EES - Chapter 32
Chapter 32
"I already knew you... What? You admitted it??!" Song Ling was taken aback.
She had already prepared backup plans one, two, and three in case Liu Guanglin stubbornly refused to speak and wouldn't even offer a word in response. Yet before she could even begin, he suddenly confessed outright.
The sudden turn of events left Song Ling momentarily at a loss.
Why was he cooperating so readily now? Moreover, his tone bore little resemblance to the shameless plagiarist Song Ling remembered, one who would resort to physical blows when cornered.
Uncharacteristic behavior usually meant a trap.
Song Ling's guard went up immediately.
Yet Liu Guanglin's direct confession that none of the poems or essays were his own sparked immediate uproar among the audience below the dais.
Previously, no matter how strongly attendees suspected the works couldn't have come from a single author, such suspicions remained mere conjecture, unfounded without decisive proof.
What are you doing?! The transmigrator's voice echoed within Liu Guanglin's mind, audible only to him, trembling with panic. Do you truly believe confessing serves your interests? We share this body now. If I perish, you perish with me. Do you really think you'll remain unscathed once my reputation is destroyed?
We're finished! Once spoken, we're useless to them. They'll kill us to keep us quiet!
The original Liu Guanglin paid the transmigrator no mind, continuing to lay out the truth, syllable by syllable.
"Liu Guanglin, do you affirm that every word you have spoken is true? If so, I shall report to His Majesty and strip you of your degree." The Chancellor of the Imperial Academy spoke with grim severity.
"The essays submitted during both the Metropolitan and Palace Examinations were likewise not penned by 'Liu Guanglin.'"
If the preceding admissions concerned merely matters of personal integrity, this final declaration crossed an irreversible line. Cheating by plagiarizing others' work in the Metropolitan and Palace Examinations constituted treasonous deception of the sovereign, a capital offense.
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Outside the square, Gu Zhixin had initially missed the words entirely. Only as bystanders relayed them phrase by phrase did the full meaning reach him.
"How could this be..." Gu Zhixin stared blankly, utterly unable to reconcile it with reality.
Until now, Gu Zhixin had genuinely admired Liu Guanglin's literary flair. It was precisely this admiration that had driven him to publicly denounce Yang Sheng's alleged misconduct, convinced he was championing justice.
Yet now he was being told that every poem and essay he had cherished was stolen. That the man he believed to be the aggressor was innocent, and the supposed victim was the true culprit.
Gu Zhixin's legs gave way. He gripped a nearby stone pillar to keep from collapsing.
......
"Something is wrong with Liu Guanglin."
An Lin stated with certainty.
As the instigator of the debate, An Lin had attended in person. The Chancellor, upon learning of her arrival, had reserved a private viewing box specifically for her. From there, she could survey the assembled ministers below, while they remained oblivious to her presence.
While the Emperor Simulator offered a comparable overhead view from the palace, An Lin personally preferred witnessing the spectacle firsthand.
"In what way?" Wang Xiuwen, Chief Grand Steward of the palace eunuchs, routinely supplemented his sovereign's martial prowess with timely commentary. He posed the question smoothly, accustomed to the role, while pouring a cup of tea for his emperor.
"He has endured interrogation in the Shadow Guard's inner cells for days now. Xiuwen, you ought to know what sort of man Liu Guanglin is." An Lin watched the figure on the dais, head bowed, reciting his own transgressions with eerie calm. "Given his circumstances, he would never confess so quietly. He would either deflect, drag Miss Song into the mire with him, or resort to mysticism, claiming prophetic insight."
Furthermore, ever since Liu Guanglin declared that not a single poem belonged to him, An Lin had observed his status bar falter. The usual cascade of question marks began to flicker erratically, occasionally resolving into legible digits before dissolving again.
Wang Xiuwen considered this briefly. "Indeed."
On the dais, Liu Guanglin's gaze locked onto Yang Sheng. After a heavy pause, he interrupted Song Ling's planned exposé. "Fabricating scandals to frame others is also true. Prior to our arrival in Qiong'an, I shared travel with Minister Yang for some time. The verses I appropriated were ones I encountered during that journey. To claim them as my own, I rushed to copy and circulate them upon reaching Qiong'an, ensuring everyone believed I had authored them first."
Merely uttering those words seemed to drain him completely. Standing nearby, Song Ling noticed with growing confusion that Liu Guanglin broke into a cold sweat, his body trembling as though he were wrestling an invisible force.
What was happening?
She opened her mouth to inquire, but before she could speak, Liu Guanglin's demeanor shifted violently. The unnatural composure vanished, replaced by frantic desperation. "No! Stop! I didn't choose to say those words!"
Dissociative identity? Or perhaps...
Considering the mechanics of soul transmigration, Song Ling reasoned that this erratic behavior pointed less to split personalities and more to the original host briefly seizing control.
"A moment ago you swore every verse was stolen, and now you deny it outright? Are you going to claim someone coerced you into confessing?!" Several scholars in the audience, their tempers flaring, reached their breaking point. Unable to tolerate the blatant contradiction, they rose to shout their condemnation.
"I have never witnessed such brazen audacity! You disgrace the very name of scholars everywhere!"
"Such a wretch deserves severe retribution from His Majesty!"
Even the most refined scholars contented themselves with verbal abuse. Beyond the square, however, the gathered populace grew furious. Some clamored to hurl rotten eggs at the accused. Others, overcome with rage, stripped off their shoes to throw, only to be restrained by neighbors who warned that casting footwear into the Imperial Academy would bring ill omen upon the scholarly realm.
Snatching control back, the transmigrator flinched. "B-but I invented the irrigation waterwheel and the curved-shaft plough!"
"Are those truly your inventions?" Song Ling recognized the familiar, shameless demeanor of the man she had previously confronted. She sneered. "Do not credit yourself with another's ingenuity. I am equally capable of such designs."
......
By the time the original host seized control to confess his deeds, the verdict was already sealed. Whatever Liu Guanglin might say afterward would be futile.
Ultimately, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy decreed that the names of the true authors be announced publicly, restoring their rightful reputations.
Summoned by imperial decree, Yang Sheng suddenly found himself the focus of every eye. Scholars who had previously harbored biases based on rumor approached to converse, many offering apologies.
It took Gu Zhixin considerable time to process the revelation. Watching Yang Sheng stand unruffled amid the throng, impervious to praise or slander, filled him with a bitter sense of shame.
Every masterpiece he had once revered had originated from Yang Sheng's brush. Yet he had publicly denounced the man, blindly spreading Liu Guanglin's fabricated schemes to destroy Yang Sheng's reputation.
Gu Zhixin wished he could bury himself in shame.
Yet as Yang Sheng stepped away from the dais, Gu Zhixin summoned his remaining courage, intercepted him, and pressed his palms together above his head in a deep bow. "I am Gu Zhixin. I allowed myself to be misled by Liu Guanglin, failed to discern truth from falsehood, and recklessly spread his lies. The fault is mine. I beg your forgiveness."
Others emerging from behind him followed suit, bowing deeply. "I let my judgment be clouded by hearsay. I am deeply ashamed."
Yang Sheng regarded them in silence, then shook his head gently. "It is of no consequence."
As the aggrieved party, Yang Sheng knew the confession was fundamentally false. He had not composed those verses during their journey together. In fact, several attributed to him were entirely alien to him; he had never conceived of writing them.
Certain inconsistencies remained unexplained.
This was precisely why, upon seeing Liu Guanglin led away after the proceedings concluded, Yang Sheng had immediately pursued him to demand answers.
......
Meanwhile, the moment Liu Guanglin descended, the Shadow Guard moved in. They escorted him away from the Imperial Academy in complete silence.
As the crowd faded into the distance, panic seized him. He tried to cry out for help, but his guards anticipated the move, swiftly gagging him with a strip of cloth.
What do I do? I must find a way to escape! This is my only chance. If they take me back, I know what their interrogation entails. I will certainly die!
But how could he possibly flee?
Anxiety and resentment boiled within him. He blamed everyone who drove him here, and cursed the original host for hijacking their shared vessel to spill the truth. Now that the truth was out, he was treated like vermin. Even if he claimed he had been captured and tortured, no one would believe him.
The original host was trying to get him killed!
Despair consumed him. Trapped as he was, where could he possibly run?
Suddenly, a reckless carriage careened onto the street, scattering his escorts. As one guard released him to dodge the impact, Liu Guanglin's survival instinct flared. Seizing the opening, he bolted.
Driven by sheer desperation, he ignored the exhaustion and agony from days of interrogation. He rolled and scrambled, knocking over vegetable carts to buy himself precious seconds.
He had done it.
Triumph surged through him as he ducked into a narrow lane winding through houses. He failed to notice that his pursuers halted after a short chase, exchanged a glance, and stopped.
"We leave him? That is His Majesty's command?"
"Correct. Arrest those causing disturbances with their horses in the market district and deliver them to the yamen. Compensate the vendors for the overturned stalls, and charge it to the public treasury."
"Wait, the carriage wasn't part of our arrangement?"
"Our contingency plan involved distracting you with street children. The carriage was purely coincidental."
"Quite the coincidence."
Liu Guanglin was entirely unaware that this entire sequence had been orchestrated on the fly by An Lin upon confirming the original host's lingering presence. It was a controlled experiment to determine which consciousness would assert dominance under pressure.
Believing he had escaped, he exhaled in relief. Only then did the accumulated agony crash over him. He nearly reflexively yielded control to the original host to shield himself from the pain, but remembered that surrendering meant certain death. He gritted his teeth and endured it.
Pacing frantically, he realized he had nowhere to go. He decided to seek refuge at the Yulou Pavilion, where he had cultivated a connection, hoping to borrow funds to flee the capital.
He assumed the authorities would scour the city but overlook the pleasure quarter so soon after the academy scandal. His contact there surely hadn't learned of the news yet.
Drawing on his last reserves of strength, Liu Guanglin staggered to the Yulou Pavilion. His face bore no visible wounds, so the gate attendant let him pass. The staff member who usually greeted him recognized him and smiled warmly. "Young Master Liu, seeking Lady Yu? She is absent at the moment. Might I invite you to rest in a chamber upstairs while you wait?"
He accepted eagerly.
Once inside the chamber, his tension finally broke. He collapsed onto a cushioned chair, only to jerk upright repeatedly, peering anxiously through the lattice window to check for pursuers.
"I made it! I actually escaped!" Observing the tranquil street below and hearing no pursuit, triumph swelled in his chest, warping his features with pain and glee. "You'll pay for this! I won't let you live. Once I cross the border of Xuan, I will find a way to destroy you!"
The original host fell silent, then finally spoke. His voice carried only contempt and exhaustion. So the money you stole from my parents ends up here?
"And what of it?" Liu Guanglin retorted dismissively. Barely seconds later, a violent tug seized his mind. His body slipped from his grasp once more.
The original host marched toward the window. Panic spiked in Liu Guanglin's mind. Wait! What are you doing!
In the next instant, the original host vaulted through the window. The fall from the fourth story slammed him onto the cobblestones. Liu Guanglin felt the brutal impact simultaneously. Agony shattered his legs, and numbness rapidly followed.
You've lost your mind!!
Liu Guanglin screamed internally, but the original host endured a hundredfold greater agony without yielding control. Instead, he dragged his shattered limbs across the stones, crawling relentlessly toward the Qing River that wound past the pavilion.
Collapsing by the riverbank, the original host drew a ragged breath. For the first time since reclaiming his body, he smiled.
"Let us perish together," he whispered.
Then he rolled backward into the current.
At that exact moment, control snapped back to Liu Guanglin.
Cold water flooded his lungs. Suffocation hit him instantly.
Fury surged, but water poured into his mouth instead of words. He coughed and sputtered, struggling desperately to surface. His shattered legs and lacerated body rendered him incapable of even a basic stroke. Helpless, he felt himself sinking. The searing burn in his lungs made it feel as though he were drowning while simultaneously roasting over an open flame.
Madman!
Who agreed to die with him!
Die alone! Don't drag me down with you!
All hatred and cursing drained away. Only one thought remained: survive. He kicked and clawed upward, but his dead weight pulled him down. The desperate urge to rise hardened into a singular fixation.
Suddenly, his body felt weightless. The crushing pressure vanished. He turned his awareness downward and saw his physical form still plummeting into the depths.
He had detached from his dying flesh.
Ecstasy surged through him. He strained to ascend.
But his disembodied consciousness proved clumsy and difficult to steer. He drifted upward slowly, until faint ripples of light marked the surface.
Yet as he neared the surface, his vision blurred. Just as his intangible fingers brushed the water, a duck paddled past. Its yellow webbed feet disturbed the ripples. Though minor, the shifting current instantly fractured his consciousness.
What... is this?
His fading mind processed the event sluggishly. In his final moments of awareness, he glimpsed a solitary figure standing on the riverbank, watching him silently.
Naturally, it was An Lin, who had trailed leisurely behind to observe the outcome.
Unlike Liu Guanglin's perception, however, An Lin saw nothing. Not his consciousness. Not his soul.
Through the rippling surface, she perceived two distinct stat blocks hovering beneath the water, both bearing the name Liu Guanglin.
Upon sinking past a certain threshold, the single status bar had bifurcated. One half clung to the sinking corpse, its metrics resolved into precise, stable figures.
The other half consisted entirely of question marks, the same anomalous readings she had observed earlier on Liu Guanglin and Miss Song. This fragment of data drifted steadily upward, yet when she traced its ascent, she saw nothing but empty water. It hovered and sank as if sustained by magic alone.
Then, gradually.
[Liu Guanglin | Governance: ? | Military: ? | Learning: ?? | Martial Strength: ?? | Politics: ?? | Management: ? | Ambition: ?? | Loyalty: ? | Prestige: ???]
The text and figures dissolved into the current, fading until they vanished completely.
An Lin: I have a feeling something supernatural just happened without my knowledge.
With the data erased, she presumed the transmigrator had perished. That left only the original host.
Concluding her thoughts, An Lin addressed Wang Xiuwen:
"Retrieve the body."
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