Xue La picked up a handful of small pebbles.
With just these, she was confident she could handle the sky-darkening, greedy and cunning flock of Klabane Crows.
“Caw!”
A pebble shot into the sky with the force of a thunderbolt, piercing a crow’s chest.
The black bird that had been strutting arrogantly in the air plummeted straight down—another unlucky victim felled by Xue La’s hidden weapon attack!
As if eager to show off, Xue La activated her skill “Gale Step”—
In the blink of an eye, the young girl in her black nun’s habit dropped the basket she’d been using to pick apples, leaped high into the air with a single bound, and landed on the tallest tree in the orchard.
Stand high, see far.
That was the only way to completely drive off these freeloading pests.
Of course, Xue La was also after the precious experience points—the EXP from killing a single Klabane Crow was about the same as the reward for cooking an ordinary dish!
Easy to fight, worth fighting, fun to fight.
Xue La was determined to seize this rare level-up opportunity.
“Goddess above!”
The farm manager was startled.
Were all the girls from the convent this formidable?
Though the church of the Gods of Light did have tales of heroic saints who vanquished demons and aided the needy, and some larger convents even housed or hosted living exorcist saints under their patronage.
But those were all elites, few and far between.
The head nun leading the group adjusted her gold-rimmed spectacles and pursed her lips—
Maisonlogi couldn’t afford to keep such a powerhouse!
This convent was nothing more than a peaceful, secluded retreat.
If they hadn’t taken money from House Linde and agreed to provide necessary etiquette and academic education for their only daughter, they really wouldn’t have accepted this “hot potato.”
There was no choice.
Maisonlogi was a small church, but it needed money for everything.
Even though the Lyoncourt Family was notorious throughout the Kingdom of Norsenia for their arrogance, they had to put on a smiling face and take the girl in.
The old nun had many worries, which could be summed up in three points.
First, did this meet House Linde’s requirements for Xue La?
Was the convent fulfilling its educational responsibilities?
Second, Xue La’s behavior wasn’t bad—this group of nuns had originally come to help with the orchard work.
While “dealing with monsters stealing apples” wasn’t typical behavior for ordinary nuns, Xue La might, in time, have the potential to become an exorcist nun or saint.
Third, she had potential, but did she have the ability?
She hadn’t yet reached the stage of mastering divine magic.
Come on, divine magic was different from regular magic.
The latter was learned through grueling training in chants and hand gestures—while the former came from years of offering sacrifices and praises to the gods.
How many months had Xue La been with the church?
And she already wanted to learn divine magic?
She should start by copying the scriptures three hundred times and show more devotion during prayers!
“Still needs observation,” the nun concluded, watching this slightly “troublesome” young lady of House Linde.
Black Klabane Crows fell one after another, like a strange kind of rain.
“Don’t turn my orchard into a garbage dump!”
the farm manager suddenly shouted.
“Even the cats and dogs won’t eat these birds!”
Indeed, one of the details for distinguishing wild beasts from monsters lay in the quality of their meat.
The meat of ordinary wild beasts was easy to process and turn into delicious food.
But monster meat was much harder to stomach, requiring more complex and tedious processing methods and ingredients.
Otherwise, why would Manticore Sausage have used up all the herbs in House Linde’s kitchen, forcing Xue La to go pick more in the mountains?
Because manticore meat—if not processed—was truly terrible to eat!
The Klabane Crows were much the same.
Even in the form of corpses, these wicked birds were…
Very troublesome and hard to dispose of!
“Understood,” Xue La said confidently.
“Gale Step” was such a useful skill, you know?
Xue La moved back and forth between branches, nimble as a cat.
In her hands, she gathered Klabane Crows—one by one, grabbing them.
The skill “Hidden Weapon Throwing” wasn’t limited to pebbles.
Rotten eggs and tomatoes worked too.
Naturally, Klabane Crows also worked—Xue La threw these black birds into one spot, like she was shooting hoops.
The blue-haired, golden-eyed girl jumped down from the tree, pressing down her nun’s habit with both hands to avoid any wardrobe malfunctions.
“All done!” she announced.
“Sir, your orchard is safe.”
The farm manager thanked her profusely, not knowing how to express his gratitude.
In Grinno City, a hundred miles away, Bali Saihe also didn’t know how to thank Luo Yi.
Though the former imperial general, maintaining some shred of dignity, had scolded Luo Yi for wanting to claim all the Shadow Thieves’ gold, he still allowed him to take no more than a handful of coins.
When Luo Yi grabbed, he didn’t disappoint the old man.
Norsenyia gold coins were traditional ancient currency—no serrations on the edges, making them hard to grip and easy to slip from the palm.
They were also cast large and thin.
Even so, Luo Yi managed to grab a full twelve gold coins with one hand!
This money, of course, had its use.
It was enough for Bali Saihe to pick a decent inn for the night, hire a skilled apothecary to save Asuna, and still have some left over for nutritious food.
But before all that, there were more pressing questions.
“Master… what exactly happened to my sister? The Shadow Thieves captured her…”
Luo Yi began, but couldn’t help glancing at the unconscious, feverish girl tossing on the bed.
Asuna shivered under the covers, calling out the names of those she loved.
Bali Saihe’s name and Luo Yi’s brother—half and half.
Initially, the old man would have been angry at Luo Yi for driving Asuna away, but as he kept vigil by her bedside, he noticed that Asuna’s condition improved only when Luo Yi was present.
Though she was unconscious, when Luo Yi held her small hand, her heartbeat steadied, and the corners of her mouth seemed to curl into a smile.
“Haven’t I told you…”
Bali Saihe stared at Luo Yi with his empty eye sockets—the places where his eyes had been gouged out now only wrapped in white cloth.
“I was blind. The Sun God Helong has already punished me, letting a traitor kill me—and he’s the one who wanted to take away the one I loved.”
Bali Saihe trembled all over, as if sinking back into that painful memory.
The defeated general was impeached.
A crown prince, renowned throughout the world as wise and virtuous, had died on the battlefield.
There was no escaping the charge.
But anyone could have turned traitor and bitten Bali Saihe back—yet it had to be him!
Bali Saihe’s son-in-law, the man he had once regarded as his own son.
He was the one who abandoned his wife and daughter to switch allegiances—and now he wanted to come back, pretending to care for his daughter?
Bali Saihe still wanted to find his own daughter…
The old man still didn’t know what had become of Asuna’s mother.
Missing or dead?
It had to be related to that traitorous son-in-law.
But that man had “remained loyal to the royal family” and “bravely resisted,” eventually rising in rank, gaining wealth, and remarrying—his second wife was the aunt of Norsenia’s Second Prince, Rustan.
In other words, he had switched sides successfully.
Thus, Bali Saihe became the kingdom’s laughingstock and a beggar—while that scumbag continued to enjoy wealth and honor.
Even Luo Yi didn’t understand that man’s intentions.
He only knew that what they needed to do now was wake the unconscious little girl Asuna and take her to Maisonlogi for divine magic treatment.
The old man told Luo Yi everything without reservation.
Though Luo Yi had thrown a childish tantrum and hurt Asuna badly, his nature wasn’t bad, and he had good potential to be a future Brave.
So Bali Saihe decided to forgive his reckless behavior.
But no more second chances.
“As for Asuna’s problem, there are basically two things. First, the Shadow Thieves’ poison—a bunch of despicable petty thieves used a low-toxicity sedative, but it’s still too harmful for a child’s body.”
The old man clenched his fist, still unable to forgive the traitor and the Shadow Thieves’ lackeys who colluded with him.
“Besides… Asuna has some other issues. She was never in good health to begin with, and then she had to wander with me, living on an empty stomach half the time.”
Bali Saihe rarely shed tears.
“I… I finally managed to buy the white bread and hot milk she loves, but Asuna… Asuna can’t open her mouth, can’t smile at me and say she loves Grandpa best…”
Bali Saihe’s head drooped, utterly devoid of any heroic spirit.
“I understand,” Luo Yi said, embracing Bali Saihe.
“You’ll always be my idol. Maybe I have a way…”
Luo Yi whispered in the old man’s ear.
Then he got a beating.
“Brat, don’t push your luck!”
Bali Saihe regained his dignity as a master, fury in his voice.
He slapped Luo Yi’s butt and shoved him toward the bedside.
“You can do this, but the price…”
Is that you’ll have to take responsibility for Asuna for the rest of her life.
Luo Yi chewed carefully, breaking the fine white bread in his mouth, then took a sip of warm milk.
Swirling it with his tongue, it gradually turned into a warm, nutritious paste.
Then the red-haired, gray-eyed boy bent down, aligned himself with the unconscious Asuna, and gently leaned in—
And kissed her.
Using his tongue, he carefully transferred the food from his mouth into hers, sending the nourishment down Asuna’s throat.
Luo Yi could hear Asuna’s heart pounding, and her throat instinctively contracting with the will to survive.
Asuna—she could still be saved.
Luo Yi then used another ingredient.
Half a Manticore Sausage—he had eaten half when facing Shadow Thieves’ leader Ke Lun.
The rest could perhaps help Asuna.
Since Luo Yi might have survived the poison gas in the execution chamber because he ate the sausage.
If so, this effect might work similarly on the toxins causing Asuna’s coma.
And Luo Yi’s gamble paid off.
The golden-haired girl’s arms—pale as if they could squeeze oil—wrapped around Luo Yi’s body like a swan’s neck.
“Brother!”
Asuna opened her eyes, tears turning to laughter.
“I knew you loved me the most!”
The last thing she’d seen before losing consciousness was Luo Yi and Bali Saihe searching for her, confronting the Shadow Thieves.
The farm manager searched high and low, but couldn’t find anything to properly entertain Xue La.
He was a poor man, with no decent gift to offer.
Finally, he could only sincerely present a roll of green wool fabric.
The old nun almost laughed—House Linde had no shortage of wool!
“Please accept it!”
The farm manager meant no harm; he had offered the best thing he had.
“It was my wife’s dowry when she married me. This piece is green, not much, but enough to make a hat, with some to spare.”
Xue La smiled politely and declined.
The gift was nice, but she was a transmigrator.
She had no intention of wearing a green hat.
That was bad luck.