The Person is Gone, but the Money Remains

Shane opened his eyes, only to feel a wave of soreness and numbness throughout his body. It felt like he had just done a full-body workout after not exercising for a long time.

As his vision slowly focused, he made out a grayish-white tent ceiling with several thin ropes crossing over his head. He managed to prop himself up, discovering that he was lying on a simple cot covered with a thick blanket.

Pushing down with his arms, he tried to sit up straighter, only to find that his legs seemed to be pinned down by a heavy weight, preventing him from moving easily.

Curious, Shane looked down at his legs, only to instantly freeze.

The first thing he saw was silver-gray short hair, followed immediately by a pair of extremely prominent, large cat ears. The tips of the ears twitched slightly, showing that their owner was still deep in dreamland.

Then Shane saw a profile sleeping soundly. Her eyelashes were long, her mouth was slightly open, and some suspicious, glistening moisture was drooling from the corner of her lips.

What was going on?

Staring at Sern Lancaster, who was sound asleep while hugging his thigh, Shane didn't even dare to breathe too loudly. He could only stay still and cautiously observe his surroundings.

Fine beads of sweat soon broke out on his forehead, but despite searching for a long time, he couldn't find anyone who could explain the scene before him.

Just then, the tent flap was lifted from the outside. Elon walked in, and when he saw Shane already awake, he paused for a moment before showing a look of concern. “You're awake. How do you feel?”

He crouched down beside Shane and carefully examined his complexion. Just as Shane was about to answer, Elon pressed a hand to his shoulder and said, “Don't rush to move. You've been unconscious for a day and a night. Your body must still be sore, so take it easy for now.”

“A day and a night?”

Shane's voice was hoarse. What he found even stranger was that he had actually slept for so long; it felt like Sern's attack had only just happened.

At this thought, he looked down at Sern hugging his thigh, then turned his gaze back to Elon. His meaning was clear: What is the meaning of this?

Elon followed his gaze, and his mouth twitched. A mix of embarrassment and amusement appeared on his face. “It's a long story, but I'll keep it short.”

“As soon as I returned to the camp yesterday, I found you and Sern collapsed on the ground. Her Highness told me that when Sern attacked you, she triggered something that caused an electric shock, knocking you both unconscious at the same time.”

Elon looked at Shane, rubbing his chin with a helpless expression. “It's not that we didn't try to separate and isolate you two. But as soon as the distance between you exceeds three meters, the Ring of the Exiled on your wrist discharges electricity, and then... pfft, you both start convulsing.”

Suppressing his laughter, Elon desperately tried to keep his shoulders from shaking, leaving Shane utterly speechless. “So, there was no choice but to put you together. Otherwise, you'd probably be shocked to death by the Ring of the Exiled.”

Seeing the skeptical look on Shane's face, Elon quickly pulled himself together and stood up, changing the subject. “Don't worry about this for now. Her Highness has been worrying about you outside for a long time. I'll go call her over and grab you a bowl of bean soup to help you recover your strength.”

With that, he turned to walk out of the tent.

“Wait!”

Shane hurriedly reached out to grab Elon's sleeve. His eyes were filled with panic, and his voice was kept incredibly low: “Wait, you're just going to leave me here with her?”

Elon looked at him with a reassuring smile. “Don't worry. Yesterday, while she was still unconscious, I placed a restriction order on her. Once she wakes up and sees it, she shouldn't harm you... well, probably.”

He gently pried Shane's hand away and made a swift exit. “I'll go get Her Highness. You two get along now.”

As the tent flap fell shut, Shane and Sern were once again enclosed in the private space.

Shane stared at the sleeping Sern. His eyelid twitched slightly as he noticed her long, steady breathing begin to quicken.

Soon after, her eyelids fluttered, her eyelashes trembled, and the tips of the cat ears on her head twitched in response.

Then, Sern slowly opened her eyes.

Her heterochromatic eyes took a few seconds to focus, still hazy with sleep. She yawned, revealing her sharp canine teeth, and let go of Shane's thigh. Placing her hands on the ground, she arched her back and stretched like a kitten, letting out a muffled groan.

Finally, she propped up her upper body, squinted as she rubbed her cheeks with both hands, and turned her head to meet Shane's gaze.

“Good morning.”

Shane's cool voice rang out, causing Sern's heterochromatic pupils to instantly constrict into thin vertical slits.

An expression of shock washed over her face. Her eyes quickly scanned the surroundings before locking back onto Shane, her face twisting into a mix of anger and disdain.

She raised her hand to look at the emerald-green band of light wrapped around her wrist. A sneer curled her lips. “Old man Elon's restriction order. How amusing.”

Shane said nothing, merely shifting his body back a fraction in an attempt to distance himself from her.

But Sern did not immediately fly into a rage. Instead, she slowly stood up from the ground and walked over to Shane, looking down at him with a condescending gaze. “Even with this thing, I have at least three ways to kill you. Which one do you want to choose?”

Shane's brow furrowed slightly. Sern's behavior suggested she was completely ignoring the existence of the restriction order.

Seeing that Shane remained silent, Sern seemed provoked by his quietness. She took another step forward, her cat tail flicking behind her. She raised her fist and swung it straight at Shane's face.

Shane cursed Elon in his heart as he braced for her fist to hit him. With his body completely sore and weak, he couldn't move a single inch. He could only watch helplessly as her small, solid fist descended.

“Crack!”

A flash of electricity suddenly crackled inside the tent. Shane instantly felt a numbing sensation surge through his entire body. His limbs twitched uncontrollably as his back slammed heavily against the cot. His vision went white, and his ears buzzed loudly.

“Bang!”

Sern fared no better. She was sent flying backward, crashing into the tent support before hitting the ground. Her entire body was trembling, and all her hair was standing on end. Her tail, in particular, was now as puffed up as a dandelion.

“Ugh...”

She gritted her teeth, holding back a whimpering groan. Forcing her body to roll over, she leaned against the tent pole, her eyes glaring daggers at Shane as her shoulders shook uncontrollably.

It took a good while before she could squeeze out a sound: “What... what did you do to me?”

“It wasn't me.”

Shane feebly raised his arm, showing the Ring of the Exiled on his wrist. “It was this.”

Sern stared at the dull metal band on Shane's wrist, clearly dazed. Then, she looked at him in sheer surprise. “The Ring of the Exiled? What did you do to get those guys from the Council to put that thing on you?”

Then, as if realizing something, her eyes widened as she stared at Shane. “Wait, no!”

“You're wearing the Ring of the Exiled and have been exiled to the Golden Sea. How is it possible for you to still cast spells and summon the undead?”

Shane remained sprawled there. He couldn't be bothered to explain this to someone who wanted to kill him. Even putting aside the fact that he didn't actually know the answer himself, he wouldn't tell her even if he did.

The two of them fell into silence over this topic, and just then, the tent flap was lifted once more.

Elon walked in first, holding a bowl of bean soup, followed by the Princess. Behind her was a young man Shane had never seen before.

Entering the tent, Elon looked at Shane sprawled on the cot, then glanced at Sern sitting on the ground, and burst out laughing. “Did you try to attack him?”

Sern's face was dark, and she remained silent.

Elon's laughter grew even louder. “I went out of my way to place a restriction order on you just to prevent you from attacking Shane the moment you woke up. I didn't expect it wouldn't even stop you.”

He walked over to Shane and crouched down, bringing the bowl of bean soup to Shane's lips. He continued, “You should know that while you two were unconscious, Her Highness and I experimented. Whether you're too close or too far, the ring's mechanism triggers. In any case, from the time you both passed out until now, you've probably been shocked no less than ten times.”

Supported by Elon, Shane took a sip of the bean soup. The warm liquid traveled down his throat, making his body feel much warmer. Then, he heard Elon whisper in his ear, “Her coming after you isn't entirely a bad thing. At the very least, she's solved a problem for us.”

Shane raised his eyebrows, looking at Elon in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

Elon gave him a mysterious smile. Setting the bean soup aside, he stood up and walked toward Sern.

As he walked, he said, “Anyone else might be a pure nuisance, but this girl is different. She's loaded with treasures. Since we've detained her, those things should be handed over.”

Elon's expression made him look like a creepy uncle about to bully someone, while Sern looked as helpless as a little girl.