(Heartfelt thanks to 'Heartbroken丶Heartless', 'fate529', 'Yume no Shouyou', and 'thx1814' for their rewards!)
The night grew deeper...
In the room, Wu Yan and Hilif sat side by side, bathed in the light of the magical lamp on the ceiling, creating an unusually warm atmosphere...
However, Hilif, who had been sitting beside Wu Yan for some time, had not spoken. Her ice-blue eyes remained fixed on his face as she listened to him recount the three rings Ai Lu had left behind in the treasure vault, the projection Ai Lu had left in the Imperial Treasury, and the matters concerning the Ring of Force and the great catastrophe...
Throughout the room, only Wu Yan's voice echoed, every word entering Hilif's ears. Even after learning the full course of events, her expression remained as cold as snow, without the slightest fluctuation...
Yet, upon closer inspection, one could see faint ripples in her equally cold eyes, proving that her heart was not as calm as she appeared...
After an unknown amount of time, Wu Yan finally finished telling her everything. He let out a soft breath and sighed.
"That's why I came to the Land of the Gods—to see whether the Key of the Ring of Force is really here..."
Wu Yan pursed his lips and gave a bitter smile. "If possible, I'd rather not find any Key of the Ring of Force in the Land of the Gods. That would prove the great catastrophe the Ai Lu projection spoke of was nothing but a lie, and there'd be no need for so much trouble..."
The ripples in Hilif's eyes gradually subsided. After a moment of silence, she spoke softly. "So you've been carrying such a heavy secret all this time..."
"Carrying it?..." Wu Yan paused, then shook his head and laughed.
"Don't