Chapter 30

"Sihaier, thank you for helping me detoxify the poison. I have to go back. Hal is still waiting for me at home."

"It was nothing." Sihaier smiled gently and said, "Be more careful from now on. Don't get poisoned again."

"Mm, I'll remember." Lin Hanxuan nodded, waved goodbye to Sihaier, and sat down on Peiganbo's back.

"Lin Hanxuan." Sihaier suddenly called softly.

"Mm? Is there something else, Sihaier?" Hearing Sihaier call him back, Lin Hanxuan's heart tightened without him realizing it.

Peiganbo combed the antennae on his head in confusion. Humanoid creatures were so fussy and long-winded. Wouldn't it be better to say everything clearly in one go?

Lin Hanxuan did not notice Peiganbo's impatience at all. He only heard Sihaier say in a voice like heavenly music, "My mission seems to be almost over. The next generation of the World Tree Dunya is about to finish being nurtured."

"Wow, that really is good news. You're about to regain your freedom." Lin Hanxuan cried out excitedly. Not only the Elf King, even Uncle Kun could be free.

"Is that good news? I... I don't know where I can go. My people are all gone now," Sihaier said sadly. The forest, too, sent up waves of rustling sounds, as if echoing Sihaier's sorrow.

"You can come to Dead City," Lin Hanxuan said happily. "I can ask Grandpa to find a house for you to live in. That way, I can come see you often."

"Really? You won't think I'm a freak?" Sihaier tilted her head, as though she wanted to see into Lin Hanxuan's heart.

Lin Hanxuan looked at Sihaier's enchanting expression and only felt as if his heart were about to melt.

"Who said you're a freak? Sihaier, you're actually really beautiful, kind, and gentle," Lin Hanxuan cried.

Hearing Lin Hanxuan praise her, Sihaier turned her head away and said softly, "Thank you, Lin Hanxuan. Aside from my two grandfathers, you're the person who's treated me best."

"How could that be?" Lin Hanxuan asked curiously. "Uncle Kun treats you very well too. Didn't he help you find a pair of eyes?"

Sihaier smiled faintly and said, "I counted him in too."

"...You seemed to only mention two grandfathers just now. Could it be...?" Lin Hanxuan was somewhat puzzled.

"That's right. Grandpa Kun doesn't even know how long he's lived already. He's much, much older than my own grandfather." Sihaier mischievously stuck out her tongue.

"Pfft, Grandpa Kun, hahaha." Lin Hanxuan laughed so hard on Peiganbo's back that he nearly fell off.

"Actually..." Sihaier spoke of the memories from after she was born. "Because I was born unable to see, if Grandpa hadn't protected me as the Elf King, I would have been killed the moment I was born. Later, it was only after the Elf Priest sought the will of the Goddess of Nature, and the goddess said I was her worldly incarnation, that the clan was willing to accept me."

Lin Hanxuan had not known Sihaier had gone through such unbearable things. He wanted to comfort her, but did not know how to begin.

"Father and Mother weren't good to me, and I've never had any friends either, so Lin Hanxuan is my first good friend. But it's a pity. I can't see what you really look like."

Looking at Sihaier's somewhat dim expression, Lin Hanxuan jumped down from Peiganbo and boldly took Sihaier's right hand. The moment he held it, he felt it was soft as if boneless, and like flawless white jade.

Sihaier drew her hand back slightly, but did not use any strength, letting Lin Hanxuan hold it.

"Here, you can touch my face and imagine what I look like." Lin Hanxuan gently placed Sihaier's hand against his cheek.

Sihaier's right hand trembled faintly as she gently stroked Lin Hanxuan's face, wanting to firmly etch the lines of his features into her heart.

Sihaier's hands and feet were both bound, making it inconvenient for her to move. Lin Hanxuan considerately shifted his body to adjust the position of his face, allowing Sihaier to completely feel out the shape of it.

Her slender, fair hand brushed past the corner of Lin Hanxuan's mouth. Moved by emotion, Lin Hanxuan gently kissed Sihaier's palm.

Sihaier let out a soft cry and shyly pulled her hand back. Lin Hanxuan realized how rude he had been and stammered, "I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to. I'm going back." Lin Hanxuan quickly jumped onto the Blood Mantis's back. Peiganbo let out a whistle and flew out of the Rotting Swamp again.

Sihaier faced the direction Lin Hanxuan had left in a daze. Only after Lin Hanxuan had gone far away did she reluctantly touch her right palm lightly to her own cheek. The instant it made contact, the Elf King's face turned redder than an apple.

When they were still about ten li from Dead City, Lin Hanxuan had Peiganbo put him down and told him to return to the Rotting Swamp. Lin Hanxuan was worried that if he let Peiganbo go to Dead City again, there would be endless trouble. After what had happened during the day, Lin Hanxuan told himself he absolutely had to be more careful and cautious in the future, and could not keep bringing trouble to the people around him. Lin Hanxuan had not wanted to go home through the city gate, because the gate was already closed, and if he called for it to be opened, someone might go inform the assassins from the day. Helplessly, he rummaged through his spatial ring, but simply could not find a rope that would let him climb the city wall. Just as he was considering the feasibility of waiting until daybreak before going home, someone poked his head out from atop the city wall.

"Boss." Lin Hanxuan looked up and saw that it was Hal.

A rope dropped down. After Lin Hanxuan grabbed it tightly, he slowly climbed upward, while Hal also strained from above to pull Lin Hanxuan up.

After laboriously climbing up, Lin Hanxuan discovered that the one waiting for him was not only Hal, but...