Goodbye, Irena

"What was that princess's name again?" Ye Chuan pondered.

"Ademi?"

"Elizabeth?"

"Zelda?"

"Link?"

"Omazili Mambo?"

Ye Chuan pulled out his journal for another glance, finally recalling that the princess was named Irena.

"Ah, Irena. The silver-haired princess. She was a pale-skinned half-elf, wasn't she?"

"Hmm... better go back to Count Kan Gong's territory to find them."

Ye Chuan's figure blurred, and in the next instant, he vanished from where he stood.

With his current strength, Ye Chuan could teleport across thousands of miles. Reaching Miral—the territory of the little dragon-men—was now a trivial matter.

Even against the dragon-men, known for their high magic resistance, Ye Chuan's current power allowed him to handle them with ease.

"So this is what it feels like to run a low-level dungeon with end-game gear," Ye Chuan mused. Though, come to think of it, the dragon-man's Seventh Tier strength would equate to the Dao Realization Realm back on the Tianxuan Continent.

But to Ye Chuan, a cultivator at the Dao Realization Realm was no different from a helpless chicken.

Even within the same realm, there were levels to this.

Lost in thought, Ye Chuan realized he had already arrived in Miral. As the territory of Count Kan Gong, Miral's scale was naturally far beyond that of Yisu Town.

Yet, despite its grandeur, Ye Chuan didn't feel much for Miral.

If anything, he still preferred Yisu Town.

Not because of the Succubus Pavilion, of course, but purely out of affection for his starting point.

Amidst these musings, he finally arrived at the Lord's manor.

...

Coincidentally, he spotted a rather familiar figure.

Irena was sitting on a rattan chair on the manor's terrace. The afternoon sunlight filtered through the carved archways, casting dappled shadows across her form.

She possessed long silver hair that looked as if it had been tempered from moonlight. It draped smoothly over her shoulders, the ends slightly curled. A few stray strands hung by her cheeks, swaying gently with her breath, shimmering with a delicate silver glow in the sunlight, resembling flowing, fragmented starlight.

As a half-elf princess, the tips of her ears bore the characteristic curve of the elf race, tinged with a faint pink. This formed a striking contrast with her silvery-white hair, adding a touch of charm.

She wore a pale blue dress with silver vine patterns embroidered along the hem. A white ribbon cinched her waist, outlining a silhouette that was slender but not frail.

She was beautiful.

She possessed both the elegant nobility of a princess and the ethereal purity of an elf. There was a gentleness hidden within her aloofness, making it difficult to look away once she caught your eye.

"Ah, Lord Xi Xi, you've returned."

Irena, who had been quietly enjoying her afternoon tea, spoke up immediately upon noticing Ye Chuan, her tone unable to mask her delight.

Lord Xi Xi? Who's that?

Ye Chuan tilted his head in thought before remembering that he had indeed registered under the name Xi Xi at the Adventurer's Guild.

Whatever. He was called Xi Xi back on the Tianxuan Continent anyway.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm back," Ye Chuan responded lazily. He landed beside Irena, only to find the princess scrutinizing him.

"What's wrong?"

Irena fidgeted with her fingers, looking shy. "I just feel that Lord Xi Xi seems... different from usual?"

"Got more handsome, right? I get what you mean," Ye Chuan said.

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant." Unable to articulate the change she sensed, Irena waved her hands frantically.

"Huh? Do you think I'm not handsome?"

"You are! You are!"

Seeing Irena blush crimson, Ye Chuan couldn't be bothered to tease her further. He hadn't synchronized the time with the Aiser Continent, so for him, it had been a long time since he last visited this magical world.

But for Irena, he had only been gone for a day.

Still, it was quite normal for Irena to sense something different about him.

"Lord Xi Xi, Lord Kaiaolen intends to visit the neighboring territory to seek help from other Counts. When do you think would be a suitable time to depart?" Irena asked.

"Oh, the little dragon-man wants to ask for help..." Ye Chuan didn't really care about the timing. "Whenever works. I already gave you the method to identify those skin-wearing monsters, didn't I? Just pick a suitable time and go."

"Lord Xi Xi will be coming with me, right?" Irena clasped her hands together, smiling.

"Of course. As long as there's gold involved," Ye Chuan said.

Irena didn't quite catch that. She tilted her head. "Hm?"

"To restore the glory of the Hill Empire is my bounden duty."

"Lord Xi Xi, you really are so kind." Hearing Ye Chuan's words, Irena seemed deeply touched.

While Ye Chuan was chatting with Irena, Kaiaolen—the little dragon-man—approached from a short distance away.

"Xi Xi, when did you return?"

"Been back for a bit." Ye Chuan glanced at the dragon-man.

It was just a glance, yet it caused Kaiaolen to freeze in his tracks. As a half-dragon possessing dragon blood, he was naturally exceptionally sensitive to certain things.

For some reason, the Ye Chuan before him suddenly gave off a very dangerous vibe.

It felt as if... he could be torn to shreds at any moment.

"Impossible... this kid can't even break my defense." Kaiaolen quickly tossed the absurd thought to the back of his mind.

In his eyes, while the kid's mastery of spatial magic was indeed impressive, defeating him? He'd need another few hundred years of training.

"What's up?" Ye Chuan asked casually, seeing Kaiaolen staring at him in a daze.

"Nothing. I might just be overtired lately." Kaiaolen shook his head.

"Normal. Dragons are lustful by nature," Ye Chuan said. "Watch your health, old geezer."

That one sentence stunned Kaiaolen into silence. He took a deep breath but ultimately said nothing.

"I've contacted Count Oscar, and he agreed to meet. However, I haven't mentioned the anomalies in the Royal City yet," Kaiaolen continued.

"The matter is of grave importance; we need to be well-prepared."

Since the extent of the skin-monsters' infiltration into other territories was unknown, Kaiaolen's plan was to clear out the monsters in his own territory first, then seek cooperation from other Counts.

With the Royal City occupied by those skin-monsters, as a Lord, he certainly couldn't just look out for himself.

Ye Chuan, however, was indifferent.

"Oh, by the way, do you have a library here? Can I look up some information?" Ye Chuan suddenly asked Kaiaolen, as if remembering something.

"A library?" Kaiaolen paused. As a Lord, his manor naturally held a collection of various records, but he hadn't expected Ye Chuan to be interested in such things.

"Do you wish to learn other types of magic?"

"I've already mastered all basic magic. Not interested."

Although Kaiaolen felt Ye Chuan was bragging, he didn't press the issue. "What information are you looking for?"

"The Witch, Lilith," Ye Chuan said.