Leaping flames cast a warm halo within the abandoned storage room, dispelling the cold dampness of the deep mining tunnel.
The meat broth stewing in the iron pot bubbled with a soft glug, its rich aroma permeating the limited space.
The three of them sat around a wooden box that served as a temporary dining table.
Elvia held a bowl of steaming meat broth, eating with great relish and occasionally letting out a satisfied sigh.
While Theia also held a wooden spoon, she seemed to find the food tasteless; her blood-red eyes stared into the fire, looking heavy with worry.
Lin Gui knew what she was thinking—about Avalon and the upcoming parting.
However, he did not offer much comfort; this journey would always have an end, and parting was inevitable.
As he sipped his soup, he used a thread of his mind to control a faint Wind Guiding spell, silently leading several wisps of cooking smoke that tried to drift out of the cave toward the crevices in the stone wall to dissipate slowly.
Taking a sip of soup, Lin Gui suddenly looked up toward a shadowed stone wall nearby that appeared completely empty and said flatly.
"Would you like some? Member of Dreamweaver."
The air went silent for a second.
Then, a slender and agile figure dressed in black tight-fitting leather armor emerged from the shadows like melting ice.
It was the female assassin who had been emotional in the Dreamweaver party earlier.
She looked at the bright fire, her eyelids twitching wildly as she spoke with unbelievable dread.
"Aren't... aren't you afraid of attracting demons?!"
"Even though this is the boundary between the forest and the rift where demon activity is relatively scarce, there's no guarantee a large group of High Rank demons won't suddenly jump out from somewhere!"
She added at a very fast pace, seemingly trying to emphasize the severity of the situation.
"Especially in a place like the Withered Rift!"
"The toxic mist permeating the valley floor can corrode flesh, and Rift Crawlers that can sprint on vertical cliffs live on the rock walls in swarms!"
"And those Crypt Spiders hidden in the depths of abandoned mining tunnels; their webs are incredibly tough and carry paralyzing toxins!"
"Even more terrifying are the Scorch-Winged Demons that occasionally fly up from the depths of the valley; the fire they spit can melt armor!"
"So... you actually dare to start a fire?!"
"So," Lin Gui spoke as if he hadn't heard her long list of danger descriptions, simply shaking the steaming bowl in his hand as he asked again, "would you like some?"
The assassin girl froze for a moment, her nose twitching subconsciously.
That irresistible fragrance entered her nasal cavity, causing her empty stomach to cramp.
She hesitated for a few seconds before finally failing to resist the temptation; she cautiously stepped forward, entering the range of the tiny air pocket Lin Gui deliberately maintained with his Wind Guiding spell.
The rich aroma of food instantly enveloped her.
"Woo..."
A suppressed whimper escaped her throat, and her eyes instantly widened as a startling brilliance erupted in her pupils.
She almost snatched the bowl of meat broth Lin Gui handed over, not even caring about the heat as she immediately began to scarf it down like a starving ghost.
With a bowl of hot soup in her belly, she seemed to come back to life, waving the empty bowl excitedly as she blurted out.
"This is too delicious, meow!!!"
This praise with its peculiar suffix caused Lin Gui's gaze to fall on the pair of black cat ears atop her head, which twitched slightly with her excitement, and the cat tail behind her that was unconsciously swaying back and forth.
He had originally thought they were some special decorations, but it seemed the other party was actually a rare demi-human.
"Name?" Lin Gui filled another bowl for her.
"Mmm, I'm an assassin of the Dreamweaver adventure group, Big Sis Rona's most trusted partner and sister, Luo Youyou!"
The cat-eared girl—Luo Youyou—introduced herself while taking the bowl, the tip of her tail curling happily.
Demi-human territories were far from the borderlands, almost at opposite extremes of the continent.
Lin Gui couldn't help but feel somewhat curious.
"How did you come to be here?"
Luo Youyou's ears drooped slightly, her tone becoming somewhat low.
"My parents were captured by slave traders and sold to Caran at the end of the Golden Age."
"They were later bought by Boss Rona's family."
"Boss Rona's family was very kind to us; even after the family's decline, they often helped us."
She sat cross-legged on the ground, placing the empty bowl between her legs and hugging her knees, her expression sorrowful.
"Boss Rona's family were all good people... unfortunately, they all died in that world-ending rain of blood, including my parents..."
"Boss Rona treats me like her only relative, and she is the only person I rely on to survive."
At this point, Luo Youyou suddenly stood up, took a few steps in front of Lin Gui, and knelt down perfectly straight.
Large tears surged from her eyes, sliding down her cheeks.
She lifted her head, pleading with a sob.
"Please! Save my sister!"
"For that, I can pay any price! Even... even become your slave!"
She seemed to have made up her mind as she looked up, revealing her delicate and lovely face that was still visible despite the dust, her ears pressed tightly against her head due to tension.
"Although I can't compare to your partner... I... I've studied a lot of knowledge in that area... I will definitely satisfy you!"
As she spoke, she actually moved closer, trying to rub her body against Lin Gui's arm.
However, a fair hand that contained startling strength caught her shoulder like a steel pincer, preventing her from advancing an inch further.
Luo Youyou cried out in pain and turned her head, only to meet Theia's face which wore a cold smile.
"Meow!!!"
Luo Youyou was so scared her fur stood on end; she let out a scream and suddenly lunged backward like a frightened wildcat, looking at Theia in extreme terror.
"H-Half-demon! What do you want to do?!"
Theia furrowed her brows, her blood-red eyes carrying an unconcealed warning.
"Do not approach Lin Gui. What if you're here for an assassination? Don't forget, you are an assassin."
"I'm not!" Luo Youyou hurriedly defended herself, even spreading her arms and spinning in a circle to show off her light leather armor. "I didn't even bring my weapons! Look!"
"Who knows if you've hidden your weapons somewhere?" Theia would not yield.
"That's a prejudice! You're bullying a cat!"
"I'm just protecting my companion!"
The two of them immediately began to argue back and forth, cat calls and the elven girl's cold rebuttals echoing within the cavern.
"Enough."
Lin Gui spoke up to stop the escalating argument.
He looked at the still-shaken Luo Youyou and asked the crucial question.
"Didn't that Vice Leader of your party, Catherine, say that Leader Rona had already sacrificed herself?"
At the mention of this, Luo Youyou immediately became like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, shouting back excitedly.
"No! Big Sis hasn't sacrificed herself!"
"It was that annoying Catherine who deceived everyone!"
"She always wanted to stop Big Sis Rona's plan to explore ruins and find a breakthrough; for that, she didn't hesitate to weave lies and deceive the entire team!"
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