Hearing Lin Gui's words, the surrounding Night Elf spirits sank deeper into their sorrow.
But soon, a more noticeable sense of... strangeness began to mingle with that grief.
They stared at this "disfigured elf" before them, the one claiming to be of their kin.
Why did it feel...
Like the tone of his voice was that of an outsider?
"Aren't you... a Night Elf too?" a young spirit couldn't help but whisper.
"To speak of your own race's tragic plight with such indifference..."
"It feels... a bit..."
The elf's suspicious gaze fixed on Lin Gui.
Clotina's soul-shadow jolted violently.
She immediately shouted in Lin Gui's mind, "Mr. Lin Gui, your tone is too calm!"
Lin Gui snapped back to his senses instantly.
Damn.
He had nearly forgotten his current "identity."
To be honest, the Night Elves' plight was indeed tragic.
But Lin Gui had seen far too much suffering.
So much... that it was difficult for him to easily immerse himself in that pure, indignant sorrow.
He gave a dry cough and quickly adjusted his tone.
"Apologies... I'm just... so devastated that I can't find the words."
He lowered his eyes, his voice becoming hushed.
"By the way, the reason I risked coming here..."
"Is that I have something for all of you."
The elves' attention was successfully diverted.
Their curious gazes focused once more.
An elderly elf spirit asked softly, "We are already lost souls..."
"What could anyone possibly want with us?"
Lin Gui pulled a thick stack of letters from his messenger bag.
"I have brought you..."
"Letters from Blackwater City and your other compatriots."
He paused, his voice softening further.
"They... are still thinking of you."
Those words were like a stone thrown into a still lake.
The soul lights of the elves flickered in unison.
Surprise, confusion, followed by a cautious... hope.
Lin Gui began to read out the long, tongue-twisting elven full names one by one.
With every name read, a letter was weighed down by a small stone and spread out on the ground.
Unlike those at Deepwood Outpost, most of the elves here were civilians who lacked soul force.
They could not directly flip through physical letters.
They could only gather around, leaning forward curiously.
With their own eyes, they looked at the elven script on the yellowing pages.
"This... this is my sister's handwriting!"
"The nickname mentioned in this letter... only my mother and I knew it..."
"Is this... written to me by my child?"
One surprised exclamation followed another.
In his mind, the system's sign-off notification tones began to chime incessantly.
【Ding! Letter sign-off rate has reached 10%】
【Ding! Letter sign-off rate has reached 12%】
【...】
While continuing to lay out the letters, Lin Gui secretly reached out.
He grasped Clotina's glass bead.
While all the elves were immersed in the content of the letters, he slowly backed away.
One step.
Two steps.
He quietly vanished into the depths of the tree shadows.
...
An elf holding a letter suddenly frowned.
"Strange... this letter says that the person delivering the mail is a 'black-haired, black-eyed human mage.'"
"It also says he is very kind and only charges 7-copper..."
The elf beside them also looked up.
"The one I have also mentions that human."
"But... wasn't it one of our own kin who delivered the letters?"
Gradually, more and more spirits caught on.
They raised their heads and looked around.
They wanted to find that "disfigured Night Elf compatriot" to get an explanation.
However, in the center of the clearing, only a floor covered in spread-out letters remained.
They lay there silently under the glimmer of the moonlight moss.
That "Lin Shadow"...
Was nowhere to be seen.
The elves gathered around the spread-out letters, reading them one after another.
The description of the "human messenger who delivers mail for 7-copper" was repeatedly mentioned in more and more letters.
Some letters even detailed his appearance—black hair, grey eyes (written as black eyes in the letters), and always wearing a worn-out old mage robe.
Gradually, the original suspicion turned into confirmation.
That disfigured compatriot who called himself "Lin Shadow"...
Was actually a human.
And what surprised them even more was that Clotina would actually help a human lie.
But strangely...
This human had done nothing bad to them.
He had simply delivered these letters and then left quietly.
He hadn't even asked for any compensation.
"Maybe... he really did have a reason?" a young elf whispered.
"At least he helped us bring news of our family..."
"That is enough."
The other elves fell silent, their silence serving as a tacit acceptance of this self-consolation.
After all, in this dead city forgotten by the world... receiving even a few words from afar was a miracle.
They thought they might never hear news of this human messenger again.
However.
A sudden, familiar, and terrifying aura abruptly descended!
The grey mist churned, and the glow of the moonlight moss instantly dimmed.
Every elven spirit jolted as one, looking toward the entrance in terror.
The younger elves screamed and hid in the remains of the treehouses, while the adult spirits also concealed themselves.
Only the oldest elderly elf spirit forced his soul body to drift forward.
He gazed at the pale purple soul-shadow that slowly manifested.
He looked at that face, still grim, with eyes frozen in frost and mockery.
With a parched voice, he spoke, "Lynn Celine Aethel Shadow..."
"Is that you?"
"How could you..."
Shadow Blade Lynn paid no mind to his words.
She vanished into thin air.
A few seconds later, she appeared abruptly in front of the elder.
She had already thoroughly searched the entire Gloomlight Forest with her soul force.
Nothing.
She tilted her head up, looking down at the elder, her voice freezing.
"Where is that black-haired human?"
The elder was stunned. "A black-haired human? What is that..."
Shadow Blade Lynn's finger pointed at the letters spread out at the elder's feet.
"The human delivering the mail."
"Where is he?"
Her terrifying soul force pressed down with physical weight, causing the elder's soul body to fluctuate violently, nearly dissipating.
Only then did he realize that what she was looking for was the human messenger who had disguised himself as a Night Elf and appeared alongside Clotina.
"Why... are you looking for him?" the elder asked with difficulty.
Shadow Blade Lynn's expression became extremely complex.
It was a mixture of anxiety, anger, and even a trace of... indescribable urgency.
"That is not for you to ask," she said, her voice even colder.
"Tell me!"
"Where did he go?"
The elder answered honestly, "I don't know."
"He disguised himself as a member of the Night Clan and delivered letters to us..."
"When we weren't paying attention, he left."
Shadow Blade Lynn's eyes darkened, and she turned to leave.
"Wait!" the elder called out to her hastily.
"Mad Blade—no... Lynn Shadow."
He looked at her back with a complicated expression, remembering what the fake elf had said.
After much hesitation, he finally asked, "Why... why would you rejoin the Elven Forest?"
"Could it be for the sake of..."
Shadow Blade Lynn whipped around.
She sneered.
There was no warmth in that smile, only a bone-deep mockery.
"For the sake of sheltering the remnants of our kin?"
"To protect... the compatriots who have suffered a catastrophic disaster?"
She drifted a step closer, her pale purple eyes staring intently at the elder.
"Don't flatter yourself."
"When you all acted like dogs, clinging to those stubborn, wretched Elders of the Elven Forest..."
"Allowing them to manipulate you at will..."
"You ceased to be my people!"
Her voice suddenly rose, each word like an icicle. "You claim to be the most devout believers of Elune..."
"Yet you do not dare to use a blade to defend the dignity of the night!"
"All of you!"
"Are nothing but a group of trash!"
With those final words, she did not spare the elder another glance. Her soul-shadow transformed into a streak of light, plunging into the grey mist and vanishing.
Behind her, only a deathly silence remained.
Left on the faces of countless spirits were looks of shock, humiliation, and profound sorrow.
Rate on N.U.
