Going Back

He then turned to break the iron rings on her hands, which proved even more difficult than the ankle chains.

Bai Xuan could clearly feel that the material of these iron rings was much harder than the iron bars of the cage, obviously crafted specifically to keep her bound.

Exerting all his strength, the veins on his arms bulging, the iron ring slowly deformed until it finally snapped open with a loud “crack.”

Two clear red marks were left on the girl's wrists, but she neither pulled her hands back nor rubbed them.

She simply looked down at the broken shackles on the ground, her thoughts unreadable.

Bai Xuan stood up and walked toward the two cage wagons holding the ordinary slaves.

The chains on those slaves were much more ordinary than the girl's. He could easily snap them with one hand, as if snapping dry twigs.

He snapped the chains one by one. The imprisoned people stared at him in a daze; some couldn't help but cry, some tentatively stepped out of the cages, and others fell directly to their knees, repeatedly bowing their heads to thank him.

Bai Xuan paid them no mind and turned to walk back.

Destroying the shackles would make it easier for the group to move.

Suddenly, the sound of something heavy dragging across the ground came from behind. Bai Xuan stopped and turned to look.

He saw the silver-haired girl, stepping through the weeds, slowly walking toward him while dragging a large chest.

The chest was nearly half her size and looked incredibly heavy, plowing two deep ruts into the dirt.

Yet, she dragged the chest as easily as if she were pulling a kitten, her pace unhurried.

The surrounding people had just witnessed the shocking sight of Bai Xuan tearing metal apart with his bare hands. Now, they watched a frail-looking girl effortlessly drag an obviously heavy iron chest across the ground.

This was a sight they had never seen before.

The chest was dragged right in front of Bai Xuan, and the girl stopped.

Bai Xuan looked down at the chest, then looked up at her, asking in confusion, “What is this?”

The girl didn't speak. She slowly squatted down and reached out to lift the lid.

The seemingly sturdy clasp was torn open by her hands as easily as if it were paper.

The chest was filled with coins. Copper coins were piled to the brim, silver coins were wedged in the gaps between them, and a few gold coins lay scattered on the very top, dazzling to the eye.

Bai Xuan's eyelids twitched slightly. He estimated to himself that the money in this chest probably amounted to thousands, or even tens of thousands, of coins.

“Is this for me?” he asked again, a hint of surprise in his voice.

The girl looked at him, neither nodding nor shaking her head, simply standing there quietly.

Her gaze fell on the chest, as if waiting for him to take it.

The guard captain walked over quickly, took a glance inside the chest, and couldn't help but freeze for a moment.

He quickly snapped out of it and turned to Bai Xuan, speaking respectfully, “Sir, the contents of this chest must first be taken back to the manor for the master to inspect.”

He paused and added, “The merchant leading the caravan is dead. We just used some methods to interrogate the captives, but they don't know anything about the gemstone. They only knew this was an important mission.”

“I suspect the gemstone is in this chest, or perhaps... it was disguised as copper or silver coins.”

Bai Xuan nodded slightly to show his understanding.

The guard captain quickly added, “But please don't worry, Sir. Once we head back and inventory the funds in the chest, we won't short you a single coin of your share.”

“The reward promised to you before will also be paid in full.”

Bai Xuan nodded again, his gaze returning to the girl.

She still stood in place, her expression completely unchanged.

He reached out to close the lid and instructed the two guards nearby, “Carry it away.”

The two guards hurriedly stepped forward and bent down to lift the chest. Their bodies suddenly sank, and they almost lost their footing.

They exchanged a glance and exerted force together, barely managing to lift the chest off the ground.

The girl watched the guards carry the chest away, her face still expressionless as she stood quietly in place.

Her long silver hair fell by her sides, a few strands gently lifted by the night wind.

Seeing that she made no move, Bai Xuan raised his hand to call over the guard captain, who was busy counting the captives.

Hearing him, the captain walked over quickly, a look of confusion on his face.

“I need to go to Blackcreek Town,” Bai Xuan told him directly, his tone firm.

“A friend of mine is in grave danger there. I won't be able to return to Calais Town with you this time.”

The guard captain froze, his brow instantly furrowing.

“Sir, at a critical juncture like this, it is far too dangerous for you to go back.”

“I know,” Bai Xuan said calmly as he put away his staff. “That's why I need to disguise myself. Just lend me a few of the most ordinary clothes you have.”

“Judging by Peter's tone earlier, my involvement shouldn't be completely exposed yet—at least not to that extent.”

The guard captain stared at him for a few seconds. Seeing that his mind was made up, he stopped trying to dissuade him.

He reached into his vest, pulled out a piece of cloth, and gently handed it to Bai Xuan.

Bai Xuan took it and was instantly stunned. This cloth was identical to the one he had used to send a message to Jesse earlier.

Seeing this, the captain quickly explained, “Steward Jesse specifically told me to bring this along. He said if you still had business in Blackcreek Town after disrupting the plan, I should give this to you.”

With that, he leaned closer to Bai Xuan and whispered a series of contact code words.

“There is an alchemy shop in Blackcreek Town called the Coarse Pottery Flask Shop. The owner is a half-elf named Lorrain. Take this cloth to him. If you run into trouble, he can help you out.”

Bai Xuan squeezed the cloth, his fingertips tightening slightly, temporarily lost for words.

Lorrain was actually one of the White family's people too. That Level 9 half-elf plagued by a curse, who ran an alchemy shop in a border town, had been lying low for who knew how many years.

He couldn't help but recall Edmund's consistently gentle face and the sincere tone with which he had said, “Our family is always eager to recruit talent.”

Thinking about it now, those words were definitely not mere politeness. A Level 9 Transcendent associated with a forbidden Class...

Hiding so deeply, this Edmund was truly not simple.

Bai Xuan carefully tucked the cloth into his breast pocket and said to the captain, “Thank Steward Jesse for me. I'll leave my Chocobo in your care for the time being.”

The captain agreed and immediately sent someone to fetch some clothes.

A moment later, someone brought over a few neatly folded sets of coarse clothing. Bai Xuan took them, rolled them up, and stuffed them into his travel bag.

Then, someone led a horse over. He mounted it, wrapped the reins twice around his hand, and rode off toward Blackcreek Town.

But after only a few steps, he felt something was off. Tugging the reins, he turned to look back.

The silver-haired girl had somehow followed him, standing quietly just a few paces behind his horse, her figure as light as a fallen leaf carried by the wind.

Bai Xuan stared at her for a moment, a trace of helplessness flitting through his mind.

But the thought only flashed by before he quickly suppressed it.

“Don't follow me,” he said, softening his tone to advise her patiently.

“Go back with them; they will take you to a safe place. What I'm about to do is extremely dangerous. I might not even be able to protect myself.”

The girl just stared at him quietly, neither nodding nor shaking her head, her face showing no indication of whether she understood him.

Bai Xuan waited a moment. Seeing no reaction, he turned back and urged his horse forward.

Yet, after a few more paces, he couldn't help but look back again. The girl was still following behind, keeping the exact same distance as before.

Helplessly, Bai Xuan pulled the reins again.

He suddenly remembered that this girl was a survivor of the Glay Dungeon.

That was a kingdom from thousands of years ago. The language had long since changed completely, so it was only natural that she couldn't understand him.

Thus, he tried using hand gestures to communicate, first pointing at her, then pointing in the direction of the White family's team.

He pushed his palm outward, signaling her to “go over there.”

The girl watched his gestures, her face remaining entirely expressionless.

Bai Xuan couldn't tell if she didn't understand or if she understood but refused to comply.

After a brief thought, he suddenly raised his hand and pointed sharply behind her, deliberately putting on a shocked expression.

Sure enough, the girl turned to look in the direction he pointed. Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Bai Xuan dug his heels into the horse's flanks. The horse let out a loud neigh and lunged forward.

He leaned low. Only the whistling of the wind echoed in his ears, and any faint sounds behind him were quickly drowned out, fading into nothingness.

After riding for a distance, Bai Xuan looked back. The road was empty; the girl was nowhere to be seen.

He let out a sigh of relief and slowed the horse to a trot, continuing his journey.

This was his first time riding a horse, so he had no technique to speak of. Fortunately, his great strength allowed him to hold the reins steadily, and the horse was very docile.

“Brute force conquers all skill,” as the saying goes.

The woods on both sides of the road grew denser, the canopy blocking the sky, leaving only a small patch of grayish-white visible.

He couldn't help but think of the silver-haired girl whose name was displayed as Phoebe Xi on the status panel, wondering if she had gone back safely or if she had run into danger.

He shook his head gently, forcing himself to push those thoughts aside.

His top priority right now was to reach Blackcreek Town. Everything else had to be put on hold.

Bai Xuan stopped by a small stream. After carefully confirming there was no unusual activity around, he began to change his clothes.

He took off his overly conspicuous white robe, folded it along with his fitted leather armor, and stored them in his Space Ring.

Then, he put on the dusty, coarse clothing.

The fabric was rough, and the cuffs were even frayed, making it quite uncomfortable to wear, but it had the advantage of being sufficiently unremarkable.

He squatted by the stream, scooped up some cold water to splash on his face, and ran his hands through his hair to mess it up.

Finally, he simply rolled around on the dry dirt, covering his clothes in dust.

Looking at his reflection in the water, Bai Xuan himself was stunned.

His face was smudged with dirt and soot, his hair was a wild mess, and his clothes were wrinkled. He looked like a completely different person from the refined, white-robed Healer from before.

As he was examining his disguise, a soft rustling of footsteps suddenly came from the woods.

Bai Xuan froze. He spun around, his hand instinctively reaching for his staff.

At the edge of his vision, the girl stood quietly just a few paces away, as if she had been there from the very beginning.

It was her.

Bai Xuan stared at her, utterly baffled, unable to fathom how she had caught up.

He had clearly ridden quite a distance on horseback. When he looked back, the road had been empty, and he hadn't seen a soul along the way.

He slowly relaxed his grip and asked, “How did you find this place? Why must you follow me?”

Phoebe didn't speak. Her face remained expressionless as she slowly took two steps forward, closing the distance to Bai Xuan.

Bai Xuan instinctively took half a step back, his expression guarded.

Phoebe stopped in front of him, slowly lifting her face and closing her eyes as if sensing something.

Bai Xuan suddenly noticed that the gold-and-black spiral pattern on her arm was glowing faintly.

A moment later, Phoebe opened her eyes and reached directly for Bai Xuan's chest.

Startled, Bai Xuan leaped backward, his tone filled with wariness.

“What are you doing?”

Phoebe stopped her hand, raised it again, and pointed her finger gently at his chest.

Bai Xuan looked down and touched his chest, his fingertips brushing against his Space Ring.

He took off the ring, held it in his palm, and extended it toward Phoebe, asking tentatively,

“Do you mean this?”

Phoebe fell silent for a moment. The mark on her arm brightened slightly, and she gave a gentle nod.

Bai Xuan understood instantly. What attracted her was something inside the ring.

The first thing he thought of was the Evil God scale, followed closely by the Sealing Medium that sealed the Undead Grand Duke's hand.

Bai Xuan's heart sank slightly.

This girl possessed the Glay Royalty bloodline. Those items surely had some deep connection to her.

He worried that if he pulled out the Sealing Medium, it might instantly turn her against him.

But if he didn't clear things up now, it would likely hinder his ability to make proper judgments.

Bai Xuan let out a slow breath and tentatively took out the Evil God scale first.

The scale lay quietly in his palm, its surface now bearing a layer of dark-red patterns that hadn't been there before.

Bai Xuan was puzzled; the scale looked entirely different from how he remembered it.

Phoebe tilted her head, glanced at it, and showed no reaction.

Clearly, this wasn't what was attracting her.

Bai Xuan put the scale back into the ring and slowly retrieved the Sealing Medium.

At the same time, he secretly circulated his mana, curling his fingers slightly, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

But Phoebe simply kept her head tilted, a look of confusion on her face. She neither attacked nor showed any anger.

Bai Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, though the confusion in his heart only deepened.

Since it was neither the scale nor the Sealing Medium, what could it possibly be?

He frowned and thought for a moment. Suddenly remembering something, he pulled out the last remaining item from the ring.

The pendant he had looted from the Undead Grand Duke.

At the time, the Grand Duke had kept this pendant tightly clenched in his hand, as if it were incredibly precious.

【Silver-Wrapped Crystal Covenant Pendant: The core proof of a noble political marriage, and also one of the keys to the imperial treasury. The back is engraved with two tiny names in the Glayde Empire's common language, Ethan and Ramona.】

This time, Phoebe's reaction finally changed.

She stepped forward quickly and stretched her hand out toward Bai Xuan, a ripple of emotion showing in her eyes.

Bai Xuan hesitated. Gazing into her clear eyes, he ultimately placed the pendant in her palm.

Phoebe looked down at the pendant in her palm, her fingertips gently tracing the patterns on the back.

A subtle change slowly emerged in her eyes.