Actually, Lin Gui had long been mentally prepared.
Delivering mail to Deepwood Outpost was not going to be smooth.
He just hadn't expected that after almost four days, not a single elf would even show up.
None of them had even touched the contents of the letters hanging at the door.
Lin Gui's mental preparation came from those elven spirits who had dropped off the letters.
The letters destined for Deepwood Outpost totaled only one hundred and three.
It barely reached the minimum threshold for the System to issue a reward.
These letters all came from the scattered elves lingering in the previous few city-states.
When they came to drop off the letters, they had explicitly said:
"Even with our handwritten letters as proof..."
"The kin in Deepwood Outpost probably won't take the initiative to appear."
The reason was simple.
Elves hated humans.
Since the descent of the Demon God, the balance of racial powers from the Golden Age had completely collapsed.
"Elf hunting," once rare, had become rampant and frequent during the City-State Era when human influence was at its peak.
Too many elves were captured for their beauty, reduced to slavery, and subjected to unimaginable humiliation and torture.
This led current elves to harbor extreme hostility toward humans.
It had even reached the point of "drawing a bow the moment you see one."
The reason those elves staying in Blackwater City could get along with human ghosts...
Initially, it was only for trade.
The wilderness in the City-State Era was too dangerous, survival space was constantly shrinking, and many city-states faced shortages of supplies. Elven city-states were no exception.
They had originally disguised their appearances to go to human city-states to purchase necessities.
As a result, the Dark Tide descended, and they were trapped outside, never to return.
In over ten years of boring life as specters, they and the equally bored human ghosts...
gradually developed a strange kind of "friendship."
In particular, those human souls used their actions to prove one thing to them.
That was, they hated humans just as much.
They hated nobles and slave traders even more than the elves did.
The elves had witnessed it with their own eyes.
A group of angry human ghosts had literally torn a slave merchant's soul body into pieces and devoured it.
They had seen a minor noble, who knelt down and pleaded for mercy, being swallowed alive.
At that moment, they suddenly felt...
That their own hatred toward humans, in the face of these bottom-tier humans...
seemed like it had to take a backseat.
The shared situation, combined with a common "enemy."
It actually allowed the elven and human souls—who were supposed to be as incompatible as fire and water—
to get along weirdly well in places like Blackwater City.
Lin Gui remembered that in the Blackwater City post office.
He had seen an elven spirit and an old human ghost complaining to each other.
In the boring time after becoming ghosts.
Lin Gui had only seen that kind of scene in Avalon before.
Even with the Forest Elf Laisa from the North Wind caravan...
Lin Gui hadn't seen her being overly intimate with other teammates.
Only when talking with Freya and Betty would the layer of ice on her face melt a little.
As for the High Elves he had seen in the City of a Thousand Towers...
That was another matter entirely.
Since the High Elf leader announced their joining of the City-State Alliance...
they had been directly stripped of their elven status by the Elven Forest.
The Elven Forest had thus lost its tribe with the most complete preservation of strength.
It also lost its supreme faith—the World Tree.
So except for the High Elves...
Other elven tribes basically all hated humans.
Including those at Deepwood Outpost.
The System's sign-off time had a limit.
If it could not be completed within a week, all rewards would be void.
The reward for over a hundred letters was not much for Lin Gui.
Deepwood Outpost was close to Whitestone City, so the mana reward would not exceed a hundred points.
The reward was better than nothing.
But Lin Gui would not just give up like this.
Because the next few city-states...
Moonshadow City and Gloomlight Forest.
were all elven city-states.
If he could not break the elven hostility here...
At the next few stops, he would similarly find it impossible to move an inch.
Lin Gui stood up and brushed the dust off his hands.
He walked to the door and looked out at that silent purple ruin.
The history of elves hating humans was too long.
Lin Gui did not think that he alone could easily dispel such hatred.
Especially in such a short amount of time.
If he had disguised his appearance before entering...
Perhaps he could have bluffed his way through.
Unfortunately, Lin Gui had still been careless.
Sigh, it was all because he had spent too much time with Theia, that rather unconventional white-haired elf.
It had made Lin Gui forget the original manner of elves.
Cold, exclusionary, and hostile toward humans.
Then, how was he to make this group of elves—who had maximized their hatred for his racial identity—
accept the letters he had brought?
Actually, the method was quite simple.
Lin Gui put on a pair of dead-fish eyes, his face written all over with resistance.
But...
He eventually sighed, still steeling himself to start.
Although the method slightly damaged his morals, at least... the effect should be very good.
To what extent?
Lin Gui had only been carrying out his method for less than three hours.
On the snow outside the post office, glass beads silently began to float.
Within the field of vision of Lin Gui's Eyes of the Netherworld...
those were elven faces.
Pointed ears, delicate features, and soul silhouettes that were longer and more solid than human souls.
But at this moment, there was no sense of beauty on these faces.
Only twisted, almost fire-spitting...
ferocity and rage.
Why were they so angry?
Because...
Inside the post office.
Lin Gui was holding a sharpened wooden stick.
The other end of the wooden stick was pressed firmly against the neck of...
an elven child's soul, which he held in the crook of his arm.
Eve, meanwhile, was at the counter, looking at him with a strange expression as he poked a glass bead with a wooden stick he had picked up casually.
In her ears, like listening to a storytelling session, came the furious roars of the elves.
That was right.
In order to successfully deliver the letters, Lin Gui chose the most direct method.
Playing rough.
Relying on the novice Soul Attachment, he controlled this weakest elven soul that was wandering nearby.
He used it to threaten the other elves to reveal themselves.
And forcibly stuff the letters into their hands.
Of course, this was all a sham.
But he had to make it look real.
Otherwise, there would be no deterrent effect.
"Ahem."
Lin Gui cleared his throat, trying to make his voice sound more malicious.
He deliberately lowered his voice and gave a sinister laugh toward the increasing number of elven spirits outside the door.
"Hehehe, look what I found in this godforsaken dump?"
"A cute little elf."
"And a whole bunch of high-tier goods that could sell for a high price."
"Do you see the weapon in my hand?"
"This is the legendary Soul-Devouring Blade that makes even souls tremble in fear."
"Can you feel the oppression of the soul coming from it?"
Lin Gui scanned the elven souls before him with his Eyes of the Netherworld.
Immediately, they all felt an oppressive weight from the depths of their souls.
"Hahaha, this is the real deal."
"And it can cause damage to souls."
"So..."
"If you don't want this little one's soul to scatter and vanish..."
"Behave yourself."
The elven child's soul body in his arms was shivering.
The elves outside the door heard this and instantly exploded.
Angry voices surged in like a tide.
"Evil human!"
"Shameless! Despicable!"
"Release her! You immoral beast!"
"You aren't human!"
Back and forth, it was just these few terms like "evil," "shameless," and "not human."
The cursing was... exceptionally simple.
Lin Gui even got a bit distracted, wondering if the elven vocabulary was a bit lacking.
"Release her!"
An elven soul who looked somewhat older, seemingly an elven warrior, shouted in a shrill voice.
"Otherwise, we will never let you go!"
"Oh?" Lin Gui raised an eyebrow, deliberately making a fake slashing motion with the wooden stick at the child soul's neck.
"This 'top-grade merchandise' has already fallen into my hands; why on earth would I let go?"
He tried to squeeze out a treacherous, oily smile.
But after his mouth twitched for a long time, he felt his facial expression management was a total failure.
Ultimately, he gave up the performance, coughed once, and returned to his usual expressionless face.
"Anyway, according to the rules, it's time for negotiations."
The elves naturally understood what Lin Gui meant by "negotiations."
Kidnapping weak elves to threaten other elves that were hard to control...
This had always been the signature move of those hateful slave hunters.
"You want to use her to exchange for more elves? Dream on!"
"Greedy maggot! You will be cursed by the Nature Spirits!"
Amidst the insults, many elves wanted to rush forward and tear Lin Gui apart.
But in the end, they were forced back by his tightening grip on the wooden stick.
They looked at Lin Gui with fury, wishing they could tear him to shreds.
Just then.
A figure slowly glided to the very front.
That was the soul of an adult female elf.
She was tall and exceedingly beautiful.
Even in a soul state, one could still see her former unparalleled grace.
She raised her hand, stopping the commotion behind her.
She looked at Lin Gui with a cold gaze.
"Trade me for her."
Her voice was cold and clear, yet filled with an undeniable resolve.
"I'll go with you; you release the child."
The surrounding elves immediately became agitated.
"Captain Alyia! No!"
"What humans will do to you... you know very well!"
"That is a humiliation more terrifying than death!"
The elven sentinel captain known as Alyia remained unmoved.
She just stared coldly at Lin Gui.
"In the human market, an adult female elf is priced much higher than a child."
"In this deal, you come out ahead."
"Now, release her."
"I... will not resist."
Alyia slowly lowered both hands, assuming a completely submissive posture.
Her soul body floated lightly, no longer emitting a trace of hostility.
She even slightly tilted her head, revealing the long, fragile lines of her neck.
She seemed already prepared to be locked in a slave collar.
"I will not resist; I swear it in the name of the World Tree."
Her voice was calm, yet it caused a stronger wave of grief and anger to erupt from the surrounding elves.
"Captain! Don't!"
"We cannot let you."
"Shut up!"
Alyia shouted a cold command, but her gaze remained locked on Lin Gui.
Behind her, several elves whose soul silhouettes were exceptionally solid—who had clearly been elite warriors in life—
were quietly retreating. Using other souls as cover, they slowly scattered to the sides.
They skillfully avoided Lin Gui's direct line of sight, attempting to circle around to his blind spot.
This was to prevent the opponent from perceiving Alyia's intention.
As the ranger captain of Deepwood Outpost, it was naturally impossible for Alyia to just submissively follow the other party's wishes.
And the other elven warriors would not just give up here either.
It was a very concise plan.
The moment they learned that a human who had mysteriously broken in had kidnapped a tribal child...
it had already been conceived in the minds of Alyia and the other elves.
Using her own appearance as bait.
As long as the opponent agreed to the exchange...
As long as that child safely escaped...
At the moment of confirmation, she would erupt with all her soul force.
And kill this filthy human—who deserved to be destroyed by the Creation God—right on the spot.
As the outpost station captain, her strength in life had approached High-tier Transcendent.
Even if now only a soul body remained, killing a High Rank mage...
would definitely not be difficult.
If the opponent were a warrior, it might have been a bit more troublesome.
But the opponent was just a squishy mage; his physical attributes could not be that strong.
As long as Alyia got close to him, she was confident in seizing a vital point for a one-hit kill.
As for his other Transcendent companion, they would be obstructed by the warriors who had just retreated.
However, despite this plan, Alyia's mind was filled with too many questions.
From the moment her subordinates came in a panic to report that a human had kidnapped a tribal child...
too many things were not right.
"Kidnapping."
For elves, this word signified the deepest hatred.
She had seen kin dragged away in iron chains; she had seen warriors with their hand tendons severed to cripple their combat ability.
She had seen those beautiful faces become clearly priced merchandise in human markets.
But now...
They were soul bodies.
How could a soul be "kidnapped"?
If kidnapped, how would one "sell" them?
For sixteen years, no human had stepped into this land.
And then, suddenly, two humans came and kidnapped "dead elves"?
The mere fact that this human could see them...
was enough to make Alyia and some of the soldiers—who hadn't been completely blinded by emotion—feel astonished.
And what astonished Alyia the most was...
not only could this human see them...
he could actually touch them?
And the reason, according to what this man said, was because of the... Soul-Devouring Blade in his hand.
Staring dead at the "Soul-Devouring Blade" the opponent was holding.
Alyia: "......."
No matter how she looked at it, it had nothing to do with a blade.
Moreover.
Why did it seem like she had seen this smooth wooden stick in this former elven supply warehouse?
At that time, the ranger mentor had even said...
this wooden stick was very suitable as a tool to teach elven students.
He had been quite envious of it, but now that they had become soul bodies, teaching and training no longer had any meaning.
So Alyia had a bit of an impression of it.
Staring dead at that wooden stick.
The more she looked, the more it resembled it.
And among the elven souls, that aged ranger teacher who was getting up there in years...
also recognized that wooden stick at a glance.
For a moment, he almost couldn't hold his angry expression together.
The wooden stick was indeed that wooden stick.
But the feeling of oppression that the opponent claimed could be given to the soul was real.
Only, it seemed to originate from that pair of grey eyes the opponent possessed?
Ahead, Alyia forcibly suppressed her surging doubts.
Regardless, this human had indeed caught that child.
The threat was real.
The fact that the opponent could seize a soul was also real.
She did not dare to gamble.
Taking a deep breath.
Alyia slowly glided forward.
Her steps were light, and her posture even took on a hint of deliberately displayed weakness.
She stopped three paces in front of Lin Gui.
She slightly raised her face, allowing that peerlessly beautiful visage to be fully revealed in the opponent's line of sight.
In her eyes, a frost-like chill was congealed.
Yet the corners of her mouth curved into a nearly tragic yet beautiful arc.
"How about it?"
Her voice was very light, like snow falling on ice.
"My appearance... in the eyes of you humans, should still be considered 'presentable,' right?"
"Am I qualified enough... to fetch a high price that will satisfy you?"
Alyia was very confident in her own looks.
She believed that this human would agree to such an exchange.
However...
The opponent just glanced at her once, then, as if by magic, pulled out a list.
With a flick of his right hand, a letter on the display board outside the wooden house flew into his hand with a 'swish,' accompanied by a few snowflakes.
This sudden action from Lin Gui caused the surrounding angry elves to freeze in unison.
They had anticipated various possibilities.
The opponent might pull out...
a slave collar, mana-suppressing chains, or even a malicious slave cage.
As it turned out...
the opponent pulled out a letter?
And it was one he had just casually summoned from the display board outside?
And it flew over??
For a moment, even the wave of angry voices sputtered out.
Countless gazes were fixed intently on that letter floating in the air.
Seeing that the fire-spitting gazes around him seemed to pause slightly.
Lin Gui gave a dry cough.
On his face, he once again squeezed out that expression that tried hard to be ferocious but had a poor effect.
"Hmph... foolish elves."
He deliberately dragged out his words, lowering his voice.
"You have been trapped here for over ten years; the magic outside..."
"has long since developed to a level beyond your imagination."
He shook the stationery in his hand.
"Do you know what this is?"
"This is..."
Lin Gui took a deep breath, as if announcing something incredible.
"The legendary 'Slave Contract Letter'!"
The elves: "..."
Alyia's eyebrow twitched imperceptibly.
"As long as you look at this letter..."
Lin Gui continued in that exaggerated tone, like a bard telling a ghost story.
"your true names will be recorded."
"A brand will be struck upon your souls."
"From then on, you will become the person who wrote this letter's..."
"permanent slave."
He paused for a moment and added:
"Even if you go to the Netherworld Sea, you won't be able to escape its binding, you know."
Total silence.
There was only the subtle sound of snowflakes falling on the roof.
The anger on the elves' faces was gradually replaced by an expression mixed with bewilderment, absurdity, and extreme vigilance.
Even Alyia's ice-like expression showed a crack.
She looked at that ordinary, even slightly yellowed piece of stationery.
Then she looked at Lin Gui's face, which was trying hard to act like a "wicked arch-villain" but was clearly not very skilled at it.
A strong, nearly farcical sense of cognitive dissonance welled up in her heart.
Rate on N.U.
