Slaying demons and exterminating evil, an eternal guardian of justice. Unstoppable, the black harbinger of doom…
There were many opinions in this world about Master Lania, but to her, they all seemed too one-sided, too superficial.
She vaguely remembered the first time she saw her Master—she was still very young.
Up in the Northern Ice Lump, it snowed all year round. That day was a rare sunny one; the sun was bright, yet the snow refused to melt.
Hearing that the strongest human in the land was coming, Lania ran away from her family’s strict control early in the morning, weaving into the crowd that had gathered on both sides of the main road in Yichun City.
Unfortunately, she was too small then, lost in the throng with no sense of direction. She jumped up but couldn’t see clearly—just legs everywhere. When the crowd finally dispersed, the First Brave had already passed through Yichun City, heading out to the Snowfield to hunt demons. Lania could only stare blankly at the empty street.
She waited until dusk before her family found her and took her back. She never got to see the strongest human that day.
Afterward, her family’s control tightened further, and Lania lost all chances to go out. She could only listen to the occasional chatter that the First Brave had discovered traces of the legendary “Demon King of Ice and Flame” in the Snowfield.
From a young age, Lania loved adventure stories, especially tales of the Brave fighting dragons. But with no way to leave home, she could only climb up to the courtyard wall and gaze toward the main road of Yichun City—the path the Brave had taken—and then the Snowfield beyond.
“Elder Brother, could there really be a Demon King beyond the snowy mountain?” young Lania often asked her elder brother, who was also her partner in climbing the courtyard walls.
“I don’t know, but the mountains are dangerous. There are many monsters,” her brother would say nervously, glancing around anxiously. “Nia, you better get down quickly. If the adults find out, they’ll skin me alive…”
“Oh, okay…”
“Hurry, hurry. Watch out, don’t fall. If you get hurt, the hateful adults will find out. Next time, I won’t be able to help you!”
Her brother always looked so timid and worried.
“Elder Brother, do you think the Brave will come back after defeating the Demon King? If they come back, they’ll definitely pass through Yichun City, right? Right?!”
“Ah, I don’t know. Let’s go, let’s go! Oh no! A servant is coming this way—they’ll snitch! Run! Watch out for branches!”
“Eh…”
Just after climbing down the wall, Lania and her brother had to crawl back into the house through a dog hole. Only inside could her timid brother finally relax.
But what Lania never expected was that her first encounter with her Master wasn’t outside—it was inside her own home, behind those thick, towering walls.
Her parents and the elders at home seemed to disapprove of the Brave, yet the Brave came anyway, and those elders even greeted them warmly.
Strange.
“Nia, isn’t this the strongest Brave you always wanted to see? Come, come, let’s go see! The elders surely won’t blame us this time!”
“……”
“Hm? Nia, why aren’t you moving? That pretty lady next to the Brave is so nice. Look, she gave me some candy—candy from the Capital. It’s delicious. Try it!”
“Hm? So sweet…”
“Hehe, Nia, you’re still little. You can’t eat too much. I’ll share one with you, but that’s it, no more for you…”
Little Lania watched her brother run off with the candy and hid behind the bushes to sneak a glance at the Brave.
To her surprise, the Brave wasn’t alone—they were with six others…
The pretty lady who gave out the candy?
Lania searched carefully and quickly spotted the blonde-haired, golden-eyed girl closest to the Brave.
The girl smiled softly, seemingly chatting intimately with the Brave, while reaching into the Brave’s pocket for candy to share with other children who had come to watch.
Unfortunately, the Brave barely smiled and didn’t stop the blonde girl’s affectionate gestures.
“……”
Little Lania couldn’t help but lick her lips; for a child her age, delicious candy was truly irresistible.
Just as she was about to make a move—
The smiling girl suddenly turned her head, her golden eyes burning like refined gold, her rosy lips parting slightly.
Was she speaking?
To whom?
Don’t listen, don’t listen, I don’t want to hear! Her instincts screamed wildly.
Panicked, little Lania ran off without looking back.
At that time, she never imagined that when she met the First Brave’s team again, she would have no home, wandering for a while.
It was around then that she was taken in by the renowned First Brave as their disciple—the only disciple.
In later teachings and long acquaintance, Lania gradually realized her Master might not be the radiant sun of justice the world claimed—a fearless light shining on humanity’s path.
Her Master was a star farther than the sun. Though he didn’t mind lighting the way for those far away, he only wished to warm those close to him.
But…
Now,
Lania always felt the words her Master’s wife spoke to her at their first meeting were meant for who she was now.
Even though she hadn’t heard what Master’s wife said!
No, even if she had, so much time had passed that childhood memories were bound to blur!
“What… what’s wrong with you?”
“Are you okay?”
Hua Shiyu stared at Lania’s forehead, drenched in cold sweat, her eyes filled with concern—and more so, confusion.
“You… what did you say just now?” Lania covered her forehead, her face pale.
Hua Shiyu paused, hesitating, then repeated with eight parts doubt and two parts worry:
“Are you okay?”
“The line before that!!!”
“You… you said what?”
“No, not that one. The line before.”
“Then I might as well tell you the whole thing again. In short, that wicked little girl you escorted here may possess more than two powers, skilled in disguise.
Justice Value estimated near Chaos-Lawful. She knows a lot of things, but it’s all a jumbled mess. She acts on whims, hmm… maybe she’ll live longer than me? Her mentality is a strangely twisted kind of openness?”
Hua Shiyu stopped, then added, “And now she’s willingly let the Spirit of the Jewel be stolen? It’s very likely she’s already controlling our movements, but precisely because of that, we might be able to reverse-engineer…”
“Maybe it’s not theft.” Lania suddenly interrupted, her tone quiet and distant:
“For a top Divine Relic’s spirit to voluntarily give up resistance and instead actively help the captor spread chaotic news… Heh,
My Master once told me that even if all Seven Demon Kings appeared together, they could never make the All-Seeing Eye’s spirit submit, at best only shatter it. But he can… hehe.”
Lania chuckled coldly.
Hua Shiyu shivered, twirling a strand of hair nervously, eyes flickering. “Maybe your Master doesn’t understand this world as much as you think? Right?”
“Knows a lot of things, but it’s all a jumbled mess?” Lania repeated Hua Shiyu’s words, leaving her speechless, then muttered to herself gravely:
“I know my Master could never become a little girl. But that little girl definitely has an inexplicable connection to him!”
Hua Shiyu: “Ah… ha?”