Joining the Team

Feeling the surprised gazes of the paladins around him, Li Lin remained silent, a smile on his face. In fact, he understood that although a charm spell could make someone look favorably upon him and believe every word he said, it only worked on individuals. Besides... he couldn't possibly turn all these paladins into his loyal supporters. Never mind the question of range; the paladins' extraordinary resistance to magic was already a considerable obstacle.

"On behalf of the entire team, I welcome you, Mr. Li Lin."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Li Lin's side, and his expression turned somewhat surprised.

"And this young lady is..."

"Her name is Angela. She's my assistant."

At Li Lin's side, Angela, dressed in finery, had clearly drawn the paladins' attention. Her beautiful, adorable appearance rivaled that of an angel. There was no need to confirm it; one only had to look at the paladins' surprised expressions to understand.

"Greetings, honorable paladins."

Angela gathered her skirt and gave the paladins a proper lady's curtsy. Her voice was so sweet and gentle, and her wording so elegant—if one overlooked the fact that her eyes remained closed.

"Angela was injured when she was little."

Li Lin patted Angela on the head.

"She's lost her sight, but please rest assured, she won't cause any of you trouble."

"I see."

Understanding dawned on the paladin in the lead, and his gaze filled with pity and compassion as he looked at Angela. Gods above, that such an adorable girl had suffered so much was truly tragic. He returned her greeting with a slight bow, then looked at Li Lin in some puzzlement. "In that case, Mr. Li Lin, please forgive my rudeness... If you're willing, I can have a priest treat her. It might help..."

"Thank you for your kindness, honorable knight."

Li Lin bowed slightly, his expression growing hesitant.

"May I ask... how should I address you?"

"Duncan."

"Honorable Knight Duncan, may I speak with you in private?"

Duncan was somewhat surprised by Li Lin's strange invitation, but as a paladin of considerable strength, he had no fear of plots or tricks. He soon nodded and let Li Lin lead him to a corner. Only when Angela was out of sight did Li Lin sigh. His friendly smile turned extraordinarily sorrowful, tinged with the despair of someone about to face the end of the world.

"I believe you must be quite displeased right now."

He sighed and spoke with a hint of regret.

"I admit that bringing a little one like her along is likely to inconvenience everyone... But please, allow me this small indulgence, so that I may fulfill her last wish."

"Her last wish?"

Duncan repeated the words in puzzlement, an ominous feeling rising within him.

"Yes."

Li Lin nodded gravely.

"Miss Angela traveled with her parents when she was young, but they were attacked by a wild beast. To protect their lovely, beautiful little angel..." He noticed the paladin nod slowly at the description. "Her parents lost their lives, and she was gravely injured at the time. I found her, took her in, and raised her. She's a very well-behaved, obedient child. But... her injuries were simply too severe. I've always tried my best to cure her and sought out many methods, but none succeeded. Now, the flame of her life is about to go out. Her only dream is to travel with me to the ruins of the Magic Empire. I once told her its legends and stories, and she has always wanted to see that history with her own eyes and touch it with her own hands..."

Li Lin said no more. Duncan's expression had grown solemn, filled with deep sympathy and sorrow.

Of course, if this had been nothing more than Li Lin's account, Duncan would not have believed him so easily. But ever since he had first seen Angela, his paladin's senses had made him suspicious. As a gifted paladin, Duncan could easily sense that there was little flame of life burning within the little girl's body. He had even almost mistaken her for an undead creature. But if the little girl were undead, the faint flame of life within her body would be impossible to explain. And besides...

Duncan took a couple of steps and turned to look at Angela, who stood some distance away. She stood in the sunlit square with her eyes closed, like a child who did not know she had been abandoned and was still waiting desperately. Combined with Li Lin's earlier account, the sight brought a faint redness to the eyes of even the paladin, who was known for his fortitude. His heart was filled with sorrow for the poor girl.

The blood Angela drank could become her power and also conceal her characteristics.

Li Lin did not follow the knight's gaze to check. The little one had done this too many times before. When she wanted to hunt, she sometimes used this method, disguising herself as a poor, homeless child to lure people who were kind, had some particular fixation, or harbored ill intentions. They would take her where she wanted to go, and then... become her food.

She had perfected the act.

Undead creatures could not stand in sunlight. The same was true even of liches.

Yet Angela now stood in the sunlight with her eyes closed, seemingly unconcerned by it. She even appeared to be enjoying it.

That was what dispelled the last of the paladin's doubts.

"We'll do our best to grant her wish, so please rest assured, honorable sir."

He gave Li Lin another paladin's salute, then turned around.

"We're ready to set out. Let me introduce the other members to you."

Everything had gone smoothly.

"How could idiots with such low intelligence possibly notice?"

Walking beside Li Lin, Angela chuckled softly.

"Nicely done. But then again, you really are good at disguising yourself."

"Of course, Master."

Angela puffed out her chest with pride.

"Watching these stupid fools fall for my tricks, that sense of intellectual superiority is truly intoxicating."

That was true enough.

After opening the door and inviting the two guests into the sitting room, Duncan began introducing the people chosen for the journey. None of them had expected that, in doing so, they had merely brought two venomous snakes into their home.

"This is Mr. Li Lin, a scholar well versed in the history of the Magic Empire, and Miss Angela is his assistant. Bishop Kelen believes they can assist us on this journey."

After hearing Duncan's introduction, everyone reacted differently. Angela let out a bell-like laugh and waved in their direction.

"Captain, this child..."

The young priestess among them had evidently noticed something and asked uneasily, but Duncan stopped her halfway through with a gesture. The others soon adjusted their attitudes as well. After all, Li Lin was disguised as a mere scholar, and Angela, at his side, was posing as a well-behaved child. They were hardly wandering mercenaries or filthy thieves. The paladins would hold no preconceptions or prejudices against them, and paladins had always respected those with knowledge. Perhaps the main reason for their current reactions was that Li Lin was so young.

But that was no great problem.

Li Lin secretly observed the priestess. She was young, pretty, and cute. Her eyes were clearly innocent, filled with an untainted purity.

She was Angela's favorite kind of prey. After all, she was certainly a virgin.

Li Lin also noticed the way the young paladin looked at the priestess. It was not difficult for him. The other paladins were evidently somewhat surprised, but held no prejudice against the pair, which meant Angela's true identity had not been discovered. In fact, even if someone did notice something amiss, Li Lin was not worried. There were no vampires in this world, so it would be very difficult to uncover the truth.

Besides, these people looked strong, and they were useful.

Li Lin had already made his plans.

"Well, Mr. Li Lin, although this is sudden, we have some questions we'd like to ask you."

Duncan took a rolled-up map from inside his clothes and spread it across the table. Almost everyone gathered around, leaving a space for Li Lin as if by unspoken agreement. Li Lin stepped forward and silently studied the map.

It was a map from the time of the Magic Empire.

"We obtained this map during an earlier expedition."

Duncan was quite frank about it, seemingly having nothing to hide.

"Although we're sure it could make our exploration easier and safer, none of us understands what the writing on it means. We also consulted some mages, but they knew nothing about it either..."

That was understandable. Having a useful map but not knowing how to use it was certainly unpleasant. Besides, if they acted on what the map showed, what if it depicted the locations of traps? Wouldn't they be leading themselves to their deaths? Until they understood what the map meant, it was best not to act rashly.

"This is an ordinary map."

At last, Li Lin spoke.

"If you have something more specific to point out, I may be able to help."

"In that case, there's something I'd like to ask."

Duncan placed his finger on a crossroads.

"Last time, when I led the team to the capital of the Magic Empire, I took the risk of using this map. At the time, we intended to go..." His finger moved down a short distance. "Here. According to the map, there should have been a road leading here, but we didn't find one. It wasn't because it had been destroyed; it was as though the road had never existed at all."

That wasn't necessarily so.

Li Lin thought to himself and glanced at the paladins around him. They were hardly the sort to stoop to sneaking and thievery, so how could they truly understand mechanisms and secret passages? This time, however, Duncan was clearly not mistaken.

"Of course."

Feeling everyone's eyes on him, he spoke.

"During the time of the Magic Empire, people had long since abandoned simply walking to their destinations. In fact, this is a one-way portal."

He pointed to the crossroads.

"Its exit is in another direction..."

As he spoke, Li Lin pointed to a road on the outskirts.

"The people of the Magic Empire believed wasting time walking was undesirable, but relying entirely on magic was an evil path. Therefore, they used magic for only half the journey. The characters here merely indicate that there is a portal to another location. And the road beyond it that you pointed to is simply where another road's portal leads."

"Wasn't the Magic Empire evil?"

A young paladin voiced the question in dissatisfaction.

Li Lin frowned slightly. He opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately thought better of it.

"I merely drew my conclusions from the Magic Empire's records."

His words carried a double meaning.

"None of us knows what the truth actually was."