Zhe Zilin rested his hand on the sword hilt and walked down the stairs one step at a time.
When he passed a stone window, he turned his head and looked up at the sky.
A rare crescent moon of the Northern Territory hung upon the mountain peak.
Clear radiance poured across the ground like silver frost.
The snow-white treetops were steeped in alluring soft light.
Distant forest shadows and rooftops were all covered in a thin veil.
It was a peaceful night, yet the evening wind held not the slightest warmth.
It scraped across Zhe Zilin’s solemn face.
The chill slipped through the seams of his clothes and spread through his limbs.
His knuckles unconsciously tightened, clenching the cold, hard sword hilt at his waist.
“This is the best ending, isn’t it?”
He turned his head back and let out a long sigh. The depression in his heart pressed against his chest, heavy and dense.
In the front courtyard, Osha was instructing Griet that they would set out for the Royal Capital the moment the King of the North was buried.
She could already no longer wait and did not wish to waste even a single minute or second.
Zhe Zilin circled around the front courtyard and walked alone toward the rear yard.
He had originally thought the place would be empty, yet Airigo was holding a shovel and standing inside a pit of moderate size.
He dug shovel by shovel.
From the corner of his eye he noticed someone approaching.
He straightened up, glanced back once, and continued his movements without stopping.
Beside him, Tana’s corpse no longer bled as it lay to the side.
Zhe Zilin walked forward and heavily sat down against the wall.
“Perhaps she was the one who killed Leon. Is what you’re doing worth it?”
Airigo’s movements paused for a moment. Without turning his head he said, “Her eyes told me that Leon was not killed by her.”
Zhe Zilin was quite willing to chat a few words with Airigo.
The bitterness in his heart was pressing down so hard he could barely breathe.
“Can you tell me why you insisted on doing this yourself?”
Airigo tossed the shovel aside, wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, and dragged Tana’s corpse into the deep pit he had dug.
“I have seen her before. She was merely a pitiful woman. She should not have died in the wilderness to be gnawed by wild beasts.”
After arranging Tana’s appearance, he picked up the shovel and began covering her with a layer of soil.
This time, before Zhe Zilin could ask, Airigo spoke first.
“You seem to have something on your mind, Sir Ed. Son of the Prime Minister, legitimate heir of the wealthiest family, future lord of Obsidian City—what could possibly trouble a great personage like you?”
Zhe Zilin asked in return, “Don’t you know how to read eyes? Why not look for yourself?”
Airigo stood up, turned his head with a hesitant gaze, and after a moment tossed the shovel aside and came before Zhe Zilin.
“Let’s make a bet. If I guess correctly, how about you give me fifty gold coins?”
Zhe Zilin gave a bitter smile. “Do I look like I have fifty gold coins on me right now?”
Airigo shrugged.
“You are a Leibang. Fifty gold coins are nothing more than a drizzle to you. Just have someone send them to me once you return to the Royal Capital.”
Zhe Zilin fell silent, pressed his lips together, and nodded.
Airigo crouched down and looked straight into Zhe Zilin’s eyes. After only a few seconds he stood up and continued covering Tana with soil.
Seeing that the other party remained silent for a long time, Zhe Zilin asked curiously, “Well?”
“Remember to send me those fifty gold coins.”
Airigo covered the final layer of soil, supported his waist, and spoke with a trace of sarcasm in his tone.
“For a playboy like you, I actually don’t even need to look at your eyes to know. You’re troubled because of two women—the witch and the princess.”
Zhe Zilin was not surprised. He drew a deep breath.
“If only I truly were a playboy. At least when making a choice, I would be able to abandon my conscience.”
Airigo discarded the shovel, picked up the sword that had been leaning against the wall, and walked outward.
“There is also a troubled knight in your eyes. Will fifty gold coins be enough for you to leave the Northern Territory and live out the rest of your life?”
Zhe Zilin looked at Airigo’s departing back and shouted.
Airigo’s footsteps never stopped as he replied, “I heard that you used to be an adventurer who traveled the world and visited many places.”
“What?”
Airigo walked out of the rear yard, his voice still loud and clear.
“An adventurer never chooses a path he does not wish to walk.”
Zhe Zilin furrowed his brows.
A path he did not wish to walk? Airigo’s words seemed to contain another layer of meaning.
He rested both hands on his knees and repeatedly chewed over the words. Unbidden, the petite girl once again appeared in his mind.
The path I wish to walk… is it truly impassable?
Zhe Zilin raised his head and looked at the sky, yet the moon would not give him an answer.
So he lowered his head and asked his own heart.
He simply did not want to see Ailia sacrifice herself or Osha’s dying sobs again. That was all.
Airigo’s final sentence once more echoed in his mind.
Was this… truly the path he wished to walk?
Before Zhe Zilin could define it, a shout interrupted his melancholy.
“Leibang!”
Five half-orcs came running over in high spirits.
Aside from One-Eye, the expressions of the rest were all wide, toothy laughs.
Scar immediately dropped to his knees before Zhe Zilin.
“Leibang, from now on you are our leader! Whoever you want killed or chopped up, just say the word and we half-orcs will go through fire and water!”
Zhe Zilin hurriedly helped Scar up and casually said, “Get up quickly. I don’t have any New Year’s money to give you.”
Scar nodded repeatedly and introduced his companions one by one.
Zhe Zilin had originally thought One-Eye was the decision-maker among them, yet looking at things now, it seemed Scar held even more weight.
One-Eye noticed Zhe Zilin’s confusion and explained, “Scar was born two years earlier than the rest of us. Every single one of us has had our life saved by him. It’s just that he easily loses his head, so most of the time I’m the one who comes up with the ideas.”
Zhe Zilin nodded. Perhaps the half-orcs’ smiling faces were simply too infectious.
The corners of his mouth also lifted somewhat.
That smile was forced and only remained on his face for an instant.
One-Eye’s gaze was sharp. He noticed his leader’s displeasure and the heavy matters written across his face.
“Lei… Boss, did you run into something troublesome?”
Scar immediately scrambled to speak. “Who does Boss want killed?!”
“Just say the word and we’ll help you kill them!”
The half-orcs were extremely enthusiastic and surrounded Zhe Zilin in the middle.
How could other people solve the troubles in one’s own heart? He made a joke. “The Ice Demon—can you kill him?”
All the half-orcs fell silent. They lowered their heads in thought, a few traces of embarrassment appearing on their faces.
He had only spoken casually and never expected the half-orcs to take it seriously.
Just as he was about to dismiss the joke, Scar opened his mouth.
“One-Eye, you’ve been to the polar region before. Didn’t you pick up a Spellstone that had Ice Demon blood on it?”
Zhe Zilin was stunned.
“You’ve been to the polar region? And what is a Spellstone?”
One-Eye explained, “At the time, in order to find a way to break the witch’s magic array, I thought about how the Ice Demons and witches have been enemies for a thousand years. So I decided to go to the polar region where the Ice Demons live to search for a method.”
Zhe Zilin asked, “You can enter the polar region?”
One-Eye nodded and continued, “The Ice Demons of the polar region cannot come out, yet we can go in. Inside a certain cave I discovered many corpses of outsiders and several Ice Demon corpses. This Spellstone was taken from an Ice Demon’s heart. From the scene, the Spellstone was the key that caused their deaths.”
As he spoke, One-Eye took out a Spellstone shaped like a dagger.
“There’s also a sentence written on it, but I can’t read it. It should be some kind of ancient spell.”
When Zhe Zilin’s eyes swept across the spell, his heart seemed to skip a beat.
What was written on the Spellstone was not a spell at all, but a rather neat line of regular script.
“Leibang Ed was here!?”
Suddenly, the system’s voice rang out in his mind.
A task that should have been unlocked long ago was suddenly issued.
[Congratulations. Osha’s Wish Three has been completed. Reward obtained: All skill levels +1]
[All of Osha’s wishes have now been completed. Reward obtained: Reload chances +1]
[Please proceed with the final stage task of the Northern Territory: Kill the Ice Demon, enter the polar region, and retrieve the memory fragment that belongs exclusively to the Northern Territory]