Chapter Eleven: The Words of Power in Lu Mingfei's Eyes

After his aunt fled the hospital, the effects of the mental domain gradually faded away. It was as if those who had lost their sense of hearing suddenly regained it, and once more, a variety of sounds filled the air. Yet, the people around paid little attention to Lu Mingfei, who sat atop his hospital bed. It was as though his display of golden irises and the release of the mental domain had been perfectly ordinary—no different from taking medicine or tending to a patient. As if… nothing at all had happened.

What on earth is going on? Lu Mingfei found himself puzzled. He received his IV drip while quietly observing his surroundings, searching for any hidden presence that may have orchestrated what had just occurred. In the usual tropes of a typical novel, this would be the moment when a guide appeared, ready to reveal the true nature of the world—a scenario he was all too familiar with from his private daydreams.

Who would it be? And where?

His dark pupils swept the room, flecks of gold churning within the blackness. Yet, much to his confusion, there was no sign of any mysterious guide in the hospital—only ordinary people.

“What are you looking at, big brother?” The little demon appeared out of nowhere, smiling with narrowed eyes.

Glancing at him, then again at their surroundings, Lu Mingfei began to analyze the situation. The environment had not changed, but the others behaved as if he were invisible. Perhaps it wasn’t that they hadn’t noticed anything strange, but rather that he had entered the little demon’s mental illusion, and all of this was a fabrication.

“Are you thinking about the others?” the little demon asked.

“No.”

“Then what are you thinking about?”

“I’m observing the key nodes of the world, trying to use them as gateways to reach other realms. Not that you’d understand or be able to hear me anyway, so it hardly matters if I tell you.”

The polite smile on the little demon’s face began to freeze.

Exactly as expected—his brother’s spiritual attributes had grown much stronger, but he was undoubtedly suffering from some form of severe psychosis, lost in fantastical delusions.

“Hmph, don’t believe me? I’ll have you know, I’ve already heard the voices of people from another world, and I’ve even communicated with them. I can learn knowledge from beyond and sense their existence,” Lu Mingfei declared with a proud, confident grin, his tone sincere and assured.

“R-really?” Lu Mingze looked at Lu Mingfei—who spoke with the seriousness of someone recounting a true event—and his already stiff expression became ever more forced.

He’d been with Lu Mingfei all along, and he could say with certainty that his brother’s mind had been addled by fever that night, which then led to hallucinations. As for this claim about conversing with people from another world… it was utterly unconvincing.

Sometimes, after all, the truth is the best lie.

“You seemed like you had something to say just now?” Lu Mingfei asked.

“Not anymore,” the little demon replied.

“Oh.” Lu Mingfei answered calmly. Although his curiosity about recent events was burning, he knew better than to reveal his thoughts so easily to the little demon, who, after all, was out to claim his soul.

The little demon sighed, leaning against the wall with resignation. “Brother, I know you must be thrilled to have awakened your Word Spirit… but in the future, if you’re going to use it, make sure you don’t unleash this level of a mental domain. Otherwise, people might see you as a Dragon King and hunt you down.”

“Dragon King?” Lu Mingfei’s eyes sparkled with delight. If he were a Dragon King, wouldn’t that mean he was one step closer to guarding Funingna, just like Navillette? What a marvelous prospect!

But soon, his smile faded, and he sighed gravely. “That would indeed be troublesome.”

Beside him, Lu Mingze’s mouth twitched. Hey, I’m warning you that people might come after you as a Dragon King—as in, to hunt you down! I’m not saying you’re all-powerful or that you can accomplish anything. Why is your first reaction to smile? Why are you laughing? What’s so funny? You weren’t like this before! What changed you? Was it the magical girl goddess?

“Well, as long as you understand,” Lu Mingze sighed, thinking to himself: No matter how strange he gets, he’s still my brother. What else can I do? Still, perhaps this is for the best. His brother’s rapid growth was extraordinary—undergoing a spiritual transformation and even awakening a mental domain in such a short time was nothing short of miraculous.

As Lu Mingfei watched his silhouette fade, he began to ponder the nature of his own existence.

A Dragon King? No, absolutely not. If he were truly a Dragon King, the little demon wouldn’t have said “might be taken for a Dragon King and hunted.” To be mistaken for one meant he wasn’t, but was something similar in form, yet fundamentally different.

So my identity is truly unusual.

But what exactly is a Word Spirit? Although Lu Mingfei had just wielded one, he understood almost nothing about it. All he knew was that he’d uttered “be silent,” wished for quiet around him, and somehow, it had happened.

Is a Word Spirit simply the realization of one’s words—speak and it becomes so?

I speak my intentions, use those thoughts to influence the mind, use the mind to control the elements, and so grasp the fundamental forces of the world—thus bringing about the Word Spirit. That must be it.

If that’s the case, then using a Word Spirit should be both simple and free.

But…

It is incredibly draining!

Lu Mingfei suddenly realized the problem: he hadn’t differentiated between the mental domain and the Word Spirit itself. The true drain might not have been the use of the Word Spirit, but the instinctive release of his mental domain when he did so.

Wait!

After that person disappeared, the rest of the people in the hospital continued to ignore him, going about their business as if nothing had happened.

Their behavior mirrored his own inner wishes—because he wanted to be overlooked, they overlooked him. It was his mind influencing their will—his instinctual mental domain at work.

So… it was me who caused all this!

“Ah…” Lu Mingfei lay back down, watching the clear fluid drip steadily from the IV. A cool sensation spread through his veins.

It seemed his illness had lifted. The weakness was fading, replaced by a growing sense of power, as if some hidden switch in his genetic sequence had been thrown, and he was now embarking on the path to awakening.

I will wield this power with care.

Finally, the young man gazed absently at the ceiling, unconsciously recalling his aunt’s appearance when she arrived. Suddenly, a neglected question surfaced.

Wait a minute—if I got sick at school, why am I not in the infirmary? And how did my aunt end up here with me?