Zhe Zilin opened his eyes. Cold sweat instantly broke out all over his body.
The feeling of being torn apart still lingered in his consciousness.
This death had been painful and cruel. He had personally experienced what it felt like to be ripped into pieces.
When a swarm of corpse slaves had climbed onto him, every inch of his skin had transmitted despair.
“Ice Demon!”
“Half-orcs!”
“Corpse slaves!”
“Who the hell did I provoke? Why does everyone want me dead!”
Zhe Zilin wanted to vent the anger in his heart. He almost shouted at the top of his lungs until reason finally suppressed his emotions and he calmed down somewhat.
It was early morning. The sky was just beginning to brighten.
Ailia, knowing she would be leaving today, had woken up early and gone into the forest to hunt.
Inside the castle, only Zhe Zilin remained.
He raised his head and swept his gaze across the room.
Tonight, this place would become the site of his death.
Without comparison there is no harm. After experiencing what it was like to have someone else in the castle, Zhe Zilin felt that being with Ailia was simply the most reassuring thing in the world.
Especially after he died, Ailia had actually gone alone into the polar region, disregarding her own safety, to avenge him.
Zhe Zilin now felt that Ailia was practically an angel — and she was his very own guardian angel.
When danger struck, Ailia was his greatest support. Of course, when there was no danger, Ailia was also his greatest threat.
But her possessiveness, paranoia, and suspicion were far more adorable compared to the things in the forest that wanted him dead.
Zhe Zilin washed his face, doing his best to stay calm and not let his emotions affect him.
Right now, the most important thing was figuring out how to deal with the monsters that would appear tonight.
He began replaying the events in his mind, searching for a way to solve the problem.
Zhe Zilin had no idea how the half-orcs had entered the barrier. They had only acted after Ailia left, and it was obvious they had come for him.
Breaking the barrier had attracted the Ice Demon. The system’s narration said the Ice Demon had actually come looking for Ailia. Since she was not there, Zhe Zilin, who lived in the castle, had become the secondary target.
Confusing. Tricky. Impossible to predict.
Zhe Zilin buried his face in the basin of water and held his breath for a long while before lifting his head.
If preventing Ailia from feeding him the potion had been the newbie village trial, then now the world was finally showing him its true horror.
But what gave Zhe Zilin the biggest headache was still his own strength.
In this world where the strong could do as they pleased, the root of every problem was a lack of strength. If Zhe Zilin were strong enough, holding the Dragon Slayer would allow him to resolve his current predicament with ease.
Yet he had no time to grow. Even though his strength increased extremely fast, how could a few days of improvement possibly match the decades, or even centuries, of accumulation others had?
Therefore, Zhe Zilin’s greatest support right now was only Ailia.
But Ailia would not take him away with her. She had her own concerns.
The high officials and nobles sent from the Royal Capital, along with Princess Osha, were all forcing her to make a choice.
She was afraid someone would recognize Zhe Zilin’s identity and forcibly take him away from her side.
So Ailia would not easily change her mind.
What troubled Zhe Zilin the most was this: Ailia did not know what had happened last night. Only he did.
In the end, he slowly let out a sigh and unconsciously smiled.
Whenever he faced a problem he felt powerless to solve, Ailia’s face would always appear in his mind, as if hoping she could give him advice and open up a brand new path.
Perhaps in the past both sides had been probing each other and Ailia had never given up on the idea of making him drink the potion. But after these past few days together, Zhe Zilin’s view had changed.
This time, he chose to trust Ailia.
Zhe Zilin turned his head. Outside the window, Ailia was riding back with twenty wild beasts following behind her horse.
Her gaze turned toward the window. After learning she would be leaving, a trace of sorrow had appeared in her eyes.
When she reached the stable, Zhe Zilin stood quietly in place without saying a word.
Ailia pressed her lips together and awkwardly tidied her hair. She noticed Zhe Zilin was still staring at her without blinking.
What’s wrong with Ed?
Why is he staring at me like that?
Did I get something dirty on my face?
Ailia’s fingertips brushed across her cheek. It was smooth and clean. There were no stains. Her confusion grew even stronger.
She dismounted hesitantly and, after thinking for a long time, prepared to ask.
Unhurriedly, before Ailia could speak, Zhe Zilin slowly walked closer.
He gently embraced the petite girl in front of him.
A thousand words surged to his lips, yet in the end he only said one sentence.
“Long time no see.”
This was the first time Zhe Zilin had taken the initiative to hug Ailia. There was no purpose behind it. He had simply acted on impulse.
Ailia’s face was buried in Zhe Zilin’s chest. Perhaps because the morning wind was chilly, a layer of blush appeared on her face.
“Ed… Ed… Ed.”
Her voice trembled. Her fingers tightly clutched the hem of her skirt as she said helplessly, “We… saw each other last night.”
Zhe Zilin still did not let go. What Ailia did not know was that at this moment, his heart felt very much at peace.
After experiencing last night’s hardships and torment, followed by life and death separation, Zhe Zilin felt as though a very, very long time had passed.
So “long time no see” felt very fitting to him.
He did not know how long they embraced. Zhe Zilin began to feel somewhat attached to this sense of peace.
Ailia seemed to sense his relief as well. She stammered, “Ed, it’s like you’ve been through a lot?”
Is this the intuition of a witch? Zhe Zilin released the embrace, slightly surprised by Ailia’s perception.
“Mm…”
Zhe Zilin nodded. “A lot of things happened. I couldn’t handle them.”
Ailia tucked away some of her messy hair. Her gentle smile was like a ray of warm sunlight, and her voice was soft.
“Can you tell me?”
Zhe Zilin thought about it. Where should he even begin telling Ailia?
After she left, the half-orcs broke the barrier. The Ice Demon killed him?
In the end, she also died on the path of revenge?
Would Ailia believe him?
Zhe Zilin hesitated. He did not know how to start.
Ailia saw his difficulty and gathered her courage to take a step forward. She lifted Zhe Zilin’s right hand.
She hooked her little finger around his little finger, feeling the boy’s warm temperature.
“Let’s pinky promise…”
“Just promise me…”
Zhe Zilin released the hooked thumb and instead took Ailia’s hand along her palm.
Ailia lowered her head. She had mustered her courage to make Zhe Zilin trust her, but he seemed unwilling to make a pinky promise with her.
Zhe Zilin gently lifted Ailia’s chin with his finger. His gaze fell lightly, without any edge, only warm tenderness.
“No need for a pinky promise. I trust you.”
Ailia froze. She slightly raised her head. Her eyes held a trace of tears.
Zhe Zilin took a deep breath.
“I came back to find you after resurrecting.”