Peeking in the Night

The two began to work in silence.

Xia Lin was responsible for digging, while Sera helped move the relatively intact corpses.

Her movements weren't skilled; clearly, she wasn't used to such rough work, but she didn't complain.

It was just that her tail, sometimes tensing with exertion, sometimes flicking irritably at the smell of the corpses, exposed her emotions completely.

As Xia Lin reached the edge of the woods, preparing to deal with the body of a caravan cook, his foot kicked something hard.

He looked down to see a well-made longbow.

It was Shamir's bow.

He picked up the longbow. It felt light yet resilient in his hand, and a faint, pleasant scent lingered on the bow limbs.

[Item: Elven Craftsmanship Longbow (Human "Improved" Version)]

[Durability: 75/90]

[Kills: 128]

[Evaluation: A rather good elven-style longbow, improved by a skillful human craftsman according to the user's habits. Moderate draw weight, high accuracy. It's a pity its previous owner seemed better at escaping than shooting. Perhaps it could be sold to someone who truly needs it?]

Xia Lin held the bow, feeling a pang in his heart.

"Hey, Sera," he asked, "do you remember that female archer? Shamir?"

Upon hearing this, Sera raised her dark red eyes, a look of confusion in them. "Female archer? Wasn't she supposed to break out with you and then... die somewhere? Before I was knocked out, I think I saw you preparing to charge out."

Xia Lin looked at the longbow in his hand, then briefly recounted how Shamir had pretended to cooperate with his breakout while actually seizing the opportunity to escape alone.

After hearing Xia Lin's narration, the sarcasm and mockery on Sera's face disappeared.

She didn't offer any harsh comments as usual, nor did she wear an expression of "See? Humans are all like this."

She just... fell silent.

She quietly looked at the shovel in her hands, her tail, which had been swaying slightly, completely still, pressed tightly behind her legs.

Her dark red eyes, which seemed to burn with flames, appeared to dim slightly. She lowered her eyelids, looking at her open palm, and remained silent for a long time.

The only sounds in the air were the wind rustling through the grass and the faint roars of beasts from the distant woods.

This sudden quiet made Xia Lin feel somewhat uneasy.

After this, Sera didn't say another word, just continued to work silently.

By the time the last mound of earth was patted down, the sun had completely set below the horizon, leaving only a lingering redness in the sky.

"Done," Xia Lin said, dropping the shovel and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

He looked at Sera. "It's not safe here. We should hurry into the city. Orlando shouldn't be far."

Sera heard him, patted the dust off her robes, but didn't move immediately.

She walked up to Xia Lin, her dark red eyes gleaming with a strange light in the twilight. Then, she extended a hand, palm open, in front of him.

"Hm?" Xia Lin looked at her outstretched hand, feigning ignorance.

Sera wore an expression that said, "Try pretending to be stupid again," her tone carrying an expected coldness. "Don't play dumb, human. I survived. According to adventurer rules, I'm entitled to my share.

"You mean...?" Xia Lin played dumb, forcing an innocent expression onto his face, as if he were just a simple youth who had finished doing manual labor.

Sera's dark red, flame-like eyes rolled so hard Xia Lin almost wondered if he'd imagined it – could a Tiefling's eyes roll that humanly?

"Cut the act, human," Sera's voice was still hoarse, but it had an undeniable sharpness that pierced through Xia Lin's pretense. "What about the equipment and weapons on those 'colleagues'? Don't tell me they grew legs and ran off.

" She paused, her gaze precisely sweeping over the space bag at Xia Lin's waist. "What? Are you really going to fool everyone? Or do you think you can 'safeguard' the death benefits of the deceased while no one's looking?"

Fine, he couldn't keep up the act anymore.

He decided to stop pretending. The last shred of feigned innocence vanished from his face, replaced by the shrewdness of a businessman.

"Alright, alright, you've got sharp eyes," Xia Lin spread his hands. "Yes, I 'tidied up' a bit. After all, we can't let those good things fall into the paws of the wild beasts in the forest, right?"

"You talk a good game," Sera scoffed, but her outstretched hand didn't retract. "Stop wasting words, let's do this by the rules. The spoils of war, divided between us two survivors."

"How do you want to split it?" Xia Lin asked, crossing his arms and appraising her.

"Simple," Sera held up two fingers. "Eight-two. You take eight, I take two."

"I only care about what I'm entitled to for surviving," Sera's tone was calm, as if she didn't care about the amount of money. "You did the most work and took the biggest risks, so it's only natural you get the lion's share. Don't be wishy-washy, just be decisive."

This time, it was Xia Lin's turn to be surprised.

He had prepared a whole speech for haggling, talking about how he "risked his life to kill the orc leader," "equipment was heavily damaged," and "suffered severe mental distress," but the other party didn't take the bait at all and offered a split he couldn't really argue with.

"Deal!" Xia Lin decided instantly, afraid she'd change her mind. "Then it's settled! Nine-one! I take nine, you take one!"

Sera fell silent. Her dark red eyes stared fixedly at him, her expression unreadable, but her tail, which had been merely swaying slightly, suddenly stiffened, its tip trembling slightly as if trying to suppress something.

"Okay..."

"She agreed? Looking at her wary eyes, she doesn't think I'm going to kill her to silence her, does she?" Xia Lin thought.

As greedy as he was, he wasn't about to turn on a companion he'd just fought alongside, especially since she didn't seem like someone to be trifled with.

With that thought, Xia Lin quickly waved his hand. "Ahem! Just kidding! Just kidding! Eight-two it is, deal!"

Sera stared at him for a few seconds, and the tension in her tail slowly relaxed, though it still maintained a wary curve. "Hmph, leave the stuff with you for now. We'll split it after we get somewhere safe and turn it into money."

"No problem," Xia Lin agreed readily. "It's getting dark, we need to leave quickly. Let's aim to find a place to stay before midnight, or just head straight for Orlando?"

"Whatever," Sera seemed indifferent. "Though, we'll probably have to go back to the city and argue with the merchant guild about the bounty."

The two wasted no more time. They quickly tidied up the battlefield and, under the fading daylight and the faint glow of the rising twin moons in the distance, set off on the road to Orlando.

The night deepened, the starry sky exceptionally clear. Silvery moonlight spilled across the wilderness, draping everything in a hazy veil.

The chirping of insects replaced the daytime clamor. Occasionally, the distant howls of nocturnal creatures could be heard, adding a sense of loneliness and danger.

The two walked one after another, Xia Lin slightly ahead, cautiously observing their surroundings.

Sera followed at a relaxed pace, deliberately adjusting the hem of her robe to cleverly conceal her purple tail, which could betray her emotions.

Silence spread between them, broken only by the monotonous sound of footsteps and the rustling of the night wind through the grass.

Xia Lin, unable to contain his curiosity, finally spoke. "Hey, Sera, that move you used just now... the black light, what was that? Magic?"

Sera glanced at him, her crimson eyes glinting strangely in the moonlight.

She seemed somewhat surprised by Xia Lin's question, but after a moment of silence, she replied, "That was Eldritch Blast. I'm not a mage."

"Not a mage? Then... a sorcerer?" Xia Lin pressed. He knew sorcerers were the lucky ones born with innate magical bloodlines.

"I'm a Warlock," Sera said flatly, her tone calm, yet it seemed to touch upon some kind of taboo. "Our power comes from a pact."

She didn't seem to mind elaborating. Perhaps the night had relaxed her guard, or perhaps the recent brush with death made her feel there was no need to maintain any mystery. "Unlike mages, we don't need to understand and control the magic net. Unlike sorcerers, we don't rely on bloodlines. We just need to... establish a connection with certain powerful beings and pay the corresponding price to gain power."

Warlock... fragments of knowledge flashed through Xia Lin's mind.

Signing a pact with a powerful being in exchange for power... it sounded like a shortcut, but also filled with the unknown and danger.

"So... you signed a contract with some... uh," Xia Lin chose his words carefully, "big shot?"

"You could put it that way," Sera's voice was devoid of emotion. "A fair trade. I provide a service, and They grant power."

Xia Lin wisely didn't pry into the specifics of the "service" and the "price."

He changed the subject to something lighter. "By the way, what you said to those orcs earlier... about killing you would be a mistake, was that true? Do you really have someone backing you up?"

Upon hearing this, Sera suddenly let out a chuckle.

"Ha, that?" She raised a hand to cover her mouth, her crimson eyes curving into crescents. "I was just trying to scare it. You believed that?"

Seeing her expression of "You actually took that seriously?", Xia Lin felt like he'd been tricked by this Tiefling again.

But for some reason, he felt that Sera's laughter and expression when she answered just now seemed a little unnatural, as if she were using a joke to hide something.

Was it an illusion?

He subconsciously focused his mind and cast Item Appraisal on Sera.

His head throbbed intensely, and a light blue screen appeared in his vision.

[Name: Sera]
[Race: Tiefling]
[Class: Warlock Lv.?]
[Status: Lightly Wounded, Moderately Fatigued]
[Skills: Eldritch Blast, ???, ???, ???]
[Evaluation: A typical Tiefling, her mouth is like a poisoned dagger, and her thoughts are hidden deeper than a dragon's hoard. Was what she just said true or false? Who knows. Perhaps even she doesn't know.]

A bunch of question marks, similar to when he had scanned Barrett.

However, the evaluation matched Xia Lin's impression of her quite well.

"Looks like you're not exactly an honest person either," Xia Lin withdrew his gaze, pouting.

"Likewise," Sera shrugged, her smile becoming inscrutable again.

The two continued to walk through the silent night.

The moonlight was like water, spilling onto the rugged dirt road and stretching their shadows.

Just then, Xia Lin suddenly stopped, instinctively gripping his sword hilt and scanning the surrounding darkness warily.

"What's wrong?" Sera also stopped, a flicker of caution in her eyes.

"Nothing..." Xia Lin frowned, concentrating. "Just now... it felt like someone was watching us, no... watching me..."

The feeling was peculiar, not a malicious gaze, but more like a cold scrutiny.

An invisible gaze, seemingly cast from an extremely distant place, swept lightly over his soul, lingered for a brief moment, and then vanished without a sound.

He looked around again. Nothing but the wind and the chirping of insects.

"Maybe I'm just too tired," Xia Lin shook his head and chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Scared out of my wits."

An illusion.

After all, having just gone through such a fierce battle, being overly tense was normal.

He stopped thinking about it and urged Sera to continue.

The night was still long, and the road ahead was uncertain.

And this land, which had just buried more than ten corpses, seemed even more perilous under the cold light of the twin moons than it did during the day.