“An?”
The sensation at his neck made every hair on Muen’s body stand on end, but fortunately, it seemed to have only been a fleeting illusion.
After that jade-like hand brushed past, its strength suddenly increased, directly pressing Muen’s head into those towering mountains.
The familiar fragrance slipped into his nose through the contact. Along with the girl’s active pressure and open embrace, the soft, elastic sensation continuously teased Muen’s nerves. Even though he had felt it thousands of times already, he still could not help admiring how wonderful it was.
The only flaw was...
The deep valley between these high mountains had somewhat thin air.
It could easily suffocate a person.
“Mmmph...”
Muen struggled desperately and finally broke free from the girl’s iron grip, gulping in fresh air. Yet the girl still held him tightly, likewise breathing in his scent greedily in deep gulps.
And so the reproach that had reached his lips turned into helplessness.
“Why are you here?”
At this moment, An was still dressed in a nun’s habit.
Unlike Fubeka’s mischievous cuteness in a nun’s habit not long ago, although the clothing style was roughly similar, on An, it displayed an entirely different maturity.
The towering peaks that did not lose to Fubeka’s looked even steeper beneath the outline of the close-fitting fabric. With only an additional belt tied around her waist, that waist became as slender and graceful as a water snake.
But apart from that, her face was dignified and cool. Her long hair was carefully pinned behind her head, and aside from the marks Muen had just rubbed onto her clothing, there was not even a single wrinkle in her dress.
Her back was straight, her legs were always closed together, and every step seemed measured with a ruler... even the strictest etiquette teacher would be unable to find the slightest flaw in her.
Yet this same her was holding Muen tightly in her arms with an extremely “inelegant” posture, greedily and fervently drawing in every trace of his scent.
Dignified, elegant, meticulous—that was her perfect shell.
Scorching, intense, and endlessly clinging—that was the interior she never showed outsiders.
“I came to find you, Young Master,” An said.
After speaking, she stood on tiptoe and asked for a kiss.
Although they had only been separated for a short while, the heat inside her had already become nearly impossible to restrain. If they were not currently on a public street, she would definitely feel everything of her young master again to fill the grievance and loneliness she had endured during this time.
Only at a time like this... tasting a small dessert first should be allowed, right?
“You really are becoming less and less like a maid!”
Faced with the little maid’s current posture, Muen first criticized her sternly, then naturally imposed an even sterner punishment.
He kissed her forcefully, answering the girl’s provocation, then ground against her lips until the girl’s lips had become quite a bit redder.
The girl was also wild and passionate. Although her expression remained dignified and cool, her movements seemed as if she wanted to make Muen completely merge with her...
Unfortunately, the location ultimately did not allow it. Although the street beside the graveyard already had few pedestrians, Muen was still afraid that some old virgin of several decades might be hiding somewhere with his powerful cultivation, secretly watching...
And so their lips parted, and the brief grinding came to an end.
Slightly satisfied, An released Muen and stretched out her fair hands to help Muen tidy his now-messy collar. Muen also smoothed the wrinkles on An’s skirt for her in passing.
And in passing... cough, cough. Nothing in passing.
There were simply too many wrinkles, so he needed to touch it several more times before it could become smooth.
“Young Master has gotten thinner.”
“We’ve only been apart for two days, okay? How could I suddenly get thinner?”
“It must have been that woman...”
“I’m not that weak!”
To prevent his reputation from being damaged again, Muen quickly changed the subject.
“What about the Church? Liya just let you go like this?”
“That little vixen’s original attending nun returned, so naturally, there was nothing left for me to do.”
An gave an almost imperceptible “tsk.”
“What a pity. I wasn’t able to develop a poison capable of killing her during this time. Such a good opportunity was wasted for nothing...”
“......”
All right.
It seemed these months of getting along had not made the two of them let go of their hostility toward each other. Their previous cooperation... had merely been because there had been a common enemy that needed to be handled first.
Now that the enemy had left and temporarily no longer counted as much of a threat, the remaining few would naturally return to their original state of no one getting along with anyone.
In other words, the future battlefield of romantic carnage had not been eased at all, only slightly delayed?
Muen shuddered and inexplicably remembered what the priest had said earlier about hatchets and dismemberment... Should he really go buy a family bundle package in advance?
No, he could not be so pessimistic.
“Don’t be like that.”
Feeling that he should still be salvageable, Muen hurriedly took An’s small hand and said with great seriousness:
“Peace. Peace is the shape this world should have, and also my greatest wish. I hope all of you can understand the greatness of peace too!”
“When did Young Master become so selfless?”
“I have always been this way. Unfortunately, my reputation isn’t very good. Otherwise, I would definitely run for peace ambassador of the entire continent!”
“When that time comes, I will definitely cast the first vote for Young Master.”
“Good girl.”
After playing with it for a while, Muen smoothly took one small hand into his palm and held it. An instinctively tried to pull free, but did not succeed.
“Young Master.”
For An, who had always served as Muen’s personal maid, this kind of handholding, and the warmth that completely enveloped her small hand, were honestly rather unfamiliar...
“It’s fine. You’re temporarily on holiday today.”
“I will forever be Young Master’s personal maid...”
“I’m not removing you from your post. Why are you so anxious?”
Muen answered with a gentle smile.
“Today is a rare bit of leisure. There are no troublemaking Evil Gods, no lunatics trying to kill all humanity, and no crisis big enough to destroy a city. So at a time like this, how about you temporarily set aside the posture of a perfect maid?”
“But I have always existed as Young Master’s personal maid...”
“This is an order from your young master.”
“Then... all right.”
Since it was an order, there was nothing to be done.
An gave up struggling and resisting, allowing Muen to hold her small hand and occasionally knead it. It tickled.
And Muen also slowed his pace, adjusting his steps to match An’s usual stride length. Only, he could not make every step nearly identical the way An did, so he had to adjust from time to time, occasionally making his movements look a little comical.
“Do you have any plans?”
“I am Young Master’s personal maid, so naturally, wherever Young Master...”
“I already said you’re not a maid today.”
Muen turned back and viciously pinched An’s little cheek.
That usually dignified little face being toyed with like this had its own unique charm.
“You’re just my An.”
“Then wherever Young Master goes, An goes.”
“You really know how to talk.”
Muen held her hand and swung it back and forth. Gradually, they passed through the few remote alleys around the graveyard and arrived on a street with more people.
The two of them quickly attracted many gazes.
After all, one of them was handsome and dashing, someone whose smile alone could probably daze countless young girls. The other was dignified and beautiful, every movement revealing an elegance carved into her bones.
At the same time, An was still wearing the Church’s nun habit. That seemingly ordinary clerical garment looked extraordinarily lovely on An.
“This won’t do.”
Muen began to realize the danger.
“If we walk around the street like this, by tomorrow all of Saint Blancfazesiya will be spreading rumors that I seduced a Church nun.”
He was not afraid of rumors anymore. After all, when there were too many fleas, the itching no longer mattered.
But the Church side might very well come knocking, ready to fight him to the death.
After all, what this sort of matter would damage most was definitely the Church’s reputation.
And they might even take it seriously... He had already seduced away one Saintess. Seducing away a nun on top of that did not seem like anything strange.
“I’ll find a place right now and change into my usual maid—”
“I already said you’re not a maid right now. What maid outfit are you changing into?”
Muen pulled An into a nearby alley, shaking off those surprised and curious gazes. At the same time, following the route in his memory, he continuously moved through hidden places.
“Speaking of which, that old priest did tell me about a pretty good place earlier...”
...
...
This was a district similar to a slum.
Low houses were everywhere, stacked and staggered together along the terrain like layer upon layer of wooden crates.
These old, broken houses created the illusion of a forest of buildings. The complicated streets, alleys, and hidden passages made this place look like a maze. Any outsider entering for the first time might get lost among these complicated roads and become a delicious “meal” for the “beasts” hiding in the shadowed corners.
However, as long as one followed a set route through the outskirts, one would discover that at the center...
There was something entirely different.
“This is...”
An looked in surprise at the street that was completely different from the faint signs of ordinary life beginning to return outside, already displaying a lively scene. “A shopping street?”
“No. A black market,” Muen said.
“A black market?”
An’s fine brows furrowed slightly. Having lived in Belrand for a long time, she was not unfamiliar with black markets. But she had never imagined that a black market, something that clearly should only exist in the shadows, could actually be so... prosperous?
“Every country has its own circumstances.”
Although he had already heard about it long ago, after actually seeing it, Muen was still slightly amazed as well.
“The Kingdom is different from the Empire. Its ability to control the grassroots is weaker. Add in the corruption and decay of some lesser nobles, and compared to those noble lords high above them, many civilians actually trust the gangs living in the same gutter more.”
“The gangs need to make money. The people at the bottom need to live. Even some nobles need things that cannot be shown openly, or need to dispose of corruptly obtained supplies. Under the needs of every side, in certain areas of the Kingdom, black markets like this naturally formed—more prosperous than ordinary markets.”
“When the Imperial army entered the city earlier, Celicia did not cleanse these black markets. Because unlike the Empire’s black markets, which are pure tumors, the black markets here have already become part of the lives of the people at the bottom. Clearing them out would be difficult, and would easily provoke public resistance. After all, even during this war, if these black markets had not been reselling supplies, and those Kingdom parasites had been allowed to freely drive up grain prices and profit from national disaster, who knows how many more people would have died?”
Muen explained patiently, combining what he knew.
“It sounds no different from an ordinary shopping street,” An said softly, nodding.
“There isn’t much difference, but a black market is still a black market. It has its own rules.”
Muen took out two black robes. “Put this on.”
The loose black robes covered their bodies, concealing An’s graceful figure. From the outside, it was even difficult to tell whether she was male or female.
But in truth, compared with the Belrand black market Muen had once experienced, this kind of disguise was much simpler and could not evade the investigation of anyone with intent at all.
This also showed from the side that the black market of Saint Blancfazesiya had long ago become an open secret.
“Let’s go.”
Muen brought An with him through the somewhat narrow street. People came and went around them. Most were like them, draped in concealing black robes.
But most of those black robes were tattered and patched together from scraps of cloth. A small number of people did not have even the slightest disguise, brushing past Muen and An openly.
At that moment, a child hurried along, clutching something, head lowered as he charged forward blindly.
He seemed not to be watching the road at all and slammed directly into Muen. Before he could bounce off and fall, Muen caught him with one hand.
“Th-thank you.”
The child hurriedly thanked him and, without even raising his head, quickly merged into the crowd again and disappeared.
“I’ve heard some children use this method to steal,” An reminded him.
“Don’t worry. A little brat like that isn’t enough to pick anything off me.”
Muen shook his head.
“And he really didn’t make any small movements. He wouldn’t dare to either. The consequences of stealing here aren’t very good.”
“There are no Imperial soldiers patrolling here, yet public order is this good?” An asked in surprise.
“The rule-makers here aren’t official people. They’re the gangs.”
Muen pointed out a few figures at the street corners to An.
Those people looked like ordinary idlers. Some leaned against walls smoking, some squatted in corners playing cards, and some loudly discussed vulgar topics... But no matter what, their gazes swept across this street from time to time.
Under those gazes, although the crowd was mixed and hurried, no disorder arose. This street in the shadows actually had better order than most places in the city.
“Are these gangs easy to get along with?”
“They’re all right. At least right now, what I say should carry a little weight among those gangs.”
Ignoring those people, Muen directly brought An into a shop on the corner.
The inside of the shop was very dim. The person watching it was a drunken old woman.
Customers entered the shop, but the old woman did not greet them. She merely drooped her eyelids and said lazily:
“We’re closed. Not receiving customers. Please leave...”
“Closed? But someone told me this place was open twenty-four hours.”
“Heh. Who has that much face? Even if Tyron came himself, he could only make me work eight hours a day...”
“Bruce.”
Muen lowered his head and spoke softly beside the old woman’s ear.
“You!”
The old woman’s pupils abruptly contracted. Her entire person was no longer lazy. Her hunched body flipped up from the rocking chair, and she carefully sized Muen up from head to toe.
“Lord Bruce sent me. Do you need proof?” Muen lifted his hood, and his blond hair looked especially conspicuous in the narrow, dim room.
“No, no need.”
The old woman rubbed her hands together. Her previous laziness instantly turned into a flattering smile, her grin revealing the single tooth left in her mouth.
“A friend personally invited by the legendary Emperor himself—how would I dare neglect you? I’m afraid no one around here would dare impersonate his name either. That would be even deadlier than offending the nobles in the city!”
“That Bruce isn’t as terrifying as you people make him sound.”
“Ah, the terror doesn’t lie in that person’s personality, but in that person’s status. For little people like us, his existence alone is already terrifying enough.”
The old woman’s gaze fell on An. When she saw that pretty face, she showed a hint of amazement.
“What do the two of you want...”
“I heard you’re the best tailor in this district?”
“I wouldn’t dare call myself the best... I only worked in Saint Haze Palace when I was young. Because I committed an offense, I was expelled and could only muddle along in a place like this.”
“Very good.”
Muen pulled An into his arms. “Make her a set of clothes.”
“Young Master, I can wear my usual maid outfit...”
“Something cuter, not too rigid. Can you do that?” Muen directly covered An’s cherry lips, stopping her from speaking.
“Of course! This young lady’s quality is far too outstanding. I will definitely be able to make the best clothing!”
The old woman was clearly interested as well. After all, opportunities to make clothing for someone so beautiful were rare. She immediately grabbed an oil lamp and rose, walking toward the deeper part of the house.
“Please follow me. This is only the outer storefront. The tools are all inside.”
“Good.”
Muen answered. While the old woman turned away, he immediately slapped An’s little bottom with threatening intent.
“Behave. This is an order from your young master.”
“......”
The refusal that had just reached An’s lips was swallowed back down.
No matter how cruel and indifferent she was toward outsiders, and no matter how careless she was toward other matters, those two small words—“Young Master”—would always make her obey unconditionally.
Because she was Young Master’s personal maid.
“Let’s go.”
Muen urged An to walk in front. However, after following for only a few steps, he suddenly turned his head and looked outside the half-closed door.
“What is it?” An noticed Muen’s movement and turned back to ask.
“Nothing.”
Muen shook his head. “Probably just my imagination.”
...
...
“You’re sure?”
“Completely sure!”
“It was really him?”
“I already said I’m sure. Could it be fake?!”
A little boy who looked only a little over ten raised his head and tore off the human-skin mask covering his face, revealing his true appearance beneath.
It was likewise an extremely ordinary child’s face, one that would not arouse anyone’s suspicion. Only those eyes were filled with vicissitudes, as if they had already been tempered by no short stretch of life.
Salvation Society, Demon Child!
“That was Muen Campbell!”
Demon Child slammed down the thing in his hand, grabbed the wine cup on the table, and gulped down several mouthfuls.
“Damn it. At the time, I thought he was cooperating with the Church’s people to catch me. It scared my soul right out of me. Fortunately, it looked like he only came here to buy something, and the human-skin mask bestowed by Lord Second Seat was powerful enough. Otherwise, I might have been in danger today.”
“Heh. If he was alone, what were you afraid of?”
In the corner, former priest Atel, who was using crayons to draw something on his divine robe, lazily spoke. “Although that Muen Campbell is someone the intelligence says we need to pay close attention to, you are the famous Demon Child. You shouldn’t be unable to escape, right?”
“He wasn’t alone. There were two of them.”
Demon Child’s expression turned solemn. “The other one seemed to be a Church nun. I vaguely saw a nun’s habit under her black robe.”
“He really came with the Church to catch us?” Atel immediately grew serious.
“Doesn’t seem like it. The two of them looked more like... they were on a date?” Demon Child stroked his chin and thought it over carefully.
“A date?”
In the shadows, a sinister red light lit up. Ghoul, who was gnawing on a corpse, raised his head and grinned savagely.
“In that case, isn’t this our opportunity?”
“What do you want to do?” Atel frowned.
“Of course, find a way to kill Muen Campbell.”
Ghoul licked the blood on his hand. “Have you forgotten the mission the Holy Lord gave us when he issued the retreat order? If we have the chance in the future, we must kill Muen Campbell.”
“But that doesn’t mean now, while we’re running for our lives!”
Atel rebuked him. “Don’t forget, the Judgment Temple is searching the whole city for us right now!”
“Are you scared?”
Ghoul sneered. “There are a full five of us here, yet we’re supposed to be frightened by two brats? With you acting like this, you still want to compete for a future Seat?”
“You!”
“I actually think Ghoul is right.”
Another voice sounded. A woman with smoky makeup twisted her waist and walked into the lamplight, tapping the table with the thin sword in her hand.
“The more it is a time like this, the more we need to take a gamble. Otherwise, we can only stay trapped here until we die!”
“But the risk is far too great!”
“If we don’t take risks, we can only wait for death!”
“......”
“......”
After a round of arguing, no conclusion appeared.
And so several people simultaneously shifted their gazes to the innermost part of the room.
“Ah... no...”
In the darkest place, gauze curtains swayed, and a hoarse voice was begging humbly.
“I... I’m going to be... drained dry...”
The voice grew weaker and weaker until finally... it disappeared into the creaking sway of the bed.
Then a shriveled arm dangled down from the edge of the bed, and a certain rustling sound of devouring replaced the shaking bed.
Finally, the gauze curtain was lifted. An incomparably beautiful woman with smooth, creamy skin rose on long legs, casually tossing aside that dried corpse. Her crimson face still carried deep disgust as she came wetly before the others.
“Do it.”
Donna said:
“We are already in desperate straits. Nothing we do can truly be called a risk anymore. The Judgment Archbishop is personally strangling us, and now, aside from us, there may no longer be any other Salvation Society members left in all of Saint Blancfazesiya.
“So Muen Campbell... is a very good breakthrough point!”
“You mean... use him as a bargaining chip against the Church?” Atel asked tentatively.
“That’s right. Not only the Church. He is the son of an Imperial duke and the future prince consort. The Empire definitely will not allow him to die here. So as long as we capture him, we will have hope of escape!”
Donna swept her gaze around the room.
“And as Ghoul said, there are six of us. Are we really supposed to be afraid of Muen Campbell and one other person? Not to mention, compared with them, we also possess an absolute advantage...”
“Advantage?”
“Intelligence!”
Donna said confidently:
“We possess intelligence on Muen Campbell, but Muen Campbell does not even know who we are. He has never fought us at all. And as long as he does not have intelligence on us... everyone here should know exactly how terrifying your own abilities are.”
“Hehehe!”
Demon Child grinned savagely. “I’ll personally twist off Muen Campbell’s head!”
“That is true.”
Atel, who had not agreed much at first, also nodded.
He had to admit that with the abilities of people like them, as long as the opponent was not Crowned, no matter how strong they were, there was still a possibility of falling into their hands!
“Very good.”
Donna slowly clenched her fist. There was clearly nothing in her palm, yet there seemed to be the sound of something being crushed.
“Although the Salvation Society’s great plan this time failed in an inexplicable way, in a small plan like this, I believe we have absolutely no possibility of failure!”
...
Once the decision was made, everyone moved quickly.
The tools that needed to be prepared were all prepared. The plan that needed to be formulated also began to be carefully arranged. Although they knew their side held an enormous advantage, they still did not slack off in the slightest.
To increase their success rate, several of them even deliberately made disguises to ensure that before making their move, Muen Campbell would not notice anything unusual.
“Let’s go. This time, success is the only option. Failure is not allowed!”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
“All right.”
“I’m already starving for it!”
Donna waved her hand and took the lead.
The others followed closely behind her.
Several of them walked out the door. What no one paid attention to was that every time one of them left...
They triggered the wind chime above the door, the one used as a warning device.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
One, two, three, four, five, six...
Seven.
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