No matter where you go, as long as it’s the Slums, the roads are never easy to walk on.
The mud is one thing, but the suffocating stench is quite another.
Beneath Sophia’s veil, her willow-leaf brows knitted slightly.
Even though she had already been in the human world for several days, she still couldn’t quite get used to this smell.
The Elven Missy couldn’t help but wonder—how do they survive in such a place?
In her homeland, the Elven Kingdom, great emphasis was placed on the environment.
There was absolutely no way a place this filthy could exist there.
“Ahem…”
Enya cleared her throat and explained to Sophia why things were this way.
Human cities themselves lacked proper planning, and the people here had low standards.
Those at the bottom struggled to fill their stomachs—how could they spare the energy to care about things like sanitation?
If anyone could sweep their house and arrange their belongings neatly, that already made them unusually tidy among the people here.
While the two whispered to each other, the young man leading them stopped up ahead.
Enya and Sophia stopped as well.
Sophia peeked her head out curiously.
A door to a yard up ahead opened, and a woman dumped a basin of dark, filthy water right at the threshold, splashing it carelessly onto the ground before shutting the door.
Sophia glanced at the ground and couldn’t help but twitch her eyelid, desperately avoiding looking at the filth that had spread into puddles.
She quickly lifted her gaze elsewhere, just in time to see a few thin, small children lying on top of a wall, watching from across the way.
Mostly, they were looking at Enya, since Enya hadn’t covered her face. Sophia felt a twinge of curiosity about them, but, noticing that Enya was already moving forward, she quickly looked away and followed.
The Elven Missy lifted her gray robe, stepping carefully on the dry patches to avoid the puddle left by the dirty water, then checked to see if her robe was stained.
After confirming it was still clean, she hurried to catch up to Enya.
Before long, Sophia noticed a few little ones coming up from behind.
They ran past in a group, brushing close to her and Enya.
One of them, as they overtook the two, even brushed against Sophia, whether by accident or not.
It was a little girl.
After being bumped, Sophia frowned; she’d sensed a faint trace of magical energy from the girl just now.
Did she use magic?
What kind of magic?
The young man leading the way reached out and grabbed the girl by the arm, stopping her in her tracks and saying in a deep voice, “You—stand right there.”
The other children, seeing this, bolted as if terrified that if they were any slower, they’d be the ones to get beaten.
The caught little girl struggled desperately to break free from the man’s grip, but his hand might as well have been made of steel—no matter what she did, she couldn’t break free at all.
The man snorted and scolded, “Who told you to steal?”
“Hmph, it’s obvious they’re rich! What’s wrong with taking a little money from them? Let me go!” The girl raised her fist, pounding it against the man, but he stood as firm as a mountain, not moving until her fist aimed for a vital spot.
His expression darkened as he caught her fist.
Only now did Sophia get a clear look at the girl’s face.
She wore ragged clothing, her face was grimy, but it wasn’t the natural sort of darkness—it was as if she’d smeared herself with coal, for there was a visible line of color at her neck.
Her looks were plain at best, and even as she was caught she showed nothing but defiance. She opened her mouth and bit down on the man’s hand holding her, but as she bit, her teeth nearly broke.
Magic Body Shield—he was using Magic Body Shield.
The man snorted again and pried open the girl’s tightly clenched hand, pulling out a high-quality West Wind Empire gold coin.
“Do you know a single gold coin could buy your life?” he said, his voice heavy.
Perhaps realizing she’d met her match, the girl started crying at once.
“I’m sorry! I was wrong! Here’s your money, please don’t break my hand, Missy—please, my little sister is sick, I only did this for her, I beg you!”
Hearing the sincerity in the girl’s plea, Sophia’s heart softened immediately. It was just a single gold coin—she didn’t care much about it. She was just about to tell the man to let the girl go.
But before she could speak, Enya tugged her sleeve, signaling her to stay silent.
Sophia hesitated, but chose to trust Enya’s decision; after all, she’d promised that she would listen to Enya this time.
Sophia looked at Enya’s calm profile and thought to herself,
“Senior Enya has traveled the human world for years and seen far more than I have. She must have her reasons for every decision—there’s so much I have to learn!”
With that, Sophia prepared herself to take notes, curious to see how Enya would handle such a trivial incident.
Enya could tell right away—the young man up ahead was trying to help the girl get out of trouble. But she had no intention of making things hard for a little rascal, so she put on a stern act.
“Heh, you dare steal from my family’s Missy? You must be tired of living!”
Sophia was taken aback.
What could Senior Enya mean by that? There must be a deeper reason! I need to think this through carefully!
The girl glanced at Sophia, instantly realizing that the veiled Missy was not only kind but was the one who made the final decisions.
As long as this person is kindhearted…
Enya blocked Sophia, narrowing her eyes with a menacing look as she sized up the girl who could use Stealing Magic.
Then she said coldly, “Tell me—who taught you Stealing Magic?”
These children who roamed the alleys, using Stealing Magic, never acted alone. There was always an organization behind them.
This organization specifically trained children who could use Stealing Magic, sending them out to steal. Those who couldn’t learn would have their hands or feet broken and be thrown out to beg.
In the Northland States, this was a common sight in over a dozen cities—even in the advanced West Wind Empire, third- and fourth-tier cities still saw this happen.
The girl’s secret exposed, even the soot on her face seemed to pale as she trembled before Enya.
The man took the gold coin from the girl’s hand and tossed it to Enya, who caught it. At the same time, he let the girl go.
Enya simply turned and handed the coin back to Sophia.
The man said nothing and continued to lead the way ahead.
Sophia found this change of events strange—why did the man let her go, and why didn’t Enya pursue the matter?
“Senior…”
Enya turned and gave her a look—wait and ask later. Sophia nodded and didn’t speak further.
After a few more turns, the young man finally brought them to their destination, stopping at the entrance to a small lane.
He turned and said to Enya and Sophia, “Go straight and turn right ahead, that’s it.” “Mm.”
Enya nodded indifferently, without any intention of thanking him. Sophia, however, gave a polite nod, which only made the man look a little uncomfortable.
After hesitating a moment, he added, “You two ladies should be careful. There’s not a single trustworthy person in there. That’s all I can say—be careful.”
“Thank you…”
Sophia replied with a smile.
Then Enya led Sophia out of the alley, heading in the direction the man had indicated. Over there was a main road.
As Sophia walked, she glanced back and saw the man still watching from not far away, as if intending to make sure they left safely.
Once they’d gone a good distance, the Elven Missy finally asked Enya,
“Senior, why did you say those things earlier? And why didn’t you pursue that child’s responsibility in the end?”
“Because I was bored.” “Huh?”
“There was no deeper meaning—I was just scaring her for fun. Don’t you enjoy that—scaring little kids?” Enya turned, eyeing Sophia curiously. With her face now covered by a pale green veil, it was impossible to see the Elven Missy’s expression.
But just imagining it, it must have been quite a sight.
Hehehe~
Enya chuckled mischievously to herself.
Her golden-red Dragon Eyes could see through deceptions—though they couldn’t pierce the legendary-grade Magic Tool’s veil, they could clearly see the subtle ripples of magic on Sophia’s body.
Magic is controlled by the Spirit Power of living beings, and when emotions fluctuate, the magic inside them stirs, creating ripple after ripple.
A simple check told Enya that Sophia had clearly overthought things earlier. After hearing there was no hidden meaning in Enya’s words, she now felt incredibly embarrassed.
And Sophia truly did feel awkward—she’d thought Enya’s subtle expressions held some deeper meaning, only to find she’d read too much into it!
No wonder Senior likes playing with Nina—she really does like children, doesn’t she?
A faint blush of embarrassment crossed Sophia’s face but quickly faded. She changed the subject and asked Enya another question.
“Senior, why would that child use magic to steal?”
Stealing Magic was, in fact, a form of Space Magic. Very, very few people could master it.
If that girl had ever had the chance to study magic, she might have become a powerful Space-type Magic User.
And that would be the greatest treasure the humans could ever possess!
But a child like that was left to rot in the Slums—a priceless gem sunk in filthy, muddy water.
Sophia couldn’t make sense of it.
Enya only shook her head, giving no answer.
Bloodline had allowed the human race to dominate the Southern Continent for a thousand years, even standing firm against the ancient Demon Race in the far south.
Yet bloodline was also a shackle, restricting the progress of humanity.
Fortunately, Enya knew the old ways were already starting to thaw.
And it seemed, under Antiros’s arrangements, she was now acting as a pioneer in casting off the old bloodline chains.
After turning a corner onto the main road, they saw an impressively grand building—unmistakable in its prominence.
It stood six or seven meters high and over fifty meters wide, occupying the corner of a T-junction. Built from gray-white stone, its ornate exterior clashed starkly with the surrounding rundown houses.
Hanging above its entrance was a signboard.
On it were three words: Golden Town.
“Golden Town? Such a grand name for a little gambling den?” Enya couldn’t help but mutter when she saw it.