Order Era, Year 1137.
Mo Lini sat on the bed, cradling Little Blue in her arms.
After listening to Liyana recount the events, Mo Lini blinked. "That's it?"
Liyana shrugged. "Yeah, that's it."
Mo Lini pressed further, "And what about Moke's ancestor's father?"
"He died," Liyana said nonchalantly, tilting her head. "Xia Lun beheaded him with a single strike... Tsk, the blood sprayed so high it looked like a fountain."
But that wasn’t what Mo Lini wanted to know.
"Wasn’t there any twist afterward? Like Mo Yi’s corpse coming back to life or something?" Mo Lini refused to let it go.
"What are you thinking? You’ve been reading too many dramatic tales," Liyana teased, poking Mo Lini’s forehead. "Reality doesn’t have that many twists. Running into Xia Lun was just bad luck for them... Dead is dead, no follow-ups.
The assassins who managed to escape all scattered—none dared seek revenge. After all, they were only united under Mo Yi’s influence... Xia Lun, on the other hand, gained massive fame for wiping out the Assassination Guild. That guild had a terrible reputation back then—some of their killers even targeted their own clients. The current Blood Pact is much more disciplined. They carefully observe their targets before deciding whether to take a job..."
Mo Lini gave Liyana a strange look. "Liyana, you seem to know a lot about the Blood Pact."
"Ah... Well, I had a friend who worked in that line of business—an elf friend," Liyana admitted, scratching her head. "Archers are pretty good at that job. One 'whoosh' of an arrow, and if it hits, it’s game over."
Mo Lini’s mouth fell open in an exaggerated "Ooooh!"
Liyana sighed. "Life isn’t a fairy tale. Sometimes things are just plain and simple. Lives are fragile—once they’re gone, they’re gone. No grand resurgences... Well, except for Xia Lun, I guess."
By now, Mo Lini could talk about Xia Lun without covering her ears.
She already knew too much—pretending otherwise would just be lying to herself.
All she had to do was play her role as the mascot properly.
So Xia Lun’s way of doing things... had always been like this.
Barge in, finish the job, leave—no tactics, no schemes.
Was this the confidence that came with overwhelming strength?
Liyana continued reminiscing, "Back when we were adventuring, our team had a magic spell of sorts. Whenever we were in trouble, shouting it would instantly get us out of danger."
Mo Lini’s curiosity was piqued. "What spell?"
"'Aina, tell your invincible Xia Lun to figure something out!' Every time I yelled that, Xia Lun would get serious and crush whatever enemy we faced," Liyana said proudly, as if she were the one who had defeated them. "But I doubt we’d need it now. There probably aren’t any opponents left who could push Xia Lun to get serious."
Mo Lini flopped onto her back, unable to imagine Xia Lun ever losing.
"Going to sleep already? It’s still early," Liyana remarked, watching Mo Lini collapse onto the bed. "But I guess climbing trees today really wore you out. Go ahead and rest."
Mo Lini suddenly remembered something. "Liyana, why are you in my room?"
"We always slept together when we were outside, didn’t we?"
"But there are extra rooms in the house now."
Liyana put on a pitiful act, whining, "Eh? I’d feel so lonely sleeping alone..."
A pillow flew straight at her face.
"Liyana, get out!"
...
"Xia Lun, you lost."
Before them stood a three-pronged candelabra, its faint flames casting a dim glow—just enough to illuminate the faces of the two people seated across from each other at the table.
Exquisite dishes and silver cutlery were arranged meticulously, every detail refined.
This was a restaurant that specialized in candlelit dinners, open only at night... The elves certainly knew how to craft romance.
Xia Lun and Aina had reserved the most expensive private room. Once their meals were served, no one would disturb them.
Xia Lun stared at his scissors-shaped hand in deep contemplation.
He had been playing rock-paper-scissors with Aina... Dozens of rounds in, he hadn’t won a single game—not even a draw.
This couldn’t be luck. Aina was definitely cheating somehow.
"A bet is a bet, Xia Lun. I even let you change it from best of three to fifty-seven rounds, first to twenty-eight wins. If we keep going, the food will get cold," Aina said with a playful smile.
Xia Lun took a deep breath, then cut into the juicy steak on Aina’s plate with his knife and fork. He stood and brought the bite to her lips. "Enjoy your meal, Your Majesty."
The loser of the game had to serve the winner throughout dinner—that was their wager.
Aina happily accepted the morsel, even lightly tugging at the silver fork with her teeth as if hinting at something.
Xia Lun pressed his lips together. He wanted Aina to feed him too.
"Open up, Aina."
He offered another bite, but Aina didn’t comply.
"What’s wrong?"
Aina shook her head. "Xia Lun... Your service is seriously lacking."
"Uh... What should I do, then?"
"You have to say, 'Aaaah—' first," Aina demonstrated, elongating the sound before giving Xia Lun a pointed look. "Then I’ll open my mouth."
"Then... A-aaaah—"
For a grown man like Xia Lun, saying something like this was downright embarrassing. Watching him fidget, Aina couldn’t help but laugh.
"Alright, Xia Lun, just sit down. You don’t have to feed me anymore."
Xia Lun insisted, "I can keep going... I promised I’d serve you through this meal."
"Xia Lun, just stop... At this rate, we’ll be here all night. And we have a lot to do later."
Xia Lun obediently sat back down and began eating his own food.
Aina rested her chin on one hand while idly pushing food around her plate with the other, her gaze lingering dreamily on her husband.
"Xia Lun, open wide. Aaaah—" Aina brought the fork to his lips, her performance leagues better than his earlier attempt.
"Thank you, Aina." Xia Lun smiled warmly.
"Now, how about some dessert?"
"An excellent suggestion, Aina."
Aina scooped the last spoonful of pudding into her mouth, then parted her lips slightly and mumbled to Xia Lun:
"If you want a taste... come and get it yourself, Xia Lun."