Undercover Reserve

As Fengyun thought, he shrank into a corner and heard a faint sobbing beside him. Though the sound was very soft, with the physical conditioning he had gained from elemental nourishment and persistent training—nearly reaching that of a Level 1 Warrior—he could barely make it out when he pressed his head close to the wall.

"Daixi, hello..."

However, after the faint sound of a door opening and that greeting, he could no longer hear anything.

Half an hour later

The door to Fengyun's little room opened, and a beautiful, curvaceous woman dressed in black gauze entered. "Hello, Fengyun. I'm Troy, the Lord's priest. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

As her words fell, a layer of black light covered the four walls of the little room. Although Fengyun had only practiced Shadow Hand, he had generally studied other Dark Magic as well, and immediately recognized this as the Level 3 dark-element spell, Tranquil Space.

Though the spell's name included the word "space," its effect had little to do with space itself. Its key lay in the word "tranquil"—it could isolate sound and images within and outside its casting range.

Fengyun blinked, rose to his feet, straightened his slightly wrinkled clothes, brushed the dust from himself, then bowed respectfully. In a childish voice, he replied, "Hello, Sister Troy!"

Though only a few breaths had passed, Fengyun had already used those movements as cover to roughly piece together the current situation from the information he knew.

Although he still did not know the exact circumstances, he knew that, at least for the time being, he did not need to worry too much about his family's safety or his own.

For nearly a quarter of an hour afterward, Troy and Fengyun "chatted" about all kinds of trivial matters, including but not limited to little incidents from Fengyun's life with his family, his dreams for the future, his loyalty to the Lord of Darkness, and all sorts of other miscellaneous things.

There was no logic connecting any of those topics, and the occasional shifts were extremely abrupt, yet the two chatted merrily without the slightest hint of awkwardness or discord.

When Troy finally left, she even picked Fengyun up and gave him a big hug!

Then he was released and taken back home by a black-clad deacon. Yet when he returned, he discovered that in the middle of the night, there was an additional guest in the house—an elderly man also dressed in the priestly robes of the Darkness Church!

"Oh~, little Fengyun, you're back!"

Seeing the kind smile on the old man's face and the faint sorrow beneath the smiling masks worn by his parents, Fengyun smiled and respectfully saluted him. "Fengyun greets Grandfather Priest!"

He did not know who the other man was, but he was certainly someone Fengyun could not afford to offend. Being respectful could never be wrong.

Seeing how well-behaved Fengyun was, the old priest nodded with a smile. "Good child, come in quickly. It's late at night—don't catch a chill."

As he spoke, he personally pulled Zhao Fengyun into the house as though it were his own home.

After the group chatted inside for quite some time, the old priest took Fengyun's hand and said, "Fengyun, it truly is a pity for someone with your moderate Light Magic Element Affinity to remain in our Dark Alliance. Have you ever considered going to the Holy Alliance to study light magic?"

The instant those words came out, the "harmonious" atmosphere in the entire room froze.

The corner of Fengyun's mouth twitched involuntarily. Then, under his parents' nervous gazes, he replied with apparent innocence, "As a citizen of the Lord of Darkness, I'm not interested in light magic at all!"

As he spoke, he cast Shadow Hand and struck his chest. "I only like Dark Magic!"

Zi Ao and Gu Yue secretly breathed sighs of relief, while the old priest's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

But Fengyun immediately continued, "However, as a citizen of the Lord of Darkness, I'm also willing to contribute to the Lord. If the Lord wishes for me to like light magic, then it isn't as though I can't like light magic!"

"After all, without the Lord's protection, how could my parents and I possibly live peacefully beneath the Lord's radiance?"

Before Zi Ao and Gu Yue, who had just relaxed, could react, the old priest was briefly stunned. Then his face broke into a broad smile as he stroked Fengyun's smiling head and praised, "Good child. Such a clever good child. Believe me—the Lord will protect your family forever!"

After that night, the Dark Alliance had one less good child who loved the Lord of Darkness, while an orphanage near Finley City in the Holy Alliance gained an orphan named Little Yun, whose village had been destroyed in a magical beast attack.

Spring passed into autumn, and a year slipped quietly by. Fengyun had now spent a year in that orphanage as an undercover reserve.

Over that year, Fengyun did not practice any magic. His former Level 1 Dark Mage cultivation had also been dispersed with secret medicine. Yet compared to a year ago, he was more spirited now, and his physique was stronger as well.

Because he was now a Level 1 Warrior!

Though the orphanage's food was poor and its living conditions even worse, Fengyun had never gone particularly hungry. He regularly used all kinds of little traps to catch wild rabbits and pheasants nearby, while also picking wild fruits and vegetables to supplement his meals.

With the excellent physique that had once been nourished by magical elements, along with sufficient nutrition, he needed only a year of training to become a Level 1 Warrior.

"Little Yun, Little Yun~, why are you still wandering around here? Hurry back with me! Headmistress Granny is gathering everyone together. If we're late, we'll be punished by having to stand!"

Hearing the urgency in the newcomer's voice, Fengyun helplessly removed the camouflage outfit made from torn netting and various leaves. "Why are you shouting so loudly? You scared all the prey away!"

The newcomer was named Daili. She was sweet and adorable, an orphan who had entered this orphanage at the same time as Fengyun after her village had been wiped out by magical beasts.

Perhaps because they shared the same tragic experience, or because an environment like an orphanage required a trustworthy companion in order to survive better, the two naturally formed an alliance!

However, Fengyun knew that Daili's true identity was likely the same as his: an undercover reserve arranged by the Dark Alliance to infiltrate the Holy Alliance. Her real name was not Daili, but Daixi.

Of course, he had not learned this because she told him herself. It was because Daili's crying had left a deep impression on Fengyun.

Whenever he heard the little girl crying beneath her blankets late at night, Fengyun would recall the agonizing time he had spent waiting after being captured by a black-clad deacon and locked in a small dark room.

At the same time, he could not help marveling that girls truly were made of water. She had shed so many tears, yet her skin was still so soft and dewy.

That was right—Daili was Daixi, the little girl who had been locked up next to Zhao Fengyun back then. Fengyun had recognized her from the unforgettable sound of her crying that he had heard while confined in that small dark room!