Living together

With the old pastor vouching for him, Toby serving as an example, and Lin Rui's own charm added to the mix, Mrs. Anderson decided to entrust her daughter to Lin Rui's care.

The woman was quick to act. She drove back to Forty-One Block, picked up some changes of clothes and daily necessities for Molly, and brought them to the little church.

The old pastor arranged a separate room for Molly and reminded her to sleep alone and lock her door at night.

But whether the girl would sneak out in the middle of the night and slip into another room, only heaven knew.

Lin Rui helped set up the bedroom and overheard snatches of the mother and daughter's private conversation. "Be safe... if anything unexpected happens, remember to call me."

This really was fucking unbelievable.

Before midnight, everything was settled.

Mrs. Anderson took out a check for a thousand dollars and handed it to the old pastor as a donation to the church-it was tax-deductible, so Mrs. Anderson lost nothing. Who received it was entirely up to her.

Lin Rui also received five hundred dollars in cash, marking a deal struck with Mrs. Anderson. A notification immediately sounded in his mind:

"Quest issued: The Girl's Redemption."

"Accept Mrs. Anderson's commission, change Molly's outlook, give her love and care, keep her away from the dark side of society, and put her back on the right track."

"Quest reward: one free attribute point."

As she handed over the money, Mrs. Anderson whispered to Lin Rui, "Remember to be 'gentle' with Molly. She really isn't a bad kid. If there's anything you don't understand, call me. I'll teach you."

I need lessons for that? I'm not some clueless virgin, Lin Rui thought.

After giving her instructions, Mrs. Anderson left with a heavy heart.

Molly, on the other hand, looked excited. After showering, she came knocking on Lin Rui's bedroom door in her pajamas. "All right, you can stop pretending. My mom's gone. I'm yours now."

Lin Rui opened the door with a stern face and scolded her. "Listen, Molly. Your mother entrusted you to me. Honestly, I'd rather treat you like a little sister.

"Now go to bed. You have school tomorrow."

Molly immediately puffed up with anger. "I hate school. I hate everyone there. I'd rather do something fun.

"The boys at school all chase after me. They flatter me, suck up to me, and simp for me because I'm pretty.

"So... I don't believe you're not interested in me. Unless you're gay!"

Lin Rui's face immediately darkened. He grabbed Molly by the shoulders, turned her around, pressed her against the wall outside his door, and delivered several hard slaps to her backside.

The slaps hurt so badly that Molly screamed several times.

"Listen," Lin Rui said fiercely. "I'm not gay. I'm perfectly normal. But I'm not a male dog that goes into heat at the sight of every pretty woman, and I'm certainly not one of those idiots around you who love fawning at girls' skirts."

Molly reached back and rubbed her burning backside. "You actually dare hit a woman?" she asked incredulously.

Lin Rui sneered. "Do you know how I changed Toby? How I turned that lazy, ignorant, stupid guy into a whole different person?"

Molly's interest stirred. Still indignant and disdainful, she said, "Tell me if you want. I'm not begging you.

"It's just that everyone's been guessing whether some kind of magic affected Toby.

"You should know he used to be a bully, throwing his weight around and picking on people everywhere. If the school police hadn't kept him in check, he would've turned the whole school upside down.

"But a little over two weeks ago, he suddenly started paying attention in class and cut ties with the other troublemakers. Even the teachers thought it was miraculous."

"So you are interested, right?" Lin Rui nodded and asked, "Do you want to change like Toby did?"

Unexpectedly, Molly shook her head. "Being a nerd is boring, and people look down on you. I'd rather have freedom.

"I only agreed to stay because I thought you were reasonably good-looking. But you actually dared hit me. I won't forgive you."

"I don't need your forgiveness." Lin Rui gave her a playful smile. "Go to bed first. I'll show you what 'freedom' is, and what 'the price of freedom' is."

Molly was completely baffled, but seeing that Lin Rui was determined not to "do something" with her, she could only return to her room in disappointment and climb into bed.

The old pastor had watched everything clearly through a crack in his door. After closing it, he crossed himself before the statue of Jesus in his room.

"Praise God. Leon truly is a good, trustworthy boy. His methods are a little rough, but they work very well."

Meanwhile, Molly texted her mother. "Mom, Leon refused to let me spend the night in his room. I think he's a bit stuffy. I'm starting to hate him."

Mrs. Anderson had just driven home when she received the message. Recalling the feelings and impulses of her own teenage years, she was filled with emotion. "Is it better to be stuffy or open-minded? That really is a difficult question."

At midnight, a dreadful chill flooded his bones like a tide, and the Nightmare Space silently opened.

Lin Rui sat up with practiced ease, pulled on his black leather armor, worn shiny with use, fastened his belt, hung his longsword at his left hip, and picked up a brass lantern in his right hand.

The flame flickered faintly inside its glass enclosure, casting an orange glow.

The little church had once again transformed into a medieval-style sanctuary. Most of the stained glass in its dome was shattered, and moonlight spilled through the gaps onto the mottled flagstones.

The old pastor stood before the altar, holding a gray staff inlaid with dark silver runes. His hair and beard had turned entirely white, and his eyes were deep and piercing. He was a battle-hardened archwizard in gray robes.

"Demon hunter Leon," the old man said in a low voice, with a slightly hoarse chuckle. "It's been a long time.

"You're steadier and stronger than when we last met. Would you join me on an armed patrol this time?"

The blessing from Toby's card had expired six hours ago, but recent combat, weighted training, and the tempering of his will had still left clear marks on Lin Rui.

Fully armed, he had broad shoulders and long legs. His leather armor outlined smooth, powerful contours, and the lantern light fell across his profile, making him look handsome and stern.

Lin Rui stepped forward twice and inclined his head. "Master Borg, I would be glad to follow in your footsteps."

The old man and the young man were equipped and ready to leave, about to push open the heavy oak doors and step onto the streets swallowed by boundless darkness.

Lin Rui guessed that the streetlights dotting the night were the last glimmers of light the old pastor held fast to in his heart.

Each extinguished light meant another measure of faith had collapsed; when they all went out, he would truly be "dead."

Just as the two were about to step out of the sanctuary, a small head suddenly peeked out from the shadows behind a damaged holy statue.

It was Molly.

The girl who had only just moved into the little church had also been forcibly dragged into this nightmare.

Her consciousness had been reshaped here: her half-shaved hairstyle from reality was gone, along with the garish dye and heavy makeup. She had become an ordinary yet remarkably delicate-featured girl.

She wore a plain dress, her long black hair loose over her shoulders. Fear and curiosity mingled in her eyes, making her look just like a lost wanderer who had stumbled into a fairy-tale forest.

"...What is this place?" she asked softly, her voice trembling, though she could not help looking around.

Lin Rui turned and quietly studied her for a few seconds before speaking calmly. "Welcome, Molly. We're heading out on an armed patrol to keep those streetlights burning. Want to come?"

Dreams never followed logic. Molly nodded in a daze and simply followed the two of them.

The glow of three lanterns overlapped, tearing a narrow passage through darkness as thick as ink.

Lin Rui walked in front, his longsword already drawn. Crimson flames rose from its blade, magical power bestowed by the old pastor.

"Molly, haven't you been clamoring for 'freedom'?" he asked in a low voice without looking back. "Then this is 'the price of freedom.'"

Sword light swept with his arm, and flames tore through the darkness, illuminating several figures huddled at a street corner.

In an alley running with filthy water, those figures were blackened and dirty, dressed in rags and trembling like discarded trash.

Molly could not help taking two steps closer, only to stagger back before a pungent stench of rot. Frowning, she asked quietly, "These people... what are they?"

"Deep down, you know perfectly well," Lin Rui said evenly. "This is what excessively indulged 'freedom' looks like in the end.

"I'm not trying to scare you-once you truly get involved with those gangs, sooner or later you'll become their plaything.

"At first, the gang members will give you protection, backing, and free contraband, making you feel that you can finally do whatever you please and rebel to the bitter end.

"But before long, you'll pay for every bit of that willfulness. Your body, your will, your dignity... all of it will be squeezed dry, little by little, until you become one of these things."

Before he finished speaking, a horribly distorted roar came from deep within the darkness.

A figure suddenly charged out of the shadows.

That thing had once been human, but now only a deformed outline remained: its limbs twisted at unnatural joint angles, its back humped high, as though invisible hands had folded it over countless times.

Its face had collapsed as if melted, leaving only a huge black mouth that opened and closed, releasing muddled roars filled with hatred.

It lunged wildly at Lin Rui, its nails transformed into long black hooks that whistled sharply through the air.

"Get back." Lin Rui pushed Molly behind him with his left hand, his right arm already raised.

The flaming longsword slashed down hard to meet its charge!

The first strike cleaved straight into its raised left arm. The searing blade sliced through like rotten leather, instantly charring a broad swath of flesh and sending up billowing black smoke.

The fallen figure let out an even shriller shriek, but did not retreat at all. Instead, it raked its remaining right claw toward Lin Rui's face.

Lin Rui turned sideways in a half spin, carrying the blade upward in a diagonal slash from its jaw to its right shoulder. Flames spread wildly through the wound, burrowing deeper like living creatures.

Half the monster's body was ablaze, yet it still flailed its arm madly, stirring up a reeking wind.

Rather than retreat, Lin Rui advanced. He swung the lantern into his left hand and raised it high. Its light flared, illuminating more than ten meters around him as brightly as day.

In that brief light, he saw the festering scars on its chest, the tattoo still visible on its neck, and its long-clouded eyes.

"Do you see, Molly?" His voice was low and clear. "This is the final shape of 'freedom.'"

As soon as he finished speaking, he took a sudden step forward and brought his longsword down diagonally from his right shoulder. The flames became a crescent-shaped blazing slash, cleaving the thing in two from collarbone to hip.

The two charred halves crashed to the ground, still twitching, but the flames burned ever more fiercely until they consumed it entirely, leaving only a steadily shrinking mound of ash.

Darkness surged back, as though that brief light had been nothing but an illusion.

Lin Rui flicked the black blood from his sword, and the flames gradually drew back into the blade. He turned to Molly, whose face was deathly pale and whose hands tightly gripped the hem of her dress.

"Listen. I'm a demon hunter. I specialize in slaying fallen evil spirits." His tone was so calm it bordered on cold.

"I don't want to find a mutated you in the darkness one day. But if I do, I'll swing my sword and end your suffering."

Molly swallowed, her gaze moving between the ashes and Lin Rui. "I... I didn't really want to join a gang that badly," she said shakily. "I just thought it would be fun.

"I got my ears pierced when I was little. My tattoos are stick-ons. My hair... my hair can grow back.

"I was just sick of my mother's nagging and wanted to go against her."

"Some mistakes are all right to make, like getting a question wrong on a test. Others aren't, like joining a gang." Lin Rui said nothing more and simply raised his lantern again.

The three continued onward. Behind them, that last little flame flickered, then was soon swallowed once more by the boundless darkness.