The return of the flying vessel immediately drew the attention of the "residents" of Blackwater City.
Dozens of glass beads floated up from various parts of the ruins, flying alongside both sides of the vessel.
A chorus of greetings flooded Lin Gui's mind via mental fluctuations:
"The little messenger is back!"
"How was the delivery? Smooth?"
Lin Gui replied briefly while controlling the vessel to decelerate,
"Half of them are delivered."
"I'm back for a rest before continuing."
The spirits immediately became even more boisterous.
"Then... then my old mother in Stonestrand Town..."
"My brother is in Longbridge Fort. Is he still..."
Lin Gui interrupted their questioning.
"For those I could find, I had them write reply letters."
"You'll know for yourselves when you read them."
His gaze searched among the accompanying spirits.
He soon locked onto an elven spirit-shadow floating a bit further away.
It was the elf warrior who had helped at the post office before.
Lin Gui initially wanted to ask him directly where Clotina's father was.
But as the words reached his lips, he suddenly stalled.
Until now...
He didn't even know Clotina's father's name.
He looked down at the glass bead in his arms.
Inside the bead, Clotina's soul-shadow was curled into a ball.
She was surreptitiously peering through the wall of the bead, nervously observing the outside world.
Clearly, being in the territory of human spirits for the first time made her extremely wary.
He estimated that she wouldn't easily reveal herself until she saw her father in person.
Lin Gui wasn't in a hurry.
They were just one step away from the goal.
It was impossible for... anything to go wrong now, right?
Just as he was thinking that—
Eve's voice suddenly rang in his ear, very soft, yet carrying an obvious gravity.
"There is... someone in the post office."
The flying vessel screeched to a halt instantly!
The Shroud of the Gloomy Night silently covered them, completely concealing the two people and the vessel.
This abrupt move startled the surrounding spirits.
"Little messenger? Why did you stop?"
"What happened?"
Lin Gui pointed toward the post office below and asked in a low voice,
"Someone... is inside?"
The spirits "looked" at one another.
Then, one of them realized and said,
"Oh! Right, there is someone!"
"But don't worry, little messenger, she is a good person!"
A nearby spirit immediately chimed in,
"Right, right. She's just staying the night and will leave in a bit!"
"If it weren't for her, I wouldn't know how to endure this long, boring ghostly existence..."
"The poems she chants are so beautiful! It's a pity she stays for so little time..."
A chaotic mess of mental fluctuations flooded him as they all spoke at once.
It gave Lin Gui a headache, so he quickly raised his hand to stop them.
"Hold on."
He got straight to the point.
"Who is she?"
The spirits immediately called out a string of names:
"Alice!"
"Mavis!"
"Song of the Moonlight!"
"Throat of the Nightingale!"
Lin Gui was left dumbfounded.
It wasn't until an elderly spirit with a relatively solid outline—who seemed to be the small leader of this group—floated out.
He quieted the other spirits and said to Lin Gui,
"Actually... we don't know her true name either."
"Those... might all be pseudonyms."
"Even her face... might be fake."
"But her singing voice... has never changed."
Lin Gui's brows furrowed tightly.
Why did this description feel so familiar to him?
Amidst his confusion and wariness, he quickly stored the flying vessel and switched back to his staff.
When dealing with unexpected situations, a staff was more flexible than a vessel.
If he encountered an enemy and needed to retreat, he could float away instantly with the staff.
The vessel... required start-up time.
Carrying Eve with him, he floated noiselessly above the post office.
"Can you sense the strength of the person inside?"
Lin Gui asked in a low voice.
Eve closed her eyes for a moment, then her purple eyes cracked open slightly.
"Stronger than me... She should be a High-tier Transcendent warrior."
She paused, her voice turning even deeper.
"...Mr. Lin Gui, there isn't just one person inside."
"There are... three."
"Three warriors."
Three?
Lin Gui raised an eyebrow, his vigilance rising again.
He steered his staff to the blind spot of a window.
Under the cover of the Shroud of the Gloomy Night, he slowly poked his head out to look into the room.
In the center of the post office lobby.
A campfire was burning, reflecting three figures.
When he saw the characteristic horns of the pureblood demon woman in the lead...
Lin Gui knew who she was.
It was Hannah.
The demon bard and Roger's partner.
At the moment, she was in terrible shape.
Her face was as pale as paper, and her lips were parched.
In her originally lively red eyes, there was now only a highly tensed...
Vigilance.
She sat leaning against a corner, her breathing light and rapid.
Her clothes were covered in dark stains.
It looked like dried blood.
And the other two...
Lin Gui's gaze fell on the two young people Hannah was shielding behind her.
It was the children of the Legendary Demon Hunter, Cass.
Rosa and Maren.
Their injuries were beyond the point where "horrific" could describe them.
Rosa's entire left shoulder had collapsed, the fabric soaked through with dark red blood that had already turned black.
Maren's right leg was twisted at an unnatural angle, with a laceration on his calf so deep that the bone was visible.
His face was as pale as paper, and his breathing was so faint it was almost inaudible.
In the vision of the Eyes of the Netherworld, the soul halos of both were as dim as candles flickering in the wind.
Their life force was so weak that...
They truly only had one breath left hanging on.
Just as Lin Gui was hesitating whether to reveal himself.
Hannah's sharp gaze suddenly shot toward the window!
The Shroud of the Gloomy Night had been seen through again.
And it was by Hannah, the pureblood demon who had once been sneak-attacked by him using the Shroud of the Gloomy Night.
Lin Gui wasn't surprised, though.
Because in front of Hannah, a little girl's spirit was floating.
Troy.
She was excitedly clinging to Hannah's ear, her small hand pointing directly at the spot where Lin Gui was hiding.
Great.
The little ghost he had helped before had turned around and sold him out.
Lin Gui deactivated the Shroud of the Gloomy Night and walked through the front door with Eve.
"Good evening."
He pushed the door open, his tone flat.
Hannah was stunned for a moment, then a hint of a smile rippled through her surprised red eyes.
"Yo."
She tilted her head, her voice carrying a sense of familiarity.
Even though she and Lin Gui had only met for a few seconds before, her tone made them sound like old friends.
"I heard... you were 'seduced' by that white-haired elf?"
"And with that little priestess behind you, no less?"
Lin Gui's lips twitched.
"So... that's all you know about my affairs?"
Hannah burst out laughing.
"Of course not."
She leaned against the wall in a more comfortable position.
"Delivering letters for 7 copper, crossing the Wailing Corridor..."
"You have no idea how surprised Roger and I were when we heard you successfully crossed the corridor and reached Avalon."
She paused, her smile widening.
"It was practically like... a neighbor's old sow uprooting the nest of an Epic demon in one go."
Lin Gui spoke with an expressionless face,
"Are you insulting me or praising me?"
"Praising you, obviously."
Hannah blinked.
"Every single thing you've done has completely changed my view of the 'High Rank mage' rank..."
She added meaningfully,
"Including the matter of you being kidnapped and forced by a white-haired elf."
Rate on N.U.
