Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks-Chapter 656 - 428: This Is the Real Dream

I was once extremely angry, extremely angry.

This is Li Hao's summary of his own crazy thoughts from yesterday.

He is now sitting on an iron chair welded to the floor in the interrogation room, facing a man and a woman, two sheriffs.

The female officer put down her pen, frowning: "Is there nothing else you want to add?"

Li Hao shook his head: "No, this was purely an accident. I haven't practiced any swordsmanship. I was a bedridden vegetable before, only did three months of rehabilitation training. I really didn't do it on purpose."

The sheriff couldn't help but interrupt: "But it really looks like..."

The female officer added: "A passerby caught the whole thing on video. You were so calm, like an... unparalleled swordsman, eyes filled with killing intent—so, some people think you intended to kill from the start."

Li Hao was stunned for a moment, then began to complain: "But that was a vicious human trafficker, a knife-wielding thug with God knows how many lives on his hands. Should I have considered if that one hit would kill him before acting?"

The sheriff beside pinched his brow with some helplessness: "If you had trembled with him for a few more rounds, the effect might have been better. Do you know what they're calling you online now?"

"What?"

"The Sword Saint of Chenghua."

"But I truly haven't practiced any sword techniques, it really was just an accident."

"According to your record, that does seem to be the case."

The sheriff nodded: "I don't think we should blame a good man, especially since you only made one move from start to finish, defeated the enemy in one hit, and didn't continue attacking. The video is intact, and the public opinion online leans in your favor. Personally, I think there's a high likelihood you'll be deemed self-defense and released without charge."

Sitting across from the interrogation table, Li Hao finally let out a long breath.

"But for the time being, before the trial, you still have to stay in the detention center for a while."

"What about my job?"

The sheriff couldn't help but chuckle: "Just treat it as a vacation. The city might even give you a bravery award later on, so relax."

On the way to the detention center, the sheriff patted Li Hao on the shoulder: "It wasn't convenient to say in front of the cameras earlier, but kid, you did well."

Li Hao smiled awkwardly: "I was scared out of my wits then."

The sheriff recalled those intimidating eyes from the video and said helplessly: "Alright, there's no need to pretend in private. Had you learned German sword?"

"I really haven't practiced, it was pure coincidence."

"Alright, you're cautious, and rightly so, being cautious is good."

The sheriff waved somewhat disinterestedly: "The human heart is unpredictable; nobody knows what thoughts are in each other's minds. Whether it's reporters or anyone else asking, remember to say exactly that."

Li Hao was a bit bewildered: "But I really didn't mean it..."

"This kid."

The sheriff couldn't help but laugh and curse. This kid Li Hao really put on an act, if it wasn't for the video, he might really have thought the kid just got lucky by chance.

But how could that be?

Even now, recalling the look in this kid's eyes from the video still gives him a shiver.

"This kid, could he be from some secret department?"

The sheriff began to wonder, as Li Hao's records seemed way too ordinary—a complete facade at first glance!

...

In the visiting room of the detention center.

Li Hao forced a smile: "Dad, Mom, don't worry, the sheriff told me there's a high chance it will be ruled self-defense. I'll be out soon, and there won't be any record, so it won't affect your future grandson's public service exams."

Mom, with a look of distress, wiped her tears: "You just got back home. What if something happens? How can I live on?"

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"It's okay, it's not your fault. There are no cowards in our Li family."

Dad showed an approving expression: "I put five hundred bucks in your card, and it's loaded every month. If it's not enough, let me know. I just asked the sheriff, we can't visit you again before the trial, but we can occasionally email."

Watching his parents leave, Li Hao let out a gentle sigh.

Although the sheriff's hints showed a high chance of being acquitted, Li Hao was still an unconvicted suspect now—what they call a criminal suspect, which to someone like him who has been law-abiding for over twenty years, was too stimulating.

Li Hao was given a separate cell.

Lying on the bed, he had nothing much to do. As an unconvicted defendant, before sentencing, there's no forced labor required, and he mostly had nothing to do in the detention center aside from watching some TV at set times.

He zoned out for a bit.

When he came to his senses again.

He had somehow carved a new spell model into the wall with his fingers.

He looked at the model on the wall, silent for a long time.

"This is the model for the Ice Cone Technique."

"Could I have developed a split personality?"

He scratched his head, muttering to himself: "Years as a vegetable, those experiences in dreams formed a new personality in me, one that can use swordsmanship and cast spells—spells don't work in reality, but swordsmanship does."

"So when dealing with that trafficker, was it the new personality that took action?"

"But aren't dreams sourced from reality? I've never practiced swordsmanship; can something like this really spring out of nowhere?"

Li Hao hesitated for a moment, then got up, picked up the mop leaning against the wall, and raised it above his head.

Then, a fluid sword dance followed.

As if etched into his bones.

There's no need to think about the next move at all.

In the monitoring room.

A duty guard exclaimed, "Come look, this kid isn't holding back at all!"

"He's spinning that mop like a windmill."

"Just like in the video, this kid's gaze is really fierce. When he came in, I saw him face to face, seemed like a gentle, kind young boy, but when he swings the sword, he's like a maniac!"

"Someone should really investigate this kid, I feel like he's carrying more than one life on him."

In the monitoring room, a group of guards were chattering away.

After a long time.

Li Hao finally put the mop down, sitting on the bed somewhat breathlessly.

He panted for quite a while.

Then said, "The swordsmanship is real, does this mean the world of my dreams before, those now seemingly blurry memories, are actually real? But why didn't those spell models work?"

"No, it's not necessarily that the spell models don't work, but that I don't have enough spiritual power to cast them now."

"Meditation!"

"I need to meditate!"

...

"What's been up with this kid lately?"

"Looks a bit off, could it be that staying locked away alone has given him psychological issues?"

In front of the TV, the news broadcast was playing.

Li Hao stared intently at the TV screen, paying no attention to the odd looks from the guards beside him.

He suddenly widened his eyes, as if he saw something unbelievable.

In the air, the mottled spiritual radiance, like golden fish swimming around, he instinctively raised his hand, and the golden fish quickly moved according to his will, forming a rudimentary spell model.

Poof—

A plume of flame arose at Li Hao's fingertip.

"Hey, where did you get a lighter?"

The guards exclaimed as they surrounded him.

Li Hao was even more excited than they were: "You saw it, didn't you? You saw it? That wasn't my hallucination, there really was a flame just now, right?"

Two guards placed their hands on their waists, one stepped forward to calm him, "Sit down first, don't get excited, Li Hao. The place doesn't allow dangerous items like lighters, give it to me."

Li Hao chuckled bitterly, raising both hands.

"Search away, I never had any lighter on me."

The guards frowned, thoroughly searching him, but found nothing unusual.

Li Hao was very excited, proving that he wasn't crazy, he had indeed traveled through, acquiring some superpowers—he already was a superpower user as described in novels!

Back in his cell, his burning excitement cooled slightly.

It proved that the dream wasn't a dream at all.

"Can I go back?"

Li Hao rubbed his shortly cropped hair, "Am I Li Hao or Losa?"

Though his experiences after crossing over had become vague, with many details difficult to recall, he still remembered Prajna, remembered Jeanne, remembered many people.

They need him on the other side.

"But my parents need me too."

Li Hao let out a long sigh; even if the other side was real, he couldn't find a way back. He couldn't just run to the highway and get hit by a car again. As someone's son, he couldn't leave his parents behind.

"Xiao Li!"

Outside the cell door, a guard handed over a paper, "Xiao Li, weren't you a college student? Help me take a look at this math question in my son's homework."

Li Hao took the paper apprehensively, gave it a quick glance, then easily said, "Easy, this is only middle school level stuff. I thought you were going to test me on advanced mathematics, which I never attended a single lecture on at the time..."

"What are you talking about?"

The guard asked in confusion, "This is advanced mathematics."

Li Hao had a "are you kidding me" expression.

His major only had advanced mathematics in the first half of the freshman year, at that time, he was deeply immersed in gaming and truly hadn't attended a single lecture.

He suddenly realized something, shoved the paper back to the guard, "You go first, I need some private time to calm down."

Dreams are just a reorganization of personal perception.

Someone who's never seen the Imperial Palace, even in dreams, the Emperor would be living in a village villa, carrying a golden pole, wielding a golden hoe like an old farmer. They couldn't imagine what kind of extravagant life dignitaries lead.

Having never learned advanced mathematics, he couldn't imagine what advanced math problems were even like in dreams.

So, is this world the dream?

As the thought emerged, Li Hao suddenly felt the whole world fading.

His vision was elevated momentarily.

He saw this world.

A place where the edges were filled with illusion and fleetingness, only the area centered around him condensed into tangible substance, like an island in the void.