The next second, his figure disappeared.
Su Cheng had just turned her head when a heavy fur cloak fell over her, draping across her shoulders.
His original intention was probably to cover the curse on her back, but the cloak was simply too large, wrapping her tightly from neck to toe.
Su Cheng: "...Thank you, but drawing the curtains would have worked just as well."
Kai appeared in the room. He looked down at her and reached out to adjust the clasp, making sure the cursed brand on her back was fully concealed.
Having taken off his cloak, his shoulders and neck were completely exposed. The muscles on his arms bulged like molten rock, with sinews undulating like dark gray mountain ridges.
Leather bracers contained the wild contours of his arms, and the metal buckles bore mottled, lingering scratches.
"Your curse acted up?" he asked softly. "Has it passed now?"
Su Cheng nodded. "The color has darkened too, right?"
He gave a slight nod, then a look of apology appeared on his face. His brilliant golden eyes were cast in shadow within the dim room. "I'm sorry. I should have come sooner."
Su Cheng just assumed he had been wandering around Mythenlos as well. "No need to apologize. There's no 'should' or 'shouldn't' about it."
What was wrong with him wanting to look around the ruins a bit more? She herself had wandered around in there for a while.
Was she supposed to demand that everyone guard her at all times?
On what grounds?
Just because of this brain-dead curse?
Not to mention she wouldn't die from it anymore, but even if she would, it wasn't their responsibility.
Su Cheng had absolutely no such thoughts. She quietly walked to the side to get dressed. "But speaking of which, that person just now seemed to be—"
"!"
Sasha leaped in through the window, fuming with anger. His agile figure landed silently, and he looked incredibly displeased.
"Sorry."
He seemed to be trying to suppress his emotions. "Just now, I... I sensed, well, the aura of an enemy. I thought that guy was nearby."
Su Cheng blinked. "No need to apologize. And then? Was your enemy not actually there? Or did he come and run away?"
"I don't know," the vampire said, sounding somewhat frustrated. "I couldn't find him. Maybe it was just an illusion. How about you? You changed your clothes?"
Su Cheng was in the middle of returning the cloak to the commander. "Yes, obviously."
Sasha remained silent for a few seconds and took a light breath. The room still wafted with the scent of food and wine from downstairs, while certain other scents had already faded.
But he still keenly caught a trace of it. "Your curse acted up?"
"Yeah."
The vampire's beautiful face twisted for a moment, as if he suddenly became furious but forcefully pushed his anger down.
"Fine," he gritted his teeth. "I suppose it has been many days."
Before he could finish speaking, the room door was pushed open again.
Camus looked at the three people in the room and casually brushed off his hood, revealing slightly messy blond hair. "You—"
Su Cheng shook her head preemptively. "If you're going to apologize, save it."
The blond man looked at her with the gaze one would reserve for a fool. "Why would I apologize? Come here and let me see your curse."
Su Cheng: "..."
She approached and turned her back to him, casually lifting the clothes on her back to reveal the dim pattern on her snow-white spine.
The blood mage pressed his hand against her back, his fingertips tracing the undulating contours of her spine downward, stopping among the sprawling thorn patterns at the dimples of her lower back.
His magic slowly wandered through her flesh and blood.
"Who was it?"
He asked in a low voice, his tone betraying no emotion.
Su Cheng hesitated to speak. "It seemed to be a god—"
For a moment, she felt the atmosphere in the room turn eerie.
Su Cheng: "I originally thought he was, well, but for some reason, I keep feeling he wasn't the person I thought he was, yet I also keep feeling he was somewhat familiar."
The surroundings seemed to grow even quieter.
Su Cheng suspected she was acting a bit too calm.
In fact, she had basically accepted certain realities. Even if she made different choices that caused some plotlines to be butterfly-effected away—like how the Gauler family was originally the protagonist's ally, but now they were pretty much dead and gone—even so, some things still wouldn't change.
For example, the fact that she was destined to be entangled with various deities.
And her so-called romantic encounters were never just ordinary passersby.
Su Cheng: "I know it sounds strange, but I don't want to delve into it for now, because there are too many things I can't figure out."
For example, exactly why she had ended up with Lin Yun's script, and who had changed all of this.
"Hmm," Camus nodded slowly. "The state of your curse is very stable right now. That person, no matter what he called himself, did he specifically channel battle aura into you?"
"I don't think so," Su Cheng said, a bit uncertainly. "It should have been during our interaction that..."
"I understand," he interrupted her. "How long?"
Su Cheng looked at the sky and suddenly realized it seemed to have been a long time. "About the same as that time with us—"
Camus dropped her rolled-up hem. His movement was a little rough; he seemed to dislike this answer, or perhaps he disliked this way of answering.
Su Cheng: "I don't know, I wasn't looking at the time! If you really need this answer, go ask the people planning the bonfire party in town when that dance program started, and then we can calculate backward—"
The blood mage turned around, pushed the door open, and walked out.
Su Cheng: "..."
Sasha suddenly laughed, his previous gloom swept away entirely, as if he had just watched a good show. "Hahahahahaha—"
"Is it funny?" Su Cheng looked at him expressionlessly. "Isn't he always like this? It's not like it's your first day knowing him."
"He really is always like this," the vampire said, overjoyed. "He can act bafflingly at all sorts of times, but this scene is still hilarious."
They had a meal after sunrise, bought enough meat for their mounts, and hit the road again.
After advancing her control over her battle aura, the difficulty of sleeping on the back of a dragon-eagle plummeted.
Furthermore, she had bonded more with the magical beast, making their coordination much more comfortable.
Three days later, they landed again. In the lush wilderness, twilight shrouded the forest, and a gauze-like thin mist vaguely permeated the lake.
The dragon-eagles landed one after another by the lake, startling flocks of water birds near the reed beds. They flapped their colorful wings and flew into the sky with alarmed cries.
The four dragon-eagles waited for their riders to feed them. They looked down on these snack-like small animals and thus didn't bother catching them, instead lowering their heads to drink deeply first.
Su Cheng threw out the last meaty leg bone and walked a little further away to wash her face.
The moss-covered round stones were wet and smooth. She slowly crouched down, her fingertips touching the rippling water surface, shattering the reflection of the entire mountain forest into millions of glittering golden pieces.
The mountains of pine, cypress, and wisteria, along with the peaks ignited by the setting sun, all turned into flowing oil paints at this moment.
The warm orange afterglow of dusk lost its heat. Glowing green specks flickered among the bushes and then wove through the aquatic plants by the lake.
Su Cheng tilted her head to watch the fireflies. Through the flashing swarm of insects, the figures of her teammates were faintly visible.
Camus stood under a tree, reading a book—it had to be said that his eyesight must be excellent. It was getting darker all around, and it was a mystery how he could even read.
Su Cheng was very certain he hadn't lit a candle or used any means of illumination.
Sasha's figure paused by the water. He looked up, staring into the dark jungle ahead, seemingly trying to catch some information.
The next second, the vampire's figure suddenly darted into the woods, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
It looked like he went hunting for food.
Having spent so many days with him, Su Cheng roughly understood that in a vampire's diet, humans didn't actually rank at the top.
In a purely natural, unprocessed state, and speaking solely of taste, the blood of many magical beasts was far more delicious than that of humans, and it could also bring them more power.
However, among humans themselves, due to differences in physique and strength, there could also be a huge variance.
"..."
Kai was still standing next to the dragon-eagle. The magical beast lowered its head, letting out some obscure grunts.
He listened quietly, as if communicating with his mount. Occasionally, he would reach out to stroke the dragon-eagle's neck, then whisper something.
The dragon-eagle seemed to understand, flapping its wings slightly as if agreeing with his words, looking quite happy.
Su Cheng couldn't help but rest her chin in her hands and watch him.
In the fading twilight, the man's handsome profile appeared exceptionally profound, and his piercing golden eyes were softened by the lingering sunset.
His figure was tall and muscular, carrying an indescribable imposing aura. Standing beside the massive magical beast, he didn't look small at all.
Yet, his expression was surprisingly gentle.
The next second, the black-haired man turned his head thoughtfully and met her gaze from afar through the swaying reeds.
Then, he smiled at her.
Su Cheng almost involuntarily curled her lips into a smile.
Then, a dark brown moth darted out from the branches, the white patterns on its wings blurring into a phantom as it flew straight into her cheekbone.
Su Cheng didn't want the moth dust to get into her eyes, so she instinctively raised a hand to cover her face. A dry sensation instantly spread across her fingers, like touching a fuzzy leaf.
Su Cheng: "..."
She quickly crouched down to wash her hands.
The lake water was cool and clear. Small tadpoles slipped through her fingers, and a refreshing chill bloomed in her palms.
She casually glanced down, only to find that the reflection in the water was beginning to distort.
The world stood still.
Everything retreated far away: the wilderness and mountains echoing with the night wind, the swaying reeds, the drinking dragon-eagle, and even her breathing self—
It was as if they had all turned into false illusions.
The pebbles, swimming fish, and algae in the lake vanished completely.
An invisible vortex suddenly formed on the water's surface, and an inexplicable force seized her.
Su Cheng felt herself pitching forward.
But she didn't fall into the water; it was more like being dragged into another world.
She saw an inverted palace dome, where gold-leaf rose patterns glowed faintly in the deep water, and gilded pillars were inlaid with human face reliefs.
Layers of floating gauze curtains brushed across ivory floor tiles, and a thick, brightly colored brocade carpet was spread out.
Someone was reclining on an emerald couch. His golden curls were like flowing honey. One hand propped up the side of his face, while the other twirled a few strands of curly hair.
He wore a silk robe made of an almost transparent white fabric. As it slipped from his shoulders, it looked like a pool of melted moonlight, pooling at his lean waist.
It then slid further down, revealing taut thighs, rounded knees, long calves, and slender ankles adorned with an emerald bead chain.
This body was like a sculpture washed by the moonlight; every inch of skin and bone was flawlessly white and radiant, without a single blemish to be found.
Then—
Su Cheng saw his face clearly.
His face was exquisite and delicate, like a rose in the morning dew. A slight, tipsy flush tinged his snow-white cheeks, and two teardrop-shaped turquoise earrings dangled by his ears.
His eyebrows were slightly darker than his hair, like two crescent moons deliberately drawn with gold powder, extending long into his temples.
Those thick, golden eyelashes trembled, casting shadows over eyes that appeared dark green in the dim light.
Dark patterns bloomed on his irises, like the thickest canopy in a midsummer forest, brimming with a damp, deep green just before a thunderstorm.
They surged with a sharp, unsettling malice.
His nose was high and narrow, but the tip had a slightly capricious tilt. His lips were full and bright red, with a tiny indentation in the center of his lower lip, as if someone had pinched a mark there with a fingernail.
Su Cheng could hardly control herself, unable to stop staring at him.
Moreover, her seemingly rude behavior not only failed to anger the other party but actually seemed to amuse him.
The blonde man's lips curled up slightly. Am I beautiful?
Su Cheng nodded subconsciously.
Although she didn't understand what was happening, the answer to this question was an absolute yes.
Hmm—
The man rested his chin on his hand, looking at her.
His fingers were long, and all ten nails were painted in a translucent apple green, like freshly sprouted spring buds frozen in ice, with crushed diamonds piled on the nails sparkling like stars.
The blonde man raised his eyebrows slightly. Compared to Luxara?
Su Cheng took a breath and finally found her voice. ...You are more beautiful.
The God of Lust was certainly very gorgeous, but the feeling that kind of beauty gave off was more about arousing lust and carnal urges.
Just in terms of exquisite and pretty facial features, it seemed this one truly won out.
In terms of height and physique, the blonde man was slightly slimmer, and there was a finely crafted beauty between his brows.
He was like some rare, precious bird that was born to perch in a golden cage.
Compared to...?
The blonde man's lips moved slightly, spitting out a complex and obscure name.
Su Cheng couldn't repeat that name, but the moment she heard it, she understood that he was talking about the God of Joy.
Su Cheng: I didn't see His face! Besides, who would have the leisure to see what He looks like in front of Him? They'd already be too overwhelmed with joy to know which way is up.
The blonde man was amused by her and let out a clear, melodious laugh. Hahahahaha, you're right. I forgot—
His gaze shifted, and those rich emerald eyes locked onto her. And what if compared to Cessia?
Su Cheng froze.
Was he talking about the God of Purity?
During this brief moment of her daze, the smile on the blonde man's face quickly faded, and his eyes immediately turned gloomy.
