Luosha sat on the sofa, her head bowed, staring blankly at her phone.
Everything seemed different now.
Ever since Ye Huan called her the "Holy Maiden," she had suddenly realized something.
To call it a realization wasn't quite accurate; it was more like a perception.
Though she sat in a room in the real world, dazed on the sofa, she could sense the stirrings of the Ether.
Within the Flesh Archive, bound to her by covenant, every form of power belonging to "it" bowed in subservience to her.
—It was as if "its" power had broken away from "it" and chosen to submit to her instead.
Yet Luosha instinctively understood that she must never tell anyone about this.
And above all, she could never let "it" know!
Was there any way... to avenge the children?
Was there any way to deal with An Qi?
For the first time in Luosha's life, such a thought sprouted. It grew wildly like weeds, threatening to consume her heart and her very being.
Yet at the final moment—
"Strange... don't come looking for trouble. I only want revenge; I don't have any spare emotions to give you," she whispered.
In an instant, the Flesh Archive vanished.
One after another, entirely new structures quietly emerged in her perception.
Those were other magnificent sanctums born within the Ether, reservoirs of boundless spiritual power, creations straddling illusion and reality built in the Ether by great civilizations.
The structures seemed alive, possessed of their own wills, radiating thoughts that resonated with Luosha.
"Me."
"Come to me."
One of the buildings called out softly.
Luosha stepped forward, passing effortlessly through the wall and deep into the building's interior.
There lay a deep pool radiating an icy chill, and within its frigid waters stood a spear.
"Use it, and you can kill An Qi," murmuring voices whispered around her.
Luosha strode forward, her hand poised to grasp the spear—
The door to the safe house suddenly swung open.
Ye Huan walked in with a cigarette dangling from his lips and asked, "Are you all right?"
The illusion shattered completely, yielding to reality.
Luosha slowly closed her eyes and reopened them. "I don't know," she murmured softly.
"What's wrong?" Ye Huan looked at her, then glanced at the crumpled tissues on the table. "Did you cry?"
Luosha still didn't raise her head, speaking in an even fainter whisper: "An Qi called. She said she killed the children from the orphanage."
She huddled into a tight ball, not daring to look at Ye Huan, like a student terrified to see their test scores.
Ye Huan understood at once.
He smiled. "They're alive."
"An Qi tried to use me to kill the children at the orphanage, but the plan fell through. Both kids are alive and well."
Luosha's head snapped up.
Her emerald eyes carried a faint trace of pleading, mixed with a dim, fragile glimmer of hope that seemed ready to extinguish at any moment.
"Don't joke around," she said in all earnestness. "How could the Great Being ever let sacrifices go?"
—I know you're a ritual executor.
If you don't offer the sacrifice, the Great Being will kill you on the spot!
So this can't be real.
They're already dead!
Dead!!!
In the void, the resonance surged once more.
The spear within the frigid pool rang clear, as if yearning for her arrival.
"Hahaha!"
A hearty laugh swept away all the darkness lingering in the depths.
"What are you laughing at?" she couldn't help asking.
"Come look at this."
Ye Huan took out his phone, pulled up the Bureau of Investigation's report, and then opened a video clip of the children eating at the bureau.
Luosha stared, unblinking.
"They'll be escorted back later. You can call them then to confirm it yourself. Bottom line: it was a close call, but they're safe."
"We'll also arrange for people to keep watch on the orphanage afterward, ensuring no one tries anything funny again."
"You can put your mind at ease."
Ye Huan rambled on.
Suddenly, she turned, caught the cigarette from his mouth between two fingers, and stubbed it out.
"?" Ye Huan stared at her in bewilderment.
"You need to stay alive and well," Luosha said. Color had returned to her face, and her emerald eyes brimmed with joy.
What resonance?
What did the resonance matter?
She didn't need it at all, and it was completely gone!
"What does that have to do with smoking?" Ye Huan asked, perplexed.
"Smoking is bad for your health. You'll die," Luosha said earnestly.
Ye Huan found it somewhat comical.
Yes, she wasn't wrong, but—
That reasoning is a little too simplistic.
"There's something I want to tell you."
"What is it?"
"My ability."
Luosha raised her hand.
A crimson-bound book instantly manifested in her grasp.
Unlike before, she had summoned it directly into the real world!
It was unbelievable.
Had her ability grown stronger? Or had the Great Being granted her higher authority?
—In the past, using the Book of Blood required the approval of the Flesh Archive's Director!
Luosha flipped through the Book of Blood attentively.
"Is that the book used for judgment?" Ye Huan asked.
"Yes. Borrowing its power allows me to—"
Luosha abruptly paused.
The Book of Blood vanished in a flash.
"Did I interrupt you?" Ye Huan asked apologetically.
"No. My spiritual power still isn't strong enough. Summoning it into reality is very difficult," Luosha replied.
Only long past this day, when Ye Huan would look back on this moment in the future, would he realize the sheer enormity of what Luosha had accomplished.
"You might have to put up with staying in the safe house for a few days. Once things settle down completely, you can leave," Ye Huan said.
"It's fine. Being alive is already a blessing," Luosha said with a faint smile.
"Don't worry about your job either. We arranged an official transfer through normal channels to temporarily second you from your unit. Once this is all over, you can head right back."
"No one will know what you went through—"
Mid-sentence, Ye Huan suddenly snapped his mouth shut, his gaze flicking down to his hands.
Luosha sensed it too, her eyes falling upon his arm.
A blistering heat surged up from Ye Huan's hands.
For now, it was only an aura.
Yet both of them knew what presence this aura represented: the Great Being.
Was it descending?
—Here, inside a monitored safe house, was it going to descend through flames?
Or was it...
Preparing to kill Ye Huan right then and there?
Whether it meant a descent or immolation, either outcome was catastrophic!
Everything Ye Huan possessed would be obliterated!
At the brink of crisis, a faint smirk touched the corner of Ye Huan's lips, his eyes reflecting a hint of resignation.
Fickle fiend.
So you didn't let me off after all. In that case, let's sever ties here and now.
There will be no turning back!
Just as he was about to sacrifice the Ritual Fire, a figure rushed forward.
Luosha.
Her gaze lifted briefly to meet Ye Huan's before she ducked her head, lunged forward, and wrapped her arms around him.
Clutching Ye Huan's hands frantically, she pressed them hard against her chest, holding him tight with one arm.
This completely blocked the surveillance camera's view.
Unless she were reduced to ashes by the fire, no one would ever know that Ritual Fire had flared from Ye Huan's hands.
"Investigator, thank you for saving me, but—"
"This might anger the Great Being."
"It will plunge you straight into darkness."
Buried in his chest, Luosha spoke with clear, trembling words full of dread.
Ye Huan froze.
A soft, warm body filled his arms. Her hands held his, pinned right over her heart.
He could even feel the rhythm of her heartbeat.
Yet—
Why go to such lengths?
She already knew she was the Black Tide Cult's new Holy Maiden.
She had even sensed that a power was descending from the void, stirring the fiery heat in his hands, and that dark-green Ritual Fire was about to emerge.
He had originally planned to sacrifice the Ritual Fire immediately, converting it into skill points to cover everything up.
—He would deal with whatever came next later.
Yet she had thrown herself forward, pressing his hands against her chest.
That could only mean one thing.
The moment the fire ignited, she would be burned to death on the spot.
*O Great Being, if you wish to descend at this moment, drag him down, and expose his dark identity before the world—*
*Then kill me first.*
*Kill me!*
And even if it killed her, it wouldn't frame him.
Because—
*"Investigator, thank you for saving me, but this might anger the Great Being. It will plunge you straight into darkness."*
She had even laid out those exact words!
This surveillance footage would become the very evidence proving Ye Huan's innocence.
Fearless.
She was so fearless, so decisive, and so selfless in looking out for another!
To anyone watching the surveillance footage, it would look like nothing more than a common scenario: a terrified informant seeking comfort from an investigator while answering questions.
Yet only Ye Huan knew the terrifying storm that was truly raging, and just how close this young woman stood to the brink of death.
Ye Huan's eyes flashed as if a flame burned within them, only to vanish into nothingness.
The fire died.
At the very cusp of igniting, it was extinguished entirely.
The Great Being, fearful of harming this newly appointed Holy Maiden, snuffed the flames out at once.
Perhaps it had gathered a few clues—
The Holy Maiden did not like this behavior.
She disapproved of its style of "abruptly exposing a subordinate's identity and plunging him into endless manhunts."
Regardless of what the Great Being was truly thinking, it had indeed stayed its hand.
Silence fell over the safe house.
Ye Huan remained embraced by Luosha, his hands shielded behind her body.
Her head rested against his chest.
After a long time, once the air had turned completely calm and peaceful, she whispered, "Investigator... will we be safe from now on?"
She was passing a signal.
*How are you doing?*
*Are you safe?*
"Don't worry. Neither of us will come to any harm," Ye Huan replied.
—*I'm fine now.*
Luosha nodded faintly, burying her face into his chest once more.
A message surfaced in Ye Huan's mind:
"There is no love or hatred without reason in this world."
"In that critical moment just now, that entity abandoned its intention to harm you because the person you saved was determined to save you at the cost of her life."
"You might be bewildered, but that is simply how it is."
"Rating +1."
"Total Rating: +4."
His rating for today had reached +4.
Luosha stepped out of his embrace, backed away a few steps, and looked up at him.
She met his gaze, her emerald eyes carrying a quiet warmth and concern.
—*Are you truly safe?*
Ye Huan fell silent for a moment.
A warm current quietly drifted through his heart.
In a single instant, she had understood everything, and then, wagering her own life, she had helped him once again.
Without a shred of hesitation.
Chapter 38