Portraits

Du Chen's question struck Sherine as odd. She paused, turning to face Du Chen, who was following behind her. "You don't know Glynn? How is that possible?"

"I've never heard that name. My mother only left behind one servant, Foye!"

"Foye? Did Glynn change his name?" Sherine asked. "What does this Foye look like? What's his martial prowess?"

Du Chen let out a wry chuckle. "Old Foye is just an ordinary man, absolutely not a Battle God. As for his appearance, well, he's not tall, and he looks like a very kind old man. Oh, and he's ninety-three this year."

"Then he can't be Glynn. Glynn was less than twenty years older than your mother. This year... he wouldn't be more than seventy!" Sherine shook her head. "Besides, Glynn wasn't an ordinary man; his power was immense! Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to threaten your father back then. Oh, and most importantly, Glynn is quite tall!"

Sherine gestured above Du Chen's head. Sixteen-year-old Du Chen hadn't fully matured physically, standing just over 1.7 meters. According to Sherine's gesture, Glynn was half a head taller than Du Chen, roughly the height of his two elder brothers. Yet Old Foye's height was nearly identical to Du Chen's!

"Aunt Sherine, could you tell me more about this Glynn? I've never heard of him before!"

"How can that be? I thought Glynn joined the Saint Sigurd Cain family alongside your mother. Tell you what, I still have your mother's engagement portrait. I'll show it to you later, dear!"

Sherine then led Du Chen on a tour of the library, recounting amusing anecdotes about Arges and Phil from back in the day. However, Du Chen was somewhat distracted.

Glynn! If he could be by his mother's side, he must have been a figure from the Holy Yessar Church. Perhaps he was one of the Four Saints, for Flaying had once said that the Four Saints' duty, besides executing criminals, was also to protect the Saintess!

Pressed by Du Chen's persistent questions, Sherine recounted everything she knew about Glynn from back then. However, there weren't many deep secrets; after all, Sherine was merely Phil's roommate and couldn't have known many of the Yessar Church's confidential matters. Still, she painted a picture of a Battle God servant who was eccentric, aloof, somewhat paranoid, yet deeply caring towards Phil.

"Here's your parents' engagement portrait!" Sherine led Du Chen to her room, retrieved a meticulously preserved portrait from a cabinet, and pointed to it. "The engagement ceremony took place after their graduation. The officiant was Phil's Godfather, Vice Dean Philip, and many of your parents' friends attended!"

She chuckled. "You know, Phil was the daughter of a minor noble back then, while your father was a Divine Scion of Sigurd. He feared your grandfather wouldn't approve of the marriage due to their differing statuses, so he simply... made sure the marriage was inevitable right after graduation, before returning home."

Du Chen wasn't interested in these old anecdotes. He quickly fixed his gaze on the portrait. Glynn stood not far from Phil, who was in her wedding gown, dressed in the standard attire of a Five-Star Blue-Robed Martial Fighter, powerfully built and exuding ferocity. His physique offered no particular clues; among the Four Saints, aside from Corpse Dissolution, who was slender like a woman, the other three shared this build.

Du Chen shifted his gaze to the other figures in the portrait. Apart from Philip and Phil's bridesmaid, Sherine, he recognized no one else.

"Aunt Sherine, who are these people?" Du Chen asked, pointing to several individuals in the portrait who stood closer to Phil.

"This is the previous Dean, Kree; he's passed away. This one was the Master of the Water Pavilion at the time... And this is your father's mentor, Milo; after he resigned a few years ago, he was hired by a small kingdom on the Arcania Continent to be their Imperial Advisor." Sherine introduced everyone she recognized one by one. For the remaining unfamiliar faces, she frowned. "Oh, I almost forgot until you asked. These few were quite strange at the time. They quietly blended into the wedding banquet and stood with your mother's relatives when the portrait was painted. But afterward, when I asked your mother, *hehe*..."

"My mother said she didn't recognize them?" Du Chen interjected with a smile.

"Exactly! Both Phil and Arges said they didn't know them. It seems these people were professional gatecrashers!" Sherine pursed her lips in a soft chuckle.

Gatecrashers? These people were clearly members of the Holy Yessar Church, attending the Saintess's wedding. It was only natural they wouldn't want to reveal their identities!

Counting carefully, there were eight individuals: six men and two women. Du Chen secretly memorized their appearances, then, still feeling uneasy, said, "Aunt Sherine, I've never seen this portrait before. Could you lend it to me so I can find an artist to make a copy?"

"Oh, I can just repaint one for you. My painting skills are still passable!" Sherine said with a smile.

A quarter of an hour later, Du Chen stared blankly at two paintings that were almost identical—no, precisely identical. He was speechless. Sherine, a little embarrassed, chuckled, "It's been a long time since I last painted. I seem to have gotten rusty..."

Du Chen left the library with the paintings. As he departed, Sherine reminded him to visit often and that he could come directly to her for any materials he needed. This aunt, who appeared utterly ordinary, truly seemed so. Yet, from their recent interaction, Du Chen realized that this seemingly plain aunt had spent decades meticulously organizing and researching materials in this library, accumulating a vast wealth of knowledge. To call her the most learned scholar on Battle God Isle would be no exaggeration; even Bovin, the Old Charlatan renowned for his profound knowledge, would have to concede defeat!

Du Chen would, of course, visit this seemingly ordinary aunt again. Moreover, he intended to call upon everyone within the academy who had been close to his parents.

On his way back to the dorms, Du Chen inwardly rejoiced. This trip had been quite fruitful. Understanding that the child was a fusion of two super-potential little entities was secondary; the most important thing was getting his hands on portraits of key Holy Yessar Church members! His chances of finding Phil had increased significantly.

"Filial piety is the foremost of all virtues!" This grand good deed would now be much easier for him to accomplish. And, *Flaying*, if you won't take off your mask, do you really think I can't find out who you are? *Hehe!*"

"Miss, look how fun this is!" When Du Chen pushed open the door, Shieb was in the main hall on the first floor, watching the child. He held a handful of toys and pacifiers, making the little girl giggle sweetly.

"Harry, you've done excellent!" Du Chen praised.

"No, Master, this is Harry's duty!" Shieb half-knelt, presenting the young mistress to Du Chen.

"Alright, you can dismiss the wet nurse you hired. I've changed my mind; I'll personally look after my daughter!" Du Chen picked up the child and instructed, "Oh, and I've also adopted a son. You'll see him in a moment. For now, go buy another set of boy's supplies, up to Belmonde's standards!"

"A son? Oh, Master, allow me to praise you! To adopt two orphans simultaneously, you are truly benevolent!" Harry exclaimed praises as he exited.

Du Chen sighed, pinching Belmonde's tiny nose with a smile. "My dear, you're quite something! But from today onwards, you are my 'daughter'..."

*Poof!* Belmonde transformed into Alex.

"When you call 'daughter,' Alex appears! Understand? Idiot!" Alex rolled his eyes at Du Chen, as if complaining about "Dad" for carelessly summoning him.

"You're not so clever either, kid! A little girl can trick you into calling her 'Dad' just like that!" Du Chen chuckled. "Little fellow, you claim to be an expert, so what can you do? Show Daddy a demonstration!"

Alex blinked his large eyes and pouted. "To an expert, all things are mundane; only in battle can true abilities be displayed!" His unspoken meaning was clear: *I possess many skills, but everything appears ordinary in my eyes. My greatest talent lies in combat, but without enemies, there are no opponents. Why would I demonstrate my abilities to you? My supreme prowess is for fighting, not for putting on a show!*"

Du Chen shook his head, utterly helpless, and muttered, "This 'son' is truly full of hot air!"

*Poof*, the little fellow transformed back into Belmonde. She giggled, nodding, "Mm-hmm, little brother isn't fun. Daddy prefers Belmonde! Kissy-kissy, Daddy!"

*Mwah!* She planted a kiss on Du Chen's chin, clung to him for a while, then whispered, "Belmonde is so cute! Little brother is so silly. Daddy, don't say 'daughter' so little brother doesn't come out! Let Belmonde stay out and play all the time!"

*Ugh*, you little rascal!

"Sweetheart, Daddy has something to do soon. Let your brother come out and play for a bit. And whatever you do, don't tell anyone that you two share a single body, understand?"

"Beibei is very smart, I understand! If others know we share a body, they'll drag us into a laboratory! *Hehe!*"

Before long, Harry returned from his errands. Du Chen handed the boy-transformed Alex to him and instructed, "Here, this is my son, your Young Master! Look after him well. Miss Belmonde is sleeping upstairs; I'll go keep her company. You are not permitted to go upstairs without my orders, and it will be the same from now on, understand?"

Du Chen ascended to the second floor and then summoned three Precious Lotus Scriptures. Most of what the Precious Lotus Scriptures held were Philip's experimental data and raw materials. Among them were dozens of gold bricks, a small basket of diamonds, countless rare metals, three sacks of documents, and many other items Du Chen didn't recognize. Besides all that, there were also two unconscious living people: one was Deboning, and the other, Louis.

Tossing aside the gold, silver, and jewels, Du Chen put away the unfamiliar items and Louis. Then, after securing the doors and windows, he dragged Deboning into the side hall.

Deboning, now stripped of his shadowy mist, appeared as a middle-aged man with a sinister face!

"You *were* at that wedding after all!" Gazing at Deboning's appearance, Du Chen compared it with the portrait he had borrowed from Aunt Sherine, then let out a low chuckle.

Finding a cup of cold water, he splashed it onto Deboning's head. Du Chen roused him. "Distinguished Sir Deboning, we meet again."

"Where is this? I should be on Mount Tianshan!" Deboning looked around, clutching his chest as he sat in a chair. His injuries were still severe, and his memory was stuck on Mount Tianshan, just before the heavy blow that rendered him unconscious after Philip's mutation!

"This is my dorm! Sir Deboning, please take a look at this portrait first!" Du Chen handed him the framed picture.

Deboning glanced at it. "What is the meaning of this?" He picked up an iron hook beside him and lightly scraped it across his face. "All our main fellow believers attended that wedding back then. What do you want to ask?"

"I see. Which one is Tendon-Severing and which is Corpse Dissolution?" After Deboning pointed them out, Du Chen continued, "Then, Glynn is Flaying?"

"That's right, Glynn is Flaying, but..." Deboning suddenly stopped speaking. "Flaying, as the leader of the Four Saints and the Saintess's Guardian Battle God, is not so simple. But why should I tell you the details?"