Made a Mistake Again

A wonderful night.

Xia Lun opened his eyes to find Aina already awake, lying on her side beside him as if admiring his sleeping face.

"Awake?" Aina whispered. "Shall we continue?"

Xia Lun couldn't help but crack a smile.

Since when had his wife become like this?

"Let's not. We shouldn't indulge too much."

"Why not?" Aina countered. "This is one of life's few pleasures."

Few pleasures?

Given their frequency, Xia Lun felt that wasn't quite the right word.

"Because it's precious... that's why we should cherish it." Xia Lun caressed Aina's cheek, gazing into her eyes with deep affection. The Demon King who had been pressing close finally relented, lightly biting Xia Lun's shoulder instead.

After dressing, Aina dispelled the magical barrier enveloping the room, and the lingering pink glow in the air gradually faded.

Stepping outside, they were immediately greeted by Yisi, who had been waiting at the door for quite some time.

"Aina! Xia Lun!" Yisi exclaimed excitedly, her little head bobbing as she stood on tiptoe, clearly eager to show off her accomplishment.

Outside, Xia Lun had asked her to address them by name to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

"What is it?" Xia Lun patted Yisi's head. Even knowing her true nature, to him, she was still just an innocent child.

"I caught an intruder last night!" Yisi announced proudly, like a child boasting about a perfect test score to her parents.

"Oh?" Xia Lun's brow twitched in surprise. He hadn't expected anyone to actually invade this place.

Who was it? One of the Twilight Apostles?

"Where is he now?" Xia Lun asked.

"I locked him in a spatial rift!" Yisi beamed with pride.

Xia Lun's expression froze, then turned slightly odd.

Spatial rifts contained dangerous chaotic currents—harmless to beings like them, but deadly to most others.

Xia Lun's face grew serious. "You locked him in a spatial rift?"

"Mhm! Don’t worry, Xia Lun, I remember the exact spot. I’ll find him for sure!"

Eagerly, Yisi tore open a rift large as a door right in front of Xia Lun and Aina, then leaned in, propping her hands on the edges as she peered inside.

It was a surreal sight—something an ordinary person would dismiss as a hallucination. But then again, only a Void Broodmother like Yisi would dare do such a thing.

Inside was pitch black, devoid of anything—until countless streaks of colored light and specks coalesced into spatial turbulence, roaring past like a storm, sweeping repeatedly through the void.

The intruder from last night was gone.

Yisi scratched her head, puzzled.

To her, it was like putting food in the fridge only to find it missing the next morning.

"Xia Lun, he’s gone!" Yisi’s voice wavered, on the verge of tears. "I definitely left him right here yesterday..."

Xia Lun sighed and glanced into the rift himself.

Not a trace of blood remained—just the faintest metallic tang in the air.

It seemed the spatial currents had utterly annihilated the intruder.

"Yisi... many things in this world are fragile. They can’t survive in spatial rifts. Remember that, okay?" Xia Lun spoke sternly.

Yisi blinked, nodding hesitantly.

"What did the intruder look like?"

"He was throwing bombs into the manor! I caught one, and it exploded!" Yisi pulled out a shard of a Magma Behemoth’s core from her pocket.

Xia Lun examined the fragment, frowning.

Who would use something so crude against him?

"I grabbed him and stuffed him into the rift right away. I was going to hand him over to you today, but now he’s gone... Waaah—" Yisi sniffled, looking utterly dejected.

"Don’t make this mistake again," Xia Lun said with another sigh.

Yisi had never left the Void before—the outside world was still so unfamiliar to her.

"What did he look like? Wearing a gray-yellow robe?"

"No, no robe. He had blond hair... kinda handsome, but not as handsome as you!" Yisi replied cautiously, eyeing Aina’s expression.

Kahn...

Was it that guy?

Xia Lun felt nothing.

If it had been some innocent bystander, he might’ve felt regret—but for a spoiled brat like Kahn, he had no sympathy.

"Oh, that kid?" Aina vaguely recalled Kahn too. "Didn’t he say he was from the Stark Family? He actually dared to come here?"

"Aina..."

"Yes, Xia Lun?"

Xia Lun gently took her hand. "What are you planning to do?"

"Hah, hahaha, hakka! Don’t worry, my hero. Such a trivial matter isn’t worth my attention. Do you really think I’m that petty?"

Aina laughed, her speech slipping into her usual quirks, as if amused by Xia Lun’s concern.

She leaned in from behind, lightly nibbling his ear. "Relax. I won’t lift a finger."

......

"No! Kahn... my child!"

In a lavish estate, a voluptuous beauty let out a heart-wrenching cry.

"Reiss! Kahn’s soul lamp has gone out! Our son is dead!" The woman rushed to a middle-aged man, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed.

Reiss Stark frowned slightly. Kahn was just one of his many children—not even the most talented. Frankly, he hardly mattered.

But this woman was one of his favorite wives, so Reiss humored her grief.

"What? How could this happen? Kahn was studying at Olifant Academy! There’s no way he could’ve been in danger!" Reiss feigned anguish. "What in the world happened?"

"Kahn was such a good boy... Why did this happen to him? Why...?" The woman collapsed into Reiss’s arms, weeping uncontrollably.

Reiss was growing impatient.

Still, Kahn was a Stark. Whoever dared lay a hand on him had insulted the entire family.

The Starks were a knightly house serving the royal family. Whoever harmed Kahn would pay dearly.

"Come. We’ll go to Olifant at once and get to the bottom of this!"

Reiss’s eyes burned like an enraged lion’s.

For the family’s honor, the culprit would be torn to pieces.