NOVEL NEXT Chapter 58: The Truth
Luo Lan looked at him in confusion.
"But they are children."
"Hey, did you forget who you are dating with?"
With a snap of his fingers, Wu Han's figure shrank and shifted.
In the blink of an eye, he looked like a child of the same age as those on the field.
At least to others.
"?"
Luo Lan stared at him, stunned.
He appeared to her only as a blurred figure.
Her eyes could tell what was an illusion, but not what the illusion was.
"Oh right, you can see through illusions," Wu Han said casually.
"I just turned myself into a child's appearance. I can do the same for you if you want. I'll even put a limiter on you, so you don't accidentally hurt them."
He tilted his head and looked at her.
"So, do you want to try?"
"Yes!!" Luo Lan agreed immediately, her answer bursting out before she could think.
"Then here, a little magic."
With a simple spell, Luo Lan's body shrank and shifted until she became a small girl.
Small, ordinary boy and girl.
She saw a blurry veil over herself and understood that some kind of illusion had been placed on her.
At once, she felt a heavy shackle settle over her arms and legs.
Her strength was greatly suppressed, yet the restraint itself was fragile. She knew she could break it at any moment if she became serious.
This was only a temporary limiter Wu Han had given her.
To everyone else, they now looked like nothing more than two children.
But then came the hard part.
Her hands clenched at her sides. Her heart beat faster than it ever had in battle.
She had never asked anyone to play with her before, much less children half her age.
"Hey, you two want to join us?" one of the boys suddenly called out.
"Yeah!" Wu Han grabbed Luo Lan's hand. "Let's go!"
Luo Lan hesitated at first, then gathered her courage and nodded.
"Hmp!"
"Do you know how to play catching monkey's ball?"
Luo Lan shook her head, but Wu Han already knew the game from the memories he had taken.
One of the boys began explaining the rules. "One person is the catcher, and the others pass the ball. We can only use our legs."
They formed a small circle, kicking the ball to one another while Luo Lan stood in the middle as the catcher, trying to intercept it.
She had never played such a game before.
When she lunged for the ball, her foot slipped and she fell to the ground.
"Ah!"
Sand clung to her face and hair. The children burst into laughter.
It was a sight no one had ever seen before. A peerless genius falling flat on the ground just to catch a ball.
Luo Lan froze for a moment.
But she did not feel shame.
She pushed herself back up, brushed the sand from her cheeks, and clenched her fists.
"Again!"
She was still Luo Lan of the Luo clan.
After a few more failures, she finally managed to catch the ball, and the roles rotated.
Time slipped past until midnight, and the other children's parents came to take them home.
"Bye bye, see you again sometime!" The kids called out as they ran off the field, leaving only Luo Lan and Wu Han behind.
Luo Lan, once a pristine princess of ice, was now covered in dust and dirt from the playground.
Wu Han dispelled the illusion and looked at her. "Want to continue?"
"Yeah!!" Luo Lan answered eagerly, and they began passing the ball between them.
"How do you feel, finally getting to be like a normal person?" Wu Han asked as he kicked the ball toward her.
"Very good!" Luo Lan squealed with joy. This night was the best she had ever lived. She kicked the ball back.
"You can have this every day if you help me, remember?" Wu Han said as he returned the pass.
"Of course. I'm willing to help you if it means I can have my freedom," Luo Lan replied.
Wu Han caught the ball and looked at her. "What's your plan after you're cured? Have you ever thought about it?"
He passed the ball back. Luo Lan caught it, then stopped.
For a moment, she stood still.
In her entire life, she had never dared to dream. But now, sometimes, she found herself imagining things.
Maybe she would grow a garden.
Or travel the world and taste all kinds of food.
Or wander around and challenge others until she found someone equal to her.
So many thoughts crossed her mind.
"But I haven't decided yet. And I don't want to."
Wu Han looked at her. "Why?"
"Because I don't want to limit myself anymore. I want to do anything and everything that comes to my mind."
Luo Lan's wish was simple. True freedom. Not worrying about the future. Cherishing every moment and making the most of what she had now.
She kicked the ball back to him.
"What about you?" She asked.
"I never knew what you want besides strength. What is it for?"
People never wished for strength. They wished for what strength could bring them.
Luo Lan, as the pillar of the Luo clan, understood this truth better than anyone.
"Hmp…" Wu Han caught the ball and fell silent.
After a moment, he spoke again.
"Well, since I can't lie to you anyway, let's hear it."
He shrugged and kicked the ball back to Luo Lan.
She caught it in her arms and held it close, waiting eagerly for his answer.
She knew he carried a great ambition. He also possessed frightening talent.
A Miracle Doctor and a powerful trickster. What kind of wish could such a man hold?
"My goal is simple."
Luo Lan could see it the moment Wu Han opened his mouth.
This was the most honest he had ever been with her.
But sometimes.
"I'm going to kill everyone."
The truth was not meant to be heard.
"Starting with the people in this town."