Asa pulled the sword out from under the bed. It was already covered in dust. This weapon, which embodied his father's blood and blessings and represented his own dreams, had been lying under the bed for a long time. Bishop Ronis forbade him to wear this sword, which was not suitable for a cleric even in terms of its shape. The sword was a standard weapon for lower-ranking soldiers and ruffians, a crude tool for cutting and killing.

  He carried the sword on his back, the familiar weight rubbing against his skin through the coarse linen clothes. The adventurer's usual attire and equipment, as well as salt, honey, and medicinal herbs that were essential for survival in the wild, were all carefully tucked away in his bosom. His current state was just like the night he left Calendo, only his mood had completely changed.

  It was a simple excitement back then, but now I don't know what it is anymore. It's as if I'm a little disappointed and frustrated, yet somehow also feeling a strange sense of relief.

  Coming out of the small hut inside, looking around and seeing that old man standing there curiously staring at his own dead hand, thinking that probably won't come back again, unexpectedly having a feeling of reluctance to leave this strange place full of corpses and organs.

  He walked up to Santoro, sighed and gave him a half-hug pat on the shoulder. "See you later, old dead guy. I'll think of you when I have time."

  But then Shandoru suddenly jumped back like a rabbit that had been stabbed, patted the place where he had been hugged, and glared at him saying: "What's wrong with you? Are you sick in the head?"

  "Hey, just saying goodbye before I leave." Asa withdrew his hand.

  "Go? Where to?"

  "I don't know either, probably hiding from the wanted list while traveling around the world."

  "Didn't you take care of those things Ronis arranged for you?" Shandru rolled his eyes at him.

  "I won't do it anymore. I can't do it."

  "Decided to get caught and go to Vidnina?"

  "Are you looking for death? Just a few days ago, I almost got killed by two necromancers. Some guy named Master Aiden told me that all the necromancers except Vednina want to kill me. I have no idea what's going on with my lich classmate."

  "That Aden guy..." Sandru was stunned. "Those bastards have already... and who knows what will happen to Vedenina... whatever, it's none of my business anymore. Let them deal with their own mess." He sighed, then turned to Asa. "And you still dare to run around like this? Are you tired of living?"

  "Anyway, I don't want to continue doing whatever crap under Ronis' bishop anymore. I have things I want to do."

  "Even if the guild puts a price on your head, even if the spirits put a price on your head, you don't care?" Sandru stared at him, his black and white eyes dull. "What about being hunted by the guild? Aren't you afraid? In this world, aside from Ronis and his people, who might have some slight scruples, even an emperor is no different from a chicken in their eyes. If they want to kill you, they'll kill you. You're just a weak little thing, aren't you afraid?"

  "Who isn't afraid of death?" Asa smiled wryly and sighed, saying in a light tone. "But I know what I should do and shouldn't do. If you want to kill me, come and try. I'm not easier to kill than an emperor."

  Shandoru tilted his head, staring straight at him with eyes that still had a somewhat lifeless hue. Suddenly, he nodded: "So you're not a mama's boy anymore, I didn't know when you became a man." He raised his head and asked: "But aren't you afraid that I'll catch you trying to escape and hand you over to Ronis right now? You know we're friends." He spread his hands out, looking righteous. "And as someone who values loyalty so much, I must think of my friend's well-being."

  "Damn it. I forgot." Asa suddenly came to himself, slapping his head. He frowned at Sandru again. "But you're so righteous, you shouldn't betray me either, right?"

  Shan Drew's eyes widened, and he said in a fierce tone: "You're just a laborer who moves corpses for me, what qualifications do you have to talk about brotherhood with me?" He turned around and walked into the inner room, rummaged through it, and took out two things to throw at Asa. "If you run away midway, I won't give you any wages. However, considering that your work is quite diligent, here are two useless things of mine, take them. Maybe they'll help you live a bit longer."

  Asa took it, a book and something soft. He flipped the book open to a page at random and saw that it was headed "Principles of Driving Skulls and Zombies". He looked up at Xander in surprise, asking: "This is...?"

  "This is a book about necromancy that I wrote myself during my boring years. Originally, I didn't plan to let others see it, but since you're an honest guy, I'll give it to you as a keepsake."

  "But... this is death spirit magic..." Asa hesitated a bit.

  "That's the magic that saved your life." Shandru spat out a wad of saliva. "Ptoo, you bastard don't know good from bad, I'm kind enough to give you a keepsake and you're still picky, if you don't want it return it to me."

  "I do, of course." Asa hastily tucked the book into his chest. Indeed, any magic that could be useful was good magic. Under the influence of Dark Meditation, Necromancy now seemed to be the only system of magic he could cultivate. He still remembered clearly how he had been beaten by Master Aiden, with spells flying everywhere and lightning bolts raining down on him like a storm, making him run wildly in all directions. If he was still relying on that lowest-level rotten fireball, even carrying a hundred World Tree leaves wouldn't be enough.

  Asa looked at the other thing again, a soft piece of skin with what seemed to be a lump of melted wax that had solidified into a twisted face. It was actually the mask he used to evade the Duke when he first arrived in the capital. After the Duke lifted the warrant for his arrest, he had forgotten where he threw it away, and it turned out that Sandru had picked it up.

  "You old fool, why didn't you give me this good thing earlier?" If the book of dead spirit magic only surprised him a little, then this thing made him overjoyed. With this thing on, as long as Old Sandru doesn't say anything, except for Archbishop Mlak Duke and a few others, who can recognize himself? And he had forgotten about this most important thing, if he had remembered it earlier, Sandru would have let him escape long ago.

  "These things are not for show-offs." Shandru said calmly. As if suddenly remembering something, he stretched out his hand to Asa. "By the way, let me take a look at that chopping tool on your back."

  Asa handed the knife to Sandro, who looked at it and stretched out his withered white hand to tap on the blade, producing a clear metallic ring. "Hmm, indeed not bad, made from pure Carrendo ore, good stuff. But judging by the looks of it, it seems like just a simple ironwork crafted by a skilled blacksmith without any further processing, right?"

  "Yes, it's my father." Asa replied.

  "Your father?" Shandru nodded, carrying the knife into the inner room. After a series of rummaging sounds, he came out with a small bottle and muttered to himself: "I just found out today that this knife is such a good thing. I've been wanting to try an experiment with magic. You don't mind, do you?"

  "Hey....." Ah Sa was a bit worried. "Don't mess it up."

  Shandoru didn't make a sound, he simply used his knife to clear a space on the stone pedestal, bit his finger, and drew a small magic circle with his own blood. He placed the knife in the center of it. Then he twisted open the small bottle, releasing a wave of magical energy that carried a hint of bloody smell.

  A Sa saw what seemed to be two animal fangs in a small bottle inside and frowned, asking: "What is that?"

  "A vampire count's fang. This thing didn't come easily, either. Killing that monster gave me a headache." Sandru muttered in response. Then he placed the two fangs on the blade and pressed down with one finger, muttering a low incantation under his breath.

  The entire magic circle began to emit a faint glow. Asa could vaguely feel that an enormous magical force was condensing and vibrating within the magic circle, but it had almost no effect on the small space outside the circle. As Shandru chanted his incantation, the magical energy within the three-foot semicircular space grew more intense, and the two teeth that Shandru's fingers were pressing down on began to slowly soften and melt.

  The bloody smell of teeth filled every space in the big house, completely covering up the original stench of corpses. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but Asa could faintly hear a sharp and mournful cry. The sound was both real and illusory, yet it made his heart tremble, as if it were directly echoing in people's minds and souls.

  The magical power in the magic circle grew stronger and stronger, and that small space seemed to be compressed into a turbulent sea. The vampire's two fangs had completely melted into a white liquid flowing on the knife. Although it was actually inaudible, Asa felt that the unknown call seemed to want to destroy the entire mansion. He looked at Sandro with inexplicable horror, but found that this old man who was always calm and collected was now covered in cold sweat, his face pale and transparent amidst his disheveled hair and beard.

  But Asa didn't dare make a sound, this situation interrupting his spellcasting was no longer a matter of whether the knife would be a problem or not.

  At last, the shrill cry quickly weakened. The white liquid that had melted from the teeth on the knife also seemed to have met a sponge and actually seeped into the blade.

  "Give me your hand." Shandru's low voice commanded. But before Asa could react, his hand was already in Shandru's grasp. Shandru's fingers, which had been clenched in anger, relaxed and gently pinched a small piece of flesh on the tip of Asa's index finger. A searing pain shot through him as that piece of flesh was torn off.

  The splattered blood landed on the blade and made a sizzling sound, as if it had been dripped onto a red-hot iron plate, leaving behind a deep-colored mark. The strange cry also completely disappeared. The magic power within the magic circle simultaneously poured into the blade.

  Xander stumbled and Asa quickly reached out to steady him. He wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed, "I'm really getting old..."

  Panting a few breaths, Shandru pushed aside Asa's hand and stood up by himself, saying to him: "Pick up the knife and take a look."

  Apart from the added bloodstain, the knife seemed unchanged. However, as soon as Asa grasped it, he could feel a strange magical power flowing within the blade, probably due to his own blood being infused into it. This magical fluctuation seemed to be in sync with his breathing and heartbeat. What was originally an ordinary knife had transformed into a magical weapon.

  Magical weapons were just hearsay to him before. It requires the highest level of blacksmithing in the refining process and cooperation with high-level mages, as well as the addition of precious magical materials, to make the magic power in the weapon perpetual. Some top-grade magical weapons are even worth a city. And yet, Sandro somehow managed to create one by himself in just this short moment, it's simply unbelievable.

  "You little brat, you're quite lucky. I only thought of this magic and didn't expect it to succeed at once." Shandru looked at his own work, nodding weakly. "Not bad, not bad."

  Asa grasped the knife, feeling the flow of magical power within it. He looked at the book and mask in his other hand, and a strange impulse arose in his chest. He gazed at Sandru's listless appearance and suddenly bowed to him: "Thank you... for taking care of me so much."

  But Shandru's saliva almost spat onto his face. "Less nonsense, who cares about you? If you want to leave, then leave."

  A Sa looked at this strange old man and smiled wryly, saying: "In the future if I have time, I will come back to see you."

  Shandoru looked him up and down again, nodded, then shook his head, muttering to himself: "Hmph, I thought you were just a cheap laborer at first... Who knew so many things would happen later... It's really hard to predict the world. But never mind, don't think about it too much. Everyone just do their own thing. You can go now... Oh, right, aren't you going to say hello to Ronis?"

  "Never mind. I'll just let it go." Asa smiled wryly and shook his head. "Besides, I heard that some Archbishop Adela is coming from the Vatican today, so Bishop Ronis is probably busy."

  "Archbishop Adra?" Sandru was taken aback by the name, looked up with narrowed eyes and thought for a moment. "It seems like I've heard someone mention this name before... it's a strange feeling." However, he seemed to not think of anything else, just shook his head and frowned at Asa. "Well... after you leave, don't come back even if you have time. I always feel that something is off..."

  "What's strange?" Asa asked.

  "There's no need for you to be weird." Shandru waved his hand. "If you're going to leave, then leave quickly."

  Walking out of the big house, he came to a small hill outside the city of Wangdu, looking back at the endless houses. Although this place seemed to have more unpleasant memories for him, thinking that he might not be able to come back after leaving, he still felt some reluctance to part with it.

  What's there to be reluctant about...... Ah Sa sighed.

  Evening. The Duke's mansion.

  The young female financial assistant minister had just finished reviewing the last batch of documents for today and stood up to stretch. She had been sitting at her desk working since this morning, and it had already been over a dozen hours. Searching through all the bureaucratic institutions in the empire would not find another official who was more diligent and hardworking than her.

  It's not just that. Her abilities are also amazing, and in just a few months, the originally chaotic imperial finances began to slowly make sense under her organization. Her excellent abilities have been recognized by all officials in the court, plus her father's influence and intentional or unintentional means. Although nominally still only an assistant minister, many major financial matters are already being handled personally by her. The old finance minister is happy to throw work at this outstanding junior, and can also show Marquess Mura that he really has a mind to retire and yield to others. As everyone knows, perhaps it won't be long before she becomes the empire's finance minister.

  For the convenience of working, and also because she was not in good health as a daughter to run around, she simply set up her office in the Duke's mansion. Of course, this also has the meaning of Duke Mlak. His own daughter is in charge of the entire imperial finance in his own home, which naturally has extraordinary convenience and spiritual enjoyment.

  This approach seems to be a bit beneath him. However, Xiao Yi's work is indeed done extremely well and impartially, leaving no room for criticism. Most importantly, with the current power and status of Duke Gong, he doesn't need to fear what others say anymore.

  Rumors are terrifying, and a good reputation is necessary, but that's only the case when there are competitors, and you need to win over others and paralyze your opponents. When one's prestige has reached an unparalleled level, even if it's not enough to cover the sky with one hand, it can still block out more than half of it. Of course, the duke is by no means a shallow person who would be complacent just because he can summon the wind and rain. He has a good sense of proportion.

  But his own daughter had the opportunity to embark on a career in politics and showed such strong ability, such strong ambition and political prospects, which was indeed beyond the Duke's expectations. With no sons but a capable daughter like her, it was absolutely enough to bring comfort.

  Often heard others praise her as a worthy daughter of a brave father, Xiaoyi herself often secretly smiled bitterly. Perhaps everyone thinks so, and Father also thinks so, but in fact it's not the case.

  She has no desire for power at all, and she may not be the most capable, diligent, or greatest official in the world, but she is absolutely the most helpless.

  She seems to be lacking nothing, with status and position, a home and a husband, and relatives. But in reality, she herself is most clear that she has almost nothing.

  She was not the kind of person who suited her own circle of life. That nominal husband and family, from the moment they were possessed, had only one meaning: restraint and shackles. Although she still had a father, the duke's actions were enough to make any child shudder, and even the slightest affection could no longer arise.

  Fortunately, she finally had a 'career'. After saving the emperor's life, in the face of numerous rewards, she only asked for a position that would allow her to escape from the role of 'noblewoman' with dignity.

  She really did it. She has a clever mind, and her years of adventurous life abroad have made her understand the sufferings of ordinary people, so she can wholeheartedly devote herself to her work, trying her best to do every task well. When busy with no time to worry or think too much, her heart indeed feels better. And when achieving results, looking back at those achievements seems to bring a sense of satisfaction. She slowly found the center of her life, even had some goals and motivation, feeling that her work might make thousands of people eat a little more, live a little more comfortably, and this country could be a little better. This sense of fulfillment and achievement is indeed satisfying.

  It's only when the night is deep and people are quiet, and she can't help but feel lonely and deserted when she has to stop working and rest. Unconsciously, she would think: How is he doing now?

  Xiao Yi walked onto the balcony, gazing blankly at the stars in the sky. For some reason, tonight's night sky was exceptionally clear, just like the beautiful starry sky he had seen on the desolate highlands. He let out a deep sigh and thought back to those days in Ou Fu. Those carefree and happy times... But all of that has long since passed.

  I don't know if it's because I've been working too hard, but my mind has become a bit dazed. It seems like I can hear his footsteps again. The sound of the rough hemp shoes rubbing against the ground, that unique rhythm slowly getting closer, even the tip of my nose seems to have caught a whiff of his sweaty scent... Xiaoyi couldn't help but close her eyes, entranced in this hazy and dreamy illusion.

  "Stars like this are rarely seen in the capital. But how can you see them with your eyes closed?"

  Xiao Yi suddenly opened his eyes and turned around. He saw him standing right beside himself.

  He was no longer wearing the white robes of a Shinto priest, but rather his usual coarse clothing, with disheveled hair and the same peculiarly shaped sword on his back, just like he had been in Ofuku.

  She was extremely shocked and didn't dare move, nor did she dare confirm whether the person in front of her was a figment of her imagination or real.

  A Sa's hand reached up to her face and stroked it with a sigh: "You've lost weight again... Didn't I tell you not to be picky about food?"

  Suppressing the urge to rush into his arms, Xiao Yi took a step back and asked: "How are you here? How did you end up like this?"

  "I'm leaving." Asa smiled at her and said lightly.

  "Leave? Where are you going?"

  "Travel around the world, just like I told you before."

  "Didn't the bishop arrange many things for you? Are you not going to do them?"

  "I'm done."

  "How can that be? Those are all important things, how can you just leave like that. And the bishop has placed great hopes in you, giving you such a good opportunity. Everything he does is for your sake. If you leave now..."

  "But those aren't things I want to do. I've made up my mind to leave this place and never come back." Asa stepped forward one step.

  "Will you never come back?" Xiao Yi looked at him.

  "Never again," she said, and Asa took her in his arms. "I came to see you tonight."

  "What are you doing, let go..." Xiao Yi struggled with all his might. But his arms were held very tightly.

  She finally stopped struggling and fell onto his shoulder, tears gushing out. "If you leave..." Her voice was already choked with sobs, unable to continue.

  Now that you're leaving, what about all the things I gave up for you in the past?

  A Sa lowered his head and found her lips, he had already felt...

  The door of the room was flung open with a crash and the Duke appeared in the doorway, his eyes gleaming like knives.

  A Sa flipped over and jumped off the balcony, disappearing into the darkness after a few leaps.

  "Father......" Xiao Yi retreated in a panic. She hadn't been so flustered in a long time.

  The Duke of Muluo walked quickly onto the balcony, looking in the direction where Ah Si had disappeared. His face still wore a very kind smile, but his eyes were already sharp enough to cut hair. "I originally wanted to come and ask about some financial matters concerning my daughter, but I didn't expect that there would be uninvited guests so late at night, and I heard some very interesting things... it's just that there are still some things I don't quite understand, Xiao Yi, can you tell your father? Haha..."

  The intimate term 'Dad' and the happy laughter of her father had long been erased from Xiaoyi's memory. After more than a decade, hearing it again now only made her feel like she was falling into an icy cave, with every pore on her body exuding a chill.