The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 382: A Glass of Wine Question

In the desolate streets of Caritas City, a group of people walked toward the mayor’s mansion. Some residents peeked out from inside their homes, but the moment they recognized the group, they quickly hid.

What they saw was Young Master Alexi and his knights, seemingly escorting a young man in custody. As they watched, they could only lament the young man’s fate—catching the young master’s attention surely meant he was done for.

However, what these people did not realize was that the young master and his knights seemed like puppets, their blank stares revealing that they were guiding Aldrian while under hypnosis.

After walking for about thirty minutes, they finally arrived at the vast mansion. When the guards at the gate saw the approaching group, they immediately opened the gate to let them in. The guards watched as the group entered before they disappeared inside the mansion.

"What a poor bastard. Looks like the young master or even Lord Parus got bored and decided to catch someone for entertainment," one of the guards said to his colleague.

"Yeah. No matter how many times I see it, I still can’t fathom how they can do something like that. One time, I happened to pass by one of the rooms and saw Lord Parus torturing someone—skinning him alive." The other guard trembled as he recalled that day.

Hearing this, the first guard also felt a chill run down his spine and silently vowed never to end up on their lord’s bad side.

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Inside the mansion, Aldrian was guided in one direction, where he could sense many presences.

On the way there, he passed by numerous rooms, his senses allowing him to perceive their interiors. Some rooms were covered in bloodstains and bore signs of intense combat. He deduced that a battle had broken out when the Second Prince’s forces stormed the mansion.

Other rooms were filled with horrifying remnants of torture. Once elegant and luxurious chambers had been transformed into torture chambers, some still occupied by the living. Some victims hung from the ceiling by their hands, their bodies bloodied and broken. Others had severed limbs yet were kept alive, their suffering prolonged.

He also sensed that some of the rooms were filled with naked women, all of whom seemed to be drugged with an aphrodisiac. These rooms had been turned into makeshift brothels, where some men were currently indulging in carnal pleasure.

Aldrian kept walking until he finally arrived at a room where he could sense many presences inside. He closed his eyes as the door opened, revealing the interior.

Inside was a banquet table with several people seated around it. The strongest among them was a middle-aged man sitting at the head of the table—the leader’s seat.

Dressed in noble attire, he had black hair like Alexi and held a glass of wine in his hand. However, what stood out most was the powerful aura he exuded, revealing him to be at the Middle King Stage of cultivation.

When the door opened, the man was momentarily stunned, but his expression quickly darkened into a frown as he looked at Alexi.

"What are you doing with your knights? Why are you disturbing us in the middle of our feast? Didn’t I already order you to take care of that group?" the man demanded.

However, Alexi did not reply. Instead, he stepped aside, revealing Aldrian behind him.

Aldrian opened his eyes, stepped forward, and took a clear look at the people seated at the table. They appeared to be in the middle of a feast, indulging in a variety of food and drink. His gaze then shifted to the strongest man in the center, who was frowning in confusion as he looked at him.

"Parus Xadian... is he this guy’s father?" Aldrian wondered.

"Whatever."

Without hesitation, he released his hypnosis on Alexi and his knights. Their eyes regained clarity, but Alexi was immediately stunned to find that his surroundings had changed into the mayor’s mansion.

Looking around, he realized he was now inside the dining room and was utterly shocked. When his eyes fell on Aldrian’s side profile, he staggered and slipped, unable to process what had just happened.

He had no idea how he had ended up here, but the last thing he remembered was feeling terrified by Aldrian’s overwhelming intimidation.

Finally, he looked at his father, hoping for salvation, but before he could say anything, Aldrian’s voice echoed through the room.

"Do you know where the traitor is?" Aldrian asked Parus Xadian, though his gaze also swept across the other people seated at the table. He didn’t recognize any of them, but one name caught his interest when he read his information before he deliberately chose to ignore it.

Parus frowned even deeper but then suddenly smiled at Aldrian.

"It seems Alexi is under some kind of hypnotic technique," he thought. Aldrian was more capable than he had expected—no wonder he seemed so laid-back, unconcerned with his status or power.

"Ah, so you’re the one looking for a traitor. Are you from the Church?" he asked, studying Aldrian.

"Do you know where the traitor is?" Aldrian ignored Parus’s question and asked again.

However, Parus remained smiling, seemingly unoffended. Instead, he stood up and set down his glass of wine. The other people at the table sneered at Aldrian’s brazenness—they all knew how terrifying Lord Parus could be when dealing with people like him.

"I see, so it has come to this," Parus said before suddenly vanishing and reappearing right in front of Aldrian, his hand reaching out to choke Aldrian with astonishing speed.

But just before his fingers could touch Aldrian’s neck, his hand stopped in midair. Parus’s eyes widened in shock. His hand trembled as he tried to push forward, but it wouldn’t budge. He attempted to jump back, but his body wouldn’t move.

It was as if his hand was trapped inside an invisible wall.

Everyone in the room was finally alarmed and sprang to their feet when they saw what was happening. All of them were far weaker than Parus in terms of cultivation, and seeing something was wrong with him put them on high alert.

But then, they felt their bodies freeze.

A wave of horror washed over them as they realized they couldn’t move—not even an inch. They struggled to break free, but it was useless. Even their mouths wouldn’t open. It was as if their bodies were trapped inside an invisible, solid mold.

Alexi and his knights experienced the same paralysis, their eyes filled with terror as they stared at Aldrian.

"Open your mouth. Ahhh."

Aldrian’s voice echoed through the room as he looked at Parus, gesturing like a physician examining a patient’s throat. He motioned for Parus to open his mouth.

But how could Parus comply when he couldn’t even move a muscle?

Yet, to his horror, he felt his mouth being forced open against his will—an invisible force pried it apart as if unseen hands were gripping his jaw.

As his mouth opened fully, Parus saw a glass of wine suddenly appear in Aldrian’s hand. He instantly recognized it—it was his own glass of wine.

"You want it?" Aldrian asked, his tone calm yet ominous.

Terror crept into Parus’s heart. He wanted to respond, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t even make a sound.

Aldrian swirled the wine in the glass for a moment, as if admiring its color. Then, without warning, he shoved the entire glass into Parus’s mouth.

The glass shattered instantly inside Parus’s mouth, breaking several of his teeth and slicing into his tongue. Blood mixed with wine gushed from his mouth as jagged shards pierced his flesh.

"Nhhggghhhh!" A muffled scream escaped him as he writhed in agony, want to clutch his mouth and stop the pain. But he couldn’t move.

The others watched in sheer terror, their bodies trembling with the desperate urge to flee. But escape was impossible, Aldrian had locked them in place with a spatial lock, rendering them completely immobile. Moving was out of the question, let alone running away.

At this moment, the entire mansion was Aldrian’s domain. He was its absolute ruler.

Aldrian’s expressionless face looked demonic as he gazed at the shattered glass inside Parus’s mouth before shifting his eyes to meet Parus’s eyes.

"Do you know where the traitor is?" Aldrian asked again, finally releasing the spatial lock on Parus’s mouth.

"Aghh... aghh..." Pained groans escaped Parus’s lips, but before he could make another sound, Aldrian swiftly covered his mouth with his left hand.

"No sound from you unless it’s the answer to my question. Not even a whimper of pain. If you make another sound besides the answer, I’ll make sure you no longer have a jaw to speak with."

A chilling sensation crawled down Parus’s spine. Fear gripped him as he forced himself to suppress the unbearable pain in his mouth.

When Aldrian finally removed his hand, Parus struggled to speak.

"I... wwon’t kno..." he muttered, his voice distorted by the wounds inside his mouth.

But Aldrian understood his meaning.

"You don’t know? You were expecting a group from the church, yet you claim you don’t know about the traitor? I suppose I’ll have to give you another glass of wine."

"N... noo... I... realngly don’t... kngnow... I junst... got ornder frokh high maghesti that... igh a grlroup frokhm the church appeargh, I hangve tokh takkehn cakhre of themkh and putkh the blamekh okh ghe reberkh."

(No, I really don’t know. I just got orders from His Majesty that if a group from the church appears, I have to take care of them and put the blame on the rebels.)

Aldrian could tell that Parus wasn’t lying and gave a slight nod. It seemed that the person who truly knew about Cardinal Carsius was the second prince—the one these people already referred to as His Majesty.

Aldrian looked at Parus for a moment before grabbing his head. Closing his eyes, he delved into Parus’s memories. After a few moments, he reopened them and suddenly smiled, tapping Parus’s cheek lightly a few times.

"Good work. That’s how it should be. I ask a question, and you answer." Aldrian said.

Hearing the change in Aldrian’s tone, Parus wanted to sigh in relief but before he could, Aldrian suddenly grabbed his jaw.

"However, I think you don’t need this anymore."

Parus’s eyes widened in horror before he felt something tear from his jaw. freewёbnoνel.com

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