Chapter 24 Xia Xier's Past and Present Lives (Part 2)

For the first time in years, Xu Ruo felt the warmth and happiness.

Unknowingly, he became increasingly dependent on Xia Xier.

He gradually shed his initial reserve and vigilance, becoming more cheerful, with a smile appearing on his face more often.

Xia Xier was also very happy, and the two were like siblings.

Everything was as peaceful and beautiful as usual.

Even Xu Ruo, who was accustomed to hardship, had the illusion that this beautiful peace would last forever...

Until one day...

The knights of the Fran Empire delivered a wanted poster to the village chief!

On that wanted poster was none other than Xu Ruo's face!

The crimes listed were countless murders and grave sins...

What happened next to Xu Ruo was much like the past.

Without a word, the village chief gathered everyone in the village and revealed Xu Ruo's identity as a member of the Demon Race in front of them all!

The irony was that those villagers who used to chat and laugh with him, even calling him brother...

Upon learning his true identity, they looked at him with fear and disgust, hurling insults at him...

Some radical villagers even picked up firewood axes, ready to attack him!

They were eager to drive him out of the village immediately.

Xu Ruo was not surprised by the shift in everyone's attitude...

For he had already experienced something similar once before.

In fact, the pain caused by his first exposure was far greater than this...

But he did not care about others; he only cared about...

How Xia Xier, who had brought him back, viewed him!

Upon learning of Xu Ruo's identity, Xia Xier was stunned at first, but the next moment...

Amidst Xu Ruo's gradually chilling gaze, she stood in front of him and shouted hoarsely:

"So what if he is a member of the Demon Race?"

"Have you all forgotten how much he has helped us over the years?"

"Have you forgotten who chopped the firewood that helped us survive these bitter winters?"

"He has never once harmed us!!!"

Tears shimmered in Xia Xier's eyes, but her beautiful face was full of defiance and determination.

In the end, to avoid making things difficult for Xia Xier, Xu Ruo left the village on his own.

As soon as he left, the village chief immediately contacted the knights of the Fran Empire and told them about Xu Ruo's whereabouts.

But...

This was not some illusory world.

The knights of the Fran Empire were not so easily fooled.

The village chief, unable to bluff his way through, eventually had to tell the knights the whole story...

Of course, all the blame was ultimately shifted onto Xia Xier...

With the arrival of the Round Table Knights dispatched by the Fran Empire...

Xia Xier faced judgment from the empire's knights...

On the other side, Xu Ruo, who was walking and resting along the way, soon realized something was wrong!

Not long after leaving the village, he was hunted by knights!

Experienced, Xu Ruo realized instantly...

Someone had exposed his whereabouts to the empire!

The only person who could have done this in such a short time was the village chief!

Only now...

Did Xu Ruo realize he had made a fatal mistake.

To avoid implicating Xia Xier, he had chosen to be driven out by the crowd.

But this had instead brought even greater trouble upon Xia Xier!

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Xu Ruo's eyes.

He turned sharply and attacked the knights who were hunting him!

No matter what...

He could not implicate Xia Xier!

Unexpectedly, the knights pursuing him were completely vulnerable.

A single magic blast was enough to decapitate them instantly.

Having dealt with the knights, Xu Ruo rushed back to the village without stopping.

But...

He was one step too late...

The moment he saw the column of smoke rising in the distance...

He pushed the magic power within his body to the limit, desperate to save Xia Xier.

But when he arrived at the village...

Those knights and ignorant villagers were standing in a circle, chanting:

"Respected Goddess, we mortals here beg for your mercy..."

"Save this lost and wandering lamb, and forgive her faults..."

"May the heavens bless us..."

Xu Ruo had no heart to listen to what they were praying about.

Because all he saw was what had been burned into a charred corpse on the execution platform...

The irony was that the firewood used to burn Xia Xier might even have been something he had helped collect for the village...

At that moment, it felt as if a scorching iron was burning his soul.

Tear after tear slid down his face.

For the first time since his grandfather passed away, he felt the emotion known as sorrow...

That night, no one knew what happened afterward.

They only knew that Xu Ruo, who was being hunted, added another debt of blood to his name.

It was not just because he had slaughtered another village.

But because...

The Round Table Knights of the Fran Empire, who had never known defeat in thousands of years, had fallen from their pedestal that night!

...

After recounting his past life...

Both Xia Xier and Dean Dewin fell into silence in the room.

Of course, there were some things Xia Xier did not reveal to Dewin.

Such as Xu Ruo's identity as a member of the Demon Race...

She simply glossed over it by calling him a "murderer."

After a long while, Dean Dewin sighed deeply, her gaze complex as she looked at Xu Ruo:

"So... this is the story of your past life?"

Xia Xier nodded.

Dean Dewin opened her mouth but did not know how to offer comfort.

Eventually, it was Xia Xier who spoke first—

"Perhaps out of guilt towards me, or for some other reason, the Goddess granted me the right to be reincarnated freely."

"Therefore... in this life, I chose to become the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom—Xia Xier!"

"It is true that I want to bring light to the world, but this light should also include Xu Ruo!"

"Fortunately, he is of a long-lived race."

"Otherwise, I might never have been able to say sorry to him in person..."

"If I hadn't insisted on taking him back, he wouldn't have faced that betrayal later..."

"Therefore, in this life, I will not only devote my life to saving the world, but I will also devote my life to saving one person!"

"And that person... is Xu Ruo!"

Xia Xier's words were resonant, filled with indescribable determination.

Dean Dewin closed her eyes slightly and nodded slowly.

"Xier, I can generally understand your thoughts."

"As the guide who brought you to the Holy Kingdom, even if you didn't say it, I would know what you are about to say..."

At this, Dewin paused suddenly.

Xia Xier's heart skipped a beat as well.

Finally, Dean Dewin slowly opened her eyes, her face revealing the loving smile that Xia Xier was very familiar with.

"Rest assured, Xier. I will find a way to make the other guardians accept the story about your childhood sweetheart."

Xia Xier's heart finally settled.

This sentence was enough!

She had already received the Dean's approval!

"Xier, keep going."

"I believe in you." Dean Dewin patted Xia Xier's shoulder.

"After all, you are the only Saintess chosen by the Goddess!"

Xia Xier nodded heavily!

However...

When Dewin did not notice, by the crack of the door...

A wisp of invisible magic power that had been observing for a long time slowly disappeared after seeing that Xia Xier was in no danger...

The one who had quietly channeled this wisp of magic power to guard Xia Xier's safety...

Was none other than Xu Ruo, who was lying on the bed in the room, gazing at the ceiling with vacant eyes...