Even though she knew it was a dream, that it was false and unreal, it still felt so vivid. She clumsily got out of bed, feeling her limbs grow weak. Looking into the mirror, she saw that her eyes had returned to that blood red snake pupils form. She slowly sat at the desk, the memories in her mind gradually dissipating, leaving only the contents of that forbidden magic book.
Magic? Is this the magic that was recorded? Like Mr. Roland’s “Blues”?
But this magic... it doesn't seem like ordinary magic. It seems to require... a lineage?
She tried to forget it, only to find that the magic circuit seemed deeply engraved in her mind. She felt she could cast it freely without even needing to chant.
This was a level only magic users at the Magician stage could reach. No, it was impossible for her to do so.
She gently reached out her hand, and the engraving flashed in her mind once more. The blood throughout her body seemed to begin boiling. She felt her breath grow increasingly heavy as the embedded blood crystal seemed to dig even deeper into her body.
She took the table knife from her side and gently sliced open her palm. Blood slowly flowed out, floating in the air and drifting about according to her will.
The wound on her palm healed in an instant, leaving not a single trace behind. The blood in the air remained suspended, hovering over her palm. As she slightly opened her hand, the blood droplets instantly solidified into blood crystals, and she controlled their shape at will.
A blood red dagger appeared in her hand. She tapped it gently against the table knife and found that the hardness of the blood crystal seemed far beyond her imagination.
How should she deal with it?
After a moment of thought, the blood crystal coiled into a bracelet, fitting perfectly around her wrist.
It didn't seem like a very terrifying magic.
Li Yue thought to herself, feeling both a bit disappointed and relieved. She walked to the washroom and began brushing her teeth.
Hmm?
She stared blankly at herself in the mirror. She opened her mouth slightly, her expression looking a bit dazed and foolish. If it weren't for those sharp fangs, the scene would have been very cute.
She froze. It seemed to be within expectations. She opened her mouth again and found that her teeth had all become exceptionally sharp.
What is this for? Do they want me to bite people with my teeth?
She summoned Little Clo. The tiny Clo circled around her once and handed over a sheet of plain white letter paper. She dried her hands, walked back to the desk, took out a quill, and began to write.
Dear Miss Clo:
Within a blood crystal, I glimpsed the most important memories of a person’s life. In the gaps between those memories, I unintentionally learned a magic called forbidden, a magic hidden deep within the Royal Court cathedral. For now, the effect is only being able to manipulate blood, and my teeth have become exceptionally sharp.
Furthermore, I fear there will be turmoil in Parvati in the coming days. If you have any news, I hope you can tell me as much as possible. Being a demon hunter is a noble profession, and I am willing to give my all for it.
Signed: Demon Hunter Nolan
Inside a white tower with a snow white blue roof, several magic users draped in white robes handed over documents one by one. Clo, standing in the hall below, took them and threw them away one by one. Standing at the highest point, she let out several helpless sighs and threw the last stack of papers down from the high platform, where they crashed into the hall below. The magic users below remained silent.
Some of them seemed to want to speak up in protest, but after a brief hesitation, they obediently closed their mouths.
Clo stood with her arms crossed, looking somewhat impatient. Suddenly, she felt the ring on her ring finger move slightly, and the deep blue gemstone flashed faintly.
She casually tossed down the final document.
“Great one, why...” one magic user finally couldn't help but speak.
“Shut up.” Clo interrupted him impatiently. She didn't even bother to evaluate those fragmented magic reports; they were pure dross. In her view, it was a waste of her time and an eyesore. It was because of these things that she was bound here and unable to travel around.
Everything fell into silence. A white haired woman wearing a black formal dress walked up the steps. She wore a jet black veil, through which her peerless beauty could be faintly seen.
She smilingly handed over a letter, which Clo gently took. Clo glanced at the girl’s attire and smiled, her mood seeming to improve significantly.
The girl dissipated into light and shadow. Clo opened the envelope, and the people in the hall silently bent down to search for their assignments.
After a short while, Clo’s brow furrowed again. She looked out the window toward Parvati, her gaze complex, filled with both relief and helplessness.
“I clearly had her stay there, so why did she still come into contact with the Blood Moon? This is the arrangement of fate. As for the secular riots, we rarely get news here. I cannot leave the academy, and my help is limited.”
Clo bit her pale blue nails, looking somewhat distressed.
“But with the Blood Moon, she will no longer be in any life threatening danger there. I am just a little worried, will she...”
“Even though I’ve been trying to avoid it, did she still learn that magic? Could it be that the Blood Moon chose her? Just like me? No, no, no, the Blood Moon only chooses its own master, while I...”
“Forget it, fate cannot be avoided, but it isn't always bad. At least for the road ahead...”
“I am tired. Find someone to handle the rest of today’s matters.” Clo left those words and departed without allowing any argument.
In a somewhat dim room, Clo began to draft a letter.
In the small villa, Li Yue changed into her daily clothes. She held the railing and went downstairs, walking to the restaurant across the way. The place was as bustling as ever. Differently from usual, Li Yue ordered a large portion of leg steak.
She struggled to cut off a piece of meat with her table knife and put it in her mouth, only to find it was very easily chewed to pieces. She froze for a moment, then stuffed the rest of the steak directly into her mouth, easily biting off a large chunk of meat in one go.
She watched her reflection in the mirror, easily tearing a large piece of meat from the bone. She slowly put down her knife and fork, wiped her mouth, and walked out of the small restaurant looking somewhat lost, leaving behind the mostly eaten leg steak.
“Just like a monster.”
She narrowed her eyes slightly, observing the humans walking to and fro from a different perspective. In a nearby gutter, a figure caught her attention.
She walked forward. A white haired, red eyed girl stood in the filth. She looked at Li Yue, a hint of clarity showing in her eyes.
Li Yue picked her up, carrying her small, thin body as she walked step by step toward the small villa. Passersby looked at Li Yue, who appeared to be holding nothing but air, their faces showing confusion and doubt.
For some reason, Li Yue saw a confused and kind version of herself in the girl’s eyes. She brought the girl back to the villa, gave her a hot bath, and found a set of clean clothes for her.
The girl was very well behaved. She didn't resist at all while Li Yue cleaned her, and she affectionately called her Sister Li Yue.
The girl told Li Yue that her parents had long since disappeared. She had been wandering for a long time until she reached Parvati. Although she had met friends, they eventually abandoned her there, in the spot where Li Yue first saw her—a filthy gutter.
She dried the girl’s hair and found a few books to place on her bed.
She felt a strange sense of redemption. She casually opened a picture book and began to read softly. It was a short story, very similar to the 《Wolf Child》 she had read before. She froze for a moment, seemingly realizing something.
She opened a letter paper and sent a letter to Caesar.
Later, Caesar sent a reply.
“Dear Miss Nolan:”
“I am shocked that you could find a living child in our prosperous Parvati. We have many shelters for the poor here, and nurseries too, but orphanages... almost none. The only formal one should be the shelter outside the city called St. Victoria. They occasionally organize choirs there, but most of the time it is isolated from the outside world. If you hadn't asked me, few people would probably know about it.”
Although it wasn't yet late, she successfully coaxed the exhausted girl to sleep.
She put on her hat and went out. From her small bedroom to the front door, she didn't see a single colleague. Before leaving, she glanced at Roland’s office at the end of the corridor, then closed the door.
She bought some toys and dolls at a general store and boarded a carriage. Her destination was the St. Victoria Asylum.
This was a remote orphanage, located in front of a forest outside the city. it looked a bit like the monasteries Li Yue had read about in books.
She stepped off the carriage at this solemn place that looked like a church or a place where ascetics stayed. She had already lost all feeling regarding the loss of money.
“Knock, knock.” She knocked loudly on the main gate. After a hollow echo rang inside for a while, a woman dressed in a jet black uniform opened the door for her.
The other woman’s gaze lingered on Li Yue’s eyes, which still held a bit of life, and she softly asked the reason for her visit.
“Is there something I can help you with?” the tall woman in a nun’s uniform style slowly spoke.
“Duke Caesar recommended this place, telling me there was a formal asylum here.” Li Yue took out Caesar’s letter and held it out. The nun took it, scanned it, and a hint of doubt appeared between her brows.
She carefully scrutinized Li Yue, her gaze unconsciously shifting multiple times to Li Yue’s bright red eyes. After a short while, she nodded and stepped aside to let her through.
She casually called someone over to take Li Yue’s gifts.
“Let me introduce you to this place.” The nun walked ahead, and Li Yue followed silently. Her gaze occasionally drifted to the surrounding statues. Some looked holy, while others were exceptionally solemn, enough to make the timid feel afraid.
Are these things really suitable for an orphanage?
“This used to be a monastery. A great fire killed most of the monks here. After it was rebuilt, it took on its current form.” The nun seemed to notice Li Yue’s confusion and softly explained.
“I see.” Li Yue nodded slightly, continuing to follow the nun forward.
The environment here seemed decent. Sunlight shone on the green lawn surrounded by buildings, making it look full of life, though the somewhat dark buildings added a touch of deathliness to the place.
“It would probably look much better if it were painted white,” Li Yue thought as she continued walking through the buildings.
There seemed to be a sound in the distance. She turned her head and listened quietly. The sound of poetry recitation gradually became clear.
“I see the eternal light that has already flourished in your wisdom, only the eternal light kindles eternal love.”
“I see your desire at that point, where all space and all time converge.”
“O divine power, if you grant me help, let me describe the state of happiness engraved on my mind, and show the various scenes there, then you will see me come to your beloved tree, pluck the branches from the tree and wear them on my head.”
(From Dante’s 《Divine Comedy》, 《Paradiso》)
The solemn recitation entered Li Yue’s mind. She froze, suddenly realizing the unusual nature of this poem.
“Can they understand what heaven is?” Li Yue asked the nun beside her as she watched the children solemnly reciting in the hall from a distance.
“Everyone is supposed to go to heaven,” the nun replied softly.
“Is that so?” Li Yue stood and watched for a while, then turned to leave. “Can I look around?”
“You are Mr. Caesar’s guest. Feel free.”
Li Yue walked in silence. She looked into the distance, asking the sky that was beginning to turn dark.
Is there really a heaven? Where are the dead gods?
She suddenly snapped awake, looking around her, wondering why that question had popped into her head.
Heaven might be illusory, but hell must be real.
Thinking this, she began to wander around the massive monastery. She left the orphans' recitation room, taking one last look at the children’s eyes before she left.
Devout, yet numb. Very much like when she herself was lost, yet also a bit different.
She scanned her surroundings with her peripheral vision. A hint of a metallic, sweet scent was keenly detected by her. She bent down, one hand gripping her thigh where she could easily draw her blade, while her eyes drifted toward the source of the smell.
A woman in black, somewhat similar to the woman who had received her. However, based on her clothing, both were staff members of this orphanage, and the lady who had received her clearly held a higher status.
The sweet smell of blood? Was it from an injury at work? It was faint.
Is she actually tracking me? No, this is surveillance. She thought for a while. The other party seemed polite because of Caesar, but for some reason, they were very wary of her.
She couldn't understand it, but the feeling of being watched made her feel very, yes, uncomfortable, and even a bit irritated. Her soul was somewhat twisted and sensitive.
What kind of thing needs to be watched?
She couldn't give a reasonable, absolutely correct answer, but the answer itself wasn't important. The existence of an answer to this question represented being an outlier.
Once upon a time, she too wanted to live a good life in this world. What was it that changed the trajectory of her life? Clo?
Her thoughts began to flow backward. Fragmented memories flashed through her mind. Plateaus, grasslands, valleys, beaches, high mountains, flowing water...
The colors slowly returned, warm and inviting...
In these fragments, she once again saw Clo, the girl she now felt a strange fondness and familiarity for.
I don't seem to remember... Forget it, it doesn't matter anymore.
She slowly stood up and walked through a thicket of bushes. By the time the woman in black moved to a new cover, she found that Li Yue had already vanished.
The woman slowly retreated and immediately found the lady who had acted as the receptionist earlier.
“Sister Lucy, I failed.”
“It’s fine. Someone invited by Lord Caesar won't be much of a threat, even if I can't see her magic clearly.” Lucy waved her hand. “Just keep an eye on those few places. Even if she is Lord Caesar’s friend, the fewer people who know, the better.”
After passing through a thicket of thorns, Li Yue stopped in front of a building that was entirely grey. Following a hint of discomfort, she quickly found this place, even though it couldn't be directly observed from outside the orphanage.
What is this place? Her intuition told her there were traces of people inside, or rather, there were people there right now. This place wasn't abandoned.
A dark room for children who made mistakes? No, it wouldn't be this kind of place. Moreover, the architectural style was completely different from the monastery style. There were very few windows, and they were set high up, as if deliberately trying to hide something.
She frowned. This place made her extremely uncomfortable. Caesar hadn't mentioned this at all in his letter.
Were those nuns trying to hide this place?
Should she go in and look? She looked at the sun gradually sinking in the west, knowing that her time was running out...
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