Caleb said no more, leaning down close to the unconscious Saintess.
At some point, a silver needle as thin as a hair had appeared between his withered fingers.
Moving as fast as lightning, the tip of the needle pierced a specific spot over Eve's heart with absolute precision, giving it a gentle flick.
A droplet of crimson blood, speckled with faint golden light, was drawn out and hovered at the tip of the needle.
The moment her heart's blood left her body, Eve's already faint breathing almost stopped entirely.
Her body twitched imperceptibly.
An almost imperceptible thread of soul energy coiled around Caleb's fingertips, enveloping the droplet of heart's blood.
He merged its aura with an invisible brand, slowly imprinting it deep into the Saintess's soul.
Only after completing all this did he put away the silver needle.
Just before his figure faded away, he cast one last look at Lin Gui and asked,
“The reason you waited for me with the Saintess at the No. 2 Mine was to make me 'clearly see' her disguised soul weight?”
Lin Gui nodded, admitting it frankly.
“A clever scheme.”
Caleb grinned, revealing a smile that was hard to decipher as either admiration or coldness.
“My promise to you still stands.”
“Whenever you change your mind, you are always welcome to join me.”
Before his voice could even fade, his figure merged into the night, vanishing completely.
Lin Gui immediately strode over to the Saintess, crouching down to check on her condition.
“How much longer can you hold on?” he asked in a low voice.
The healing magic Eve was using to sustain her life was of an extremely high tier, even faintly touching the threshold of the Legendary Rank.
While its effects were powerful, its consumption was also incredibly staggering.
Once her mana was depleted, she would die instantly.
Eve struggled to open her eyes slightly.
Her lips trembled, but she could only make an incredibly faint whispering sound.
Lin Gui couldn't hear clearly and instinctively leaned his ear close to her lips.
However, the expected whisper did not come.
Instead, he felt a cool and soft sensation on his cheek.
The Saintess had actually used the last of her strength to give his cheek a gentle kiss.
This was by no means an accidental touch.
Then, her voice, as faint as a sigh, reached his ears.
“This is... a reward for the hero...”
Lin Gui's heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
He frowned.
Although Eve's gaze was unfocused, he could still detect the subtle intimacy within it.
But... why?
Lin Gui didn't consider himself exceptionally handsome.
How could a girl fall for him after spending only two days together?
Not to mention a Saintess with such outstanding status, appearance, and ability.
He turned his head to look at the pale face smiling faintly right next to him and asked directly,
“What is the relationship between the future me and you?”
A subtle curve appeared at the corner of Saintess Eve's lips.
An emotion he couldn't decipher flickered in her purple eyes as she said softly,
“Companions? Lovers? Accomplices? Someone you admire? Why don't you take a guess?”
“...”
Seeing the Saintess speaking in riddles again, Lin Gui patted her cheek and asked,
“How much longer can your Transcendent Rank Radiant Resurgence last?”
“...”
“Five minutes.”
Slapping the Saintess on her forehead, Lin Gui grumbled,
“Then why are you still in the mood for this nonsense? You're playing with your own life.”
“...”
...
Carrying the still extremely weak Saintess on his back, Lin Gui flew at high speed, controlling his staff.
Soon, he met Theia and Elvia outside the gates of the Royal Capital.
Seeing Lin Gui safe and sound, with even his clothes relatively neat, both women clearly breathed a sigh of relief.
Theia felt a great weight lifted off her shoulders, patting her chest and sighing in relief.
Elvia, on the other hand, had a look of undisguised frustration on her face after her initial relaxation.
After she was hurriedly pulled away by Theia, it didn't take long for Theia to return alone, clearly on Lin Gui's orders to handle something.
This meant that Elvia was kept completely in the dark about the key parts of the entire plan.
This feeling of being excluded from the inner circle made her extremely uncomfortable.
She didn't understand why he still guarded against her so much when her life was already in his hands.
A faint sense of unease gradually spread in her heart.
Without stopping for even a moment, Lin Gui flew right over their heads on his staff.
Saintess Eve's life was like a candle in the wind; there was no time to lose.
Theia timed her move perfectly and leaped lightly into the air.
She skillfully grabbed the end of the staff, landing steadily behind the Saintess.
Just as Elvia took a step, she saw the staff carrying the three of them accelerate.
Her outstretched hand froze in mid-air as she watched the staff carrying the three of them speed away.
It was as if there was no place for her at all.
A wave of annoyance at being ignored, mixed with an indescribable sense of grievance, instantly welled up in her heart.
But just as this emotion arose,
an invisible force gently wrapped around her.
It lifted her feet off the ground, causing her body to float forward involuntarily.
The grievance instantly vanished.
She crossed her arms over her chest and let out a soft huff, but her heart felt inexplicably more at ease.
“At least this guy didn't forget I exist.”
Under the protection of the 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】,
the four of them slipped into the Royal Capital silently.
They headed straight for the Pariah Messenger post office located in the Seventh Ring.
The post office attic.
Lin Gui laid the Saintess flat on the bed.
Her face was as white as paper, her breathing faint.
“Theia, go to the commercial district and buy some blood-replenishing herbs.”
He quickly rattled off a few herb names, then added,
“Be careful. If you run into anyone from the Holy Church, don't engage. Run back immediately.”
Theia nodded and took the pouch of gold coins Lin Gui handed her.
With a flash of her figure, she leaped out of the window and vanished into the night.
Lin Gui mounted his oak staff.
He planned to head to the Black Street to get a blood transfusion set.
The medical system of the Akara Continent was quite peculiar.
Priests and clerics who mastered light magic could rapidly heal wounds and cure diseases, holding a high status.
However, for a depletion of vitality caused by massive blood loss like the Saintess was experiencing, the effects of magic were limited.
Mana could stimulate potential and accelerate blood production, but it could not create blood out of thin air.
Thus, traditional physicians still existed.
They studied herbs and anatomy, and had even cobbled together crude syringes and transfusion tubes.
In areas untouched by magic, these “primitive” methods instead became the key to saving lives.
“Elvia,” Lin Gui turned to look at the other woman in the room, “you are in charge of taking care of her.”
His tone was very flat.
But before leaving, he stared at Elvia and added,
“Don't you go playing any tricks.”
He tapped his own chest, gesturing pointedly.
“Your life is still in my hands.”
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Elvia immediately shot back indignantly,
“What kind of person do you take me for?!”
“What good would harming the Saintess do for me?!”
Lin Gui gave her a disdainful look and said no more.
With a slight movement of his staff, he floated out of the window and merged into the darkness below.
Elvia curled her lips at the empty window.
She finally understood.
Why this guy Lin Gui had kept her in the dark at every turn during this operation.
It turned out he had been guarding against her all along, fearing she would stab him in the back.
...
Well, though she did have a tiny bit of such thoughts.
But it was too late for any of that now.
She turned her head to look at the barely breathing Saintess on the bed.
She let out a helpless sigh.
Even if the Saintess really died now, without Caesar's group of rebels to frame others,
she would have died in vain.
It would bring absolutely no benefit to Elvia.
Rate on N.U.
