Loren's Helping Hand

Aina started playing a game of fishing... no, a game of fishing for Xia Lun.

After all, Xia Lun would definitely take this bait.

Aina dangled her pale, delicate bare feet in front of Xia Lun. Although Xia Lun had been trying hard to deny his fetish by using excuses like "love me, love my dog," she knew he liked this.

A deep smile hung on Aina's lips; the feeling of being coveted by Xia Lun was wonderful.

"I am not catching them anymore!"

After grasping at thin air for the third time, Xia Lun waved his hand at Aina in frustration, then turned around, leaving Aina with only the back of his head, choosing the out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach.

"Giggle, Xia Lun, what is wrong with you?" Aina poked Xia Lun's back with her toes.

"Do not disturb my reading." Xia Lun leaned against the edge of the table, spread the ancient tome on his lap, and said in a muffled voice, "I am studying."

"Oh my, you are working so hard... Are you really not going to try again? You might just catch me next time..." Aina floated in the air using a levitation spell, her toes slowly trailing down Xia Lun's spine. "After you catch me... you can do whatever you want to me."

"I want to eat some fruits or snacks," Xia Lun said to himself. "Do you want some? I can feed you from my own mouth."

Aina narrowed her eyes. "Sure."

Xia Lun stood up and slowly walked out the door. The heavy doors closed shut, leaving Aina all alone in the room.

Aina's figure slowly drifted down from the air and sat in the seat Xia Lun had just occupied. The chair still held a trace of his lingering warmth.

Xia Lun had only been gone for a little while, yet she actually felt a bit lonely... Aina spaced out slightly.

Crack—

Spiderweb-like cracks suddenly appeared in the space behind Aina, shattering like a mirror and revealing a large, pitch-black spatial rift.

A pair of large hands reached out from the spatial rift and tightly grabbed Aina's shoulders.

"Caught you," Xia Lun's voice sounded by Aina's ear.

"To actually make such a huge commotion... Was that necessary, Xia Lun?" Aina felt a bit helpless and reached out to smooth over the shattered space around them.

Hum—

Because Aina handled it promptly, everything returned to normal without causing any destruction. If the space had been left to repair itself, many things here would likely have been swept into the spatial turbulence.

"Caught you," Xia Lun repeated, clearly reminding Aina that it was time to fulfill her earlier promise.

"Then what do you want to do to me? Put your face under my feet?"

Xia Lun pinched Aina's cheek, somewhat speechless. "Do you really think I would do such a thing?"

Aina thought seriously for a moment. "No."

"Glad you know."

Aina added, "Even though you would not, I feel like you secretly want to."

"I do not!" Aina's cheeks changed shapes like dough in Xia Lun's hands.

"By the way, Xia Lun, where are the snacks you mentioned earlier? You said you would feed me before you left."

Xia Lun held Aina's fair wrist and guided it downward.

"Right here."

...

Marie was already fast asleep.

Luo Lun put on a pure white cloak. Ripples formed at the edges of the cloak, and soon after, her presence was concealed, and the traces of her figure slowly dissipated.

This cloak was a rare treasure obtained from a treasure chest in a labyrinth. Relying on it, Luo Lun had easily completed many commissions.

It was also by wearing this cloak that she was able to slip into the Elven Forest unnoticed... Otherwise, given her identity, passing through the inspections of the elven guards would not have been an easy task.

Luo Lun's illusory figure leaped out of the windowsill, completely blending into the night.

She was now going to rendezvous with her subordinates.

She was not stupid. Since the Blood Alliance members in the Elven Forest had already defected to follow Ned, there was no need for her to face them alone. Helpers were necessary.

However, Luo Lun still had some doubts in her heart.

She had just settled down here, yet she was actually ambushed by that guy Ned... How did her information leak out? Could there be an informant hidden among the subordinates waiting to rendezvous with her right now?

This made Luo Lun somewhat uncertain. The Blood Alliance was a relatively loose organization, and she had always neglected its management. To be honest, no matter who betrayed her, Luo Lun would not be surprised.

Luo Lun's figure turned into an afterimage as she leaped down from a tree.

This time, she had scouted very carefully. She would not accidentally crash into someone else's house again.

Thud—

With a muffled sound, Luo Lun landed steadily on the ground. The resulting shockwave silently pushed away the accumulated fallen leaves around her into a small circle.

Before her was an array of giant trees made up of countless ancient woods, with the figures of elven patrols occasionally flashing by above.

This was the natural barrier the elves took pride in. Trying to bring outsiders in silently was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

However, for humans who could legally present their identification, coming to the elven territory for development was quite convenient nowadays...

Luo Lun's figure blurred again, like a drop of ink blending into the deeper night.

Up in the canopy, an elven patrolman suddenly stopped in his tracks, listening attentively with vigilance. "Hey, did you guys hear something?"

"It sounds like someone is approaching," another companion immediately responded.

The elves in the trees noticed the unusual movement and immediately went on full alert.

Footsteps and the sound of rolling wheels came from not far away.

A sizable merchant caravan arrived at the entrance of the forest.

"Who goes there?"

A stern shout came from the trees, and figures dropped down one after another like dumplings into a pot, blocking the path of the merchant caravan.

The leader of the caravan, Finn, skillfully struck up a conversation with the guard captain.

"Why did you arrive here so late?" The captain felt that something was off, but his subordinates had inspected them very carefully and found nothing unusual... The documents they presented also genuinely bore the seal of the Merchant Association.

"We ran into some accidents on the road which delayed us, so we arrived late," Finn said apologetically. "Sigh, I wonder if we can still find an inn at this hour..."

After repeatedly confirming that there were no issues, the guard captain finally let them pass.

"These guys sure are bold, daring to travel outside so late. Are they not afraid of encountering monsters?"

"Yeah, they did not even hire an adventuring party."

The subordinates began to chat idly.

The guard captain finally realized what felt out of place... That merchant caravan, although their paperwork was flawless, not a single member of the caravan looked like an ordinary person. They all seemed like well-trained warriors.

And that Finn did not fit his impression of an ordinary merchant either.

Nothing bad is going to happen, right?

The guard captain felt a surge of regret, wishing he had stopped them for a more thorough questioning.

However, they had gone through all the proper channels and procedures. Stopping them based solely on this suspicion seemed a bit unrealistic.

Hopefully, he was just being paranoid...