Above The Sky
Chapter 404 - 404 375 A Family that Loves Each Other 23

404: Chapter 375 A Family that Loves Each Other (2/3) 404: Chapter 375 A Family that Loves Each Other (2/3) Echo?

Comparing the judgement of the core chip with his own, Ian’s eyebrows suddenly furrowed.

He had a bad premonition.

Was he, once again, being drawn into a vortex closely related to him?

In fact, he had been on guard just a moment ago.

If Baron Leyan possessed Spirit Energy, he could attempt to carry out a Prophecy with the Skull of Momentary Insignificance.

And if the moment he prophesied was related to Ian, then Baron Leyan would realize that he couldn’t see Ian’s existence.

This did not mean that Baron Leyan could immediately tell he was a Prophet, but it would throw him into confusion, unable to discern whether the future or the past he saw was actually happening…

After all, there were too many similar scenes, and he couldn’t be sure that Ian was definitely in that ‘moment.’

That’s why he had Ian appraise the skull.

If Ian couldn’t discern anything, then he would, conversely, confirm that Ian was a Prophet.

Now, however, Ian could confirm that Baron Leyan wasn’t as clever as he thought—the other simply knew he was a Spirit Energy User, so he wanted to use his identity as a Spirit Energy Appraiser to verify the authenticity of the item and whether it was truly useful for passing on the inheritance.

That’s all.

His mind was flooded with thoughts.

But outwardly, the youth still lifted his head calmly and said to Baron Leyan, “This is a tool for passing on Spirit Energy, likely used by the Mountain People for a ritual to inherit some special Spirit Energy…

A very precious and magical artifact.

If this were Lingzhi Academy, they would definitely offer a high price to purchase it.”

“Yes, you saw through it indeed,” said Baron Leyan with a look of satisfaction on his face.

Ian couldn’t figure out why the other felt relieved, so he simply shook his head and turned off the device, “Any more than this, I’m afraid, is beyond my capabilities, and I can’t determine which type of Spirit Energy the fluctuations belong to…

It’s extremely mysterious.

If I weren’t also a Spirit Energy User, I might not have noticed this at all and would have thought it was some kind of special material for enhancing Spirit Substance.”

“No, you’ve done very well,” Baron Leyan had regained his initial confidence and heartiness; he laughed loudly, came over and patted Ian on the shoulder, “This is completely sufficient.

Even a master appraiser might not do any better—you truly are the genius of Harrison Port.

I believe that there is no stronger Appraiser under the age of forty in the entire Nanling Province than you.”

“You flatter me,” Ian bowed slightly.

After all, if one isn’t a Spirit Energy User, they wouldn’t be able to activate the power within the Crystal Skull and resonate with it.

As for his purpose…

“Is he planning to pass the power of the Prophet onto his son?

But this thing isn’t permanent…”

Ian pondered inwardly, “And if one’s spirit isn’t strong enough, they could be brainwashed by the thought patterns of the Prophet, or even the content of their foresight, becoming another person—what is known as ‘Echo-fication.’

“Though it seems unlikely, could this also be part of Protector Axer’s plan?”

With such doubts, Ian didn’t voice his speculations.

He just followed Baron Leyan out of the Alchemy Laboratory.

“Daddy.”

However, at the door of the Alchemy Laboratory, three children were waiting quietly.

“Eh, why have you all come over?”

Baron Leyan was slightly startled, obviously not expecting these children to come running over.

He squatted down, stroked the heads of each child, and said with a smile, “Have you eaten?

If not, I’ll prepare something for you personally.”

“We’ve eaten!” “Not yet.” “I want what daddy makes.”

Ian observed the three children closely.

The boy who said he had already eaten had a vibrant voice.

He had light brown curly hair and one bright red eye, but his left eye was hollow—this was clearly the result of being forcibly gouged out by some violent act, and even regeneration potions would have difficulty restoring it.

This child was probably the one who had been playing with toys and eating in the room at the end of the second-floor corridor earlier.

The second child was so pretty it was hard to tell his gender.

He had radiant golden hair and sapphire-like eyes, and his voice was soft and gentle, giving the impression of a little rabbit, but Ian could tell he was a boy.

He sat in a small wheelchair, pushed by the first child.

This child had no legs and right hand, apparently chopped off by some blunt blade.

The remaining left arm bore clear scars of burns, and there were faint scars all over his body, except for his face, clearly having endured inhuman torture.

Even his left arm seemed to move awkwardly, as if it had been hacked halfway off before being reattached…

Seeing just this, an anger welled up in Ian, reminding him of what Elan had gone through.

——”Abusing such a small child?

If I ever encounter him, I swear I’ll flay and strip that bastard’s tendons and feed him to Shark!”

As for the third child, she was Linda, whom Ian had met before, with her blue hair and purple-red eyes.

This little girl was still staring directly at Baron Leyan with such pure eyes that their purity made Ian feel uneasy.

All three children were dressed in very fitting and exquisite clothes, obviously carefully selected and custom-made, but their auras completely overshadowed their attire.

Because, they were all Spirit Energy Users.

“This brother, dangerous.”

Suddenly, the second child, that blonde boy with a gentle voice and mostly incomplete limbs, lifted his head.

A hint of sky-blue Spirit Energy glow lit up in his eyes, and he shrank back slightly in fear: “Daddy…

he’s very dangerous…”

“What’s wrong, Moqiu…

Why do you say this big brother is dangerous?”

Baron Leyan looked toward Ian, his initial gaze was somewhat confused; he had thought that Ian’s appearance was friendly enough to make his shy children feel close to him.

And then the confusion obviously stemmed from not understanding how a First Energy Level Fae with alchemy skills could possibly threaten someone of the Second Energy Level like himself.

But then he let go of the thought, accepting it as the child’s concern for him.

The baron happily picked up the boy referred to as ‘Moqiu,’ kissed him hard, and said, “Good boy, don’t say things like that next time, it’s not very polite——haha, Ian, I’m sorry for their rudeness, these children have been through difficult experiences, and they might be somewhat impolite because of that.”

“Such touching familial affection, how could I possibly find that rude?”

There was a hint of puzzlement in Ian’s eyebrows, but he did not impolitely inquire about what ‘difficult experiences’ the other had suffered.

After all, just from looking at the physical and mental impairments of these three children, it was clear they had endured inhuman torture, which is why they had awakened their Spirit Energy—just like how he had awakened his own after nearly being killed by his uncle’s abuse.

For a normal child, this was undoubtedly an incredibly painful experience, and asking would be tearing open old wounds.

Moreover, he also noticed that the baron’s own sickly child was not present.

“Please forgive me, Ian, I can’t see you out of the castle personally; as you see, I need to go prepare food for the children.”

Apologizing to Ian with a bit of regret, Baron Leyan pulled out a bottle that shone with a brilliant golden-orange luster that kept shifting to purplish-red aurora: “This is the reward I promised you…

the highest grade.”

“You’re smart enough to understand, but keep it quiet.

Ailes is involved as well,” he said with a wink to Ian.

“I don’t know anything…” The youth pursed his lips: “What do you mean, I don’t understand?”

——Related to the viscount again?

Is he some kind of social butterfly?

But it wasn’t really surprising.

After all, one who held dominion over the Great Labyrinth, had subjugated the Natives, and was counted among the top combatants of the Nanling nobility, Viscount Grant truly was a person of great influence in Nanling Province, especially since he was soon to advance to the Third Energy Level.

But still, it was troublesome.

Thinking this way, Ian accepted the vial of potion somewhat helplessly: “I’m just fortunate to receive your gift, and I’ll be leaving Leyan Territory shortly—I’m just a simple knight, after all.”

“No, no, you won’t be just a simple knight in the future; I’ve already heard about your relationship with the young master of the Ellen Family.

You’ve fought side by side, and even Master Gossay speaks highly of you.”

The blue-eyed noble lifted Moqiu in one arm, causing the boy who was initially fearful of Ian to reveal a relieved and happy smile, holding tightly to his ‘father’s’ neck.

The father said softly, “It was a pleasure to meet, but please excuse me from seeing you off.”

“How could I possibly impose on your family’s life?” Ian bowed slightly, and looking at the children, he said with emotion, “Truly a family that loves each other deeply.”

“Of course.”

Baron Leyan’s smile was much more sincere than the one he showed Ian in the Alchemy Laboratory before, and he turned his head to gesture: “Come, Yila, show our little knight the way out for daddy and your brothers and sisters!”

“Yes!”

The one-eyed boy took his order cheerfully and waved to Ian, “Goodbye, big brother!” He then marched off toward the end of the hallway with the brisk energy of a knight.

And the blue-haired girl Linda held tightly onto the baron’s empty left sleeve, her previously calm face now revealing a slight smile.

Baron Leyan and his family joyfully went on to enjoy their lunch, while the white-haired young knight, full of questions and confusion, left the castle under the steward’s guidance.