You, Us, Them

As evening approached, the two sisters, who had been waiting for half a day, finally returned to the hotel. When they saw Angela leisurely sipping red tea, their dissatisfaction naturally erupted.

Why didn't you notify us, Miss Angela!

Mina's aura is becoming more and more imposing than when she was a priest; it seems that the saying "a profession can change a person's personality" is not unfounded.

"As my servants, understanding how to read your master's mind is of utmost importance. You are my blood relatives, yet you don't even share this level of understanding? What use are you then?"

"But... Miss Angela, we don't have that kind of ability..."

Fina timidly voiced her protest. Since becoming a mage, she had begun to try to find, discover, and solve problems using theory rather than belief, which was a good sign. Angela, however, clearly had no intention of answering. In her view, these superficial abilities should be left for the two sisters to comprehend themselves; the essence of Vampire Species abilities lay not in these telepathic transmissions or physical transformations. Fortunately, Li Lin's timely appearance interrupted what should have been an escalating debate.

Those are all minor matters.

He emerged from the room and looked at Mina and Fina. Though the two sisters still harbored some resentment, they were unable to express it further. Soon, however, Li Lin casually flipped through the room, pulled out a delicate and beautiful longsword, and placed it in front of Mina. "This is for you. Accept it."

"Why?"

Faced with this unexpected gift, Mina was momentarily stunned. During their travels with Li Lin, they hadn't developed any particularly negative impressions of him. Although they initially hated Li Lin, those initial negative feelings had long since vanished as they listened to Li Lin stories. Li Lin wasn't exceptionally handsome, but his serene demeanor and bard-like charm made it difficult to harbor ill will towards him. If the sisters had any complaints, it was that the mage was far too indulgent towards Angela, completely ignoring their suffering and showing no intention of playing the hero.

However, the two sisters understood that they were no longer priests serving the God of Justice, nor were they human; they were Angela's possessions. Therefore, it was normal for Li Lin to be indifferent to them.

Therefore, when Li Lin suddenly said he wanted to give Mina a weapon, both sisters looked very surprised.

"Master, this is..."

"Since you are Angela's servants, you must fulfill your responsibilities."

As he spoke, Li Lin handed the sword to Mina. The sharp, silver blade was dull and lifeless, seemingly blending into its surroundings. The gem embedded in the hilt was firmly held by a claw-like, Mithril, displaying an unusual beauty, yet also carrying a sinister and terrifying aura. At first glance, it seemed as if what was there was not a gem, but a terrifying light of death. Compared to ordinary longswords, this sword was much lighter, and its overall shape was much simpler, appearing more suitable for a woman to use—although with Mina's current strength, wielding two heavy two-handed swords would be no problem.

Mina took the longsword with a puzzled look. She was surprised to find that only one side of the blade was sharp; the other side was thick and flat, looking somewhat like a hunter's knife. Was this really a sword? How was she supposed to use it?

"Go and teach her and the books."

Li Lin looked at Angela eyes were already shining with excitement at the appearance of the sword. Although Li Lin had originally planned to create a more ordinary magical weapon, after carefully recalling the knowledge he had learned on Earth, Li Lin decided to improve upon it. He had seen in documents and movies that this kind of single-edged sword was more suitable for slashing, emphasizing the perfect combination of strength and speed, which was precisely the specialty of Vampire Species. At least, this was much more meaningful than having them learn some exquisite swordsmanship.

Angela cheered and excitedly pulled the still-dazed Mina out of the room, while Fina stared blankly at their retreating figures, somewhat lost, unsure whether to follow. Seeing the envy and longing in her eyes, Li Lin smiled slightly, then took out a short walking stick.

"Stop looking, this is for you."

"Huh? Master, Master!"

Fina was somewhat surprised that Li Lin had so easily exposed her deepest secret. She took the short staff from Li Lin's hand with a mixture of unease and excitement. It was clearly a staff, and although it was as obviously different from the tall and beautiful staff that Nia held all day long, it was enough for Fina.

"You can try to communicate with it and use it."

Li Lin handed the staff to Fina, watching her caress the smooth patterns on it, and his tone softened considerably.

"Go give it a try and see what it can do."

"Yes, Master."

Fina bowed slightly, then carefully clutched her staff and ran out of the room. Li Lin watched her leave in silence.

"Thinking about the past?"

Nia appeared behind Li Lin and asked quietly in a soft voice, a similar emotion flashing in her eyes as in Li Lin's.

"That's right."

Li Lin let out a long sigh.

"I'm reminded of the past, back in the days of the Magic Empire. I used to create magical items for my students like this... At that time, we never imagined that war would engulf our country so quickly and ultimately destroy us."

"Peace... is always fleeting."

Nia walked to Li Lin's side and gently took his hand.

"Creating something is far more difficult than destroying it. But now it seems that destroying something is just as difficult. Are you sure they really can do it? If they can't, then it's better to eliminate them now to avoid problems at crucial moments; accidents are never a good thing."

"I believe in Angela's brainwashing abilities."

Li Lin gazed thoughtfully out the window.

"She should be able to mold those sisters into the kind of warriors we need—ruthless killers of humans. The cunning and allure of Vampire Species are comparable to the demons of the Nine Levels of Hell, so dealing with these two little girls shouldn't be a problem at all. We just need to observe quietly from the sidelines. Look at Angela —innocent, pure, cruel. You can't imagine what she's been through, how much she's endured, to turn a little girl into what she is now. People always change."

"Yes..."

Nia sighed.

"Human nature is always fickle, difficult to understand, and unpredictable. We weapons will not make such a mistake; our destiny is determined at birth and will last until our demise."

Li Lin didn't say much. What Nia said was true, and besides, he had no other work to do at the moment. So, killing time became the only thing Li Lin had to do next. So, he casually pulled a book from the bookshelf and opened it. Nia sat next to him, watching Li Lin. She had lost her master and searched for a thousand years, until now, her efforts had finally paid off. The person she had been waiting for had finally returned. Perhaps, for humans, this should be rewarded. But for weapons, it was simply a matter of course. Humans need to find their own meaning in life to survive, while the meaning of a weapon's existence is determined at birth. They need others to use them, it's that simple.

Nia quietly observed Li Lin's face. His face, while still reasonably handsome, wasn't particularly outstanding, as before. Although his thick, long black hair looked somewhat odd, it contrasted with Li Lin dark eyes, giving him an air of tranquility and wisdom. While his body was no longer the frail figure of the past, his current well-proportioned and robust physique was quite impressive. However, perhaps due to the nature of Li Lin's soul, no one would notice this. Almost everyone, upon seeing this man, would immediately regard him as a scholar or someone with a scholarly profession, rather than a brute wielding a longsword.

Luoxia used to look the same.

Nia felt relieved, though she still felt uneasy listening to Li Lin recount these events. After all, Soul Transfer magic was dangerous; she had inherited most of Li Lin's magical power and naturally shared the same magical knowledge. If things went wrong, and the other person's soul was stronger than hers, then even if she could merge with their body, she wouldn't be the same person she once was. Even with Luoxia's astonishing talent in soul manipulation, such a possibility couldn't be ruled out. Nia had worried that the man before her might be someone who possessed Luoxia's memories but was completely different. However, it turned out her worries were unnecessary; the man before her was still the same man she had followed a thousand years ago, unchanged.

Li Lin was very diligent in his studies, catching up on the knowledge accumulated over thousands of years. Although Nia, as the "Eternal Library," had gathered a lot of information, Li Lin did not intend to get the answers directly from the "walking library" beside him. He preferred to search for the secrets hidden within the texts himself. Nia did not disturb him. After brewing Li Lin a pot of warm black tea, she quietly left the room.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to go and see what kind of training Miss Angela had given the sisters.