The return of the flying vessel immediately attracted the attention of Blackwater City's ‘residents.’
Dozens of glass beads floated up from various parts of the ruins, escorting the vessel on both sides.
A flurry of mental waves carried a chaotic jumble of greetings:
“The little messenger is back!”
“How did the delivery go? Was it smooth?”
Lin Gui responded briefly while steering the flying vessel to slow down.
“Delivered half of them.”
“I'm back to rest for a bit before continuing.”
The spirits immediately grew even more animated.
“Then... what about my old mother in Stonestrand Town...?”
“My brother is in Longbridge Fort, is he still...?”
Lin Gui interrupted their persistent questioning.
“For those I could find, I had them write back.”
“You'll know once you read the letters yourselves.”
He scanned the accompanying spirits.
Soon, his gaze locked onto an elven spirit floating slightly further away.
It was the elven warrior who had previously helped out at the post office.
Lin Gui wanted to ask him directly where Clotina's father was.
But the words caught in his throat.
Even now...
...he still didn't know the name of Clotina's father.
He looked down at the glass bead in his hands.
Inside the bead, Clotina's soul shadow was curled up in a ball.
She was peeking through the glass, nervously observing the outside.
Clearly, being in the territory of human spirits for the first time made her extremely wary.
She probably wouldn't show herself easily until she saw her father in person.
Lin Gui was in no rush.
They were already at the finish line.
Surely nothing could go wrong now, right?
Just as the thought crossed his mind—
Eve's voice suddenly whispered in his ear, soft but filled with unmistakable gravity:
“There's... someone in the post office.”
The flying vessel screeched to a halt!
The Shroud of the Gloomy Night silently enveloped them, completely concealing both the vessel and its passengers.
This sudden movement startled the surrounding spirits.
“Little messenger? Why did you stop?”
“Did something happen?”
Lin Gui pointed toward the post office below and asked in a low voice.
“There's... someone inside?”
The spirits ‘looked’ at each other.
Then, one of them came to a realization.
“Oh! Right, there is someone!”
“But don't worry, little messenger, she's a good person!”
The nearby spirits immediately chimed in:
“Yes, yes! She's just staying the night and will leave soon!”
“If not for her, I wouldn't even know how to endure this long, boring afterlife...”
“Her poetry recitals are so beautiful! It's a pity she stays for such a short time...”
A chaotic mess of mental waves flooded Lin Gui's mind.
Getting a headache from the noise, Lin Gui quickly raised his hand to stop them.
“Stop.”
He cut straight to the point:
“Who is she?”
The spirits immediately rattled off a list of names:
“Alice!”
“Mavis!”
“Song of the Moonlight!”
“Throat of the Nightingale!”
Lin Gui was utterly bewildered.
Finally, an elderly spirit with a relatively solid outline, who seemed to be the leader of this group of spirits, floated forward.
He quieted the others and spoke to Lin Gui.
“Actually... we don't know her real name either.”
“Those... are probably all aliases.”
“Even her face... might be fake.”
“But her singing voice... has never changed.”
Lin Gui knit his brows.
Why did this description feel so familiar?
Filled with confusion and caution, he quickly put away the flying vessel and switched back to his staff.
A staff was much more versatile than a flying vessel when dealing with unexpected situations.
If they had to retreat from an enemy, he could fly away instantly on the staff.
The flying vessel... required startup time.
Carrying Eve, he silently floated above the post office.
“Can you sense the strength of the people inside?”
Lin Gui asked in a low voice.
Eve closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly opened her purple eyes:
“They're stronger than me... They should be High-tier Transcendent warriors.”
She paused, her voice turning even heavier.
“...Mr. Lin Gui, there's more than one inside.”
“There are... three.”
“Three warriors.”
Three?
Lin Gui raised an eyebrow, his guard rising even higher.
He maneuvered the staff to float into the blind spot of a window.
Under the cover of the Shroud of the Gloomy Night, he slowly poked his head out to look inside.
In the center of the post office hall.
A bonfire crackled, casting light on three figures.
He saw the characteristic horns of a pure-blooded demon on the leading woman.
Lin Gui instantly knew who she was.
It was Hannah.
The demon bard and Roger's partner.
At this moment, she was in terrible shape.
Her face was as pale as paper, her lips chapped and dry.
Her once lively red eyes now held nothing but highly tense...
...vigilance.
She leaned against the corner of the wall, her breathing shallow and rapid.
Her clothes were covered in dark stains.
They looked like dried blood.
As for the other two...
Lin Gui's gaze fell upon the two young people shielded behind Hannah.
They were the children of the Legendary Demon Hunter, Cass.
Rosa and Maren.
Calling their injuries “horrific” would be an understatement.
Rosa's entire left shoulder had collapsed, her clothes soaked in dark red blood that had already turned black.
Maren's right leg was twisted at an unnatural angle, with a bone-deep laceration on his calf.
His face was as white as paper, his breathing so faint it was barely audible.
Under the vision of the Eyes of the Netherworld, their soul halos were as dim as flickering candles in the wind.
Their life force was so weak...
...that they were truly hanging on by a thread.
Just as Lin Gui was hesitating over whether to show himself.
Hannah's sharp gaze suddenly whipped toward the window!
The Shroud of the Gloomy Night had been seen through again.
And by Hannah, of all people—the pure-blooded demon he had once ambushed using the very same Shroud of the Gloomy Night.
Yet, Lin Gui was not surprised.
Because right in front of Hannah, a little girl's spirit was floating.
Troy.
She was excitedly clinging to Hannah's ear, her tiny hand pointing straight at where Lin Gui was hiding.
Great.
The little ghost he had helped had turned around and sold him out in an instant.
Lin Gui deactivated the Shroud of the Gloomy Night and walked through the front door with Eve.
“Good evening.”
He pushed open the door, his tone casual.
Hannah froze for a second before a hint of amusement rippled through her surprised crimson eyes.
“Yo.”
She tilted her head, her voice carrying an easy familiarity.
Even though they had only met for a few brief moments in the past, she spoke as if they were old friends.
“I heard... you got ‘taken down’ by that white-haired elf?”
“And with the little priestess behind you, too?”
Lin Gui's lips twitched.
“So out of everything I've done... that's the only thing you know?”
Hannah burst into laughter.
“Of course not.”
She shifted to a more comfortable position against the wall.
“Delivering letters for seven copper coins, crossing the Wailing Corridor...”
“You have no idea how shocked Roger and I were when we heard you actually made it through the corridor and reached Avalon.”
“We were absolutely stunned.”
She paused, her smile widening.
“It's like... a neighbor's old sow somehow rooting up and blowing away an Epic demon's nest next door.”
Lin Gui stared at her deadpan.
“Are you insulting me or praising me?”
“Praising you, of course.”
Hannah winked.
“Everything you do completely changes my perspective on the rank of ‘High Rank mage’...”
“Completely.”
She added meaningfully.
“Including... the part where you got kidnapped and forced by a white-haired elf.”
Rate on N.U.
