The Wounded

As it turns out, as long as it's comfortable enough, there's no bed you can't get used to.

After getting out of bed, Liyana stretched with a big yawn, every joint letting out a pleasant little pop. She took a deep breath—the air still carried the lingering scent of last night's calming incense, leaving her refreshed and alert.

She glanced at the pendulum clock on the wall; she had woken up later than usual. But she felt no guilt whatsoever. Instead, she squinted her eyes in contentment.

Sleeping—what a joy!

The weather had just started to turn cool, which was exactly the perfect season for curling up in warmth and lazing in bed.

It was hard to imagine that anything in the world could be more comfortable than sleeping.

Liyana pushed open the door and happened to run into Xia Lun carrying Aina downstairs.

Well, now she could imagine it. Something even better than sleeping… two people sleeping together.

"Is Aina having cramps again?" Liyana wore a strange expression as the corner of her mouth gradually curled into a meaningful smirk.

Aina buried her little face against Xia Lun's back, the tips of her ears flushed crimson. She refused to look at Liyana, staying as still as a statue while being carried by Xia Lun.

"Mm-hmm," Xia Lun nodded. "After all, Aina's a mage, not a warrior. Her constitution isn't as good as ours."

"Uh…"

Liyana twitched the corner of her mouth. Now that was a convenient excuse.

She had never heard of someone having such a weak constitution that their feet cramped up—and every time it happened at night, no less.

The three of them made their way down the stairs lined with soft carpet. Before they even reached the kitchen, an enticing aroma floated up to meet them.

Mo Lini and Luo Lun were already seated at the dining table waiting.

On the table sat a bamboo basket covered with a white cloth, still steaming with hot air. That was obviously the source of the fragrance.

"Mo Lini couldn't make breakfast this fragrant… Luo Lun, did you make these?" Liyana analyzed as she reached out to lift the cloth.

"That first sentence was unnecessary." Mo Lini shot Liyana an unhappy glare. Although she wasn't very confident in her cooking skills, hearing it from Liyana's mouth irritated her for some reason.

"No, I bought these," Luo Lun replied calmly. "I passed by a bakery on the way here."

A straightforward answer.

"That bakery is pretty far away, isn't it? It seems to be outside the West District," Liyana said, her eyes widening in surprise. "That's at least ten kilometers away, right?"

"Yeah, I ran there. Considered it an early morning workout." Luo Lun said nonchalantly.

Given her physical condition, it wasn't really a big deal.

"Luo Lun really likes sweets, too." Liyana lifted the white cloth to reveal croissants dusted with powdered sugar, freshly baked cookies, and colorful doughnuts—everything looked incredibly tempting. "Luo Lun has a very girly side, huh."

Luo Lun paused for a moment. She was, after all, a cute girl by nature, but her usual decisive and forceful demeanor, along with her identity as an assassin and her formidable fighting skills… meant that few people truly saw her as an ordinary young woman.

"Wouldn't these foods get cold on the way?" Liyana asked while stuffing a piece of cake into her mouth.

Luo Lun helplessly rolled her eyes at Liyana. "I have a spatial ring."

"Oh! Right." Liyana suddenly realized.

This girl speaking without thinking wasn't anything new. No one really paid it much mind.

Breakfast was simple: the pastries Luo Lun had bought and the hot milk Mo Lini had prepared. After eating, they leaned back against the soft leather chair backs, basking in the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Even the air seemed filled with a lazy atmosphere.

"I'm going out for a stroll." Luo Lun rose from her seat and looked at Xia Lun and Aina with a hint of deference.

Ever since she had been captured by the Twilight Envoys and caused them trouble, she felt uneasy about leaving the group on her own again.

Buying pastries didn't count, of course—that wouldn't lead to any trouble.

So that meant… what Luo Lun was about to do next might lead to something. She herself wasn't sure, which was why she gave them a heads-up in advance.

"Caw—"

A blood bat landed on Luo Lun's shoulder, its crimson eyes gleaming with an unmistakable intelligence. With it around, nothing serious should go wrong.

"Go ahead." Aina took a sip of milk, still enjoying her pastry, looking quite pleased with herself.

Dawnbreak City… Luo Lun had never been here before, but she had heard many stories about it, so she planned to enjoy the city on her own.

The West District was essentially the wealthy part of the city.

The streets were very clean because someone had been up early to sweep them.

Of course, the ones doing the sweeping weren't the well-dressed gentlemen riding in carriages.

They were a few thin, ragged children, holding brooms taller than themselves, shivering in the cold morning wind as they meticulously cleaned the street.

Luo Lun had gotten up very early today, so she had witnessed this scene.

It was actually quite normal—almost every prosperous city had similar sights hidden beneath the surface.

But Luo Lun's impression of this city had definitely dropped a few notches.

The wide streets had few pedestrians, and occasionally an ornate carriage would roll by, kicking up fine dust.

Luo Lun faintly sensed that someone in the shadows seemed to be sizing her up.

As an assassin… her senses were sharp. But when she turned to look at a shadowy corner behind her, the gaze vanished without a trace.

Luo Lun furrowed her brow slightly.

What was that?

The feeling it gave her… was both unfamiliar and somehow oddly familiar.

"Caw—"

The blood bat on her shoulder let out a cry and suddenly grew restless.

"Calm down." Luo Lun stroked the bat's little head, her tone carrying a hint of scolding.

What was wrong with this little one? It never acted like this outside before.

Normally, it would stay perfectly still on her shoulder.

"Caw—"

But the blood bat didn't settle down. It flapped its wings and flew straight off.

It seemed to have discovered something.

Luo Lun was taken aback and quickly followed.

The blood bat's speed wasn't slow. This little creature was one of Aina's blood constructs—its tiny body held immense power… Luo Lun had to give it quite an effort just to barely keep up.

Before she knew it, the pair—girl and bat—had arrived at a secluded forest.

Why did it bring her here?

Luo Lun was still confused when she suddenly caught a faint scent of blood. As an assassin, she was naturally very familiar with that smell.

Luo Lun didn't hesitate and quickly rushed toward the source of the blood.

A man lay collapsed in the woods. There was a deep gash across his chest, running from his left shoulder all the way to his right waist. The wound was so deep it exposed bone, and blood was still welling out.

With an injury like that… under normal circumstances, this man shouldn't be able to survive.

But, to Luo Lun's astonishment, the blood bat turned into a streak of red light and merged directly into the man's body.