Fangs

By the time Li Lin stepped down from the carriage again, it was already noon. He looked at the village before him, appearing quite relaxed. The paladins were sitting nearby, taking a rest. Duncan was discussing the purchase of supplies with the village elder, while the other villagers held the paladins in considerable respect. That was why Li Lin had chosen to travel with them: in most places, after all, people wouldn't pick a fight with these stiff-necked fellows.

"Hello, Mr. Li Lin."

A warm, sweet voice reached him, and a young woman in holy priest's robes quietly walked up beside him.

"How is Miss Angela?"

"She's resting. She should wake up soon."

Li Lin glanced at the covered carriage window. The excuse that she was frail and sickly seemed to work quite well.

"Miss Fina, is there something you need?"

"I only wanted to see how Miss Angela was doing."

Perhaps because she rarely spent time around young men, Fina quickly blushed. She nervously clutched the hem of her robe, looked down at the ground, and hesitantly spoke.

"Also, I'm sorry for what my sister did. She didn't mean to... I hope you can forgive her..."

"I'd like to say I understand... but..."

Li Lin turned his head slightly and looked at the priestess before him.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't understand why a priestess of the God of Justice would dislike a poor child so much. Angela hasn't done anything strange, has she? Or did she do something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing like that...!"

Fina's face turned bright red. She bit her lip and shook her head desperately.

"My sister, she's a good person, but... but... I don't know why either. Still, Mr. Li Lin, I hope you won't dislike her. She doesn't mean to be like this. She's always worn that cold expression and rarely gets close to anyone."

"I noticed."

Li Lin nodded in agreement. Ever since they had set out, Mina had hardly spoken to anyone, and she only softened a little when she was with Fina. At other times, she was like a block of ice, never taking the initiative to approach anyone. The paladins, Duncan among them, seemed to respect her greatly while keeping their distance, which was also strange. Within the God of Justice's order, priests played an important role, but paladins had always been the mainstay. Respect was understandable, but showing her such awe was rather unusual.

"Miss Mina seems to have a rather special status?"

So he ventured the question, as if curious. In fact, deep down, Li Lin seemed to have had a premonition about it already.

Fina bit her lower lip and hesitated for a moment. Perhaps guilt finally got the better of her, for she nodded slightly.

"My sister is a Divine Chosen."

She answered somewhat hesitantly.

"So she's much more sensitive to certain things than most people. Even when it's just something minor, she can still be like that..."

So that's it.

Li Lin finally understood why Mina treated Angela differently.

Divine Chosen were, as the name suggested, humans chosen by the gods. Most had received a god's blessing at birth and possessed great power. But for that very reason, some of a god's traits would also subtly merge with a Divine Chosen's thoughts. During the Magic Empire, Li Lin had met quite a few Divine Chosen. In fact, they were more like oversensitive human radar, always overreacting to people who conflicted with their god's duties and beliefs. Of course, the world was not divided neatly into black and white, and it was rare to find someone who had never made a mistake or committed an evil act in their life. As a result, life was not easy for Divine Chosen. Not only did they feel surrounded by things that conflicted with their faith and their god, but they were also ostracized. After all, although everyone understood that they were not entirely pure, no one would feel comfortable when a "god-made" human radar told others they were evil.

Thus, Divine Chosen had always lived lives in which they were both feared and hated.

Now Li Lin could understand why Mina always seemed so cold.

That was both good news and bad news.

The good news was that Mina clearly had not noticed Angela's true identity. This sort of oversensitive human radar generally had no real standards of measurement, so she had probably only acted on instinct, which was why she had later begun to doubt her own behavior. The bad news was that these Divine Chosen were extremely powerful, and some could even use a god's power directly. It would be fine if Mina were a priestess who focused solely on healing, but judging by her bearing and personality, Li Lin would never believe that the young woman had not learned at least a few offensive divine arts, or even specialized in them. If they came to blows, that could cause a great many problems and complications.

Still, facing a powerful enemy did not necessarily require fighting head-on. Just now, for instance, there was someone he could make use of.

"Sir?"

Angela's timid voice came from inside the carriage. Just hearing it made her seem frail and in need of protection.

"It looks like she's awake."

Li Lin smiled at the young priestess.

"Miss Fina, could I trouble you to help Angela change her clothes? I used to do it myself, but she's gradually growing up, and since I'm a man, it's often inconvenient..."

"Of course."

Fina smiled gently and climbed into the carriage. At that moment, Angela had "just" woken up. She sat quietly with her eyes closed, and only when Fina entered the carriage did she turn her little head in Fina's direction.

"Sir?"

"Li Lin is outside. He asked me to help you change, Angela."

"Why?"

Angela now behaved like an innocent child pressing her parents to explain exactly how they had created her.

"Sir always changed my clothes before. Why did he ask someone else?"

"Because you've grown up."

Fina answered casually as she undressed Angela. Even as a woman, she could not help privately admiring the beautiful body.

"You're a girl, and Mr. Li Lin is a man. It's not proper."

"But aren't men and women both people? What's different?"

"...Well..."

Clearly, the God of Justice's temple had not provided the necessary lessons on puberty. So Fina was quite perplexed by Angela's "innocent" question.

"Your body changes and becomes different."

"Will your body become different too, Sister Fina?"

As Angela asked the question "confusedly," she reached out and soon touched the young woman's prominent chest.

The sudden sensation startled Fina. She instinctively wanted to pull away, but when she remembered that the girl before her could not see and could only perceive things through touch, she decided not to retreat and to tolerate that much of an imposition.

"It really is different. So big..."

Pretending to know nothing about Fina's current state, Angela exclaimed in surprise. Her nimble little hands touched Fina's breasts, gently rubbed over the small protrusions, and slid downward. The small, soft hands seemed to carry a faint electric current, giving Fina a sensation she had never experienced before. It even made her body go slightly limp, as though she had lost her strength.

Angela, meanwhile, continued earnestly exploring the young woman's body. Her fingers had slipped between Fina's legs, lightly brushing that sensitive forbidden area. Fina could not help letting out a muffled moan. Then, as if suddenly coming to her senses, she flushed and quickly caught Angela's little hand.

"All right, now you know, don't you? Men and women are different."

Suppressing the strange sensation she had never felt before, Fina helped Angela get dressed. Then she lightly patted her cheeks, as if trying to force herself out of that feeling.

"All right, Mr. Li Lin is waiting for you outside. I'll go out first."

Only after Fina had left did Angela open the eyes she had kept tightly shut. Her scarlet eyes flickered with serpentine cunning.

"An innocent, pure woman. Her body is very sensitive, and she feels nice to the touch, too."

She spoke to herself while lightly rubbing the faint moisture on her fingers.

"This is just the best gift to offer my master..."

While Angela was planning how to get the innocent, simple little priestess into Li Lin's bed, Li Lin and the others outside had run into a different problem.

After buying the supplies, Duncan did not offer the villagers a blessing and leave as he usually did. Instead, he listened patiently to something, then quickly turned and walked over to the others resting by the carriage. The elder followed behind him, looking visibly flustered.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Li Lin."

He first nodded to Li Lin, then continued.

"We were supposed to leave immediately, but this village chief just told me that a band of goblins is running rampant nearby and harming the poor farmers. We can't turn a blind eye to it. So we'll have to delay our departure."

An essential precaution when traveling with paladins: trouble wouldn't come looking for them, but they would go looking for trouble.