Those are the ancient, pure spirit crystals that I got by killing the Loathsome Evil in the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect’s secret realm. There are rumors that these crystals are valued equally highly by all existences in the different worlds… A flash of understanding went through Leylin’s mind.
“So that will be the ransom for releasing me and the other two!” Leylin nodded, expressing his agreement. Then he asked, “What happened to that old man in the beginning?”
“He is deeply immersed in the illusion; he has already lost himself within my body….”
The huge human face replied.
Leylin had already guessed that to be so. He sighed, “Send me out!”
……
Hu…”
Leylin opened his eyes and found himself lying on one side within the carriage. Baelin and Jenny were on the other side, and James’ body had silently vanished.
In the same way, the soul crystals also disappeared from Leylin’s hands.
“Here it is, the original location of the three-forked paths…”
By now, the grey mist had settled down for the most part. The three forked paths and the huge granite rock had all faded, and in their place was the original road.
Leylin could clearly recognize the direction, and he quickly drove the horse carriage and left this place.
“This time, it was really dangerous!”
While Leylin kept driving, some traces of fear still lingered. If not for the enemy having disliked the idea of having her spirit contaminated by Leylin’s bloodline, or perhaps even having feared the power of Leylin’s bloodline, Leylin would have also ended up like James, being forever trapped in the body of that huge face made of beetles.
The further he went, the more the mist began to clear up, until eventually, it completely vanished, exposing the view of overgrown fields on both sides of the road up ahead.
“The Weeping Ghost Grounds are truly a dangerous place!”
The traumatic experience that Leylin had just gone through caused him to keep turning around and check behind his back as he continued to drive, up until he completely lost sight of the Weeping Ghost Grounds.
Behind him, the fading gray mist congealed again to form a wall that blocked his view.
I also wonder about the two Magi who had once fought there—what rank were they, and what was the result of their battle? Leylin thought, and then he sighed.
Just the aftermath of a fight had disturbed time and space and had created such a strange place. Leylin knew from this that these Magi’s powers exceeded his own imagination. They were probably existences that surpassed Morning Star Magi!
“There will inevitably be a day when I, too, will reach such a level!”
This time’s incidents only reinforced Leylin’s resolution to become stronger.
“Oh! Where am I?”
After leaving the Weeping Ghost Grounds, Baelin woke up, holding his head with his hands.
“How do you feel? Do you remember anything from before you lost consciousness?” Without turning around, Leylin asked while he brandished his horsewhip.
“My memories are not very clear. I think that we encountered a woman as we passed through the gray mist.” Baelin looked as perplexed as he sounded.
Very soon, the horses’ reins were placed in his hands.
“You woke up just in time! You can drive the carriage instead of me!”
Leylin pushed the whip into Baelin’s hands and sat back to enjoy this free manpower of his.
Baelin’s physique was that of a Grand Knight, and thus, he woke up before Jenny. However, Jenny was still a level 1 acolyte, so she woke up soon after Baelin.
“Very good reaction!”
Leylin looked at Jenny who was still pretending to be unconscious as he touched Jenny’s hand and complimented her indifferently.
“So it’s Mister Leylin!” Jenny shuddered and opened her eyes, “I thought it was the bad guys!”
Afterwards, she opened the carriage window and looked out of it to see that there was no grey mist.
“Have we already left the Weeping Ghost Grounds? Where is James?”
“Yes, we are now in Olive Fields. We will be seeing the capital city of the eastern region of the Twilight Zone in two days at most.”
Leylin slowly nodded, “As for James, you had best prepare yourself mentally…”
A short while later, Baelin, who was driving outside of the carriage, heard Jenny cry out in alarm, “No, it can not be so. You are telling a lie!”
*Bang!* The carriage door opened, from which a tearful Jenny could be seen.
“Jenny, you…” Seeing Jenny look so broken-hearted, Baelin was bewildered.
*Sob! Sob!* Jenny threw herself into Baelin’s embrace and began to cry loudly.
……
The Twilight Zone was divided into 5 regions: the east, west, north, south, and central regions. The capital city of the eastern region was the most flourishing city in all the Twilight Zone and was also the center of politics and business.
Many aristocratic families had set up their headquarters here, forming the aristocrats’ alliance which held a major influence in the entire eastern region.
There were also many Magi conducting research and establishing academies in secret locations there, which caused this place to be a meeting point for magicians.
In the center of the city, there was a sun stone that was the size of a small mountain, which brought eternal light and heat to this entire region.
“The city’s walls are very tall!”
On this day, in the eastern region’s capital city, a country bumpkin could be seen gaping at this tall and sturdy castle wall.
“Enough!” Leylin used the sheath of his sword to hit Baelin on the head, stopping him from continuing to behave like this.
Although the eastern region’s capital city looked huge, as he looked around, it seemed to Leylin that it was the same as Nightless City. As a result, the way Baelin behaved made Leylin feel ashamed.
“You really are causing me to lose face,” he reprimanded Baelin.
Hearing this, Baelin rubbed his head and looked at the surroundings, only pointing at the citizens from time to time. Only after a while did he smile in embarrassment as he said, “Lord! From the day I was born, I have never set eyes upon such tall city walls. I’m really sorry…”
Leylin was rather speechless. If not for the number of people around, he may have even harboured thoughts of killing Baelin right there and then.
“Tee hee… Lord Leylin, Baelin has only seen Potter Town until now. This degree of astonishment is quite a reasonable reaction!”
At this moment, Jenny, who was nursing her sorrow, was amused by Baelin’s behaviour. She sniggered as she helped Baelin out of his predicament.
However, after seeing Jenny answer for him, Baelin drooped his head in embarrassment, not doing any other potential things that could be unbearable to look at.
After all, in front of the girl he loved, Baelin still had to put up some poise.
“Alright! Since we have sent Miss Jenny back safely, we should bid our farewells now!”
The atmosphere in the horse carriage turned silent, yet Leylin still smiled and faced Jenny.
“What?!” “What!?” Two shocked gasps were uttered by the two youths.
“Wh…Why? This is too sudden!” Baelin felt that something was amiss, yet he could not put his thoughts into words.
“Lord Leylin! I still request that you visit my Argus Family. My father will definitely wish to have your acquaintance, and Baelin’s as well!”
Jenny bit her lips.
“From the start, I mentioned that we were only travelling together out of convenience!”
Leylin’s expression turned resolute. “As for you, Baelin, you can return with Jenny! Furthermore, there are already people coming to receive you, Jenny!” He smiled.
*Thud Thud*
Right after Leylin spoke, the continuous thuds of hooves of horses sounded out. The approaching pa
rty was a group of white Knights sitting upon handsome steeds. On the tops of their helmets was a white feathered ornament. Their armour had not even a single speck of dust, and even their horses were fully white in colour!
Settling Down
There was a shiny insignia on the flags held by this group of white Knights.
Lush sun vines formed the border of the insignia, and in the middle were a giant sword and shield. On the top lay a crown, which represented the profound origins and illustrious history of the household.
“It’s the Sun Vine Argus Family!”
“That well-known family where the Marquis is!”
“That is their ‘Silver-White Knight Squadron. Could it be that some important figure of the Argus Family is setting out on a journey?”
The citizens and passers-by fervently discussed amongst themselves, and Baelin put on an extremely complex expression.
“I’ll get going!” Jenny looked at Baelin and spoke.
“Oh? Eh! Alright!” Baelin replied sluggishly. Only now did he realise how great a distance he was from Jenny.
“Let’s us leave too, my lord!” Baelin sucked in a cold breath of air and spoke with resolve.
“We will remain in the city for a period. As for the location, I’m sure you don’t need to know. You’ll definitely be able to find us, won’t you?”
Leylin spoke to Jenny, before disappearing into the crowd along with Baelin.
As for Jenny, she inhaled deeply as she clutched onto the pouch that contained the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud.
“Miss! Our men have immediately reported your arrival upon receiving the news. We are here to escort you home!”
The leader of the Silver-White Knight squadron looked at Jenny as he took out a badge with a red jewel embedded in it.
“Alright! Let us quickly enter the city! This time, I have completed the mission of bringing back the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud for my father!”
Jenny muttered.
……
Very soon, she was escorted by the squadron leader to a lavish horse-drawn carriage. This young lady of nobility shed a tear, as she could no longer hold her emotions in…
Twilight Zone’s eastern capital was extremely large. The permanent residents amounted to over a hundred thousand people. Of course, most of them were just regular folks. Even so, it brought about an extremely wealthy economy in the area.
As they were in the subterranean world, the architecture of the buildings and the items sold here were different from those on the south coast. From Leylin’s observations, everything was engineered with defense in mind. The whole capital was like a massive fortress. Even the buildings themselves within were built with their defensive capabilities in mind.
“It seems like the environment for the humans in the subterranean world isn’t that great. It might even be inferior to that on the south coast…” Leylin pondered as he analysed his observations.
In the south coast, any danger would have long since been driven away or controlled by the Magi. Not one species would engage in a long battle with the humans, hence the living conditions were better there.
However, it was a different story here! Apart from humans, several other intelligent beings resided in the Twilight Zone. Some of them even had their own kingdoms!
Hence, the horde of darkness beasts that forever lay in the shadows was the greatest nemesis for all intelligent beings.
Under such harsh conditions and the struggle for survival, the buildings and houses were not made to pursue aesthetic beauty, but rather, they were built with defense in mind, which was crucial for their survival.
“My lord! What are we going to do here?”
Baelin carried a knapsack and a greatsword. He gave off an extremely gallant disposition, yet he wore a vacant expression on his face.
Their reason for leaving Potter Town was to send Jenny back. However, now that she had safely returned, Baelin felt that part of his heart was vacant as if something of importance had gone missing.
“First of all, find some lodging, and then rent a building!”
Leylin looked at the bustling crowd and smiled. “After all, the inns in the capital aren’t cheap! If we want to stay for long, we’ll have to buy or rent a flat…”
“Settling down? We’re going to stay here instead of returning?”
Baelin could not express his current feelings. However, permanent residence? Thinking that he could be in the same city as Jenny, it immediately turned into a happy thought.
“En! Is there anything in Potter Town that is worth being nostalgic over?”
Leylin grinned at Baelin until the little chap bowed his head down in embarrassment.
This poor fellow thought that it was because of him that Leylin had decided to reside here permanently; he thought that it was so that his heart would be filled with gratitude towards Leylin.
Alas! On the contrary, this was based on Leylin’s own interests.
After recovering part of his strength, Leylin could wait no longer to get into contact with the Magi of the subterranean world. Although Leylin had exercised a mind searching technique on Aaron and the other acolytes, much of the information that he had gleaned was still incomplete. Due to their lack of status, no precious information could be obtained.
Furthermore, the circles of official Magi and regular acolytes were on two completely different levels. Leylin had no desire whatsoever to even take a look at the bazaar area that he got from Aaron’s memories.
As for the eastern capital, it definitely had many Magi and academies for Leylin to come into contact with.
Even the Magus forefather of the Argus Family was an excellent choice!
Not long later, Leylin brought Baelin to the upper-class district on the northern side of the capital and rented a two-storey villa.
The area of the villa was rather vast, and its walls were sturdy and tall. As for its windows, they were both tiny and few in number.
Within the tall fences with coiled barbed wire laying on top of it, there was a tiny garden and a training ground.
A villa of this standard was considered way above average in the eastern city. Typical merchants and nobility would not even be able to afford it.
However, this was just peanuts to him.
Even without considering the vast amounts of magic crystals that he carried, just the gold he had gotten from Jenny was enough for them to live extravagantly for a couple of years!
Back in Potter Town, Jenny had almost cleanly swept all of Leylin’s highly-priced equipment off the shelves for the use of her employed mercenaries and adventurers. Later on, to thank Leylin, who had lent her a hand together with Baelin, she sent even more gold and jewels to him.
To Magi, items such as currency were not essential items. Hence, Leylin was extremely generous with his purchases. Finding a villa and preparing the procedural documents was only hastened with the help of this worldly wealth.
“Ha! He!” A steady and loud shout sounded.
Leylin put down the coffee and newspaper he was carrying as he peered out of the window and towards the training ground.
Baelin stood on the training ground as he practiced, his bare upper body revealing his chiseled muscles.
After settling down, this fellow had turned even more diligent, training like a mad man each day. He even sought Leylin’s permission to join a mercenary group to hone his skills.
“Still harbouring the dreams of a knight being together with a princess? Interesting!”
Leylin looked at the youth with interest, “If I had a word in things, and had helped him in reaching his goal, his dreams would most likely be fulfilled. But why would I? The glory of a story lies in the unknown!”
To him, Baelin was just a chap that he picked up on a whim to do odd jobs for him. Occasionally, he would guide him in some Knight training, but other than that, it was not worth it to spend any more effort on him.
On the contrary, as he was very curious about the developments of the story bet
ween Baelin and Jenny, Leylin had adopted the mindset of an audience member watching a show.
Ever since he obtained the premonition through the Sacred Flame by chance, he knew that Baelin and Jenny were no regular folks. To be more precise, they were some of the main characters in the Twilight Zone.
Such a life would definitely be anything but ordinary!
Suddenly, Leylin smiled. “Finally here?”
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