moria's voice interrupted him.

"You're saying that Zhou Feng's ex-wife still has an older brother living in this world?"

"Correct."

Luo Ming nodded and let out a drunken hiccup.

"Although I don't know that guy's name, I heard my brother call him... Mr. Duan."

Mr. Duan?

Zhou Huai's consciousness frantically searched through the depths of the original's memories.

Nothing.

A complete blank.

In the original's memories, his mother's maiden family seemed to have no one left long ago.

Who on earth was this suddenly appearing "Mr. Duan"?

He looked at Luo Ming, signaling him with his eyes to continue.

Luo Ming seemed to thoroughly enjoy the feeling of being listened to, especially listening to a secret that could subvert everything.

He cleared his throat and continued:

"That Mr. Duan knew that my brother mastered a very powerful containment technique."

"So he came to ask my brother to make a move."

"My brother didn't want to get involved in this kind of crap at first, but that Mr. Duan gave way too much."

"Moreover, he also brought in a helper."

"A guy named Zuo Daolin; that fellow is even more bizarre, rumored to be able to directly control the soul."

"So, the three of them put their heads together and came up with a makeshift solution."

Luo Ming grinned, his smile eerie.

"They found the soul of Zhou Huai that had already left his body, and with Zuo Daolin making a move, forcefully stuffed his soul back into his own body."

"Then, my brother used the containment technique to treat that body as a Seal container, locking his soul tightly inside it."

"Reliant on this bizarre method, that Zhou Huai, who should have been thoroughly dead, miraculously... came back to life."

"But because it wasn't a true resurrection in the real sense, the connection between the soul and the body wasn't perfect, which is why he became paralyzed."

"To put it bluntly, he is just a... living dead person imprisoned by his own body."

Zhou Huai's brain was completely messed up.

The amount of information was too massive, and the impact was too strong.

He silently took two steps back, sat back down on that cold chair, and began to review things at a rapid pace.

The attack five years ago was self-directed and self-acted by the Zhou Family.

The goal was to eliminate the mother who hindered the political marriage.

The original Zhou Huai was just an innocent bystander affected by the disaster, perishing on the spot.

But at this moment, a key figure appeared.

The mother's older brother, Mr. Duan.

He found Luo Ming's older brother, who could use the containment technique, and Zuo Daolin, who could control the soul.

The three of them joined forces to forcefully Seal the soul of the original Zhou Huai back into his own body.

This was the truth behind the original's "resurrection".

This was the real reason for his paralysis.

Zhou Huai suddenly raised his head, a fierce glint flashing in his silver eyes.

"There is another suspicious point."

"You said that matter back then was done by your brother."

"Then why can I sense the exact same power from you?"

Hearing this, Luo Ming did not explain immediately.

With a thought, the strangely shaped single-eyed staff appeared out of thin air beside him.

The purple eyeball at the top of the staff rolled around, vigilantly sizing up the surroundings.

"The power you mentioned should refer to this, right?"

Luo Ming looked at the staff, his gaze somewhat complicated.

"This is the last gift my brother gave me."

"Inside this, a soul is likewise contained."

"However, it is the soul of a Calamity-tier exotic beast, which can double the power of my curse power."

He sighed and continued:

"However, although this containment technique is powerful, it is not permanent."

"The power will gradually dissipate as time goes on."

"The soul inside this staff of mine is already much weaker than when I first got it; it is estimated that before long, it will completely dissipate."

He raised his head, looking at Moria with a gaze carrying pity.

"Of course, the same goes for that eldest young master of the Zhou Family."

"To be honest, even I am surprised that he has managed to hold on until now."

Zhou Huai quietly felt the fluctuations coming from that staff.

Exactly.

It shares the same origin as the power on his own body.

By this moment, he already believed seven or eight tenths of it.

No wonder the Zhou Family had that cold, almost disgusted attitude toward him.

Because in their eyes, he was inherently someone who had already died once.

An inauspicious entity that shouldn't exist in this world.

So...

The power on his body wasn't any curse power at all.

Instead... it was the containment power.

It wasn't a chronic poison, but rather the key to maintaining the existence of his own body?

Once the containment technique completely failed, would his own soul also vanish into thin air along with it?

Thinking of this, Zhou Huai's back was instantly soaked by a layer of cold sweat.

He had always thought that his biggest enemy was the "curse" on his body.

And he had tried every possible means to dispel it.

As a result, in the end, he was digging his own grave with his own hands.

He suddenly remembered the holy light spiritual water he drank earlier.

Turns out, that thing wasn't weakening the "curse" at all, but rather nurturing his soul and delaying the loss of the soul's power.

And his increasingly frequent fatigue recently...

I'm afraid it was the sign that the containment power had begun to decline significantly, and the soul's power was accelerating its loss!

He looked at Luo Ming, his voice suppressing a trace of imperceptible trembling.

"Next, I have a few more questions."

Luo Ming nodded, taking on an attitude of "feel free to ask".

"Your brother, that Mr. Duan, as well as Zuo Daolin..."

"Are they all from the Dawnbreaker Guild?"

Hearing this question, Luo Ming didn't show the slightest surprise on his face and readily nodded.

Since he had mentioned Zuo Daolin,

it wasn't strange for the other party to guess the Dawnbreaker Guild.

Zhou Huai silently muttered "Good grief" in his heart.

His uncle whom he had never met before was actually truly a person from that Dawnbreaker Guild.

He continued to press on: "Zhou Feng's wife, which is Zhou Huai's mother, did she... also not die?"

Luo Ming thought for a moment and replied:

"At that time, she was indeed saved using the same method."

"Later, she was taken away by that Mr. Duan."

"As for whether she is dead or alive now, I wouldn't know."

Zhou Huai asked again:

"Since Mr. Duan is a person from the Dawnbreaker Guild, his strength must be extraordinary; dealing with a mere Zhou Family should be effortless."

"Why didn't he avenge his own younger sister back then?"

This time, Luo Ming shook his head.

"As for that, I wouldn't know."

"My brother didn't tell me either at the time."

"Perhaps the Zhou Family held some leverage over Mr. Duan in their hands, or perhaps... his younger sister's love-brained nature flared up again, and she chose to forgive."

"Who knows."

Zhou Huai nodded, no longer dwelling on this issue.

Regardless of the reason, once he finds that "Mr. Duan", everything will naturally come to light.

Changing the subject, he asked the last and most crucial question.

"If your brother is asked to cast the containment technique on Zhou Huai once again,"

"can it delay the rate at which his soul's power is lost?"

He stared fixedly at Luo Ming, waiting for the answer that would determine his fate.

However, hearing this, Luo Ming let out a bitter smile.

He shook his head.

Within those drunken eyes, for the first time, a trace of genuine sadness leaked out.

"It's useless."

"Because my brother..."

"died as early as three years ago."