He reached into his storage space and rummaged around.
Then, he pulled out a wood carving wrapped in an old cloth.
The wood carving looked quite old.
The craftsmanship was not refined; it could even be described as somewhat rough.
But the moment Dashi saw the wood carving, he froze in place as if turned to stone.
“This...”
Dashi's eyes widened bit by bit.
Was this the wood carving Big Sister Danasuo had promised to return to him after he grew out of his childhood phase?
But why did Mr. Phelan have this wood carving?
Phelan looked at Dashi's expression and nodded gently, as if confirming something.
“It seems I was right.”
“Back then, before Miss Danasuo cast the forbidden spell, she entrusted this wood carving to my care.”
Phelan held the wood carving out to Dashi.
“Dashi, give it a try.”
As he said this, Phelan's eyes shone with an excitement that surpassed even the two Saintesses.
It was as if he were witnessing a possibility that had never been proven before.
Dashi stared at the wood carving Phelan placed in his hands.
Then he looked down at the crystal in his hand.
His hands trembled slightly, as if afraid of what would happen if this attempt failed too...
But in the end, he still reached out and slowly brought the crystal closer to the wood carving.
From Leticia's perspective, as the crystal drew closer to the wood carving, the light belonging to Danasuo inside it began to glow brighter and brighter.
At first, it was just a faint glimmer.
Then, the light grew stronger and stronger, as if it had finally found a place where it could settle.
The light inside the crystal slowly flowed into the wood carving.
Dashi subconsciously held his breath.
Phelan had already taken out his highest-grade recording crystal.
Even the recording pen in his hand began to tremble slightly.
“The success rate is rising; the residual soul is beginning to resonate with the keepsake.”
“The wood carving is becoming the vessel for the soul.”
“Record... I must record this completely.”
After the light slowly faded, the wood carving in Dashi's hands suddenly underwent a change.
The contours of the wood carving gradually softened.
Tiny mana patterns began to appear on its originally rigid surface.
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, the wood carving transformed into a palm-sized figure.
“Eh?”
The tiny figure sat in Dashi's palm, looking around blankly.
“How did I...”
She looked down at her own body.
Then she looked up and saw Dashi cradling her.
This time, at the very least, she didn't pass right through Dashi.
Dashi stared at the tiny figure in his hands.
He clearly had so many things he wanted to say.
He wanted to ask her why she had made such a decision all by herself.
But now that he was seeing her again, he couldn't say a single word.
It felt as if something were blocking his throat.
Danasuo also looked at Dashi.
Although she had technically been watching over her younger brother every day.
For their first true reunion, the words that needed to be said were, after all, only those.
So, Danasuo offered a gentle smile to her brother, who was desperately holding back his tears.
“Dashi.”
“Long time no see.”
Hearing those words, Dashi's tears instantly spilled over.
He lowered his head, staring at Danasuo in his palm.
“Liar...”
Danasuo gently lowered her head.
“Yes, Sister is a liar.”
“I'm sorry.”
Dashi's hands trembled.
Instead of letting go, he cradled her even more carefully.
It was as if he were afraid that if he applied even a tiny bit of force, this miniature figure who had returned with such difficulty would shatter.
“That's wonderful, Dashi.”
Lin Ling watched the two of them reunite, her eyes sparkling.
She looked even happier than the people involved.
Beside her, Leticia also smiled softly as she watched their reunion.
Although Danasuo's current size seemed a bit off.
At least, Danasuo was finally able to touch Dashi once again.
And Dashi was finally able to see her again.
To them, this was perhaps already a magnificent miracle.
But behind them, Phelan's eyes gleamed with an unusual light as he watched the reunited pair.
“The residual soul is anchored through a keepsake, with the magic crystal serving as the relay core, and the wood carving acting as the vessel for the residual consciousness.”
“A success! It actually succeeded!”
Phelan's voice grew very quiet, as if he were muttering to himself, but his tone became increasingly excited.
Seeing Phelan like this, Lin Ling shivered slightly.
“Sia-chan.”
She quietly reached out and took Leticia's hand.
Leticia was slightly taken aback.
“Hmm?”
“Let's slip away first.”
“Eh?”
Before Leticia could react, Lin Ling had already quietly cast teleportation magic.
In the next second, the two Saintesses vanished from the room.
Phelan fell silent for a moment as he looked at the spot where the two had vanished.
Then, he glanced at Dashi and Danasuo, who were still lost in the joy of their reunion.
Ultimately, he suppressed his urge to continue recording and asking questions.
At least for now, he should leave them to their private moment.
Once outside, Lin Ling didn't seem to have any intention of teleporting back to the Demon King's Castle immediately.
Seeing that it was almost noon, Lin Ling wanted to just walk back this time.
“It's not that far anyway.”
Lin Ling spoke very naturally.
But just as she finished speaking, her footsteps faltered slightly.
Leticia noticed this.
“Lin Ling, are you alright?”
“I'm fine, I'm fine.”
Lin Ling waved her hands dismissively.
“Miss Saintess is in perfect condition right now.”
“The ground was just a little uneven.”
Phelan glanced at the perfectly flat road beneath their feet.
Then he quietly took notes.
“Addendum: Lin Ling has begun to show obvious symptoms of weakness, but she denies it.”
Lin Ling: “You are not allowed to record that!”
On the way back.
As Lin Ling walked, she watched the people working in the experimental fields by the side of the road.
Some demon residents were bending over to tend to the fields.
There were also children carrying tools, helping out nearby.
The midday sun beat down on them, feeling warm and cozy.
It made one feel that everything was truly, slowly getting better.
Lin Ling didn't look back.
But she spoke to Leticia, who was walking behind her:
“Sia-chan, you did great this time.”
Leticia paused in her tracks.
“Eh?”
Lin Ling continued walking forward.
“You saw Miss Danasuo.”
“You wanted to know about her, and you wanted to help Dashi.”
“So,”
Lin Ling turned her head and offered Leticia a bright smile.
“you've already taken your first step as a Saintess.”
“You did wonderfully~”
With that, Lin Ling raised her hand, seemingly wanting to pat Leticia on the head.
Leticia looked at the approaching hand.
This time, she didn't dodge.
But before Lin Ling's hand could touch her, Lin Ling's body suddenly swayed.
In the next moment, she collapsed as if all her strength had suddenly been drained.
“Lin Ling?!”
Leticia hurriedly reached out and caught her.
Feeling the girl in her arms turn pale and weak, Leticia's face drained of color as well.
“Lin Ling!”
Seeing Lin Ling in her arms looking completely burnt out, even Phelan panicked slightly.
He immediately stepped forward, his hand already glowing with diagnostic magic.
After all, what Lin Ling had just done completely exceeded the boundaries of ordinary magic.
If anchoring the soul had caused some kind of backlash, it wasn't something that could be brushed off with a simple "I'm fine."
While both of them were panicking over Lin Ling's current state, a very faint sound came from Lin Ling in Leticia's arms.
“Hungry~”
Leticia: “...”
Phelan: “...”
Hearing Lin Ling's word, the hearts of the two, which had been in their throats, finally settled back down.
Then, the two of them exchanged a look.
And then they thought about what Lin Ling had just accomplished.
She had clearly achieved a miracle grand enough to shock every mage in the world.
Yet, the reason she collapsed was simply because she was hungry.
Leticia looked down at Lin Ling in her arms.
After a moment, she let out a soft laugh.
Phelan also quietly dispersed his diagnostic magic.
Then, he lowered his head and wrote on his recording board:
“Lin Ling exhibited weakness after completing Danasuo's soul anchoring.”
“Preliminary assessment: Excessive consumption of magic and physical stamina.”
“Subject claims the cause of weakness is hunger.”
Lin Ling kept her eyes closed, her voice weak.
“Phelan...”
“Hmm?”
“Don't record this kind of thing either~”
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