The Mysterious Father and Daughter

"When I was young, I was just like you, full of a sense of justice and hating evil. Then I became a bounty hunter, hunting down vicious criminals everywhere, regardless of their status—nobles, commoners, phantom thieves, or wandering knights—I killed all evildoers. Because of this, I made too many enemies."

"You know you've been poisoned?"

"At first I didn't know, but later my muscles gradually atrophied, and I realized that I had been tricked by a woman. This is a rare poison, the unique poison of the 'Silver Leaf Clan'."

"The Silver Leaf Clan?"

Rein listened, a strange thought popped into his head.

Since it is a "unique" toxin, where did the poisoning of Mr. Tuster come from?

Isn't it a Sid family? How did someone from the Oma Royal Academy of Sciences get it?

However, he didn't think much of it.

Guy: "One of the oldest families in Sid, very mysterious. Dia Bannira, the Black Witch of the 'Ten Great Legends,' was a descendant of that family."

"What's the deal with that Evil Sword?"

"The Evil Sword [Great Thousand Lacquer Night], one of the legendary swords used by the 'Eight-Armed Ksitigarbha', one of the Seventy-Two Divine Generals. It has slain millions of lives, its resentment reaching the heavens. What swordsman doesn't love a sword? Someone deliberately lured me into contact with this Evil Sword. I began learning swordsmanship at five, became a sword master at eight, achieved mastery at fifteen, reached the level of a swordsman hero at eighteen, and by twenty, I was already an invincible swordsman, a young prodigy renowned for my skill. In my youthful arrogance, I believed nothing was impossible. Even knowing it was an Evil Sword, I was confident I could subdue it."

"."

The two chatted intermittently.

Guy's speech had a strong local accent and slang, making it a bit difficult to understand. It was the accent of southern Sid, the birthplace of martial arts.

Rein also gained a general understanding of Gaia's experiences.

For the first twenty years or so, he was the standard genius template, becoming a swordsman at the age of eighteen.

(Swordsman levels: Swordsman Apprentice, Swordsman, Sword Master, Great Sword Master, Sword Saint)

He's an unparalleled genius in swordsmanship, mastering everything he learns; with his strikingly handsome face, beautiful women flock to him.

She was the dream lover of all the noble ladies and socialites in Sid at the time.

Young, handsome, charming, and full of a sense of justice.

He is also a well-known bounty hunter, a true winner in life.

Later, that Evil Sword led to a dramatic turn of events in his life.

Having reached this point, Gaia felt no embarrassment and directly revealed the truth about how she was infected back then.

In his youth, he was dashing and debonair, believing all women should love him. Then he fell for a woman, and in the midst of their tender intimacy, he was poisoned. For a top-tier Transcendent, poisoning is difficult; it requires small doses, repeated many times. Yet, that woman had the poison in her mouth.

His enemies didn't kill him directly, but instead used this slow-acting poison, intending to ruin his reputation.

Then there was that Evil Sword, which lured him to wield Evil Sword, and he became more and more deeply entangled in it.

Ultimately, the malevolent energy within the Evil Sword overwhelmed his reason, leading to the massacre of tens of thousands of civilians in a small territory, and he continued to commit other atrocities afterward.

He went from being a household name in the empire as an SSS-class bounty hunter to an SSS-class murderous demon.

If it weren't for the poison causing Guy's health to deteriorate and leading him to suddenly abandon his sword and realize his mistake, even more people would probably have died.

Upon hearing this, Rein couldn't help but sigh.

For a master to be poisoned, it must be someone very close to them.

There may be wrong names, but there are no wrong nicknames. Guy Verlias, the Sword of Justice, deserves this title for what he did in the first half of his life.

However, it ultimately caused irreparable consequences, resulting in the massacre of tens of thousands of innocent civilians.

For years, Guy has been like an ascetic, tormenting himself in self-redemption, living in anonymity, wandering around, saving people and doing good deeds.

Then, the story of how Nareta, a little girl from the "Curse Tribe," was rescued from the pile of corpses during a territorial war came about.

Nareta was also a tragic figure, considered an omen of bad luck from birth and cruelly abandoned.

They were born into hardship and poverty, but were exceptionally resilient.

He has encountered gangsters, human traffickers, and phantom thieves, and all of them have been killed by him.

Some kind people tried to help her, but they all died because of her bad luck.

"The curse on Nareta can only be unaffected by those with 'righteousness'. She wanted to repay my life-saving grace, so she has been following me ever since."

Although Gaia spoke in a very veiled way, Rein understood that this was the reason why he was not affected by the "Curse Tribe" bloodline; this guy had that kind of "righteous spirit".

Gaia said, "I heard before that the Evil Sword [Great Thousand Lacquer Night] has fallen into the hands of that guy Carlo Gracie, so I wanted to come and persuade him to give up that Evil Sword."

At this point, Rein couldn't help but think of that ruthless killer.

That legend isn't someone you can reason with. Besides, he's one of the "Ten Great Legends," a pinnacle of the Transcendent realm—would he listen to a down-on-his-luck swordsman?

Are you telling me to abandon my sword? Are you trying to teach me how to do things?

Rein could already vaguely imagine the scene after the two met, and asked, "What if Carlo doesn't listen to your advice?"

"."

Guy fell silent upon hearing this.

Rein felt that the question seemed to have touched a nerve, and that Guy was being mocked for being "overconfident," though that wasn't what he meant.

He was about to explain when he heard Gaia say calmly, "Then I have no choice but to use my life to stop him."

Upon hearing this, Rein's pupils constricted sharply, because the instant Guy spoke, he seemed to see a soaring sword intent emanating from this half-dead man, upright and incorruptible, with Evil Cannot Suppress Righteousness! It was as if the surrounding turbidity had been dispelled, and his mind was cleared!

"This is his sword intent!"

Rein understood instantly.

This is what the former "First Swordsman of Sid" held dear in his heart, and he was not afraid of death!

A glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes, as if he had a trump card up his sleeve, and he asked, "Can you beat him?"

"Cannot."

Guy shook his head and said, "He was a man who deserved to die anyway, his broken body is nothing to worry about."

"."

Rein's eyelids twitched as he listened.

Indeed, this is a very stupid question.

[Frost Moon Sword Master] Carlo is now at the peak of the Legendary Realm, how could a middle-aged man whose hands tremble even when holding a wine cup possibly defeat him?

Guy didn't explain much, but his tone suggested that he might have a chance to fight to the death.

Rein's treatment of the little girl Nareta is nearing its end. The external wounds have been cleaned and sutured, and some of the internal problems have been largely resolved with the "Gang Line" (a type of magical thread).

Just an hour ago, the little girl was on the verge of death, but gradually, color returned to her face.

Although her body temperature was still as cold as a snake's, it was probably due to her bloodline, not her body itself.

"Cough, cough, cough"

The little girl coughed a few times, looking like she was about to wake up.

This scene naturally caught Gaia's eye, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Although his physical body had shrunk, his consciousness remained, and he exclaimed in surprise, "You... you healed Nareta?"

Gaia initially thought that Rein was just an ordinary doctor who could simply stitch things up and stop the bleeding. Although Nareta's fate was tragic, her life was also resilient; she wouldn't die no matter what.

Unexpectedly, this doctor's actions actually healed Nareta's injuries.

"Yes, what happened?"

Rein was baffled; even after being cured, there were still problems.

As he watched Gaia's expression change, he suddenly realized something: it seemed to be saying that the better the "Curse Tribe" bloodline treated her, the more severe the backlash would be.

That's really true!

Gaia knew that no one could be blamed for this, and that it was too late to undo it. He sighed, "This might cause trouble."

Having never witnessed the Curse Tribe bloodline's doom buff ability, Rein asked, "What kind of trouble will there be?"

Gaia said, "It might attract some very powerful zombies."

What Rein was hearing seemed to indicate that there wasn't a major problem?

The main Mechanical City of "Black Wind Territory" is a "War Elephant-class" Mechanical City, capable of dealing with large magical beasts and zombie hordes. Moreover, there are also scattered "Ghoul-class" weapons; the Firepower Net seems to pose no problem for the zombie hordes.

And at this very moment,

Perhaps because Rein had used the [Divine Healing Technique on the stitches, the little girl, who had been unconscious for a long time, suddenly woke up.

Then she opened her eyes and saw a strange man right next to her. She instinctively covered her chest with her hands, shrank back several meters in fright, and uttered a strange syllable that no normal person could understand.

Upon hearing this, Rein's eyes widened in surprise. "Huh?"

Gaia, who was standing nearby, saw their reactions and explained, "She was just frightened. Nareta has never communicated with anyone since she was little. She doesn't speak Common Tongue and doesn't understand it very well."

Rein wasn't surprised by the little girl's instinctive self-defense reaction, but rather shocked by what she had just said.

That deep, terrifying howl, like the wailing of ghosts, was clearly the Ancient Demon Language!

What she meant was, "Don't come any closer!"

This isn't a mute person at all; it's just that she's speaking in a way that normal people can't understand!

Rein was very surprised and suspicious: Could it be the language ability inherited from his bloodline?

He knew all too well how difficult Demonic Language was to learn. This little girl had never been taught to speak, so her prophecy might be inherited from her bloodline. This kind of bloodline inheritance ability was common among High-tier Demonic Beast, but no one had thought it could exist among humans.

Oh no, the "Curse Tribe" looks like humans, but in this world, they are probably defined similarly to the "Dragon Clan"—not necessarily "humans" in the narrow sense, but rather some higher-level mythological bloodline.

"Oh, no. I'm fine."

Rein shook his head; he did not reveal that he could speak the Demonic Language.

Although he didn't think Guy Verlias was a bad person, he also felt that he had many secrets and gave people a very mysterious feeling.

Even if Rein was interested in getting to know the two of them, he had no intention of revealing himself on their first meeting.

As for the poison in Guy's body, although he could cure it, he planned to handle it for a while longer. After all, he had killed tens of thousands of people; what if he cured him and then the poison returned?

After a moment of panic upon waking, the little girl saw Guy beside her, and the fear and wariness in her eyes suddenly relaxed.

However, she was still surprised that a stranger would get so close to her, and dare to get so close.

At this moment, Guy introduced, "Nareta, it was this doctor who saved you."

The little girl seemed to understand, looking timidly at Rein. She appeared to want to express gratitude, but that emotion was probably unfamiliar to her, and she didn't know how to express it, so her expression froze.

Because they were so close, Rein saw her eyes for the first time, hidden beneath her messy bangs. They were as black as ink, eerily so, and the longer he stared at them, the more terrifying they became.

He finally understood; no wonder she always kept her head down, covering her eyes with the sea.

Although she had unusual eyes, the expression in them revealed a complex mix of emotions: inferiority, loneliness, helplessness, and fear of hurting others.

Rein smiled and said, "Since you're alright, get some rest."

He didn't say much, and got up to leave.

"You"

Guy was standing nearby, quickly spoke up, but then hesitated, saying, "Doctor, how can I thank you?"

He looked embarrassed as he spoke.

He had nothing of value, not even a token of gratitude. The bag of gold coins he'd just left on the gambling table was meant to pay off his loan sharks anyway.

With an expression that showed no concern, Rein said calmly, "The payment for the treatment has already been paid by the tavern manager."

Guy: "But..."

Rein didn't say much, just waved his hand, indicating, "No need to say more, okay?"

He had intended to tell Nareta to take good care of her, but then he remembered what he had said before. It seemed he couldn't be kind to this little girl. He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He pursed his lips, said nothing more, and waved goodbye as he walked away.

Guy asked, "Doctor, what's your name?"

Without turning around, Rein replied as he walked away, "I just did what a doctor should do, so you don't need to remember my name."

He didn't want to use a pseudonym for the father and daughter, so he simply kept quiet.

Behind him, the little girl timidly hid behind Guy, her dark pupils reflecting a figure walking further and further away.

Thanks to 'Yanxiaoyunxiu' for the 500 coin reward, thank you