Are You Planning to Interfere with Death?

With two horses neighing loudly, the heavy carriage was pulled by two strong steeds and slowly moved away from the street.

His hometown was some distance from here, and there was still a sea route to take, so they planned to leave overnight.

The journey was long, and there might be dangers along the way. His wife, daughter, and fellow villagers who came to the Imperial Capital with him had already left with important financial assets and a batch of goods.

They didn't take much, traveling fast, while he carried some heavy miscellaneous items. Although they were a large target, they weren't the most important.

If they encountered bandits on the road, as long as he cooperated, there wouldn't usually be any problems. Robbery and murder were two different matters, and most bandits had their limits.

Shaya quietly watched Hart leave.

He had indeed given Hart a destiny, but it didn't possess any supernatural powers, so the expenditure of destiny power wasn't much.

He and Hart weren't very familiar with each other; at most, they were acquaintances. The operation of this destiny would also bring him some returns, though not much, it would accumulate over time.

In the future, if he saw someone he liked, he might play such a casual game.

"Mr. Shaya, what a coincidence, you're here too?"

From behind him, a familiar voice called out.

Shaya turned his head and saw Sebas walking over from the side. He glanced at the now-closed shop door, which had a large sign that read "For Rent."

"Has Mr. Valentine left?" Sebas asked.

"Just left," Shaya replied.

"Is that so? What a shame," Sebas said regretfully. "I was planning to come back and eat the sausages made by the owner of this shop one last time."

He sighed and said, "I won't be able to eat them anymore."

Shaya heard another meaning in his words and asked, "When?"

"It's not in my jurisdiction," Sebas replied, seemingly unsurprised by Shaya's question.

He paused and then lamented, "In this world, bad people always live the longest, while good people are always short-lived. Do you remember the mother and son who were being troubled by the director of the commercial bureau a few days ago when we ate here?"

Shaya recalled, "The flower shop owner?"

"That's right," Sebas said. "Her husband died of a wound infection in the hospital last year, leaving her and the child she was carrying. When Hart found out, he started ordering a batch of flowers from her flower shop every day."

Shaya remembered the fresh flowers he saw on the table every day when he ate at this shop before. He had thought it was a feature of the shop at the time. A dining environment with the scent of flowers indeed made one feel pleasant.

"He was a good person," Sebas murmured softly. "But unfortunately, this world doesn't welcome good people."

"I think we'll have a chance to see him again in the future."

Upon hearing this, Sebas was taken aback and looked at Shaya with some surprise.

"Are you planning to interfere with death?" he asked.

Shaya looked at him with some confusion. "Why would I interfere with that?"

"Then you..." Sebas really wanted to ask why he said that.

Then he heard Shaya say, "You seem to be thinking about something unnecessary."

He shook the bag containing ginger and brown sugar.

"I have a patient waiting for me at home, and I'm not that idle to care about the life and death of someone I've only known for a few days."

What Shaya said wasn't false. Although destiny had predetermined outcomes, it also had variables. He couldn't guarantee 100% that Hart, who had a new destiny, wouldn't die. That's why he said "should" instead of "definitely." For him, this was just a small investment. Even if the person died, he could still recover some costs, at most a small loss, and he didn't care about the person's life or death.

"It's good that you don't plan to interfere with death," Sebas said with a wry smile. "I told you about his impending death in advance. If you interfered, I wouldn't escape the punishment of destiny either."

He paused, and as if still worried, added, "If you want to save him, you can try to snatch his soul back from the Grim Reaper after he dies. That way, you won't have to pay the price for defying destiny. Anyway, it's not in my jurisdiction, so it's none of my business."

Then, he muttered, "It's just that if the soul stays in the human world for too long, it will be contaminated by the turbid energy of the human world and turn into some terrifying monster..."

He looked up at Shaya and smiled, "But you should have a way."

Watching Sebas, who casually sold out his teammate and acted as if it were natural, Shaya smiled helplessly. After bidding him farewell, he returned to his castle the way he came.

Sebas watched Shaya's departing back and shook his head.

Perhaps he was just overthinking things.

With that thought, he also left, preparing to harvest the next soul.

"Shaya! You're finally back!"

Seeing Shaya enter, Arthur got up from his chair as if he had seen a savior and came to greet him.

"What did you bring back?"

"How is she?" Shaya said.

"She's the same, she woke up a few times in between," Arthur replied. "I gave her some water and food."

Shaya nodded. "It's good that she can eat."

He walked to a cabinet on the side, took out an iron pot, filled it with water from the sink, and placed it on Cassifa. Then, he washed the ginger, cut it into pieces, and put it in the pot with brown sugar.

The clear water was dyed red by the brown sugar, and the spicy scent of ginger wafted around as the water boiled.

"Will she get better if she drinks this?" Arthur asked.

"No, but it will make her feel better."

Ginger dispels cold, brown sugar tonifies the middle and alleviates pain, dispelling cold and activating blood, which was perfect for driving out the chill from her body.

Shaya picked up the pot and poured the ginger and brown sugar water into a bowl. He gently blew away the steam rising from the bowl, using some magic to keep the water at around fifty to sixty degrees Celsius.

He walked over with the bowl.

Alicia had regained some consciousness and was wrapped in the blanket. Sensing Shaya's arrival, she looked up at him, her bloodshot eyes filled with exhaustion.

"Can you sit up?"

Alicia didn't respond, but Shaya had already sat by her bedside. He reached out, supported her back, and helped her up, preparing to feed her the ginger water.

But Alicia seemed unaccustomed to this posture; it was a bit too intimate.

She struggled to free her hands from the blanket, took the bowl, and brought it to her lips, taking a small sip. The spiciness of the ginger water made her frown slightly. She asked weakly, "What is this?"

"A sorcerer's magic potion," Shaya teased. "Drink it down in big gulps, preferably a few bowls, and you'll feel much better."

She still trusted Shaya a lot, and the ginger water was within her tolerance. She obediently drank it down in big gulps, finishing a bowl in no time.

After drinking two bowls, Shaya gently placed Alicia, who indicated she couldn't drink anymore, back onto the bed. He covered her with the blanket and then said to Arthur, "You should go to bed. I'll stay here and watch over her."

Arthur looked at Shaya, then at Alicia, and seemed reluctant to leave.

"Go to sleep," Shaya said again. "Too many people here, and she won't be able to rest well."

Arthur nodded, turned, and walked up the stairs.

The soup was indeed effective. Not long after drinking it, her stomach began to feel warm, and the warmth even spread outwards.

Just moments ago, besides her splitting headache, she had felt a chilling cold all over her body. It was a cold that emanated from within, and no matter how tightly she wrapped herself in the blanket, it was useless.

But now, the warm current spreading through her body was dispelling the internal chill, and her head didn't hurt as much as before.

Although she still found it difficult to fall asleep, her consciousness had cleared up considerably. She reached out and gently pulled the bed curtain aside by a barely perceptible gap.

The man was sitting in front of Cassifa, staring intently at the flames, seemingly lost in thought.

It was the first time Alicia had observed his profile. The flickering firelight reflected on his face, casting a sheen on his high nose bridge, which had a pleasing curve. His profile was handsome.

He remained silent, as if not wanting to disturb her, even the action of adding firewood was done very quietly.

Alicia hid more than half of her face under the blanket, revealing only her eyes. It was as if, by doing so, she wouldn't be discovered.

She just kept watching, watching, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.