Once again leaving the simulated world, Aoki sat up from the jade bed.
He glanced at the current time, and suddenly felt something odd. By all rights, Cuihua should have already come by at this hour—so why did it feel as if no one had been to the forbidden area in the Deepwood District today?
Aoki used his Qi Technique, got off the bed, and circled the place, deciding to wait a while longer.
Right now, in the simulated world, it was the dead of night. Lingering here for a few hours wouldn’t matter.
Yet for some reason, Aoki felt increasingly uneasy as he waited. Turning it over in his mind, he headed to the entrance of the forbidden area and performed a spell to unlock the seal.
Ever since the incident in Rose Royal Capital, this seal had been little more than decoration. According to Cuihua, even the elders of Deepwood District were considering whether to move his body out of the forbidden area.
After all, Saintess Yuelan had already disappeared, Rose Royal Capital was thrown into chaos, and the kingdom had no time to bother with this place. Deepwood District had become a runaway horse, growing ever wilder.
With all that having happened, Aoki was also curious about one thing: was there still any need for him to pretend to be a vegetable in Deepwood District?
It seemed pointless now. The enemy he needed to watch out for the most had vanished.
Aoki was certain the Rose Royal Capital incident had been something even Yuelan hadn’t foreseen, so he didn’t believe it was all part of her scheme.
Although everything was shrouded in mystery, he felt there was no need to be overly paranoid.
Leaving the room of the forbidden ground, Aoki looked out at the courtyard. In the distance stood a large gate of wood and vines. It was daytime; at this hour, there should always have been guards present. So where were they now?
Aoki had always thought he was far too obedient, so he decided not to wait for Cuihua here. Thanks to his Qi Technique, his body far surpassed that of ordinary people, and he could climb out through the sacred ground’s arched vines.
After observing the surroundings for a moment, he acted—grabbing hold of the vines and climbing as if scaling a cliff, making his way to the top of the sanctuary, then squeezing through a crack to the outside.
He had been in Deepwood District for several months now. The most he’d ever done was sneak out at night with Cuihua, the farthest being Maxie’s little clinic.
Now standing high above, he took in the whole of Deepwood District at a glance. It was like an iron cage woven from vines. Sunlight slipped through the gaps, filtered through the lush trees—not blocking the light but reflecting it with a special magic, so the area was instead full of sunshine and abundant with water and grass.
Deepwood District was far more prosperous than he’d imagined. He tried to spot Maxie’s clinic with his naked eye, but no matter how he searched, he couldn’t see it. The tallest and most striking building in Deepwood District was a church. Of course, the faith of the church was different from the native beliefs of the wood elves; to Aoki, the church stood like a thorn of flesh, stabbing deep into the heart of the Deepwood District, piercing the wood elves’ core.
But Aoki thought, before long, that church would be torn down—once the kingdom’s influence here completely vanished.
So, where was Cuihua?
Aoki saw caravans of non-kingdom traders, a market bustling with all kinds of races, but the uneasy feeling in his heart lingered.
But was he really leaving the sanctuary because he was worried about Cuihua?
Maybe he was just stifled and needed air.
Aoki quietly climbed down the arched vines of the sanctuary, sneaking behind a fabric vendor’s stall to steal a piece of cloth, which he wrapped around his head, disguising himself as a merchant from the desert regions.
“Bah!”
Passing by the stall, Aoki was spat at by the vendor. His heart skipped a beat, thinking he’d been found out, but nothing happened. Suddenly, he remembered a rumor: elves were generally xenophobic. He probably hadn’t noticed before because Cuihua and Maxie were different from the usual wood elves.
Indeed, only unusual wood elves would go along with him for all sorts of mischief.
Aoki decided to look for Cuihua, though he had no real clue where to start. So maybe, deep down, he just wanted to have a stroll.
He walked through the marketplace, and suddenly spotted a familiar wood elf at a herbalist’s stall.
“Doctor Maxie.”
Aoki walked over and patted the other’s shoulder, pulling him aside as he saw the look of shock, and whispered, “It’s me.”
“Of course I know it’s you. But how did you get out?”
Maxie was holding a basket of herbs in his hand.
“Mm, I climbed out.”
Aoki casually rifled through the herbs in the basket. “Have you seen Cuihua? Do you know where she went?”
“Why don’t you check the herb fields?” Maxie pointed in a direction.
“Alright, I’ll go take a look.”
Aoki bade Maxie farewell and headed to the herb fields, but found them empty. He stood with hands on his hips, turning in a circle and scanning his surroundings, feeling puzzled. Maybe he should just head back for now.
As he swept his gaze around, he noticed that church not far away.
The human architecture was very different from that of the wood elves—the stained glass, white roof, and walls of the church were made to shine as brightly as possible, and the sunlight refracted by Deepwood’s leaves made it glare even more.
Aoki squinted and walked over, peering inside. The church’s main hall wasn’t finished yet; from the looks of things, it would never be finished. The legendary Holy Mother would never descend upon this foreign land.
Walking along, Aoki wondered—where had Yuelan gone?
As he pondered, he thought about when he would set out to defeat the Demon King.
As he wandered, he arrived at the church entrance. Just as he was about to step inside, a longsword suddenly blocked his way.
The silver blade caught his startled gaze. Not a scratch marred the blade; perhaps due to the craftsmanship and material, but he could also smell the scent of the forge—proof that the sword was brand new.
There were familiar patterns etched along the blade. Although the eastern races in this world also favored such motifs, he instinctively felt these patterns didn’t belong to this world.
He looked first at the sword tip, confirming it was an eastern-style sword. Then, slowly, his eyes traveled right, landing on the auspicious beast engraved on the guard—his gaze froze, pupils trembling.
“Haah…”
A sigh—so familiar.
“Didn’t you say you’d always stay with me? Why are you hiding in this world, refusing to see me?”
“Guh…”
Aoki didn’t answer the sword-bearer’s question. His eyes were wide, breath coming fast, teeth chattering.
Impossible.
It shouldn’t be…
What was going on?
Was this real?
Wasn’t it a fake?
What was with this sword?
What was with that voice?
“Ah…”
Aoki looked to his right and saw a face—half-smiling, half-not.
She wore a hood, a few strands of black hair falling before her eyes, hiding the left one. She watched Aoki for a while, then turned her head slightly, her hair brushing across her skin, revealing the teardrop mole beneath her left eye.
“You… are you real!”
It wasn’t until he saw that unmistakable teardrop mole that Aoki finally came to his senses. He staggered back several steps, clutching his stomach.
Here. This was where he’d been stabbed before.