Who told you I am an NPC

Chapter : 32

"Then tell me what you know." Yan Yunqing pulled back and sat down again, leaning lazily against the back of the chair.

He crossed his right leg over his left, resting one hand on the back of the chair, his fingertips tapping lightly, while the other hand supported his forehead.

It was a lazy yet extremely oppressive posture.

Brooke suddenly came back to his senses, gasping for breath as if he wouldn't stop until he had replaced all the air in his lungs.

"You..." Brooke stared blankly at Yan Yunqing, "Who on earth are you?"

Yan Yunqing raised his hand, "Didn't I tell you?

A hero of the night, a righteous vigilante who punishes evil and promotes good at night."

The sky outside had finally brightened.

Sunlight couldn't shine in through the heavily covered windows, but a line of light fell at the edge, lightly breaking through a bit of the gloom in the room.

"Oh, my apologies." Yan Yunqing looked at this sliver of light and shrugged, "Today is a limited-time daytime activity vigilante."

What on earth was this person rambling on about in such a strange way?

Brooke should have felt terrified at this moment, because this uninvited guest who had appeared out of nowhere had laid bare all the secrets he had hidden for so many years, stripping him of his shell completely, leaving him nakedly exposed. Yet, right now, he only felt speechless and absurd.

"You want to know about Teacher Adelaide?"

Brooke didn't know why, but at this moment, he actually felt a hint of trust towards this person who didn't even dare to show his real face... Yes, a strange sense of trust.

Yan Yunqing nodded, "Yes, I came to investigate this matter."

"You want to investigate this matter?"

Brooke raised an eyebrow, his messy and thick eyebrows looking like a caterpillar raising its head.

"Since you've already found out so much, you should know, right?

The people who investigated this matter are all dead, without exception."

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

Yan Yunqing was curious, "Aren't you still alive?"

"I'm different..." Brooke suppressed the palpitations in his heart and avoided Yan Yunqing's gaze, no longer making eye contact with him.

He felt that this person who liked to speak strangely had magical eyes, as if they could devour his soul completely.

Just like the rumored Demon King, who could bewitch people's hearts without them realizing it.

"You're different... hmm."

Yan Yunqing thought for a moment, "Is it because someone died for you... oh no, I should say, someone covered up the fact that you wanted to investigate the truth, and as a result, he died instead?"

Brooke was instantly terrified, and the look he gave Yan Yunqing was as if he were looking at a monster. "You even..."

"Don't get excited, don't get excited. I just made a casual guess."

Yan Yunqing smiled very innocently, "Your former roommate, what was his name... Link?"

When Yan Yunqing said this name, he always felt it was a bit strange, as if this Link would pop out from somewhere, dressed in green, chopping down trees while saving a princess.

Brooke covered his face with both hands, his head bowed in silence for a long time. Finally, he rubbed his face hard and sighed deeply, "Yes, Link died for me."

Lowering his hands, Brooke looked up again with a forced smile.

The gloomy and damp feeling on him faded, but he became dispirited again.

"Teacher Adelaide... she was a very good person.

She helped me a lot. Even though she saw that my intentions in approaching her were not pure, she still provided me with a lot... a lot of help, so that I wasn't expelled from the academy."

"I admire her very much. She was like... like my older sister, so kind and gentle."

Brooke said softly, "I had already made up my mind to study with all my might until Teacher Adelaide was willing to accept me."

"And then she died." Brooke bent over, grabbing his messy hair, his fingertips digging in, a little neurotic.

"That day, she took her students out. Three days later, none of the students in that team returned."

"The other teachers said that those students died, that they were attacked by demonic beasts, and that Teacher Adelaide felt so guilty that she resigned from her position as a teacher at the academy."

"I don't believe it. Teacher Adelaide is a very responsible and good teacher.

She wouldn't just leave without a word, running away in disgrace just because her students died."

"Teacher Adelaide's students... that is, Link and the others, also didn't believe that the teacher would suddenly leave.

But they couldn't find any trace of Teacher Adelaide at all.

Everyone wanted to find out the truth behind that demonic beast attack."

"I... I wasn't Teacher Adelaide's real student, and my abilities were not enough, so I didn't participate in their investigation.

I only learned about some progress from Link occasionally."

"They were all very capable people.

I thought they would find the truth about Teacher Adelaide's departure, but I didn't expect..."

"Jela suddenly told everyone to stop investigating, that the teacher was already dead."

"Link and the others thought it was strange and wanted to ask more, but the next day, they heard the news of Jela's death."

"The cause of death... mana backlash."

Mana backlash is a very rare condition, common among some mages who go astray in their pursuit of power.

The mana in the body runs rampant uncontrollably, reversing the magic circuits, leading to death from the backlash of mana.

In the old days, before magic wands were common, this condition occurred frequently.

Now, it is rarely seen because people are used to using magic wands as a medium for casting spells and don't store volatile mana elements in their bodies.

Lilian hid behind Yan Yunqing's neck and explained this to him quietly.

Her voice was so faint that Brooke, still immersed in his past memories, didn't notice at all.

"Jela was a very smart and talented person.

It's absolutely impossible for him to have a mana backlash!" Brooke said excitedly.

"He was already the top student of the sixth grade before he died!

He was so powerful, how could he have a mana backflow due to mentality issues?"

"And then you continued to investigate this matter, but the result was that everyone who tried to touch the truth died?"

Yan Yunqing pointed out this fact.

"Yes, yes..."

Brooke's shoulders slumped completely, utterly dejected.

"Everyone is dead... only Link is left."

"Link warned me not to investigate anymore, that if I continued, both he and I would die. I..."

"I listened to him, but that day happened to be, well, it happened to be the anniversary of Teacher Adelaide's death.

I wanted to talk to her... so I went to her former residence and stayed there for an afternoon."

Brooke took a deep breath and looked at Yan Yunqing again, "Can I trust you?"

Yan Yunqing knew that the secret he was investigating was finally about to surface.

His heart stirred, and he decided to use his previous actions as a pledge of allegiance.

"Hmm, I forgot to tell you earlier," Yan Yunqing said nonchalantly.

"You know Dean, right?

I've already killed that guy, chopped his head off.

The Castellan's Manor should be in chaos by now."

Brooke was stunned for a moment, letting out an "Ah?"

"You... killed Dean?" Brooke hesitated. "Really?"

He never would have thought that one of the murderers of Teacher Adelaide would die so casually, according to the person in front of him.

Was Dean that easy to kill?

Then what did his two years of living in constant fear count for?

Did it mean he was a coward?

Yan Yunqing: "You don't believe me?

That's a bit of a problem.

I don't have the habit of carrying severed heads around.

How about I take you to the Castellan's Manor to have a look?

But it probably won't be easy to get out once we go in now."

Brooke's mind was in a bit of a mess for a moment.

His mouth opened and closed, finally squeezing out a dry sentence: "Oh, is-is that so?

Then no need, I believe you."

Lilian covered her mouth and let out a couple of soft chuckles.

Brooke, whose mind hadn't caught up, finally noticed the little creature that had been hiding behind Yan Yunqing all this time.

He stood up in shock, pointing at Lilian, "Th-this is?"

Yan Yunqing pinched Lilian's head and pushed her back, telling her not to appear so openly in front of others.

"This? It's a moving doll, cool, right?

The latest alchemical item, one hundred gold coins each, very expensive."

Lilian struggled for a bit, and upon hearing this, she simply bit down.

This time, Yan Yunqing was wearing gloves.

Lilian biting him through the leather gloves couldn't hurt him in the slightest.

Instead, he completely enveloped her in his palm and caught her.

Lilian:!!!

Damn it, you're the alchemical item! You're the one who's one hundred gold coins each!

The great Her Excellency Lilian couldn't possibly be auctioned off for only one hundred gold coins!

Yan Yunqing clapped his hands together, trapping the tantrum-throwing Lilian, and stuffed her into the pocket under his cloak.

Brooke took in all of Yan Yunqing's actions and twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Th-this alchemical doll is quite lively..."

Yan Yunqing's expression didn't change.

"Yeah, it just gives me a headache sometimes with all the noise."

Feeling the struggle and protest from his palm, Yan Yunqing changed the subject.

"But this doll of mine is a limited edition, the only one of its kind.

So if you're thinking of buying one too, I'm afraid you can't."

Brooke: ...When did he say he wanted to buy an alchemical doll?

No... this isn't an alchemical doll at all, right?

Is he treating me as blind or a fool?

His train of thought was interrupted just like that. By the time Brooke remembered what he wanted to say, he could no longer muster his previous resentment.

"Let's get back to the topic at hand," Brooke wanted to return to the main point.

Yan Yunqing made a "please" gesture.

Brooke: "...You're sure you'll avenge Teacher Adelaide, right?"

Yan Yunqing spread his hands, "I never said that."

Brooke became anxious, "You went through all this trouble to get so much information, wasn't it to get the truth about what happened back then from me?

If you're not trying to avenge Teacher Adelaide, what are you trying to do?"

Yan Yunqing raised his index finger and wagged it in front of Brooke's eyes.

"No—no, of course not. I just want to find out the truth of this whole incident."

"As for revenge? In the end, it depends on my mood, of course!"

"And you, all you have to do is tell me what happened back then.

After all, you're just a coward who doesn't dare to face the truth, aren't you?"

Revenge? No, Adelaide was nothing to him.

How could Yan Yunqing challenge such a huge target for an outsider?

He would eventually kill Feu, but that would only be for himself—after all, he was already so deeply involved.

Rather than wait for Feu to find him and send people to get rid of him, it would be better for him to strike first.