The second floor of the inn.
Li Ang sat by the window, his gaze lowered as he silently watched the blonde girl hurriedly pass by on the street.
Only when Elvie disappeared into the alley at the end of the street did he finally retract his eyes.
Knock knock knock.
The door to the room was knocked on.
“Ahem, please come in.”
The door opened, and a woman about Li Ang’s age stepped inside.
Seeing her, Li Ang fell silent before slowly speaking, “Why is it you?”
He recognized the woman in front of him.
They had grown up together in the same orphanage and were among the few friends Li Ang had during his childhood.
However, unlike him, she had stayed by the orphanage director’s side as they grew older.
After Li Ang joined the Knight Order, they lost contact, and it wasn’t until later that he learned she had become an assassin operating in the gray areas of the world.
All he knew was that her name was Xiao Shi.
And Elvie’s mother was the one she had killed.
The children in the orphanage all held the director in high regard and generally obeyed his orders without question.
Kids like Li Ang, the so-called “rebels,” were very rare.
“The director sent me.”
Xiao Shi said succinctly.
Li Ang frowned. He suspected the director’s reason for sending Xiao Shi was far from simple.
After all, she was connected to both Elvie and himself, and the director knew that Li Ang had adopted Elvie.
“Did… he give you any other orders?”
At his question, Xiao Shi looked up, expressionless.
“Does killing that blonde girl count?”
Her tone was mechanical, radiating a coldness that warned strangers to keep their distance, as if killing was nothing unusual for her.
Li Ang’s eyes narrowed. He summoned his mana again, speaking quietly, “I won’t let you kill her.”
Xiao Shi didn’t answer but instead stared coldly at Li Ang.
Mana surged violently inside him, and a biting, itching pain spread across his body like ants gnawing at his skin.
But Li Ang didn’t dare relax for a moment.
His eyes remained locked on the woman before him.
“Remember, it was the director who raised us. Your entry into the Royal Capital Guard Knights was thanks entirely to his influence.”
Xiao Shi said suddenly.
“But… that thing he did was a mistake. I can’t accept him destroying an innocent family like that. My idea of chivalry won’t allow it!”
Li Ang’s voice was hoarse, his fingers pressing tightly on the sword hilt he had taken from Chris.
“A common knight without a background dying is no big deal. Trading that for a future Knight Order Captain is a bargain. Your future value will be much greater.”
Xiao Shi shook her head.
“You’re too naive. Besides, in your current state…”
As she spoke, Xiao Shi vanished like a bubble.
The chill crawling up Li Ang’s spine was from the sudden sensation of ice-cold hands pressing against his neck.
“You can’t stop me.”
The woman’s icy voice sounded behind him.
Li Ang gritted his teeth and swung his sword backward, but hit nothing.
When he looked forward again, Xiao Shi emerged unscathed from the shadows in the corner.
The moment she moved, Li Ang sensed the aura of rules within her—a sign she was at least Sixth Rank…
He was utterly outmatched.
Still, he shakily propped himself up and raised his sword.
“I won’t let you lay a hand on her.”
“Oh.”
Xiao Shi replied.
Li Ang froze, nearly dropping his sword.
Then she said, “That was a lie.”
The corner of his mouth twitched as he sat back down, displeased.
“Then… did the director agree to that thing?”
Xiao Shi didn’t answer but pulled a pale blue crystal from her pocket and placed it on the floor.
A deep blue light radiated from the crystal, gradually forming the ghostly image of an elderly man above it.
Seeing the old man, Li Ang bowed respectfully, “Director.”
The old man in the projection sighed heavily.
“Li Ang… you’ve disappointed me, do you know that?”
“I know, but I don’t believe what you did was right. I still stand by my own views.”
Li Ang said calmly, neither humble nor arrogant.
A flash of displeasure crossed the elder’s eyes before he changed the subject.
“Are you sure you want to do this? Just for that girl?”
“Yes.”
“Then why should I help you? After all, you are no longer my child.”
Li Ang raised his head, serious.
“Elvie can take my place in your plan. If you clear her father’s name, you will owe a future Knight Order Captain a favor.”
“Hah, interesting. How do you know your position is so important to me?”
The elder looked at Li Ang with great interest.
Then he added, “Fine, I accept your condition. Now tell me, how exactly do you plan to do it?”
Hearing the elder’s agreement, Li Ang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The most critical step he had laid out for Elvie was now complete.
He straightened his posture and said slowly,
“It’s simple. Just throw all the dirt onto me.”
“Li Ang, driven by greed, killed a hero knight undercover in a heretical cult, stole forbidden books, and attempted to prolong his life with the blood of innocent civilians, thus falling into the cult. All the things you did can be pinned on me since I will have no alibi when it all breaks out.”
When Li Ang finished speaking, even the elder was amazed at his plan—he was willing to take on a role hated by the world without hesitation.
He knew that once this information was released, he would be nailed to the pillar of shame forever.
“I underestimated you. Fine, I agree. But…”
The elder squinted, then suddenly shifted tone.
“I invested so much in you, even gave you precious Dragon Blood. Yet you nearly ruined all my schemes over the years. How do you intend to pay me back for that?”
“If you don’t give me a reasonable explanation, that little Elvie won’t live.”
At that moment, Xiao Shi stepped out from the shadows, carrying a wooden bucket and placed it in front of Li Ang.
Li Ang immediately understood the elder’s meaning.
He took a deep breath, drew his sword, and decisively cut his wrist, letting the blood drip into the bucket.
Because of his prior Dragon Blood intake, his body contained traces of Dragon Blood.
The elder wanted not only to reclaim some of it but also to punish Li Ang for his past betrayal.
For a long moment, the only sounds in the room were the dripping blood and Li Ang’s labored breaths of pain.
The bloodletting continued until Li Ang nearly fainted, then stopped.
As Xiao Shi collected the bucket and the projection crystal and prepared to leave, Li Ang quietly called after her.
“You did intend to attack Elvie earlier, right?”
Xiao Shi turned and nodded.
“Why?”
Li Ang frowned.
“Kill her, and you won’t die.”
Xiao Shi’s answer was brief.
Li Ang fell silent.
After hesitating a moment, he raised his head with a complicated look.
“Thank you, but you can’t kill her…”
“Is it worth it?”
A hint of confusion flickered in Xiao Shi’s cold eyes.
She couldn’t understand Li Ang’s choice.
“This is a debt I owe her.”
A faint smile appeared on Li Ang’s pale face.
After a moment’s silence, Xiao Shi turned to leave, but Li Ang called out to her again.
“Wait.”
He carefully chose his words in his mind before speaking slowly,
“Could you… do me a favor?”