428: "Change" and "Spying"

Therese's heart skipped a beat as she gripped Shang Wan Ning's arm. The mark on the purple robes was recognizable at a glance; it belonged to the "Eye of the Dark Night," which reported directly to the King and specialized in handling all sorts of evil and strange incidents, wielding immense power.

Their sudden arrival in Chisong Town and heading straight for Viscount Morris's Viscounts Manor clearly indicated they did not come with good intentions.

The commotion didn't last long, as the law enforcement team and the "Eye of the Dark Night" personnel quickly disappeared around the corner leading to the Viscounts Manor.

Therese slowly released her grip on Shang Wan Ning's arm, her palm slick with a thin layer of sweat.

Turning her head to look at the still-calm Little Priestess beside her, the inquisitive look in her emerald eyes grew stronger: "Nicole, the people from the Royal Capital... and Butler Horn's attitude yesterday, does it all have something to do with you?"

Shang Wan Ning looked up, her clear pupils reflecting the Half-Elf's slightly nervous expression.

She didn't respond directly.

Instead, she gently took her hand and walked toward the quiet riverbank they often frequented.

The river flowed, and the breeze carried the faint scent of foxtail grass and dandelions past their cheeks. Shang Wan Ning sat down on a smooth stone by the bank and patted the empty spot beside her: "Sit."

Therese sat down as told, her gaze never leaving the other's face.

The linen dress on the young girl was a bit faded from washing, yet it made her features look even cleaner and more translucent. However, deep within her eyes was an unfathomable calmness, making her seem like a completely different person from the soft and timid Little Priestess of the past.

"Therese," Shang Wan Ning spoke, her voice devoid of its former soft and timid nature.

"I'm leaving Chisong Town."

Therese's chest felt tight, and her breath hitched.

She had long sensed that the priestess girl was by no means simple; the strange occurrences in the mine, the sudden appearance of the Royal Capital's law enforcement team—every single event revolved around her.

But hearing about the departure for real, her heart still sank: "Why? Does it have to do with Viscount Morris's Viscounts Manor? Or..."

"There are things I must do, and I'm going to a very distant place." As she spoke, she turned her head, her eyes meeting Therese's emerald ones directly.

"I've been very happy going on adventure missions with you these past few days. It's truly good to have known you, my Half-Elf partner."

Therese pursed her lips, nearly biting her lower lip until it turned red. A surge of loss and reluctance welled up in her heart; the person before her seemed to have shed a layer of disguise, revealing an unfathomable silhouette beneath that inspired both curiosity and awe.

Shang Wan Ning fumbled in her linen bag for a moment and pulled out a dull badge.

It was engraved with a pattern of chains wrapping around a vortex, its edges slightly worn. She pressed it directly into Therese's palm: "This is for you."

The cold metallic sensation spread from her palm, and Therese instinctively gripped it tight.

"If you encounter any unsolvable trouble or have nowhere else to go in the future, take this to a stronghold of the Abyss Church," Shang Wan Ning said with genuine concern.

"I know a bit about the situation of the Elf Race. Since the fall of the Emerald Royal Court, the Blood Elves' exclusion of Half-Elves has never ceased. The Abyss Church can provide you with a place of refuge."

Therese's knuckles trembled, her grip on the badge tightening.

The decline of the Elf Race and the awkward position of Half-Elves between the two races were scars she didn't want to touch, yet the girl's words happened to strike the deepest fears hidden in her heart.

"Who... are you, exactly?"

Therese's voice was dry and raspy as she finally asked the question she had been holding back for a long time.

Shang Wan Ning curled her lips slightly. She didn't answer the question, but instead reached out to take Therese's hand that wasn't holding the badge. She lowered her head and placed a kiss as light as a feather on the back of the other's calloused hand.

The cool sensation vanished in a flash.

Therese suddenly felt a wave of warmth from the back of her hand, spreading through her blood vessels to her entire body, finally settling deep in her chest. It felt as if something had taken root in her life's essence, leaving three faint marks.

"A gift from a friend." Shang Wan Ning looked up, her eyes reflecting the fragmented light on the water.

"It can save Miss Therese three times. It will trigger automatically when you encounter fatal danger."

Therese froze in place, her entire body sensing that strange and powerful residual warmth.

A thought became increasingly clear in her mind: This was definitely no ordinary priestess, perhaps not even a mortal—was she a deity?

Shang Wan Ning stood up, her tone carrying a hint of apology: "I said I'd treat you to a berry tart before, but I'm afraid I won't be able to fulfill that promise this time."

She smiled at Therese, turned, and walked along the riverbank. Her pace was neither hurried nor slow, and her figure gradually blended into the shadows of the trees outside the town.

She didn't look back, nor did she stop again.

Therese sat alone on the stone, staring blankly at the badge in her palm.

The cool warmth on the back of her hand didn't seem to have dissipated. As the wind blew, ripples formed on the water's surface, mirroring the chaotic state of her mind.

She didn't know what the girl was going to do, nor did she know if there was any possibility of them meeting again.

She only knew that the Half-Elf was extremely lucky to have met her own deity.

【(◕ˇ∀ˇ◕)】

About a hundred miles away from Chisong Town, Shang Wan Ning's pace gradually slowed down.

Her expression shifted from the gentleness of departure to a profound calm, and the aura around her changed quietly as she turned into a dense forest.

Towering ancient trees blotted out the sun, and thick layers of fallen leaves covered the ground, making almost no sound when stepped upon.

Standing in the center of the forest, the space around her rippled slightly.

The faded linen dress dissipated into faint light, replaced by a mystic black robe of ten thousand sorrows, its hem embroidered with dark gold patterns that swayed gently with her breath.

A silver-gray heaven-deceiving divine soul mask appeared out of thin air, covering her face and leaving only a pair of deep eyes visible. Her aura instantly became cold and unfathomable, with no trace left of "Nicole's" fragile appearance.

Opening her palm, the blood marrow ore fragment obtained from the mine floated up, its dark red luster flickering eerily in the dim light of the forest.

Her divine sense delved into the fragment, capturing the faint, indistinct, and sinister connection contained within.

A faint mark belonging to the Thousand-Faced Shadow.

At the same time, the fragmented prayer she had memorized in the library echoed in her mind.

"With blood essence as the guide, and the prayer as the marker..."

Shang Wan Ning whispered.

A trace of dark red energy derived from the blood marrow ore condensed at her fingertips, tracing the final character of the prayer in the air.

As the character took shape and the dark red energy was injected, the pale gold character jolted violently, emitting a faint hum.

An almost invisible thread of energy extended from the center of the character, pointing toward a certain direction in the void.

However, this thread did not point to any location on the Ativi Continent; instead, it vanished into the spatial layers, intermittent and elusive... "As expected, it's not in the main plane," Xiao Si's voice rang out.

"These evil gods are more capable of hiding than rats in a hole."

Shang Wan Ning was not surprised.

Although the Thousand-Faced Shadow was only a Rank 7 evil god who had been dormant for centuries, the instinct of a divine creature would lead it to place its sleeping grounds in a hard-to-find demiplane to guard against the covetousness of other evil gods.

Even its most devout followers likely had no idea of its exact location.