Too Good, It's a Happy Ending!

After Hewin and his group took advantage of the chaos to leave the monastery, the weight in Luo Jiuge's heart never truly lifted.

She glanced back toward Grey Dove Monastery and exhaled a puff of white mist.

It called itself a monastery, but it was actually creepier than a cult den.

If a game designer in the real world had dared to write something like this, she would've stormed onto the official forums and posted a three-thousand-word rant accusing them of being psychologically disturbed.

"Brother!"

Not far away, a loud voice tore through the wind and snow.

Luo Jiuge looked up.

A group of people dressed similarly to Hewin were approaching them with torches raised.

One young witch hunter ran at the front, stumbling as he rushed over.

Aiven's lips moved when he heard Colin's voice, as if he wanted to scold him for being reckless, but also as if he wanted to laugh.

In the end, he merely opened his arms. Colin nearly knocked him over when he threw himself into them.

Aiven let out a muffled grunt and smacked the back of Colin's head hard.

"You brat, take it easy. Are you trying to send your brother to see the Silverfrost God early?"

Colin sniffed, his arms clamped tightly around Aiven as though he feared Aiven would disappear again the moment he let go.

He buried his face in his brother's shoulder, and only after a long while did he manage to choke out:

"Brother, you scared me to death."

Aiven said softly, "Sorry."

Standing a few steps away, Luo Jiuge remembered that when she had first entered Fallen Realm, she had also thought it was just a game.

NPCs were quests, monsters were experience points, and dungeons were rewards.

But that night at Grey Dove Monastery had torn apart those shallow thoughts completely.

The people here could hurt and feel fear. When they saw their loved ones, they could cry like idiots too.

Luo Jiuge was easily moved to tears. Covering her stinging nose, she silently wiped away tears in her heart.

Too good. It's a happy ending. We're saved.

Footsteps sounded behind her. Luo Jiuge followed the sound and saw Hewin walking over.

His injuries were far worse than hers. His shoulders still bore bloody whip marks, and the bruises on his face had yet to fade.

He was injured like that and still hadn't used a healing potion. This guy was seriously tough.

Hewin stopped in front of her and lowered his head slightly.

"Thank you for this."

He said it with great solemnity.

Luo Jiuge waved her hand awkwardly. "Don't mention it. I just happened to pick up a hidden quest along the way."

Hewin looked at her. "You saved Aiven. You saved me too."

"It wasn't my achievement alone."

Luo Jiuge immediately said, "That fellow countryman gave us the route, Aiven held on himself, and your people were waiting outside to help. If we really have to count it, I was just a more capable errand runner."

Hewin recalled that cold-faced woman.

She had said that once they entered, everyone would go their separate ways, but he had indeed received her help.

"As long as someone has helped the Northlands, we will not forget."

The wind and snow swept past. Hewin raised his head toward the north and said to Luo Jiuge:

"If you're willing, you can come to Everwinter City with us."

"Everwinter City?"

"It is the main city of the Northlands," Hewin said. "The Holy Court will not easily pursue you there. You are an Adventurer, and many people will be wary of you, but I can vouch for you."

Luo Jiuge was tempted for a second, but another person appeared in her mind.

"Sorry." She raised her head. "I need to go back and find my fellow countryman."

Hewin said, "Going back now will be very dangerous."

"I know."

Grey Dove Monastery had caused such a commotion that the people nearby had likely already surrounded the place.

Perhaps her fellow countryman had long since vanished without a trace, but Luo Jiuge still wanted to try. At the very least, she wanted to say "thank you" face-to-face.

Then she could take the chance to team up with her, so the journey ahead would not feel so lonely.

Seeing that she had made up her mind, Hewin did not try to persuade her further.

He untied a small bone whistle from his waist.

The whistle was less than half a finger long, grayish white all over, with several tiny wolf-fang patterns carved into its surface. A loop of dark-red cord was tied around its end.

Hewin handed the whistle to her. "This is a token of the Northern Witch Hunters."

The moment the bone whistle landed in her palm, a system prompt appeared in Luo Jiuge's field of vision.

[Obtained Special Item: Hunter's Bone Whistle]

[Quality: Ultra Rare]

[Description: The holder may use this item to prove their identity to the Northern Witch Hunters.]

[Special Effect: Blow the bone whistle within the Northlands for a chance to receive assistance.]

Luo Jiuge's eyes widened slightly. Wasn't this a faction token and a distress-call item?

This was far more practical than ordinary equipment.

As the saying went, equipment could become outdated, but favors never did. Hidden quest rewards truly were extraordinary.

"Ahem, this is really too generous."

With that, she put the bone whistle into her inventory.

Hewin's lips twitched. It seemed to be the first time he had seen someone connect "being polite" and "accepting a gift" so smoothly.

In the end, he merely coughed lightly and said:

"My name is Hewin Hartmann," he said. "Captain of the Third Squad of the Northern Witch Hunters."

Luo Jiuge immediately understood what he meant.

She gripped her sword hilt and said solemnly, "Luo Jiuge, Adventurer."

Hewin placed his right hand over his left shoulder and nodded slightly, his expression grave.

"May the north wind stand watch over your nights, and may the snowfields remember your Return Path."

The smile on Luo Jiuge's face slowly faded.

She straightened up and almost instinctively raised her right hand, her fingertips stopping beside her brow in a perfectly standard salute.

After finishing the motion, even she froze for a moment.

Before coming to this world, she had merely been a rookie auxiliary police officer.

She had once worn that uniform of justice, followed veteran officers on night patrols, mediated drunken arguments, and searched for lost children in the rain.

Snow fell onto her fingertips. She came back to herself, lowered her hand, and smiled at them.

"I'll accept that blessing."

Hewin did not delay any longer. The snow would only grow heavier through the night, and they had to leave as soon as possible.

Colin supported Aiven and waved at her as well.

"If you ever come to the Northlands, remember to give them our names!"

Luo Jiuge answered with a smile. "Don't pretend you don't know me when the time comes."

The witch hunter party soon vanished into the depths of the wind and snow.

Holding the torch Hewin had given her, Luo Jiuge stood where she was and touched the bone whistle. Her mood improved considerably.

But none of this could be separated from her fellow countryman's kindness.

Luo Jiuge turned around and looked toward the road she had come from.

The sky in that direction had already been stained with streaks of black-red resentment, as though something had crawled out from underground and charged into the distance.

She frowned. "My fellow countryman, my fellow countryman... don't you dare get deleted."

Just five minutes after she started walking back, several clusters of cold magical light suddenly lit up amid the wind and snow.

Luo Jiuge stopped short.

The cold lights came around from the outer snow slopes, dividing into two groups, one before and one behind. They were clearly sealing off the area around the monastery.

Luo Jiuge immediately extinguished her torch, but even so, several soldiers noticed something unusual on this side.

The leader shouted sharply, "Who's there? Stop!"

Luo Jiuge's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately turned and ran in the opposite direction.

But she had barely sprinted a few steps when three magical arrows split the snowstorm and shot straight for her back.

Hearing the whistle of the arrows, Luo Jiuge's scalp went numb. She drew her sword and blocked them with a backhand swing.

The army clearly had coordinated tactics prepared. One group provided ranged suppression while the other flanked her, even blocking the directions she might use to break through in advance.

Luo Jiuge's professional knowledge from the modern world told her that confession earned leniency while resistance brought severity. Minimizing risk was the optimal choice for now.

She put away her sword and immediately raised both hands.

"Gentlemen! I'm just an Adventurer passing through. I'm not a bad person!"

One knight swept his gaze over her and asked suspiciously:

"An Adventurer?"

Luo Jiuge clicked her tongue in regret, cursing herself for speaking too quickly.

At such a sensitive time, saying she was an "Adventurer" was practically the same as writing "suspicious person" across her forehead.

Sure enough, the leading knight raised a hand and shouted:

"Take her!"

Luo Jiuge reacted faster than he did.

Almost the instant those two words left his mouth, she turned and ran.

What a joke.

She had just escaped Grey Dove Monastery by the skin of her teeth. Only an idiot would stand there waiting to be captured.

Sorry, fellow countryman. It's not that I don't want to find you. The circumstances just won't allow it!

"Stop her!"

Several knights raised their spears at once, and silver-white light bloomed at their tips.

[Combined Skill: Lock Formation]

A ring of silver formation patterns instantly emerged across the snow, and several chains of holy light burst from the ground, lunging for Luo Jiuge's ankles.

Luo Jiuge's pupils contracted. She narrowly dodged the first chain and slashed through the second with a backhand strike.

But the third and fourth chains immediately coiled toward her, like venomous snakes that would not stop pursuing their prey.

Forced to halt, Luo Jiuge swept her holy sword and cut through the chains, knocking back the knights who charged at her.

"Listen, everyone. Even arresting someone needs to follow basic law, right?"

The leading knight said coldly, "During the lockdown of the former Grey Dove Monastery site, no suspicious Adventurers may leave."

"Tch. What a pain."

The sword in Luo Jiuge's hand glowed with even stronger light.

She had no intention of killing them, but if these knights continued to block her way, she would not just stand there and take the beating.

The knights exchanged glances and formed up again.

Chains pressed in from all directions. Luo Jiuge exhaled a breath of cold air and drove her holy sword fiercely into the snow.

[Rainbowlight Burst]

Golden light exploded outward from beneath her feet, shattering the Lock Formation.

The expressions of several knights changed drastically.

Just as their leader was about to retreat, Luo Jiuge had already rushed before him with her sword. The blade, carrying fragments of light, pressed against his throat.

She only needed to move half an inch more to take him down and break through the encirclement.

At that very instant, a fierce gust from a sword crashed in from the side.

Every hair on Luo Jiuge's body stood on end. She almost instinctively raised her sword to block.

A thunderous crash rang out.

Luo Jiuge felt as if her arm had been struck by an iron hammer. Her entire body was flung away, crashing into a nearby tree trunk and shaking down a heavy fall of snow.

Her holy sword flew from her hand, spun several times through the air, and finally embedded itself in the snow three steps away.

A sweetness rose in her throat, and she nearly coughed up blood.

The surrounding knights all stepped back, their voices filled with delight.

"Officer Vivienne!"

Through the wind and snow, a massive Snow Monster slowly approached.

Luo Jiuge pushed herself into a sitting position and looked up at her.

At that moment, only one thought remained in Luo Jiuge's mind.

This lady is so tall!

This Snow Monster is so cool!