The proprietress was clearly the one in charge. Whenever she spoke, the plump boss would simply grin and nod along with squinted eyes. The young demon girl, looking like a maiden, had rarely encountered such kindness from humans. She hesitated for a rare moment, and by the time she came to her senses and tried to return the wine jar in her arms, she saw that the once enthusiastic couple had both fallen silent. In the rain, Laura Reed and the brocade-clad official, who had been standing by the carriage with a mask covering themselves tightly, seemed to have been switched off at the same time. They bowed to the person who had just exited the post station: “My lady.”

The little demon girl shivered, forgot everything else, and hugged the wine jar as she followed suit, her mind a complete blank.

A strange silence fell over the front of the post station.

Grace Turner cast a light glance over the tense demon girl, her gaze landing briefly on the wine jar in her arms before quickly looking away to the couple who were nervously wringing their hands. She gave a slight nod.

Then, under everyone’s gaze, she floated lightly into the carriage, her movements graceful, the ribbons of her skirt fluttering like startled swan’s shadows in the snow. From her appearance to her departure, not a single sound was made.

There weren’t many people with them on this mission to hunt down the wolf demon, but to hurry along, they had prepared four or five carriages. Grace Turner had always disliked company and rode alone in the front carriage, while Laura Reed sat in the one behind with the demon girl still clutching the wine jar, at a loss.

It was early spring, but the chill of late winter had not yet faded. The four-legged horses, marked with small spirit arrays, galloped swiftly through wind and rain, their hoofbeats echoing along the empty mountain path.

Laura Reed lifted the curtain inside the carriage to glance outside, then let it fall without a word. She looked at the girl sitting quietly beside her, still stiff with nervousness, and said softly, “Evelyn Ward, put the jar down.”

Evelyn Ward’s lips moved slightly. Obediently, she set the wine jar the proprietress had stuffed into her arms down by her side, her eyes wide and confused, filled with unease and fear.

“Laura Reed sis, is the lady angry?” Outside, they had all been ordered to change how they addressed her, calling Grace Turner “my lady.”

As a fellow demon, Laura Reed could relate to her expression at this moment. She comforted her, “Don’t worry, the lady—” She paused, not quite sure how to describe it, thought for a moment, and continued, “The lady is always busy with affairs, and with her status, she has to be serious when dealing with people and matters. But inside, she’s not as you imagine.”

“The lady just now didn’t say a single word.” Evelyn Ward thought of those clear, cold apricot eyes, her shoulders drooping in fear, trembling almost unconsciously, her voice squeezed out through clenched teeth.

Looking at the pale face before her, Laura Reed couldn’t help but recall the first time she met Evelyn Ward just over ten days ago.

After the wolf demon seized the mountain as his domain, he built a stone hall at the summit and captured the little monsters in the mountain who had gained intelligence to serve him. From time to time, he would lead them down the mountain in a grand procession, setting fires in nearby villages and blasting pits in the ground. Over time, he truly had the air of a local tyrant.

Evelyn Ward was one of the little demon attendants he had abducted to watch over the hall. Born and raised in the mountains, the wildcat couldn’t distinguish right from wrong. She didn’t know that the wolf demon had kidnapped over a hundred villagers from the foot of the mountain to bargain with Grace Turner, nor did she understand what they were negotiating. She simply couldn’t bear to see those people die in vain. In the end, just before the wolf demon, defeated and fleeing back to the stone hall, was about to perish together with everyone, she gritted her teeth and released all the captives.

When Grace Turner, Laura Reed, and the others arrived, Evelyn Ward was being strangled by the wolf demon, barely breathing, her large eyes’ pupils narrowed to slits, barely able to maintain her human form.

In the latter half of the night, the wolf demon—who in Evelyn Ward’s eyes had been all-powerful—was slain before her, less than ten meters away, dying with his eyes open, not even given a chance to beg for mercy. All the mountain demons and spirits who had followed the wolf demon were taken away by Grace Turner’s people.

At that moment, this cat demon, who had only ever read a few words about such things in books, finally realized what it meant to be the ancient immortal of the holy land, hated and feared by all demonkind.

Unexpectedly, among those released by Evelyn Ward, a few burly young hunters stomped over to Grace Turner and said—Fairy, why don’t you take this cat demon with you as well?

They made their living by hunting and dealt with mountain demons all year round. They knew these creatures were cunning by nature. Even if they felt uneasy about it, their instinct was to root out all threats, lest any trouble remain.

When Grace Turner’s glassy, clear eyes looked over, Evelyn Ward, who had just escaped death, felt a chill in her heart.

She trembled, unable to help but close her eyes, thinking, so this is what humans are like.

But she didn’t die. Grace Turner took her along.

Even so, the terrifying side of the ancient immortal of the holy land was deeply etched into the inexperienced little demon’s mind.

Looking at Evelyn Ward’s pupils, now shrunk to the size of a needlepoint, Laura Reed let out a barely audible sigh, thinking of herself when she had just started serving by Grace Turner’s side. Afraid of scaring the girl, she asked softly, “What about your parents?”

“I’ve never met them.” Evelyn Ward glanced at her quickly and replied, “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been alone.”

“Have you ever gone down the mountain to look for them?” Laura Reed asked again.