Dugu Shanhe's words were clearly heard by Lin Mu which was surprising since the man's lips hadn't moved at all.
'A voice transmission technique? No… there was no air or wind involved.' Lin Mu thought that it was something like what High Elder Juxue or the Saintess used.
"Oh, it is not a voice transmission technique." But much to Lin Mu's shock, Dugu Shanhe answered him.
'You… Can read my thoughts?' Lin Mu was astonished.
"Of course," Dugu Shanhe replied.
"So this is your technique… it wasn't a hypnotic skill. This is a mental skill." Lin Mu understood.
"You catch up quick." Dugu Shanhe chuckled. "I knew picking you was the right choice." He added.
"What do you mean?" Lin Mu felt confused.
Dugu Shanhe's actions had been strange from the start and from what he had said about adding Lin Mu to his collection, Lin Mu was feeling like there was something wrong.
"Since you won't remember anything after this, I may as well tell you." Dugu Shanhe didn't seem to be intent on hiding things. "After all, we have plenty of time."
The last words of Dugu Shanhe made Lin Mu realize something.
'It isn't just me getting frozen… everything else is frozen too.' Lin Mu thought.
"Well it's not exactly frozen. Things are just slow now." Dugu Shanhe said openly.
Lin Mu focused on what few dust particles that were floating in his field of vision and confirmed that Dugu Shanhe was saying the truth.
'With how slow they are… time is at least ten… no twenty times as slow.' Lin Mu estimated.
"Well you are correct once again." Dugu Shanhe sounded pleased. "You're just making me even happier. I like smart people."
Lin Mu went silent for a while, having understood that he shouldn't think carelessly. With how Dugu Shanhe could read his thoughts, anything could and would be used against him.
Dugu Shanhe suddenly found that Lin Mu's mind had become empty.
"Oh? This is new…" The man showed genuine surprise. "How are you doing that?"
Of course, Lin Mu didn't respond to the man. Instead, his mind only became calmer. Second after second passed, and Dugu Shanhe felt nothing from Lin Mu. There were no stray thoughts, not even the passive ones that would be ever-present.
"Interesting… Guess I'll find out what you are doing, after taking it from you." Dugu Shanhe said, arousing Lin Mu's interest.
"Take it from me?" Lin Mu finally replied. "What exactly is your intention?" he questioned openly this time.
"Finally, some thoughts. I was starting to think that you had become brain-dead." Dugu Shanhe spoke. "As for what I want from you, it is nothing but your memories." He revealed.
"My memories?" Lin Mu was shocked.
"Yes… and everything that makes you, 'YOU'." Dugu Shanhe confirmed.
The implications of it were scary for Lin Mu, but he didn't lose his cool.
"Why would you want them?" Lin Mu decided to gather more information first.
"Well… your memories hold a lot of information. Whether it be your secrets, or the secrets of others… your cultivation techniques, skills and everything else that you have ever seen. I want it all." Dugu Shanhe answered freely.
Hearing this, Lin Mu could extrapolate a lot.
"So you've done this to others as well?" Lin Mu questioned. "Everyone that you fought in the tournament?"
"Indeed… though not everyone." Dugu Shanhe answered. "Only the ones I deemed worthy. I don't want useless things filling my mind after all. I have to pick those that are worth it… and I have a few choices ready."
"I see… and did you do that to Childe Wildfire too?" Lin Mu asked right away.
"As much as I wished to do it back then, I couldn't." Dugu Shanhe replied.
"Seems like you cannot do this as you wish. There are limitations on this technique of yours, aren't there?" Lin Mu figured out.
"Of course. All techniques have their own limitation, mental techniques even more." Dugu Shanhe agreed.
"Let me guess… there are limits to how many people you can use it on, or how often you can use it. And if you exceed that, you will face a backlash?" Lin Mu stated.
"You are correct once again." Dugu Shanhe said with a little joy. "You're definitely better at this than most others that I've collected from. Looks like you've learned a lot."
"You could say that." Lin Mu replied. "I do like to learn."
"Perfect." Dugu Shanhe smiled. "I should thank you for doing that. You're serving all of that on a silver platter to me."
"I get that you want all that. But doing this will be quite offensive, don't you think? Not just me, but if you've used this on others, won't they come after you." Lin Mu said with a hint of confusion.
"That is true. But if they don't remember it in the first place, it is fine." Dugu Shanhe replied. "Considering you've talked to Chile Wildfire about me, you should know this too. He has no memory of what happened to him." He said, surprising Lin Mu a bit.
"I didn't think about that, though." Lin Mu said. "How did you…"
"Well… I've been watching you for a while now," Dugu Shanhe said, much to Lin Mu's dread. "Your visit to Childe Wildfire at the Lingering Bamboo Pavilion, your visit to the Royal palace grounds as well as your little 'meetings' at the Spring Valley Pavilion." He revealed.
"Hmm… so you've been using a stealth tool to hide all this time and watch me." Lin Mu replied in an irritated tone.
While Lin Mu had been wary of anyone doing this and had kept his Immortal sense ready at all times, there were still things that went past his perception. Especially since Dugu Shanhe had kept his distance and had only been looking.
That combined with the stealth Immortal tool meant that even if Lin Mu's immortal sense picked up on him, he would simply find him one of the people among several others. After all, Dugu Shanhe's form would be disguised.
To Lin Mu, it would be the same as a random person.
