Chapter 30: Wong Tengfei

The carriage rattled quietly as it moved along the dirt road. It had been almost an hour since Yun Ho's battle with the Spirit Elder, and they were now continuing their journey toward his mansion. His coachman, who had wisely hidden in the forest across the street during the fight, had reappeared once the dust settled and fed Yun Ho a Heavenly Healing Pill—the only one he had. 

The pill was powerful enough to bring someone from near death back to nearly their peak condition. It couldn't cure illnesses or regrow lost limbs, but reattaching severed body parts was entirely possible. It was the reason Yun Ho's jaw was now fully restored, and the reason he hadn't been permanently crippled by the injuries that transferred from his defeated Drake. 

'Who would've thought a pill I'd had since childhood would be used today…' Yun Ho mused. The pill had been a gift from his parents, one he'd never thought he'd need. 

Until now, every battle he'd fought in had ended in either victory or a draw, with his martial soul alive—and since it hadn't died the injuries it had wouldn't be transferred to his body. 

'Forget that.' He pushed the thought aside and refocused on the problem at hand.

Sitting across from him, Wong Yazhu rested her head against the carriage window, her eyes distant as she stared at the blurring scenery. The rush brought on by the battle had long since faded, and the grim reality of what she had done now weighed on her heavily. 

It wasn't just that she had manipulated a man into killing his own sister. That was horrifying enough. But she had also rewired his mind entirely, making him believe that she was his little sister. The second part seemed to hit her the hardest, and throughout the hours they had been traveling, she hadn't spoken a single word.

'Haah…' Yun Ho sighed softly, breaking the silence. 

He had intended to test her martial soul's capabilities, but he hadn't expected it to be so effective that it had completely altered the man's emotions and memories. The man now saw Wong Yazhu as his sister—not just in appearance, but in every way. 

Earlier, the man had noticed Wong Yazhu feeling down and had reassured her, "Don't worry, little sister." He smiled. "It's not your first time killing someone."

"This is her first." Yun Ho had corrected, "That's why it affected her so much."

The man looked at Yun Ho, and then at his 'sister,' and then his eyes went blank, and his memories seemed to shift in real-time, adjusting to Yun Ho's statement. When he returned to his senses, he had reassured Wong Yazhu with the conviction that it was indeed her first time taking a life.

It had been terrifying, even for Yun Ho. 

The sheer power of her ability to alter a person's mind and emotions so deeply… It was more than just manipulation. It was like reality itself was being rewritten inside the man's head.

He glanced at Wong Yazhu again. She looked pale, almost sick, like the gravity of what she had done was too much to bear. She hadn't vomited yet, but Yun Ho had seen her on the verge multiple times. In an attempt to give her some space, he had ordered the man to sit with the coachman, telling him to keep watch. 

Now, more than fifty minutes had passed, and the girl remained silent.

Yun Ho opened his mouth, intending to say something reassuring, but before he could, Wong Yazhu spoke first. "We should get his memory sorted out."

He blinked, surprised that she had finally spoken. She turned to face him, her small hand closing the curtain on the carriage window, cutting off the view of the outside world. Her eyes, though distant, were resolute now.

"I've come up with a hypothesis," she continued, her voice steady but low. "His memories have been altered to replace the appearance of his dead sister with mine. However, that's not the end of it." She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "It seems like his memories can still be altered when they pertain to his 'sister.' Anything connected to his memories of her can be rewritten and… adjusted in real-time, depending on the situation."

Yun Ho tilted his head, thinking. "Continue."

"His memories keep adapting, rewriting themselves whenever something involving his sister comes up, like earlier, when you told him this was my first time killing someone." She tapped her temple. "It's like there's a feedback loop. Anything that would involve 'his sister'—which is now me—gets modified by his mind to make sense of the situation. He is so desperate that his brain subconsciously warps his memory to maintain the illusion." 

If you want you can make it that he was so desperate that his mind subconsciously chose to accept it as reality.

Yun Ho's eyes narrowed in thought, processing what she was saying. "That's… more terrifying than I thought." He paused. "At this rate, his mind might break completely due to the continuous rewiring." He looked into her eyes. "So you want to rewrite all his memories once and for all to stabilize him."

She nodded. "I don't think that his memories that had been changed after the illusion can be altered, so if we can adjust his remaining memories at, we should be able to stabilize his perception of me." 

'Ah,' Yun Ho stared at the girl in front of him. 'She had been thinking of this the entire time?' He wandered, but that didn't matter right now. "I guess we need some basic information first, like age, martial soul, etc."

Wong Yazhu nodded, and Yun Ho folded his arm. "That shouldn't be too hard to get out of him without causing another rewiring." He mumbled. "I will call him in."

Like Yun Ho had said, it wasn't that had to find out the basic information about him. After all, Yun Ho, in his mind, were their new master. He is 19, younger than they both expected, and his martial soul, Spirit Vine. The innate ability is just to cause thorn-less vines to appear, coiling around his arm, with these vines being able to extend up to 60 meters. The amount of vines that appear warped around each of his hands is based on his number of ring, so right now, two vines will appear warped around his hands.

He then manipulates these four vines telepathically and with movement, with their durability being weak enough to be broken by most physical-based spirit grandmasters. 

His first ring, when used, increased these vines' durability by 'more than 300%' according to him. It also allows him to extend the vines much quicker, and make them slightly thicker. It isn't a timed skill that has a timer and cooldown like Yun Ho's Thunder Drake Transformation, and stays active as long as he has soul power to keep it active.

His second ring ability allows him to inject his vines into any fertile soil and then rapidly grow multiple vines within a 60-meter radius, which he can control using his soul power. Under this skill effect, these vines are significantly more durable and stronger than the base vines, while they also gain sharp thorns and each having the capability to extend up to 120 meters. His first could ring can be stacked onto to make it even more durable, though it takes more soul power than if it enhanced the normal vine.

One thing to note about this skill is that even after he stops supplying soul power to the newly grown vines, they will remain. However, he will lose control over them and will be unable to inject soul power into it to regain control. These vines become its own being.

In essence, he creates life. 

Well, not really because these vines rapidly die after a few minutes, turning into ash after. 

They didn't ask him his name, since your name is your identity. Instead, they changed it to Wong Tengfei. A simple name Yun Ho came up with, 'Teng' meaning vine, and 'fei' means flying, suggesting the image of vines growing upward swiftly. Like his martial soul.

He believed it as his real name.

Next was his relationship with Wong Yazhu. She didn't like how clingy he was, and no matter how Yun Ho tried to say they aren't siblings, it didn't rewire his brain. The theory was correct, what has been changed cant be changed again.

So Wong Yazhu just decided that will not be blood related, and she was sent to an orphanage when she was just months old when he worked as a spirit master guard. He was twelve then and, even if it wasn't his line of work, he took up the job of caring for the young baby.

Due to the living condition of the orphanage, he was forced to adopt her when he was only 15, and she was 2, becoming her 'doting' and 'loving' older brother. He became a spirit-grandmaster for hire, working to provide for the both of them and when he was 19, Wong Yazhu turned six and awakened her martial soul. 

However, they hadn't saved up enough to send her to Nuoding Academy. When she turned seven, they had enough to send her, but she wasn't accepted, so he decided to be stupid and gamble some money out of anger. There he found out how good his sister was at cheating with her martial soul, and this is where they met You Ho who took became her master, so he followed to protect her and work for the Elder.

On their journey there, they were intercepted by a player from the game, a 'Peak-Elder' who they fought, and the rest was history.

The problem about this history was contradictions. No matter how desperate he is and how hard his mind is working to keep this illusion active, what would happen when he is exposed to Wong Yazhu's real family and past?

The illusion will not only be broken, but he might even end up brain-dead. So, they decided to keep him as far away as possible. 

'However, that would be impossible.' Wong Yazhu turned in her new bed, her arms and legs spread wide as she stared at the celing.. 'Life has a way of going. There is almost no possibility that he will forever be blinded from my real past.'

Wong Yazhu sighed deeply as she sat up crossed legs. "Even if it's wrong…" She let out another exasperated breath. "I don't want Wong Tengfei to die," 

Cruel? 

Yes. 

But at least in this false reality, he was happy. 

Right?

"Ah, whatever." she muttered as she fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "If he dies, he dies." She glanced around her lavish room. "At least I tried my best, right?"

Hours had passed since the carriage had arrived at Yun Ho's manor, and Wong Yazhu was still coming to terms with everything. True to his word, Yun Ho was 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 rich. His estate sprawled across an entire hill, surrounded by dense forest. The land itself was massive, vast enough to hold the equivalent of Manhattan and still have room left for over ten Spirit Saint Villages. It was hard to fathom just how much space it covered.

His personal estate perched at the top of the hill, a grand manor that was more of a castle than a simple home. The estate overlooked the land like a king watching over his kingdom. The manor wasn't just for Yun Ho, but also housed workers, cooks, cleaners—everyone who maintained the estate lived within its walls. Despite this, the lord's quarters, where Wong Yazhu now stayed, were an entirely separate section.

The Lord's Quarters consisted of a grand wing that housed Yun Ho's massive bedroom, a personal bath, three additional large bedrooms (each with its own bathroom), and four smaller but still luxurious rooms (also with their own bathroom). Before Wong Yazhu and her new 'brother,' Wong Tengfei, arrived, only three people had lived there. Yun Ho, his personal bodyguard (a Rank 69 Soul Emperor), and his head servant, a Rank 43 Soul Ancestor, who managed the entire estate. The remaining rooms were either unused or reserved for special guests, but now, Wong Yazhu had taken over the last of the large bedrooms.

Wong Tengfei, blissfully unaware of the life he once lived, was settled into one of the smaller rooms, completely content. He had nothing—no clothes, no keepsakes, not even the slightest attachment to his past. But he was perfectly fine, something that disturbed Wong Yazhu the more she thought about it.

After a dinner shared among the small group, everyone retreated to their respective rooms. Yet sleep had evaded Wong Yazhu, her mind restless and uneasy.

Who would even sleep after all that had happened today. 

Sighing once again, she glanced out of the window. "Almost midnight…" She rose from her bed, eyeing her nightgown, which had grown noticeably tighter and shorter since her time back home. "Since I am not home, I can probably start dressing in pants and shirt." She smiled, stretching, 'This nightgown is too airy.'

Leaving her room, Wong Yazhu padded quietly through the grand hallways. The ceilings were tall and the corridors wide, with tapestries and ornate decorations lining the walls. She made her way toward Yun Ho's quarters which he had given her permission to enter whenever she wanted, but out of courtesy, she knocked twice. 

No response.

She knocked again. Silence. Scanning the room with her Byakugan, she found Yun Ho cultivating in his personal bath. 

"Figures..." she muttered before stepping inside the room quietly, making her way toward a large door that led to the private bath chamber.

The chamber was vast, with an open glass ceiling stretching above. Moonlight streamed in, casting a silver glow across the space, reflecting off the surface of the pool in the center. The ceiling itself seemed fragile, but Wong Yazhu knew it was probably made from an impenetrable material even though she wouldn't be able to break it.

Thick stone pillars, adorned with intricate carvings, spiraled upward, supporting the structure, with the floor beneath her feet being smooth and perfectly tiled with stone. At the heart of the chamber was a massive pool, its waters still and pristine, reflecting the moonlight like a mirror.

The pool sloped gently at the edges, with steps leading down into the water, which was shallow at first but plunged into a dark abyss about 10 meters deep in the middle. The tiles lining the pool were polished to a gleam, and the water was so clear that every ripple sent silvery trails dancing across the ceiling and walls. Four massive pillars stood at the corners of the pool, symmetrically placed, forming a square. Shelves and cupboards lined the walls, some filled with neatly folded towels, while others housed an impressive collection of wines and alcohol. Glasses and small items were carefully arranged.

'Is it crazy that this is the largest body of water I've seen since coming to this world?' Wong Yazhu thought to herself, shaking her head as she closed the door behind her.

Yun Ho sat at the deepest part of the pool, his small lizard perched on his head as he cultivated. But she wasn't here to admire the naked fat man meditating. The chamber had two entrances—one through the master bedroom and the other through the highest point of the hill. Though the castle itself was built atop the hill, the land still varied in elevation. The chamber, while technically on the ground floor, was five stories up relative to the castle's lowest level that doesn't include below ground floors.

She grabbed an oversized pair of slippers from the shelves and slipped it on before exiting through the second door, the cool night wind blasting her face as she stepped out onto the hilltop. She walked up the hill to the highest point, where there was no obstruction, just an endless view of the starry sky and the glowing moon, with the forest extending below her. 

Sitting down crossed-legged, staring at the vast expanse before her for a few minutes. "I guess tomorrow is the start of a new chapter for me," she thought, watching the moon reach its highest point. "Well... today, if we want to be technical."

And with that, she closed her eyes and began cultivating the Rinne Sharingan Preparation Technique.

~~~~~~~~~~~Author's Note~~~~~~~~~~~~

Questions: What is the technology level in the Douluo Dalu world? I know they don't have electricity, but while watching the donghua, it sure looked like they do with all the neon signs I see when they got to Suotuo City. I haven't really gotten about to reading the manhua, but the Novel don't seem to go too deep about things like 'lightings.' Like, do they use candles or not? I know they 100% have plumbing system, but what about the other things?

Also the last chapter of the volume, ending with 76.01 k words.