Free Web NovelChapter 317: Chapter 121: Outsmarting the Prison Priest
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In Wen Tai’s nearly pleading sleep talk, Bai Wu also fell into a dream.
The scene in the dream continued to be somewhere in Shudu Prison, where Bai Wu sat below a stage of sorts, surrounded by no one. The seating resembled the brownish wooden benches used for prayer in a church.
There was also a chair on the stage, and a person was sitting on it with a hood over their head, their face obscured.
Bai Wu recognized the chair; it wasn’t an ordinary one but an electric chair used for executions.
On the other side of the electric chair stood a middle-aged man in a blue prison guard uniform, playing the violin with a handlebar mustache. His gold-rimmed glasses gave him an air of a gentleman.
Bai Wu hadn’t figured out what was going on when the handlebar mustache began to play a violin piece.
The style of the music didn’t quite fit the unique timbre of the violin; it sounded a bit sinister. Yet it wasn’t unpleasant to listen to, like a strange side dish.
If Bai Wu had to describe it, it would be like pouring spicy chili sauce on vanilla ice cream, except that the mustache’s superb playing made it all surprisingly harmonious.
After the performance, Bai Wu was sure there was nothing wrong with the music; looking at the gentleman with the mustache, he already knew the other’s information.
[In such a setting, analyzing this guy is quite difficult because this isn’t its real body. You can think of it as just a monster in your dream, but the reason you dreamed of it is that its power has spread into the prison.
Perfect-grade Mutation Entry: Nightmare Roulette. Simply put, this thing makes you make a choice in your dream, to let a person live or die. If you choose to let the person die, it will severely interfere with your judgment of many "lives" in your memories. If you make the wrong choice, remember, that choice will have a negative impact on you, a permanent one~
But you don’t seem to have to worry at all, because the essence of Nightmare Roulette, like Siren’s Song, is hypnosis.]
Since it was hypnosis, it was unlikely to affect Bai Wu, even if it was a perfect entry. freewebnøvel.coɱ
"Good evening, Mr. Jing Wu," Little Mustache greeted Bai Wu very politely.
"I’ve heard from the guards that the new King of Crime has emerged. Please forgive me that I can only welcome you in this manner, within your dreams," he said.
Bai Wu smiled, indeed it was hypnosis. Maybe the other party did sense a part of his memories because of the dream, but that part was very limited. So much so that Little Mustache didn’t even know his real name.
"Since you know I’m called Jing Wu, you should also share your name, shouldn’t you?"
Speaking to people as people and ghosts as ghosts was a basic skill Bai Wu excelled at. The other might not know who Jing Wu was, but Bai Wu already behaved as arrogantly as Jing Wu, crossing his legs and looking at Little Mustache.
"The name from my human days has long been forgotten. You can call me—Priest."
"Priest?"
"Yes, you have many great qualities, and someone who can perform so many beautiful actions must be close to being a saint. But you are not perfect yet. My existence is to help you reach perfection, to rid your heart of any pity for the world so that you can leave this prison."
Priests listen to people’s confessions, conveying God’s forgiveness and mercy, absolution, and teachings to the penitent.
If doctors make life unbearable, if a Warden sentences a good person to death, if all the guards have committed heinous crimes—in a prison where everything is reversed, then maybe priests are the opposite as well.
"There are still seeds of sin in your heart; I will help you eliminate them bit by bit," the Priest said with great sincerity.
Bai Wu said:
"Am I not an utterly sinful paper man? What do you mean by seeds of sin? The sins I have committed have long taken root and grown into towering trees, haven’t they?"
If anyone were indeed like Bai Wu, with crimes that could fill hundreds of thousands of words, Bai Wu believed that did not count as seeds of sin—that was the World Tree of Sin.
As expected, the Priest quickly rebutted:
"How can that be called sin! There are many ridiculous rules in this world that lead people further away from the truth! Only this prison has not been shrouded by those twisted rules; in this prison lies the truth of the world!"
A few days ago, Yan Zhao had said something similar.
In this prison lies the truth of the world.
"Evil makes people strong, goodness makes them weak, but why do those evildoers encourage people to do good? Of course, to better commit evil? The world has always been dominated by the strong over the weak, strength is the absolute justice, and a soul without any kindness is the purest in this world, so pure that not even this prison can hold it!"
The Priest spoke with a kind of sick excitement, as if conveying his twisted values brought him an inexplicable pleasure. He played with his little mustache, utterly intoxicated, saying:
"So, what is called goodness—is the real sin, what is called evil, is the real kindness. My job is to help people cleanse their sin-filled souls, to reach the shore of kindness, and then leave this prison, acquitted~"
Acquitted of "sin," so it is. freёwebnoѵel.com
As long as one no longer has any inner restraint, no feelings for anyone, able to abandon, play with, and trample anyone at will, only then is one truly acquitted of "sin," because in this prison...
Sin is to still harbor kindness and love for people and things in this world.
Such a twisted place, yet merely a red zone and not a black zone, Bai Wu found it incredible.
"Now you need to make your choice. Come on, just tell me to execute him and I’ll kill him for you! This is just a dream, he obviously won’t really die in reality. But you will become more perfect."
Bai Wu understood; the electric chair was meant for executing death row inmates. If the Warden brought physical destruction, then the Priest brought the destruction of the soul.
It seemed he allowed these people to avoid death and leave prison, but in truth, by erasing their kind thoughts, are they still the same person?
"Who is this? I don’t recognize them with a hood on."
"That’s easy to fix since you’re supposed to know who’s going to die~"
The Priest took off the hood.
The Nightmare Roulette would randomly select a person Bai Wu had seen from his consciousness. Bai Wu’s task was to kill this person, but his eyes had been warned; if he made the wrong choice, his personality would undergo an irreversible change.
The scale of good and evil would tip bit by bit.
This person was a nurse.
Bai Wu still remembered this nurse, who married a wealthy middle-aged man. But because she lived in that small town and saw Bai Yuan, believing humans should be as perfect as Bai Yuan, she began to despise her husband, deeming him merely wealthy and utterly repugnant. She did everything for the home, neglecting... that wealth itself was the greatest foundation for a quality life in that era.
When she was younger, she rejected many men who were "struggling" and chose to marry a successful middle-aged man. But after seeing Bai Yuan, something in her heart started to germinate.
Of course, Bai Yuan never had any interest in this nurse, maintaining only a friendly neighborly peace, and never entertained the idea of being the neighbor Mr. Bai. Those sorts of things were considered lowbrow in Bai Yuan’s eyes.
And it was this nurse who always told him how lucky he was to have such a father, that he should be content and such.
But Bai Wu was not happy. He loathed people who passed judgment on things without seeking to understand them first.
Bai Wu found the nurse detestable.
But even in his own consciousness, Bai Wu had never thought about killing her.
"Change this one? It is not challenging."
"Oh, that’s a reasonable request. But since there is no challenge, why shouldn’t we kill her? Or is it that you don’t dare?"
The Priest’s gaze was tempting.
Bai Wu felt many changes stirring in his memory, as if in that instant, he had returned to the small town, and saw that nurse fawning over Old Bai, and then saying to him, "I really envy you, Bai Wu..."
At the same time, it was as if a voice was tempting Bai Wu: They all deserve to die, don’t they? These people clearly know nothing, yet they say to you that you are very happy! Each one of them is hypocritical and ignorant, considering only their own preferences without a thought for the feelings of others—all of them deserve to die!
Hypnosis.
A quite clever technique, instinctually recalling one’s dislike for someone. Uglifying someone in memory due to negative emotions and then leading the person to make a choice.
But Bai Wu didn’t do that, he revealed a smile and said,
"Your ability can increase my desire to kill, but do you know what murder means to me?"
"What is it?"
The Priest felt a bit puzzled inside. His temptation had absolutely no effect?
"It’s a game. If I feel like playing this game today, I’ll play it, and if I feel like playing another game tomorrow, then I’ll play that one instead. But either way, it’s my choice."
The Priest said,
"But since I could summon her, it shows she’s connected to some of your kindness. Kill her! It will make you even more perfect!"
This nurse was actually a representative character for Bai Wu’s childhood view of all those who liked Bai Yuan.
He despised these people; even though Bai Yuan was a scumbag, a demon, they refused to distinguish right from wrong and only wanted to believe what they saw.
But later on, Bai Wu didn’t hate them anymore because he learned to forgive and understand.
If he killed this nurse, Bai Wu’s humanity would lose its capacity for tolerance and forbearance towards others.
Of course, he wouldn’t do that. Under Prayle’s Eye, as well as his own strong resistance to hypnosis, it was simply impossible that he would fall for the trap.
"I said, bring on another one."
"Alright, alright, let’s see, who else can you kill!"
The Priest found it very strange. Why would a criminal mastermind like Lord Jing Wu have so many potential targets to kill in his heart?
This man didn’t seem like a villain...more like quite a gentle person. Yet strangely enough, the feeling that Jing Wu gave it was indeed that of a psychopathic demon.
Weird red mist enveloped the electric chair, and when the mist dissipated, Bai Wu saw another person.
Lin Wurou.
Goodness, it’s another High Tower person?
The voice that was tempting Bai Wu appeared again:
"This foolish man, looking like a woman, clearly weak yet always enjoying belittling others. Why should such trash exist in High Tower? Kill him, he won’t die in reality! This trash doesn’t deserve to be in your world!"
"Bring on another one."
Bai Wu’s expression no longer held that taunting look. When Lin Wurou first arrived at Baichuan Psychiatric Hospital, he indeed wasn’t likeable, but after spending time together, Bai Wu still felt that Lin Wurou was a reliable teammate.
Even though he and the captain had grown too fast, leaving Lin Wurou, Wang Shi and the rest far behind.
But did these people represent a purity within his own soul, for his subordinates, for his friends? Should a friend be cast aside for being weak?
Bai Wu couldn’t accept such a world view.
The Priest’s inner doubts grew even more severe as the next person on the electric chair turned into Yan Jiu.
"Unable to leave the tower, despised by the family, pathetically craving others’ affection, without a clear awareness of the surroundings—a pitiful existence like that, does she even deserve to live? She can’t even express her own likes..."
Before the voice finished speaking, Bai Wu impatiently cut in,
"Next."
"How come it’s ’next’ again? Lord Jing Wu, don’t you feel that you have too many weaknesses in your humanity? You are guilty! You need to be purified!"
"It seems that unless I agree to kill her, you can’t make your move? You are so desperate for me to kill her, surely if I did that, not only would it erase part of my humanity, but it would also benefit you?"
Indeed, with Nightmare Roulette, by erasing someone else’s humanity, you could gain strength.
The Priest was left speechless.
"I don’t want to stay here anymore, you can leave."
Bai Wu didn’t know what Yan Jiu represented, but he was clear that Yan Jiu couldn’t be killed, no matter where.
Of course, the Priest didn’t want to give up. It sensed Bai Wu’s spiritual power was immense, and it wanted to obtain a part of that power.
So, putting on a smile again, the Priest said,
"As you wish, the next one."
The red mist once again enveloped the electric chair, and as the figure inside appeared, Bai Wu directly said,
"Next."
"You motherfucker! Don’t bite the hand that feeds you!" The Priest couldn’t hold back anymore.
Bai Wu saw that the captain was sitting in the electric chair, and this time, he rejected the offer outright without waiting for the voice to tempt him.
All were his dear friends. It was just the Priest’s bad luck.
However, he suddenly thought, he could refuse based on his willpower and not be influenced by the hypnotic temptation.
But what about Wen Tai? What about the others in the prison?
Did it mean that upon waking up the next day, a part of the goodness in the entire prison would vanish and a bit more evil would thrive?
"You must kill someone today! You must!"
"What if I don’t? What can you do to me?"
"If you do not keep evil greater than good! Then in this prison, you won’t be able to restore spiritual energy when you sleep, nor sate your hunger with food. Every method that brings you satisfaction will only increase your craving for that desire! Hahahaha...Jing Wu! You ungrateful wretch, I will make you capitulate! I will make you!"
Bai Wu looked at the other’s fierce face, obviously pushed to the brink of patience from the constant "nexts."
He smiled and said,
"Next."
