Inside Yaxiu's luggage lay several beautifully wrapped gift boxes.
Annan took them out and quickly realized they were gifts meant for the others—the black box decorated with a skull was for Harvey, the azure box was for Banjie, the gold box with silver trim was for Igola, and the box with the purple ribbon was undoubtedly hers.
Where was Lisi's gift?
Once Annan opened the boxes, she understood why there was nothing for Lisi.
"Harvey, you'll be spending a lot of time digging graves and burying corpses from now on, so you definitely won't have time to catch any sun. That's why I think this 'Radiant Anklet' is perfect for you. It'll let you soak up some sunshine to prevent osteoporosis, and it can also double as a searchlight when you head down into tombs. Plus, it matches the Ghost King Shackles on your wrists really well. Doesn't it look great?"
Annan stared at the anklet in the box. While her own aesthetic tastes rejected it outright, Harvey had always had eccentric tastes; he might actually like it.
"Banjie, I didn't know what to get you either. After all, you're so good at taking care of people that if you ever wanted anything, you would have bought it yourself long ago. So I went to a shop and had dolls made of all of us. You can put them in the game room from now on and pretend we're playing old games with you. Next time, I'm definitely going to beat you in *Sorcerer Duel 14*!"
Annan glanced at the six dolls in the gift box. Though the dolls themselves were cute figurines with big eyes, their outfits and features made it easy to distinguish who was who: Banjie's blue hair and butler uniform; Igola's blonde hair and robes; Harvey's dark skin and Ghost King Shackles; Lisi's white hair; Annan's purple dress and amethyst earring; and Yaxiu's dark red trench coat and Distortion Mask.
Honestly speaking, it was a terrible gift. Banjie was over sixty years old—how could he possibly like dolls? But now that Banjie had turned back into an infant, the gift happened to suit his age perfectly. Yaxiu had unwittingly hit the mark.
"Igola, I didn't forget to return the favor! You gave me the mask, and I've always remembered that! But I thought about it over and over and still had no clue what you like. It's not like I could send you a bathtub... Then I remembered you mentioning how much you actually hate society and that what you want most is to explore mysterious ruins. That makes us complete opposites—I love lazing around in society doing nothing, and I hate going on adventures. So I'm giving you a 'Team-up Voucher.' If you ever actually find a mysterious ruin and don't have any friends, come team up with me."
Annan picked up the flimsy slip of paper and saw a crooked line of handwriting (for a sorcerer, his handwriting was embarrassingly poor):
"Team-up Voucher: To invite Yaxiu to form a party. Requires thirty business days' advance notice. Single use only."
It had to be the most perfunctory, thoughtless gift imaginable, yet Annan felt Igola would definitely be delighted.
Only one gift box remained. Tearing off the purple ribbon, Annan suddenly felt a flutter of nervousness.
Then, inside, she saw... an amethyst earring.
"Eldest Miss, I really wanted to buy a genuine, original Marg crystal stone, but it was far too expensive, and I had no way of acquiring one anyway. So I could only buy an earring that looks somewhat similar.
"When you receive this gift, it means I've probably already run off with Lisi. Even though our contract hasn't expired yet, I hope you won't come looking to drag me back.
"The relationship between us is far too strange. We were master and slave out of sheer circumstance, comrades-in-arms and friends who weathered hardships together, and we nearly became passionate lovers... If I stayed, I would undoubtedly be won over by you; I have no illusions about my willpower.
"That's why I must leave. While I won't retaliate against you for the time you spent controlling me, neither will I allow myself to simply surrender to you. I'm not some puppy or kitten that gets abducted, fed for a few days, and tamely submits. Not to mention, this entire experience is a thorn in my side that would constantly remind me our meeting was built on calculation and exploitation.
"Furthermore, how much of your feelings for me were merely a venting of fear in the face of mortal peril, and how much was a sense of secure dependence born from having absolute control over me?
"Finding me would surely be easy for you, but I am determined to end this unequal relationship. So, if you ever wish to see me, I hope that after our contract has expired, on a bright, sunny afternoon, you will appear before me and say:
"'Nice to meet you. I am Annan Dolan.'"
Even though she had finished reading the note, Annan's eyes remained fixed on the final period, as if the letter had not truly ended.
No wonder there was no gift for Lisi.
These were Yaxiu's farewell gifts to everyone. Long before the operation began, he had already planned to leave with Lisi once it was over.
Annan folded the letter and put it away. Then, picking up the earring from the box between two fingers, she could not help letting out a laugh. *He calls this "somewhat similar"? It's not even close!* Her authentic earring was crystal clear and brilliantly radiant, whereas this cheap knockoff Yaxiu had bought was dull and cloudy, clearly a bargain-bin imitation.
Shaking her head in mild resignation, she put the cheap earring onto her other earlobe.
*
Annan took a bath and was preparing for bed when a knock sounded at the door.
It was Lisi.
Dressed in her bathrobe, Lisi stood outside the door. Her expression showed a hint of hesitation, but she finally summoned the resolve to speak: "Can I sleep with you?"
Annan was taken aback, but immediately answered, "Of course you can."
She paused, then added, "Only if you call me Big Sister Annan."
"No problem, Auntie An—Big Sister Annan."
Seeing Lisi's uneasy, fidgety demeanor, Annan finally realized that Empress Diyin was still just a little girl after all.
Perhaps her poised, effortless composure at court earlier that day had misled Annan into thinking she had quickly moved on from the parting. But looking at her now, she simply had not wanted to show her emotions in front of outsiders.
To be honest, Annan and Lisi's relationship could hardly be called close. Annan rarely spoke to Lisi under normal circumstances, yet right now, Annan was the only anchor Lisi could turn to—because they were both left-behind souls, bound by a shared sorrow.
Annan and Lisi lay together in bed. Lisi suddenly asked, "Can you read me a fairy tale picture book?"
"I can... but I have a better idea."
Annan picked up Banjie's notebook, letting Lisi rest her head against her chest, and said, "Banjie has been writing this for a long time, but he never published it. I've always wondered what he was writing. Let's read it together."
"Okay!"
Annan flipped open the first page of the notebook and froze.
Only when Lisi urged her did Annan stifle her laughter and begin to read: "A long, long time ago, there was a youth named Banjie. In his bloodline slumbered the power of chaos, and so he suffered the curse of the Void Realm. He wielded two handguns—one named Light's Retribution, the other Dark Judgment. He was destined to walk a rebellious path, making the whole world his enemy. Along the way, he met the destiny sorcerer Wenna, and together with this dashing girl in a trench coat, he ventured forth to challenge the boundless future..."
*
Annan stopped reading. Looking down at Lisi's sleeping face, she gently pulled the blanket over the empress.
The empress who held dominion over Gospel was actually a little girl who needed a bedtime story to fall asleep. If she hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes, Annan would never have believed it.
*An old era is coming to an end,* Annan thought.
She went out to check on baby Banjie. Seeing that he was sleeping soundly, the Purple Moth returned to bed with peace of mind.
Passing through the Gate of Truth, her soul connected to the Void Realm, stepping onto the Time Continent.
Yet as Annan opened her eyes to the sight of the reverse golden rain, two screams rang out from above.
The Purple Moth looked up and saw two girls intersecting the reverse golden rain. Holding hands, each spreading a single Silver Wing like a pair of one-winged birds flying together, they plummeted from the sky.
*A new era is about to begin,* she thought.
Chapter 513