Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
“Ruo Yi, you are the Saintess, you must serve Goddess well.”
“Ruo Yi, as the Saintess, you must set an example. How can you be playful?”
“Ruo Yi, go recite the sacred texts!”
“Ruo Yi, why haven’t you awakened this time?”
“Ruo Yi, I brought you out of the orphanage hoping you would become an excellent Saintess.”
“Ruo Yi, do not let my expectations down.”
“Ruo Yi…”
Ruo Yi opened her eyes and found herself back in the familiar orphanage alley.
How many times had this happened?
She had died so many times, why did she have to repeat this endlessly?
“Ruo Yi, the country of the demi-humans… revenge…”
“Stop talking… stop talking…”
Ruo Yi closed her eyes tightly, covering her ears in pain. She knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her pale cheeks and falling onto the earth.
Her life had always been like this. Taken from the orphanage and brought to the Holy See, she was trained to be a Saintess for the shrine.
Every day, she studied difficult and obscure knowledge strictly.
She was constantly sent into blizzards, under waterfalls, and into flames for training. When she was injured, she was healed by divine magic, but she could never awaken her powers.
She was like a mechanical puppet being controlled, a marionette, constantly repeating the commands and teachings of the previous Saintess.
She was just a piece of trash disguised as a Saintess.
She had never lived for herself.
In the pitch-black night, the biting cold wind howled, and the rustling sound of leaves colliding could occasionally be heard.
Distant sounds of chaotic footsteps and shouts of battle echoed.
Ruo Yi opened her eyes. In the mottled, dilapidated alley, many fleeing demi-humans appeared around her.
It was happening again, an endless nightmare.
She pursed her lips, stood up, and shouted, trying to rally everyone, to stop them from running around like headless chickens. But still, no one seemed to notice her.
The sound of horseshoes approached from behind, accompanied by the clanging of armor and weapons. Many demi-humans were brutally killed, and a head, its face still etched with terror, rolled to Ruo Yi’s feet.
Darkness spread around Ruo Yi, leaving her alone.
Brutal Imperial soldiers surrounded her, grinning like demons ready to devour their prey.
Ruo Yi’s face turned pale. She turned and fled desperately. The scene before her warped bizarrely.
One moment, it was a dark, gloomy forest with flickering, distorted tree shadows; the next, it was a mottled, dilapidated alley filled with splattered blood and corpses; then, it was the Goddess’s shrine, with a crippled statue shedding bloody tears.
Corpses were everywhere, and blood had gathered into a river, even reaching her knees.
“Ah…”
Ruo Yi stumbled and fell into a corner, perhaps tripping over something while running.
Beside her, the statue of the Goddess, still weeping blood, lay shattered on the ground. The hollow eyes of her ripped-apart kin stared blankly at her. The scene gradually turned blood-red, and a rain of blood began to fall from the dim night sky.
A group of Imperial soldiers, their faces like demons, raised their long swords and lunged at the girl cowering in the corner.
Ruo Yi closed her eyes in despair, a bitter smile of relief barely appearing on her lips.
Let her die. She no longer wanted to bear those heavy burdens, nor did she want to repeat this endlessly in this nightmare.
“Clang!”
“Get up!”
A deep male voice roared in her ears. Ruo Yi opened her eyes in confusion.
Something felt different.
In her vision, a majestic, imposing man stood before her, blocking the soldiers’ swords.
In this alley, akin to hell, the golden Qi emanating from the man became a beam of light cutting through the darkness.
“The… Lord of Eagle Territory?”
Ruo Yi murmured in disbelief, wondering how she could see *that* man here.
The Lord of Eagle Territory, formed by soft light, turned and looked at her coldly, throwing the long sword in his hand down before her with a “clang.”
“Pick it up!”
Ruo Yi looked at the long sword before her, then at the Lord of Eagle Territory’s cold expression. She pursed her lips and, trembling, picked up the long sword from the ground, then stood up, leaning against the mottled alley wall.
She didn’t know why, but whenever she faced this fierce man, she always felt like a manipulated puppet, compelled to obey his will.
“Very good. Now, go fight! You are the Demi-human Saintess, not a useless piece of trash!”
The reprimand was still as cold as a winter wind, showing no sympathy for her tragic situation.
Yet, Ruo Yi didn’t feel wronged at all. Instead, a trace of joy and a strange feeling welled up within her.
She thought she must have broken.
A tickling sensation spread through her body, and a morbid blush rose on her delicate, tender face.
Ruo Yi’s lips trembled, her eyes a little hazy, and she stammered, asking:
“Is… is this a command?”
The man before her broke into a cold smile and affirmed, “Yes, this is a command. A command to live for yourself.”
As soon as he finished speaking, in Ruo Yi’s vision, the Lord of Eagle Territory, formed by soft light, disappeared without hesitation in the night wind.
It was as if he no longer cared about her fate.
Darkness surged back, but Ruo Yi now held a long sword in her hand.
“This… this is a command…”
“Live on…”
…
“Lori, do you think she can feel the Breath of the Wilds?”
Shi Wei asked uncertainly after observing the still immobile fox-eared girl on the bed for a while.
Lori blinked. She had just used her power to guide Ruo Yi in her perception, and it should have been successful. However, she was still unsure and looked troubled.
“She should be able to feel it… but what she can feel specifically depends on herself.”
“So, I’m not sure if this perception will help her fight the nightmares.”
“Well, let’s do our best and leave the rest to fate.”
Shi Wei looked at the sky outside. It was already late at night, the cold wind was howling, and a heavy rain was falling.
Lori looked very tired today. Shi Wei didn’t want her to continue working, so he smiled at the little maid and said,
“Since she’s not in mortal danger for now, we don’t need to keep watch. Let’s go to sleep.”
“Master… I think I heard thunder just now…” Lori said with a frightened expression, snuggling into his embrace.
Shi Wei knew Lori was always afraid of thunder. He affectionately flicked the tip of the little maid’s nose, then leaned down and picked her up, carrying her back to his room.
“Come, let Master hug you. Hugging you will make you sleep, you won’t be afraid, good girl~”
“Uuuuh… (*/ω＼*)”
The little maid took off her clothes, got into bed, and burrowed under the covers. Her tender, smooth legs wrapped around Shi Wei’s thighs, her two soft hands rested on his chest, and her tail had to be wrapped around one of his arms. She clung to him like an octopus.
They embraced and kissed for a moment.
Lori suddenly felt something, and a blush spread from her neck to her face.
She looked at Shi Wei with hazy eyes, her small hands drawing circles on his broad chest. The mist in her eyes seemed to melt him. Shyly, she stammered,
“Mas-Master, Lori has grown up. Lori wants… (*///▽///*)”
“Ahem, let’s sleep. It’s so late, and you have to go to the clinic tomorrow?”
“But Master… you clearly… you clearly did that… ,,Ծ‸Ծ,,”
Did what? Shi Wei claimed he knew nothing and had already fallen asleep.
“Hssshh… zzzzzz……”
“Master~ ,,Ծ‸Ծ,,”
“Huh… zzzz……”
“Hmph… ,,Ծ‸Ծ,,”
Lori puffed out her cheeks, pouted, and retaliatorily bit Shi Wei’s broad chest lightly. She suddenly remembered a skill she had newly learned from Mrs. Chris with a group of older sisters.
Her eyes rolled, she pursed her lips and smiled slightly, wriggled under the covers, and lifted her two slender, soft feet.
Shi Wei: “???”
…
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