Arrangement

Silence.

A long, drawn-out silence.

The kind of silence so heavy it felt as if the air itself were about to solidify.

Xia Lun and Aina exchanged a glance, silently conveying each other's shock.

Niya stood quietly to the side, barely daring to breathe, unwilling to say a word.

The meticulously planned abductions, the raising of humans like livestock, the efficiently run blood factory... Those bloody and brutal images from Aolei's memories hovered in the air before them.

Luo Lun stood nearby, watching as well, obvious fury flickering in her eyes.

"This guy... he's the mastermind behind it all?" Xia Lun frowned deeply, staring at Aolei.

They'd thought he was small fry—just someone to fish for clues from in order to uncover the one truly pulling the strings... but instead, they'd hooked the dragon lurking at the very bottom of the abyss.

"This is certainly..." Aina felt a hint of surprise as well, the results of this memory search far exceeding her expectations.

Beyond that, the man had also been in cahoots with several mid-level officers of the Dawn's Wings. He even held a nominal position in the organization himself... It was precisely thanks to this veneer of legitimacy that all related complaints and investigations over the years had been cleverly intercepted and buried by him, vanishing without a trace.

"Looks like a full sweep is in order." Aina's gaze gradually turned cold, her tone laced with a bone-chilling frost.

Before Xia Lun's resurrection, she obviously hadn't had the mind to meddle in the affairs of the organization under her command... And after Xia Lun was brought back, she naturally spent most of her time with him instead.

Never did she imagine that under her very watch, corruption had festered this deeply.

Niya stood off to the side, looking a bit uneasy—this matter was closely tied to the blood kin as well... so a part of the blame fell on her, for not managing her subordinates' affairs properly.

However, Aina clearly bore no grudge against Niya. They'd all been far too busy. Earlier, Aina had somewhat recklessly dealt with that man Xie Lun, and the duties that once fell on his shoulders had been spread among Niya and the others... And there was currently nobody suitable to fill the vacant position...

No, perhaps there was one.

"Niya." Aina spoke up. "What do you think of that one called Anlu?"

"Ah..." Niya was puzzled as to why Aina would suddenly mention him. "In what regard, my lady?"

"What do you think of his work ethic?"

"He's... reliable, I suppose." Niya gave a noncommittal answer.

Aina slowly nodded.

But that's a matter for later. The matter at hand was clearly more urgent.

"Have you memorized the location of the factory?" Aina turned to look at Xia Lun.

"Naturally."

Being able to manipulate memories at will certainly had its uses.

"Good."

Aina said this casually, then snapped her fingers.

A plume of azure flame suddenly burst forth from Aolei's body—silent, seething, yet bearing the temperature to incinerate everything. Within an instant, his form crumbled into a pile of pale grey ash.

The dark memories floating in the air lingered for a moment longer before fading away with the unrealized ambitions of Aolei.

For someone like Aolei, this was already the most merciful death he could have hoped for.

"Let's go, Xia Lun." Aina rose slowly from the sofa.

Xia Lun was still taken aback by her decisiveness, not expecting her to act so swiftly.

But indeed, there was no further need for Aolei to live. After all, Aina had absorbed everything she wanted to know directly from his memories.

In fact, moments earlier Aolei had been scheming over how to deflect Aina's questioning... but he never would've dreamed that without a single word exchanged between them, he'd already been reduced to ashes.

"Where to?" Xia Lun hadn't quite snapped out of it yet.

"Where else? To save people, of course." Aina reached out and took Xia Lun's hand. "There are still plenty of people trapped in the factory... Niya, go have Dorian prepare. A rescue operation on this scale will require the Dawn's Wings to take charge of the arrangements."

"As you command, Lady Aina." Niya seemed to relish being given orders by Aina, her figure dissolving into a blur of blood-red shadow that vanished from the room.

"Aina... let me handle one of them."

Luo Lun suddenly spoke up, her voice low but resolute: "There are two blood factories... I'll take care of one of them."

Having seen those sights, she too couldn't stay idle.

"Very well. Thank you for your hard work." Aina didn't refuse Luo Lun's offer.

The blood bat on Luo Lun's shoulder flapped its wings and let out a rasping caw, as if eager to show what it could do.

"Then we..." Xia Lun took a deep breath.

The sight of the blood factory he'd glimpsed through Aolei's memories made his heart churn.

Human beings raised like livestock—no one could witness that and keep a lid on their rage.

Xia Lun couldn't comprehend it. Aolei had once been human himself, so how could he treat his own kind so cruelly, simply for profit?

Countless families had been plunged into darkness because of what Aolei had done.

Xia Lun could imagine the pain La Di must have endured after losing his daughter. He remembered the face of the man when they'd first met—a look of despair barely held together by clenched hope.

To find a lead, La Di hadn't hesitated even for a moment to offer himself up as bait, without reservation.

And La Di was merely one insignificant example among countless victims.

"Why don't we bring Mr. La Di along as well."

Aina suggested softly, as though she'd read his mind.

"His daughter must have been waiting so long for this day."

...

"They've all left now." Mo Lini watched the figures departing in a flurry.

"Mm." Liyana nodded absentmindedly.

Their conversation hadn't been kept secret from her, so Liyana had heard everything.

"What about us? Shall we follow along and see?" Mo Lini blinked. "Doesn't feel right to just stay behind."

"No, we're best off staying here." Liyana shook her head.

Those matters were far too dark. It was better not to involve Mo Lini in them.

When Xia Lun and the others had their discussion, they'd deliberately chosen not to set up a soundproof barrier around her—clearly they wanted Liyana to stay and look after the kid.

"But I want to see for myself..."

"A kid like you shouldn't be seeing such things!" Liyana gave Mo Lini a light smack on the head from behind.

"I'm not a kid anymore!" Mo Lini said indignantly.

"Really? Compared to mine?" Liyana shot back with a sneer.

Mo Lini cowered a little. In the eyes of an elf who'd lived as long as Liyana, she really was no different from a child.

"Just swing on your swing and pipe down. Stop dreaming of this and that." Liyana gave Mo Lini a firm shove from behind, sending her soaring up high.

"Ah..."

"Wait, Mo Lini." Liyana suddenly realized something.

"Get down. It's my turn now."