True Identity

A ball of fire radiating intense heat floated beside Merlin. With this fireball serving as a deterrent, Jia did not dare move either, simply watching Merlin quietly.

Merlin nodded in satisfaction, saying in a deep voice, "I ask a question, you answer it."

"Merlin, actually we aren't enemies. You're Mr. Aita's disciple, you..."

Before Jia could finish speaking, Merlin waved his hand once more. A ball of fire surged fiercely toward Jia. Jia, who was lying on the ground, was taken aback, hastily waving the dagger in her hand in an attempt to fend off the fireball.

"Splat."

Although the fireball was only the size of a fist, its temperature was high enough to melt even refined iron, so the moment Jia's dagger touched the fireball, it immediately began to melt into a pool of molten iron.

The small fireball pressed straight on, grazing Jia's arm and crashing into the wall.

Jia's sleeve was burned directly into ragged strips of cloth, and her originally fair and delicate arm was also scorched with a black mark directly by the terrifying high temperature of the small fireball. A smell of roasted meat even permeated the small wooden cabin.

The intense pain caused cold sweat to pour off Jia, and the look she directed at Merlin held a trace of fear.

"It seems you should understand now. I ask a question, you answer it."

Jia bit her silver teeth hard, only nodding slightly, not daring to say anything more.

"What is your relationship with Teacher Aita?"

Merlin began his questioning.

Jia dragged her body slightly, pressing her back against the wall, before answering, "Mr. Aita was my superior, and I was Mr. Aita's subordinate. We were both sent by the Black Moon Kingdom."

A great realization dawned in Merlin's heart. So Jia and old man Aita were both intelligence gatherers sent to the Bright Kingdom by the Black Moon Kingdom. No wonder little fatty Gute couldn't investigate Jia's identity no matter what.

"Teacher Aita was discovered by the Church. Why weren't you?"

"We practically never met in person, relying entirely on secret codes to exchange intelligence. The reason Mr. Aita was discovered is because he is a Spellcaster. Mr. Aita made a trip to Gran City and was accidentally discovered by people from the Church. No matter what background a Spellcaster has, the Church must eliminate them."

"That is to say, the Church didn't discover that Teacher Aita was sent by the Black Moon Kingdom, but merely exposed him because of his identity as a Spellcaster?"

"That should be the case. Otherwise, given the Church's capability, I would have been captured by them long ago."

Merlin stared fixedly at Jia. From her answers, Merlin did not find anything amiss, so Jia's responses should all be true.

Merlin knew very well that in the Bright Kingdom, heresy was absolutely not tolerated. Old man Aita's identity as a Spellcaster had been exposed, which was why he was wiped out by the Mages from the Tribunal dispatched by the Church.

Perhaps even the Church hadn't discovered old man Aita's true identity—that besides being a Spellcaster, he was also a covert intelligence operative dispatched by the Black Moon Kingdom.

The atmosphere grew oppressive. Merlin's silence made Jia feel uneasy in her heart; she knew that the man before her was currently considering how to deal with her.

"Besides you, who else knows Teacher Aita's identity?"

Merlin pondered for a long time, his tone turning vaguely sharp. If anyone else knew old man Aita's identity, they might very well use it to blackmail him. Merlin did not want to get mixed up in the affairs between the Black Moon Kingdom and the Bright Kingdom.

Therefore, once someone else knew old man Aita's true identity, this Jia could not be kept alive.

Seeming to perceive Merlin's intent, Jia's expression grew somewhat anxious as she hurriedly said, "Besides me, no one else knows Mr. Aita's identity. Merlin, I should still be of some use to you. Although you have become a noble Spellcaster, in the Bright Kingdom you belong to heresy, constantly running the risk of being discovered by the Light Church. With me here, at least I can scout for some news for you. When you want to leave the Bright Kingdom, I can even help you..."

Jia wore a pitiful expression, which, coupled with her breathtaking beauty, could not help but stir feelings of pity.

"Get up."

Finally, Merlin spoke slowly, and the small fireball before him gradually dissipated, turning into a wispy black smoke.

"Hoo..."

Jia, her back pressed against the wall, finally let out a sigh of relief at this moment, panting heavily. She gently wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, steadying her injured arm as she stood up shakily.

Jia stood up, but she did not leave immediately. Instead, she began to take off her clothes, stripping off the wide black robe she wore over her body to reveal a thick white fur coat underneath.

Without the cover of the wide black robe, Jia's proud figure was exposed, though her complexion was pale right now and she was still sweating profusely, clearly indicating that her arm injury was not light and detracting quite a bit from her beauty.

"I still have to trouble you to help me deal with this."

Jia pointed to the pile of garments she had discarded on the ground. These black robes were already stained with some blood, and wearing them outside would definitely arouse suspicion.

Merlin raised his right hand gently, and a ball of fire instantly flew out, landing on the ground. In the blink of an eye, it ignited the pile of clothes on the ground, and before long, the garments on the floor were burned to ashes.

"I'll leave first. People from the City Defense Corps patrol around here occasionally, and this place isn't safe."

After saying this, Jia gently covered her injured arm and turned quickly to leave the cabin.

Merlin watched from afar as Jia's figure quickly vanished, then paced around old man Aita's cabin a few times. The things inside the house had basically been cleaned out, leaving only an empty room.

Seeing that nothing of value remained in the house, Merlin prepared to leave as well. After all, staying here for a long time definitely wasn't safe, regardless of whether City Defense Corps members were patrolling or not.

A graceful figure turned around the streets a few times before stopping abruptly—it was none other than Jia, who had just left the cabin.

Jia bit her lower lip fiercely. Her hand was still bleeding, and the cloth wrapped around it was vaguely on the verge of turning red. She turned back to look in the direction of old man Aita's wooden cabin, let out a soft snort, and cursed in a low voice, "Idol!"

Having finished cursing, Jia seemed to agitate the wound on her hand once more, hurting so much that cold sweat poured off her. She could only support herself slightly against the wall, slowly walking forward toward a small courtyard.

The small courtyard was enclosed by high walls, inside of which stood a classical-style pavilion. The environment was pleasant, but the courtyard was empty and desolate, without a single person in sight.

Jia supported her arm, stumbling into the courtyard. By this time, the strip of cloth in her hand could no longer stop the ceaseless bleeding of her wound, and drop after drop of bright red blood fell to the ground, a startling sight.

"Lord Loren!"

Jia arrived in front of the small cabin, yet she did not knock on the door, instead standing respectfully outside and calling out softly.

"Jia, you're injured? What happened?"

A hoarse voice quickly drifted from inside the house, carrying a hint of surprise in its tone.

"Lord Loren, when I went to Mr. Aita's cabin, I ran into Wilson Merlin. I didn't expect Mr. Aita to have actually taken in Wilson Merlin as a true disciple. He has already become a Spellcaster now, and I was the one injured by him."

Jia briefly explained the ins and outs of the matter.

After a long silence inside the house, the voice slowly spoke again, saying, "These Spellcasters are always unbridled and reckless. They don't think about the kingdom at all; old Aita actually dared to go to Gran City alone for a spellcasting tool this time, and as a result, he was discovered by people from the Light Church... Hmph, fortunately he's already dead and didn't expose us. Otherwise, our years of hard work here would probably be destroyed in an instant!"

"Lord Loren" inside the house seemed extremely dissatisfied with Spellcasters, holding particularly strong views regarding old man Aita. Regarding such matters, Jia naturally dared not say anything. Whether it was a Spellcaster like old man Aita or someone like "Lord Loren" inside, their status was far above hers.

"Lord Loren" vented a round of dissatisfaction toward old man Aita inside the house before asking in a deep voice, "Does this Merlin know of our existence?"

Jia's expression changed slightly, and she hurriedly said, "Lord Loren, Mr. Aita seemed to have only taught Merlin knowledge concerning Spellcasters and never mentioned us to him. Otherwise, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to come back today either."

"This Merlin is ultimately a hidden hazard. We must never be exposed, so we must eliminate Merlin! Jia, since he let you go, he should have lowered his guard against you. Then think of a way to lure him to the house—hmph, when that happens, I will personally make a move to eliminate him."

The tone of "Lord Loren" inside the house was filled with murderous intent.

"Lord Loren, this Merlin has already become a Spellcaster. Killing him probably won't be easy,"

Jia said with some worry.

"Don't worry, he has only just become a Spellcaster. With me personally making a move and catching him by surprise, killing him will be as easy as turning over a hand! These Spellcasters, when caught off guard, are no different from ordinary people..."

Lord Loren spoke in an unquestionable tone, and Jia could only nod, though her expression was somewhat gloomy.

"Jia, you've been sent to the Bright Kingdom for nearly a year. I'll submit an application to the higher-ups to transfer you back."

Although the voice was very soft, it was still heard by Jia. A trace of joy immediately broke through her gloomy expression, and her complexion, which had been slightly pale from excessive blood loss, seemed to gain some color due to excitement.

"Thank you, Lord Loren!"

After saying this, Jia quickly left the courtyard.

Inside Wilson Castle, Merlin returned to his room and gently took off the scarf around his neck, revealing a cluster of bloodstains on it.

Merlin stood in front of the mirror, tilting his head to look at the wound on his neck. At this point, the wound had already clotted and was no longer bleeding. The wound wasn't long either, making it look as though he had simply been scratched by some tree branches.

A wound like this would heal completely in two days, leaving not even a trace of a scar behind.

Merlin tossed the blood-stained scarf into a basin and threw a ball of fire directly into it. Moments later, the scarf was gradually burned to ashes amidst the raging flames.

Afterward, Merlin opened the doors and windows to ventilate the room until the strange odor produced by the burning scarf completely vanished. Only then did he open the main door and head downstairs.

The steward was still directing the servants in the castle to cut down a large tree in the courtyard and carry it out of the castle.

This large tree had been covered in thick snow, and coupled with the howling gale of the previous night, it had been snapped by the strong wind and fallen to the ground.

Merlin was squinting, watching the servants in the castle working up a sweat, when suddenly, the sound of horse hooves rang out from outside the castle—it was Moss's carriage returning with Mei Xue.

Merlin hurriedly stood up. He had stayed right here specifically to wait for Mei Xue to return.

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