Chapter 596
Xia'er cast another glance at the beautiful blonde girl. Her pupils seemed devoid of irises, just pure amber, looking remarkably clear...
It was impossible to associate this girl with the terrifying creature known as the Anworm from the otherworld...
"May I ask your name?" Xia'er attempted to speak in the language the girl had just used.
"Rei Mei Dai Si," the girl replied, looking at Xia'er with a hint of impatience. "What about food?"
Rei Mei Dai Si felt an inexplicable sense of closeness to Xia'er, which made her realize that the call for food must be coming from this red-haired girl in front of her.
She didn’t even care to ask for Xia'er’s name; her mind was solely occupied with what could possibly be so delicious that even the strange shadow in her mind, which resonated with her, couldn’t forget it.
Food?
Xia'er quickly understood what the "Anworm" meant.
The Anworm had agreed to sign a pact of companionship with her because she had promised to pay with her blood as compensation.
Now that the creature wanted to claim that payment, Xia'er had no reason to refuse.
A flash of silver light flickered as Xia'er took the Deadly Blood Roland, using the blade's tip to slice open her wrist without hesitation.
Blood flowed from her wrist into her palm, then dripped down her fingers.
But just as the blood was about to fall, a black shadow suddenly shot out from Rei Mei Dai Si's body, enveloping the falling blood and catching it all.
Plop—
Plop—
The blood dripped one by one, and the shadow caught each drop until Xia'er’s wrist began to heal, ceasing the flow of blood. Only then did the shadow reluctantly withdraw...
Throughout this, Rei Mei Dai Si observed calmly. Once the shadow returned to her body, she looked at Xia'er’s wrist and murmured, "Hmm... interesting."
"I thought my shadow ability had developed self-awareness; seems I was overthinking it."
Rei Mei Dai Si smiled faintly at Xia'er. "Miss, may we have a word in private?"
"Of course." Xia'er nodded.
She wanted to leave this place anyway and was eager to learn more. Now, with someone who seemed to know the ins and outs, she could better understand the structure of the Old Ones.
Rei Mei Dai Si slowly raised her hand, and the shadows of the railing in front of them were suddenly torn apart, creating a passage wide enough for one person to pass through.
To Xia'er, these railings were merely decorative barriers that could be easily dismantled. She walked straight out of the cage but paused to glance to her left.
Salis was still slumped against the railing, her face ashen, as if she had lost all motivation and meaning to continue living.
Xia'er approached the railing, reached out, and gripped it, applying a slight force.
Crack—
Clang—
The rusted iron post snapped easily in Xia'er’s hands, and she yanked the cell door open with one hand.
With the Deadly Blood Roland, she gently sliced open the long restraints on Salis’s body, rendering the bindings useless.
"If you have anything left to do," Xia'er said, looking at Salis, "then follow me."
Leaving Salis behind would only lead to her demise. Her current plight was ultimately due to the silver runes that had revealed truths she shouldn’t have seen, a consequence indirectly caused by Xia'er.
Now, Xia'er was giving Salis a chance to choose.
By following her, Salis had a decent chance of survival.
But staying here in despair would only mean waiting for death.
After leaving those words, Xia'er followed Rei Mei Dai Si out.
Not long after Xia'er stepped onto the stairs, she heard a somewhat unsteady footstep behind her—Salis had finally decided to follow.
In that silent dungeon, only a dissected corpse remained lying there. Shortly after everyone left, the three candles flickered gently before extinguishing.
Rei Mei Dai Si walked ahead, holding the reins of a two-headed lion, stroking one of its manes. She then turned to Xia'er and asked in a spirit language, "This place isn’t suitable for conversation. Would you like to come back to the Tower with me?"
"The Tower?" Xia'er was still trying to grasp the concept of the Land of the Dead, so she had no idea what the Tower was like. Everything about the Old Ones felt utterly foreign to her.
"You don’t even know about the Tower?" Salis blinked at Xia'er in surprise.
Though Xia'er’s attire was peculiar, it exuded an air of nobility... like that of a noble from a different realm.
Normally, in this era, anyone wearing clean, unpatched clothing was already considered above average. This clearly educated girl shouldn’t be unaware of the Tower.
"Where are you from?" Rei Mei Dai Si seemed surprised that someone didn’t know about the Tower; her curiosity about Xia'er’s origins grew.
"Yuan Xu," Xia'er tentatively mentioned the name.
She wanted to know whether the current timeline was before or after the rupture of Yuan Xu.
"Yuan Xu? That Yuan Xu Rift? You came from there?" Salis’s eyes widened in disbelief. "No way!"
They seemed eager to continue the conversation, but Rei Mei Dai Si raised her hand, interrupting them.
"Everyone, there’s something very important." Rei Mei Dai Si raised her right hand between them and said, "We haven’t eaten anything except for rations since we arrived."
"True... Rei Mei Dai Si, do you want to stop at a restaurant here? You probably haven’t tried the food here?" Salis seemed to understand Rei Mei Dai Si’s needs and asked directly.
"Yes," Rei Mei Dai Si nodded seriously.
Although she hadn’t come with high hopes of finding something to eat, seeing that there really was nothing made her mood inevitably drop.
Now, she desperately needed some high-sugar food to lift her spirits.
Moreover... it wasn’t suitable to discuss certain matters here; they could talk in detail once they left the Land of the Dead. This was the main reason Rei Mei Dai Si interrupted the two.
Under the guidance of the Overseer, the three of them headed toward the center of the capital, while Salis silently followed behind Xia'er, her head down, lost in thought.
Xia'er suggested they wash up at an inn first—though she had no need for food in the Old Ones and her metabolism seemed to have halted, her body remained in a nearly fixed state. However, after such a long time without cleaning herself, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable psychologically.
The Overseer led Xia'er and the others to the designated inn. After showing them in, the Overseer seemed to have completed their task and left to report.
Xia'er found a bathroom to wash up and changed into a set of clothing that had a bit of "local flavor." The attire was somewhat cumbersome, and it was only with Salis’s help that Xia'er managed to fasten all the buttons.
Essentially, it was a long robe layered with intricate patterned fabric. Wearing it gave her the feeling of being some ancient "sorceress," but if the buttons were mismatched, it would look like she was dragging a pile of rags.
If she could lean on a wooden staff and wear a pointed hat, she would probably look even more the part.
After washing up, Xia'er came downstairs to find Rei Mei Dai Si and another woman sitting at a table in the inn's lobby, both staring at several plates of food, seemingly lost in thought.
"Um... can we really eat this?" Salis swallowed hard, looking at the contents of the plates, her voice slightly shaky. "Rei Mei Dai Si... how about we just stick to biscuits? I think biscuits are pretty good..."
Xia'er glanced at the food on the plates, unable to suppress a twitch at the corner of her mouth.
Those were plump maggots wriggling in a thick soup, each one soaked with broth, their patterns all different.
One of them even poked its head out, opening its black mouth to reveal sharp teeth inside.
This... didn’t look edible at all.
Moreover, several plates had thin metal needles of various colors sticking out of them, and it was unclear what they were for.
Rei Mei Dai Si carefully pulled out each of the metal needles, gathering them together, her expression serious as she scanned the subtle changes in the patterns.
Finally, Rei Mei Dai Si let out a slow breath, smiling at Salis. "Not poisonous, it’s edible."
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