Yaxiu stared dumbfounded at the little girl clinging to his thigh, meeting everyone's gazes with utter bewilderment.
"Hey, she called you Daddy. Does that make you the hero who's going to save her?"
Harvey actually still remembered the joke Yaxiu had used earlier to brush them off.
Igola, on the other hand, vaguely caught on and immediately mocked, "Yaxiu, I never expected you to have a child this big... But we're not in the Blood Moon, so I can offer my heartfelt congratulations on your family reunion."
"No way!" Yaxiu retorted. "Look, I have black hair and she has white hair. How could we possibly be blood-related?"
"That only proves your genetic material suffered a crushing defeat," Igola remarked leisurely.
The little girl was crying so hard that snot dripped down, stickily smearing across his trousers. She looked up at Yaxiu with a pitiful gaze. "Daddy, don't you want me anymore?"
"I'm not your daddy!"
"No, you are my daddy! Wahhh, Daddy doesn't want me anymore!"
If this had been his nephew back home, Yaxiu would have long subjected the unruly brat to a caning. But looking at that tear-streaked face that remained utterly adorable despite the mess, his clenched fists could not help softening.
*If I had been this cute when I was little, I probably wouldn't have been beaten by my parents even if I stole money. People would have fought whole classroom wars during spring field trips just to get me on their team, and girls would have deliberately pulled down my pants just to get my attention...*
"This works too."
Yaxiu looked toward Annan and found her examining their "father-daughter" dynamic with an amused gaze.
"In any case, Heath, you are currently my subordinate. If she is willing to be your subordinate, she naturally counts as mine as well." Annan commanded, "Shake hands with her."
"Please address me as Yaxiu from now on."
After correcting the form of address, Yaxiu looked down at Lisi and extended his palm toward her. "Sigh, just be good. Life is like this—you're always bound to get bullied by bad women for no reason at all."
This time, Lisi offered no resistance. She wrapped her small hand around Yaxiu's index and middle fingers.
Annan drew a purple handgun from her breast and aimed at where their hands were clasped.
"Yaxiu, state two demands to her. First, she must obediently listen to you for the next hundred and one days. Second, she must not leave your side for the next hundred and one days." She looked at Lisi. "Lisi, you may also make two demands of him. Anything at all. Only then can the contract be established."
Yaxiu could only say honestly, "For the next hundred and one days, you must obediently listen to me."
A glimmer of cunning flashed through Lisi's glistening large eyes. "Only if Daddy listens to me too."
*Whoosh!*
Annan fired a streak of purple light that transformed into chains, tightly binding their hands together. The radiant purple chain marks spread all the way to their hearts.
*Unbelievable. You listen to me, and I listen to you? Won't that turn into an infinite recursion dead loop?*
Yaxiu continued, "For the next hundred and one days, you are not allowed to leave me."
"I won't leave Daddy," Lisi said, breaking into a smile through her tears. "But Daddy has to protect me properly!"
A purple bullet erupted once more, inscribing the second oath mark upon the backs of Lisi's and Yaxiu's hands.
"Very good." Annan turned to Cleios beside her. "Now all the outlanders are under my command. No problems now, right?"
"There are no longer any debts between you and me." Cleios crossed her arms over her chest. Although her tone was stern, her swollen, red-rimmed eyes ruined any trace of authority. "Hurry up and leave. We still have to take photos."
"On the name of Doran, I will not fail your trust." Annan rested her hands on her hips with a grin. "May you attain your ideal ranking in the Weaving Ceremony."
The butler Banjie lightly snapped his fingers, and an icy staircase extending outside through the ceiling quietly took form. Annan looked at them and said, "From now on, you are no longer outlanders, but temporary operators of the Funeral Agency.
"Follow me. I have already prepared clothes and food for you."
"Yes!"
Lisi abruptly wiped her face on Yaxiu's clothes, smearing all her snot and tears onto him, before darting forward to take Annan's small hand, trailing after the young mistress like an obedient little lackey. Yaxiu's jaw nearly hit the floor as he watched the little drama queen clinging tightly to their new boss. "She... wasn't she terrified..."
Harvey patted his shoulder. "When you were forming the contract just now, why didn't you let her speak first? That way, even if she made unreasonable demands, you could have refused. Now, based on those two oaths alone, you might genuinely have to dedicate your entire life to her."
Igola walked past him with a heavy sigh. "Even a little girl who barely knows you could tell at a single glance that you're the easiest one among us to push around."
At that moment, Lisi, holding Annan's hand ahead of them, turned her head back. The corners of her mouth curved upward, and her lovely big eyes narrowed into sly crescents. She winked at Yaxiu and waved. "Daddy, hurry up!"
Without a doubt, all that pitiful groveling earlier had been an act—purely to lower Yaxiu's guard!
*First came Everlasting Presence, whose luck defied all common sense. Then an elven marksman who sprayed bullets while bawling her eyes out. Next, the underworld boss Purple Moth, who sold us out only to snatch us right back. And now, even a little girl is trying to squeeze every last drop of surplus value out of me...*
Yaxiu could not help pressing a hand to his forehead. *Isn't the concentration of bad women tonight a bit too high?*
***
In the Blood Moon Country, on the outskirts of Kaimeng City.
By this time, Freya was fully dressed and had changed Serena into clean clothes. She looked at the frail doll-like girl with eyes full of tenderness. A glowing collar forged of bloodlight was clasped tightly around Serena's neck, declaring her status as an outlander.
"Do you still feel cold? Do you want another layer of clothes?"
"Thank you, Big Sister." Serena offered a humble, ingratiating smile. "I feel much better now. There's no need to trouble you, Big Sister."
"It's no trouble at all..."
"Freya, come outside for a moment," Adela's voice called from beyond the tent.
Freya looked back at Serena, only to see the doll girl's eyes misting over with tears, revealing terror and longing. Her delicate lips trembled slightly, but she did not utter a single word.
The Veela's heart nearly melted. She adjusted the lamp and settled Serena into a more comfortable position. "I'm just stepping outside. I'll be right out front, so don't worry."
"Mm." The doll girl nodded firmly. "I'll wait for you."
Freya stepped out of the tent and led Adela a bit farther down to the riverbank. "What is it?"
"Isn't it time to notify the Church?" Adela crossed her arms. "You saw that bloodlight collar too. She's an outlander. Just like the realm invaders who caused the 422 Incident, she is a source of calamity!"
"She's just an unfortunate soul who fell into a Void Realm passage while trying to escape!" Freya said vehemently. "There's no way she could be a scout from another country. Who would send a girl with no hands or feet, who needs help just to move, to scout another realm?"
"Who knows whether what she said is true or false..."
"Her body isn't a lie—you saw it too! There must really be barbaric, ignorant countries out there that revere limbless girls as sacred and treat helpless living dolls as statues... She finally managed to escape from that living hell, so how could we possibly send her right back?"
"The Church might place her in a rearing institute—"
"Adela, have you ever seen a single physically or intellectually disabled child in a rearing institute?"
Adela fell silent. In the Blood Moon Country, infants born with disabilities were denied even the right to breathe. Children who became disabled later in life could have their limbs restored by healers, but the wounds on Serena's limbs had long since smoothed over like polished jade, far beyond what any healer could remedy.
"Then what do you plan to do? Fit her with mechanical prosthetics?"
"Not yet. She's too young. Installing mechanical prosthetics now would severely stunt her growth..."
"What do you mean?"
Adela grabbed Freya's shoulders abruptly. "You can't possibly be thinking of raising her yourself, can you?"
Freya averted her gaze. "She needs someone to take care of her..."
"That's a human being, an underage minor, not a stray cat or dog!" Adela hissed through gritted teeth, keeping her voice low. "Failing to report an outlander we stumbled upon is one thing; citizens have no legal duty to hunt down outlanders. But raising a minor is entirely different! Even if it's an outlander minor, doing so violates the Consanguinity Prohibition Act! Only rearing institutes under the Church's authority have the right to raise minors!
"And do you even have a parenting license? Have you interned at a rearing institute? Ordinary people who want to work in a rearing institute have to undergo rigorous training and exams to get certified before they're allowed on the job! Not just anyone can raise a child! What makes you think you can raise a minor when you haven't even figured out how to raise yourself?!"
"I can learn."
"Why won't you listen to reason?!" Adela was on the verge of losing her mind. "You're a Veela! You're only supposed to be in heat for men! Since when does a Veela go into heat over a young girl?!"
"This is fate."
Adela froze.
Freya said with utter sincerity, "It just so happened that we ran into her. It just so happened that Serena is an outlander who desperately needs care. It just so happened that most people in the Blood Moon Country would be hostile toward her... It's not that I'm overflowing with charity, but in the Blood Moon, I am the only one who can save her.
"If I do nothing, she will die," the Veela said softly. "My heart is fragile—too fragile to bear even the slightest hint of guilt."
Adela let out a heavy sigh, feeling as though she had sighed more over these past few days than in the preceding decade.
"But if someone reports you, you'll be breaking the law."
"What's there to be afraid of? It's not like this is my first time breaking the law—"
"I can't pretend I didn't hear that, young ladies."
A weathered voice suddenly drifted in from the side. Both women shuddered, turning their heads slowly.
Under the dim Blood Moon, they could only see a tall man in the uniform of a Bloodmad Hunter standing on the opposite bank of the river.
"What other laws have you broken?" the hunter asked genially. "Confess and surrender now, and the Sin Hunting Hall offers discounts—serve thirty days of detention and get fifteen days off."
"Does... downloading pirated videos count?" Freya backed away as she spoke, then bolted into the tent to scoop Serena up. But the moment she emerged, she found the hunter already standing right before the entrance.
Beneath the dim moonshadow, he appeared like a sovereign ruling over the night, a demon that trampled on life. His pair of scarlet eyes shone as the brightest light in the dark. An overwhelming pressure crashed over them. While Freya could barely hold her ground, Adela was frightened to the point of collapsing onto the pebbled riverbank.
"I received notice from the Church that an outlander crossed a Void Realm passage into the Blood Moon..." The hunter looked at the doll girl cradled in the Veela's arms, wearing the Blood Moon collar. "She looks quite pitiful..."
"She isn't an outlander scout!" Freya's voice shook as she shielded Serena tightly. "There's no need for you to—"
"Of course there isn't,"
the hunter chuckled. "Just moments ago, the Void Realm passage upstream dispersed. Even if an outlander sorcerer left behind any contingency plans on her, they've been rendered completely useless now."
Freya's eyes lit up. "Then—"
"However, according to the law, all outlanders deserve death."
The hunter rested his hand upon the hilt of his sword, his voice turning abruptly cold. As though sensing the chilling murderous intent, Serena burrowed into Freya's embrace in terror.
Freya wanted to run, but her legs had turned to jelly. Managing not to drop to her knees was already exhausting whatever courage a certain cult leader had left behind in her.
"Is this Blood Moon truly... this barbaric and cruel?" Freya closed her eyes. "Perhaps I should have left along with them back then..."
"Interesting." The hunter smiled. "Even if I don't kill her, she won't survive. Rearing institutes will not accept an outlander without an implanted chip, raising a minor is illegal for ordinary citizens, and she possesses no ability to live independently. Vast as the Blood Moon Country is, there is no place for her here."
"I will take care of her."
"Even if I don't arrest you, can you guarantee you'll hide her well? Will your neighbors and landlord really fail to notice anything amiss? Your good intentions are commendable, but your act of charity is merely an impulsive whim."
"Then are we supposed to just stand by and watch her die?"
"There is another way."
The hunter suddenly reached out and snatched the doll girl from the Veela's grasp.
"And that is for me to raise her."
Freya was dumbfounded. She exchanged a glance with Adela, and the exact same thought sprang into the minds of both worldly college students—*pedophile!*
"Don't misunderstand." The hunter seemed to know what they were thinking. "My work keeps me busy, so I'm rarely home. I'll likely hire someone to look after her. If you wish, you may also come take care of her—and keep an eye on me while you're at it, to ensure I'm not mistreating her."
"Aren't you afraid of someone reporting you?"
"Not at all," the hunter chuckled. "Because I am a Bloodmad Hunter, not a powerless college student."
The Veela wanted to say more, but her friend softly called out, "Freya."
Freya looked at Adela and saw fear and pleading in her eyes. Her heart jolted; she knew she could no longer act willfully. She could not drag Adela into the Vortex just for the sake of her own stubbornness.
Freya sighed and asked, "I still don't understand. Not only are you a Bloodmad Hunter, but you should also be of the Blood Saint clan, right? Adopting an outlander minor violates multiple laws... Why are you doing this?"
The Blood Saint clan was the most law-abiding, and the Moon Shadow clan was the kindest—this was common knowledge throughout the Blood Moon Country. Yet the Bloodmad Hunter standing before Freya completely shattered that perception. He actually dared to actively trample upon the rules laid down by the Blood Moon Sovereign.
"Yes, why indeed... I am searching for the answer myself."
The hunter's tone was somewhat distant. "Perhaps because I know the Blood Saint clan has its limits, so I must surpass the Blood Saint clan. Or perhaps... I too have been bewitched by that man."
He looked down at the doll girl he held by the scruff of her clothes. "Brat, I'm your guardian from now on. Care to introduce yourself?"
Serena's expression turned exceedingly grim. She had gone to great lengths to bewitch that foolish woman, and once settled, using her to reestablish the Four Pillar Cult would have been trivial. But this man was infinitely harder to deal with. What was more, Serena could vaguely sense that although he was looking at her, his gaze was chasing an illusion she knew nothing about.
*Damn it all. First Yaxiu Heath, and now this hunter. Isn't the concentration of bad men tonight way too high?!*
"Serena Bright," she said, shivering.
Just then, the Blood Moon broke through the dark clouds, its crimson moonlight illuminating the hunter's weathered face and his grizzled gray hair.
"I am Gerard Westminster, Hunter ID 307791," the hunter said. "Pleased to meet you, Serena. I have a feeling we're going to get along splendidly."
Chapter 189