Four Split Personalities

The warm and bright Fire Element burned silently within the fireplace as William Boh put down the thick book he hadn’t turned the pages of for a long time and nodded slightly to Li Fo, "Please have a seat, Mr. Astor."

"Just call me Li Fo, Your Majesty."

The latter smiled warmly, silently pulled out a chair, and sat down opposite William, asking softly, "It seems you have another guest tonight?"

William knew the other had noticed another unoccupied chair and quickly nodded, "Yes, I’ve also invited Duke Fossai. After all, discussions limited to two people can be restrictive, but before he arrives, I want to hear how ’that person’ has been recently."

"Sin Knight is just one of my suspects, although he’s the most suspicious. But please don’t treat him as the sole orchestrator of everything." Li Fo first smiled and then slowly responded, "It’s the same as before; this new favorite of the Empire is still keeping a low profile. Due to his need to recover from injuries, he spends a great deal of time each day in a semi-comatose state, mostly accompanied by Lady Silent Prayer. However, he did host a wine party a few days ago where he claimed he’d recover soon."

William gently stroked his chin, his eyebrows tightly furrowed, "So, in your opinion, was he telling the truth or lying?"

"The Acting Agent of Sky Pillar Mountain isn’t omnipotent, otherwise Lord Fara wouldn’t have fallen."

Li Fo sighed softly and said faintly, "However, we indeed have some special methods. In fact, after being officially promoted to Housekeeper, I’ve been using these techniques almost daily to monitor Sin Knight’s physical condition. The conclusion is that it’s almost exactly as he described, excluding those clearly overexaggerated parts intended to keep Lady Silent Prayer from worrying. It’s all true."

William, who was not as adept personally, was stunned, "Since you’ve already figured it out, the reason you just said you’re not omnipotent is..."

"That’s because there’s still a possibility that I could be deceived, though it’s incredibly slim."

Li Fo spread his hands and honestly admitted the possibility of being misled, "If he really is the person we’re trying to expose, his ability to disguise himself right under my nose would not be strange."

William sighed anxiously, a wry smile on his face, "That would create a vicious cycle..."

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is indeed a vicious cycle."

Li Fo shrugged and stated bluntly, "The real culprit will certainly disguise themselves and also have the ability to keep us from seeing through the disguise, else Lord Fara, another Acting Agent, wouldn’t have encountered trouble. Even your Protector God of Law is hardly weaker than me."

A glint of sadness flashed in William’s eyes as he murmured, "So like you said earlier, we must be patient, keep observing, and absolutely cannot act rashly... right?"

"Exactly, our only advantage now is that we are in the dark, but so is the enemy."

Li Fo’s expression hardened as he spoke solemnly, "Though we won’t make the same mistake as Lord Fara, we still can’t afford to spook the enemy. Too many people were by the Revelation Crystal when it burst open on the battlefield of Hover City; even we can’t accurately identify the culprit among them. It could be Duke Galos, Marshal Galahad, Sin Knight, anyone from the Czar’s Sword Knights or Hurricane Mage Group, or even someone who has always been lurking within Hover City. The suspects are not broad, but any slight misstep could cost us dearly, so even for the sake of your Empire, we cannot act recklessly."

William gave a dry laugh, leaning back in his chair, looking at Li Fo with a weary expression, "My empire? In just over two months, my empire has lost a powerful God of Law, a loyal prince, a young lord, and even a city. Now, as the emperor, I’m forced to send people to subdue the ’rebels’ in Konda, those who wish for vengeance just like me!"

"Yes, not only that, Your most trusted Marshal and strongest Duke have also become questionable."

Li Fo nodded expressionlessly, speaking gravely, "But that’s exactly why you must not act hastily. We must be ready for a long battle. Even Sin Knight, whom I watch most closely, is primarily guarded against because his timing is too coincidental; his likelihood of being innocent is quite high. We still have no clue about the real truth..."

Emperor William struck the table forcefully, raising his voice unusually loud, "But we must take action now! We must!"

This elegant merchant king rarely lost his composure, but even with his shrewdness, he could no longer control his extremely repressed emotions; and Li Fo, the man before him, was one of the few in the Empire with whom he didn’t need to maintain a composed facade.

"Yes, we must take action, but not against the real orchestrator, but to settle the ’rebels’ of Konda, Your Majesty." Li Fo showed no displeasure, still speaking with the calm demeanor of his days as ’Dao En’, "The country can’t afford to become more chaotic."