Lin Gui held the small flower radiating a dim, umbral glimmer. He turned it over several times but couldn’t discern anything special about it.
He instinctively asked in his mind.
‘System, identify this thing? What is its use?’
[Ding! This system does not provide item identification services. Please explore for yourself, Host.]
“Tsk.”
Lin Gui curled his lips and handed the small flower to Theia beside him.
“Take a look at this. Do you recognize it? Why would that royalty be so dead-set on having this thing?”
Theia took the small flower and sensed it carefully.
She shook her head, her red eyes filled with confusion.
“I only know it’s something the royal family specifically requested. It’s said to be related to some kind of top-tier alchemical potion, but as for what it is exactly... I’m not sure either.”
“The energy fluctuations on it are very peculiar. It’s neither pure life energy, nor death or shadow...”
Hearing this, Lin Gui had no choice but to carefully wrap the small flower that had caused so much trouble in a soft cloth.
He stuffed it into the innermost layer of his bag.
“Forget it. I’ll just keep it for now. I’ll have a reliable alchemist or scholar identify it later.”
After packing up the spoils, Lin Gui looked up.
He found Theia standing aside, her expression somewhat strange and her gaze flickering.
Her hands were unconsciously wringing the corner of her shirt, as if she were extremely hesitant about something.
Lin Gui’s mind was as clear as a mirror.
He knew what Theia was hesitant about.
She could no longer stay in Caran.
She was hesitating about her future path.
And seeing how she frequently stole glances at him, she was likely waiting for him to speak up and suggest whether they should travel together.
The same question was being weighed repeatedly in Lin Gui’s mind.
Even though Theia was now the mission objective of the Messenger System’s commission, Lin Gui was still debating whether to proactively invite her to join him.
Binding with this Messenger System meant that his future path was destined to be a constant advance toward even more distant and unknown city-states.
Like duckweed without roots, with no fixed abode.
The danger coefficient was visibly skyrocketing. Thinking about the various desperate situations he had encountered on the way to Magic City, even now, the memory made Lin Gui’s hair stand on end.
He never considered himself a protagonist. All his survivals in desperate situations were the inevitable result of his ample preparation and rational mind.
The only time he was truly unlucky, he had almost been left for dead in that man-eating cavern.
Having bound the Messenger System, Lin Gui couldn’t guarantee that he would survive in the end either.
But he still had to go, even if what lay ahead were mountains of blades and seas of fire.
Because only by reaching the end could he deliver the letter in his heart into the hands of the person he had missed countless times.
Moreover, compared to the dangers of the journey, the rewards it brought...
Lin Gui had the system rewards, so he was fine, but Theia...
To maximize the rewards for “conveying thoughts,” his target client base would inevitably be the commoners at the bottom with limited ability to pay.
How much money could commoners have?
He had over six hundred letters on this trip.
The total income probably wouldn’t even match a low-rank escort commission casually issued by a noble lord.
If he let Theia join him, he would undoubtedly be making her work for free—or rather, she would be paying for the privilege.
Thinking it through, inviting Theia to join was essentially no different from pushing her into a pit of fire.
The two of them remained silent, the atmosphere slightly awkward.
From time to time, Theia would peek at Lin Gui.
Her gaze was a mix of anticipation and unease, like a small animal afraid of being abandoned.
After hesitating again, Lin Gui finally took a deep breath and broke the silence.
He avoided a direct invitation and opened with a different approach:
“Theia, that place you mentioned before... the city-state where all races live in equality. Avalon, right?”
Theia looked up abruptly, her crimson eyes wide with disbelief.
“You... you know of it?”
Lin Gui didn’t know, of course, but since the system had given him a task, he figured this legendary city must exist.
“Yeah, I’ve heard some rumors. It’s said that deep within the continent, there really is such a city.”
His tone was certain, as if it were a matter of fact.
“If you don’t have any other plans for now, maybe... you could go check it out. Perhaps it could become your true home.”
He didn’t give her a direct invitation but instead gave her a direction.
Theia lowered her head slightly upon hearing this, her slender fingers nervously twirling a strand of her silver hair.
Those unique blood-red eyes couldn’t help but peek upward, looking at Lin Gui with cautious anticipation.
Looking at her like this, Lin Gui sighed in his heart and added.
“After I finish this run...”
He weighed the heavy bag filled with reply letters on his back.
“After I deliver these letters, I’ll probably go check out that ‘City of Equality’ as well. If you’re willing... we could... travel together for a stretch.”
“I’m willing!”
Almost the moment the words left Lin Gui’s mouth, Theia shouted with excitement.
She lunged forward and gave Lin Gui a solid hug.
Her eyes instantly turned red, and her voice choked up.
“I’m willing! Lin Gui! Thank you!”
She repeated it, as if afraid Lin Gui would go back on his word.
“Alright, alright.”
Lin Gui was squeezed until he could barely breathe, and he awkwardly patted her back.
“I’m telling you beforehand, I’m very poor. I have no money to pay you a salary.”
“At most... I’ll cover your meals and find us a place that can shelter us from the wind and rain.”
“It’s fine! I have money!”
Theia jumped off Lin Gui, a bright smile on her face.
But the happiness only lasted a few seconds before freezing.
She suddenly remembered that she was now a wanted fugitive in Caran City.
The meager savings she had worked so hard to put away at home had probably been confiscated by the City Lord’s manor long ago.
Right now, besides this gear that had accompanied her for so long, she was penniless.
Her cheeks instantly flushed with an embarrassed crimson, and her voice lowered as she spoke sheepishly.
“Uh... well... as long as... room and board are covered... that’s fine too...”
By the end, her voice was almost like the buzzing of a mosquito.
Her gaze instinctively drifted toward Knight Commander Lyon’s equipment on the ground—armor and a sword that, though severely damaged, were clearly made of extraordinary material and still shimmered with magical light.
If they could take those away and sell them, it would be a fortune!
Before she could finish her little calculation, Lin Gui seemed to see through her thoughts and threw a bucket of cold water on them.
“No, we can't touch those things.”
Theia was stunned. Thinking Lin Gui was acting out of knightly spirit or some moral obsession—not wanting to sell a dead person’s belongings—she quickly tried to persuade him.
“Lin Gui, now isn’t the time to be picky! We really need money!”
“Besides, they tried to kill us. Taking some spoils is only natural! Put down your personal moral baggage to enjoy a wealthy life!”
Lin Gui rolled his eyes at her in annoyance.
“You’re overthinking it. It’s not that I’m kindhearted; I’m just afraid of dying.”
He pointed at Lyon’s corpse, his expression turning serious.
“To get to Avalon, we need to pass through the Royal Capital.”
“This guy was a Knight Commander of the Royal Capital. Standing behind him is the royal family of the Carter Kingdom.”
“An entire elite knight order was wiped out in the Black Demon Forest. With such a massive loss, the royal family will never let it go. They’ll definitely conduct a thorough investigation.”
“If we take this recognizable gear and sell it now, it would be no different from throwing ourselves into a net and telling the royal family, ‘The killer is right here, come get us.’”
“So, these things cannot be touched. It’s best to let them rot here or be eaten by demons.”
After hearing Lin Gui’s analysis, Theia finally understood. She shrunk her neck back in fear and nodded sadly.
“Oh... you’re right... Then... where are we going next?”
She now completely looked to Lin Gui as her backbone.
Lin Gui looked toward the depths of the Black Demon Forest, where the terrifying roars and vibrations seemed to be getting closer.
Moragus clearly hadn’t given up the chase.
“Back to Caran City first.”
Lin Gui quickly made a decision.
“We’ll hide in the city for a while. Once this demon riot in the Black Demon Forest calms down, we’ll head to New Covenant City to deliver the reply letters.”
“Mhm! I’ll do as you say!”
Theia nodded without hesitation.
Lin Gui took out his plain-looking oak staff. He looked at Theia, a somewhat weary but sincere smile appearing on his face.
“Want to hitch a ‘staff’ ride? The speed might not be as fast as you running, but it saves effort.”
Theia’s eyes sparkled like little stars as she looked at the magical staff that could fly people. She nodded excitedly and repeatedly.
“Of course! I do!”
Lin Gui laughed and hopped onto the staff first, then reached out to Theia. Theia grasped his hand and used the momentum to sit lightly behind him, naturally wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Hold on tight; it might be a bit shaky.”
Lin Gui gave a warning and then activated his mana. The Levitation spell took effect, carrying the two of them into the air as they wobbled upward.
He adjusted the direction and flew unsteadily toward the towering walls of Caran City.
About an hour or so later, at the patch of grass where they had just been, countless pitch-black tentacles covered in thorns spread across like a tide.
They easily coiled around Lyon’s cold corpse.
The thickest tentacle skillfully twisted off that head, which had once been filled with ambition and arrogance, stuffing it into the massive, hollow-like mouth that slowly undulated into view.
“Gulp...”
Moragus devoured this final “sacrifice.”
On the trunk, Lyon’s face, filled with indignation and terror, slowly surfaced.
Moragus’s emerald-green, giant eyes—filled with endless resentment—stared deathly still toward Caran City.
A bone-deep hatred and desire for destruction were frantically brewing.
“Kekeke... City-states... Humans... Just you wait...”
The low, malicious murmur slowly dissipated into the wind.
Rate on N.U.
