txolops Chapter 415: Lane
Chapter 415: Lane
"Master Mentor, may the God of Bountiful Harvest bless you……"
The moment the door opened, Loren saw William and two others, and behind them followed Lane and Yvonne.
Before getting to business, William offered a bit of polite chatter.
"Enough, spare me the pleasantries. What's your plan, and who is this?"
"This is my younger brother, Lane. This is my younger sister……"
"Alright, I know Yvonne. Now tell me your plan."
Hearing Loren say that, Yvonne proudly straightened her chest. After so long, she could finally hold her head high in front of her two brothers.
It also made Loren even more certain that Yvonne hadn't been placed by William—her acquaintance with Loren had truly been by chance.
Before revealing his plan, William first prepared himself mentally:
"Your actions today……will very likely cause more rumors to spread, but only those who have been here can know about this. I've already sent people to keep an eye on them……"From the areas where rumors start to grow, we can roughly determine the range……"
Loren shook his head and said:
"I already know that method, but it has too many drawbacks. You can't even guarantee your people will be loyal. Those rumors have a cognitive interference effect."
"Master Mentor, wouldn't your Clarity Potion ensure their loyalty?"
Yvonne suggested, and Loren nodded:
"That's true, but the drawbacks remain. If the enemy hides in darkness while we are exposed, even if he runs around, we wouldn't know."
It was then that Lane spoke up:
"Master Mentor, you could use that altar you used before, right? Gather people, have them swear one by one. It'd be a bit troublesome, but in the end we'd find him."
"Your idea is pretty good. I think it's time I told you my real plan, but before that, I need to confirm your loyalty."
Loren drew an altar on the spot, identical to the one he'd used earlier.
"Now, I need you to swear."
William had done a lot for Loren, but in the end he still hadn't earned Loren's trust. He held no great grievance, however, and planned to step onto the altar.
Before he could, Yvonne went onto the altar first, swearing without the slightest hesitation:
"I swear by the God of Bountiful Harvest that I have never done anything harmful to Master Mentor. If even a single word is false, I am willing to accept the God of Bountiful Harvest's punishment."
Yvonne's gaze was extremely resolute—so resolute that even without this so-called altar, Loren would not have doubted her.
With Yvonne setting the example, William also stepped up:
"I swear by the God of Bountiful Harvest that I have never done anything harmful to Master Mentor. If even a single word is false, I am willing to accept the God of Bountiful Harvest's punishment."
Having spoken, he looked toward Lane. Of the three siblings, the one Loren knew least was Lane. Loren had thought Lane was just one of William's random subordinates; he hadn't expected Lane to be William's brother.
Lane also stepped onto the altar. His expression was very similar to Yvonne's:
"I swear by the God of Bountiful Harvest that I have never done anything harmful to Master Mentor. If even a single word is false, I am willing to accept the God of Bountiful Harvest's punishment."
The altar gave no reaction, and Lane's face remained steady, but Loren sensed that something was off.
After swearing, although Lane's outward demeanor hadn't changed, Loren felt him exhale in relief.
Loren possessed the talent Sensitive Heart, which let him sense others' emotions more clearly.
Emotions can be hidden, but flawless concealment is difficult.
In an instant, Loren deduced what Lane had been thinking.
When Lane learned he had to swear, he felt fear, but he forcibly suppressed the emotion.
He knew the situation well: if he swore, the altar might very well kill him, but if he refused to swear he would definitely fall under Loren's suspicion.
Over this period, he had learned Loren's methods—just a sliver of doubt was enough for Loren to kill.
At the same time, as a high-ranking member of the Chailros Family, he was no novice. He didn't believe such a lie-detecting thing existed; he had never heard of it.
If any other person claimed such a thing, he would treat it as a joke, but the altar had been drawn by Loren, so he believed it, while nursing some hope for a lucky outcome.
Weighing the pros and cons, he chose to step onto the altar and swear. When he discovered he was actually unharmed, he relaxed for a moment—and it was precisely in that instant that Loren noticed something.
Loren wasn't certain his reasoning was correct, but for him, even the slightest doubt was enough.
But Loren could see how William treated him, so he intended to give William face and continue to verify.
If he couldn't find anything, he'd deal with Lane and see how that went.
"Alright, since you've all sworn, I'll tell you a secret now……
"This oath ceremony is fake. It cannot actually detect lies. Those people earlier were ones I killed; I just confirmed they were lying."
Hearing this, William was shocked. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he shut it obediently.
Yvonne also looked very surprised. Only Lane remained calm, which made Loren more suspicious of him.
Revealing this was part of Loren's test. Only the few of them here knew this information. If a similar rumor appeared outside now, it would mean the rumor-monger was among these few people.
However, such an obvious ruse couldn't fool Lane, so it might just be a smokescreen.
In fact, thinking the altar was fake wasn’t hard. The mind is the most mysterious place; nothing that reads minds has appeared since ancient times. Even the Outer Gods couldn't do it, and the God of Bountiful Harvest certainly couldn't.
Perhaps only the Perpetual Observer could.
So, if no related rumors appeared, that would indicate Lane was the problem.
With a suspect in mind, testing would become much easier.
"So, Lane's suggested method actually won't work. Do you have any other ideas?"
Loren continued to ask casually, as if he truly believed them.
"Lane may be immature, but he's clever. He should have other plans."
William vouched for Lane to Loren, but when Lane heard William call him immature, he showed visible displeasure—he did seem like a bit of a child.
All of Loren's previous thoughts were only conjecture. Lane's momentary relaxation might simply mean he wasn't sure whether he'd ever done anything harmful to Loren.
But once the seed of suspicion is planted, it's hard to remove. Loren watched Lane, trying to detect anything off in his expression.
Loren had ways to confirm things—at worst he'd tie him up and search him.