“Come in.”
The deputy cult leader stopped at the door.
The temple was thick with fragrance, even more intense than last time.
The moment Wu Yi stepped inside, her whole body felt like it was floating in warm water, dazed and drowsy.
This was beyond strange.
She groped along the wall and continued forward.
The ankle she twisted yesterday hadn’t fully healed, so she walked with a limp.
Like a little white rabbit caught in a hunter’s trap, dragging its wounded leg through a misty, dangerous forest, stumbling along.
“Phew—”
Walking with a sprained ankle was even more exhausting than usual.
She paused for a moment, panting heavily.
Ugh… the place was filled with strange fumes.
She really didn’t want to breathe deeply, but there was no other choice.
Every inch of air here was marked with Kefulu’s demonic scent, wrapping around her from all directions.
There was nowhere to hide.
The sweet scent was more intoxicating than alcohol, breaking down her mental defenses bit by bit.
No matter how agitated she felt, the aroma soothed it all away.
All that remained was a longing and overwhelming drowsiness.
Ha~ so sleepy…
Half-conscious, Wu Yi thought, if someone were to use a charm or hypnotic spell on her right now, she probably wouldn’t be able to resist at all.
Kefulu may be a dark god, but her toxin had an oddly comforting effect, lowering one’s guard.
“I can’t fall asleep here…”
Yawning endlessly, her legs grew weaker and softer, making it hard to take another step.
Time and space seemed tangled into a ball of string—disoriented and chaotic, she had no idea how far she’d gone or how long it had been.
It was really not easy to get an audience with the dark goddess.
She gave a bitter smile and continued to inch forward.
At last—a familiar misstep.
“Crap—”
They say you learn after getting hurt, that you won’t fall for the same trap twice… but in her current state, that clearly didn’t apply.
Yesterday she twisted her right ankle, and now—crack—she twisted her left.
Before she could even cry from the pain, her body pitched forward.
“Clumsy and reckless.”
The warm embrace caught her just in time, laced with the doting murmur of the dark goddess.
She gazed down at the delicate girl in her arms, watching her flustered and shy expression, barely able to contain the primal urge to hunt.
Wu Yi only knew that the goddess’s presence made people act strangely.
She didn’t realize that in the goddess’s eyes, she herself was a temptation almost too great to resist.
The prey had walked right into the web without resistance—what starving predator could resist that?
Especially when the prey didn’t even realize she was in danger.
She cuddled up trustingly to the predator, seeking comfort.
“Hah…”
Kefulu buried her nose in Wu Yi’s hair and took a deep breath.
She only meant to get a little taste but the scent drove her desire even higher, making her hunger almost unbearable.
Still, there was business to attend to.
So for now, the dark goddess refrained from sinking her teeth into her prey’s throat.
“Lady Kefulu…” Wu Yi’s voice was soft and weak. Her already frail body, worn down further by pain and the fumes, seemed ready to melt, “Please… deliver your divine command…”
You’re playing with fire.
Kefulu’s hunger, which she had just barely managed to suppress, surged once more at the sound of that voice.
“…There is no divine command to deliver,” Kefulu said, trying her best to remain composed.
“Eh? Then why did you summon me…”
“I have something to ask you.”
“Huh?”
Kefulu narrowed her eyes slightly, using her tail-like tendrils to draw the girl in her arms even closer.
Like a safety lock to keep her from escaping.
The supple tendrils slowly unraveled the blindfold covering the girl’s eyes.
Kefulu met the girl’s innocent, unfocused gaze, as if trying to peer through that fragile window into her inner world. Only then did she speak, with a touch of amusement:
“You know Wu Yi, don’t you?”
A flicker of panic flashed across those soft pink eyes caught instantly by Kefulu.
Just as she suspected.
“Lady Kefulu, please don’t joke like that…”
Wu Yi gave a nervous smile, trying to turn her head away, but Kefulu cupped her cheeks firmly, holding her face directly in her line of sight.
“…A legendary figure like Princess Wu Yi—how could someone as insignificant as me, who can’t even see, possibly know her… mmph!!”
Wrong answer—the tendrils coiled around her suddenly tightened.
Kefulu had seen everything that happened yesterday at Bibo Port with perfect clarity.
The girl was blatantly lying while pretending submission.
This false loyalty, this string of barefaced lies meant to hide the truth—was like a barrel of oil thrown straight onto the raging fire in Kefulu’s heart.
No one likes the taste of lies.
“Liar.”