Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong watched the scene carefully.

After a good while, he finally said, ”Miss Elisa, if that really is Hilveld, I only have one request.”

Elisa looked up at him, with dark, curious eyes, wanting to hear what he had to say.

Fang Hong answered, ”Assuming she did indeed betray us from the beginning, I promise that everyone will be held accountable for their actions, but I will never allow any of our own to die without clarity, nor will I stand by and watch one of my team members fall into the hands of the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team.”

Elisa nodded lightly, ”I understand, Mr. Ade, so what can the Rain Listener do for you?”

Fang Hong was silent for a moment.

Then he said, ”I hope to join you, and it would be best if the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team didn’t discover us; you help me create a condition, so if the people from the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team really find Hilveld, allow me also to get close to her.”

Elisa looked up at him, ”Just that, Mr. Ade?”

”Just that,” Fang Hong nodded, ”because no one but me can judge my team members. However, Alice won’t die in vain—I can assure you of that.”

”I believe you, Mr. Ade.”

”Thank you.”

He turned to the girl and said, ”Let’s leave it at that. You go back early, while I’ll look for someone from the Silver Weslan; don’t let the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team notice anything unusual. When you leave, find someone to notify us.”

What Fang Hong didn’t expect was that Elisa suddenly stepped forward, grasped his hand from behind; her hands were somewhat icy and soft, her voice gentle, ”Mr. Ade, actually, I’m not worried you’ll misunderstand us—I also believe in Miss Hilveld. She must have her own difficulties, and Alice only lost some Starlight, which is not much here in Eteliria.”

Fang Hong was momentarily taken aback.

He was somewhat surprised.

He seemed to be pondering the motivation behind her words, but after a while, he nodded, ”Thank you, Miss Elisa, I will discern the truth of the matter.”

The girl left with frequent backward glances, her figure disappearing into the deep darkness.

Fang Hong watched her leave, then silently pocketed the three ’Lion’ handguns and put them back on the Magic Guided Reactor on his back.

An abrupt window popped up in Fang Hong’s vision, and inside it, the princess of Silver Weslan was looking at the scene with interest. She then spoke, ”It seems Mr. Ade is quite charming, no wonder you’re willing to help the Rain Listener yet reluctant to join Silver Weslan. Could it be because I have never held your hand before?”

She laughed, ”No matter, I can make it up to you. Come, do you need some care from your elder sister?”

However, after saying this, she frowned and looked at her hands as if finding her own words a bit cringeworthy, and quickly shook her head, ”Forget it. But I can allow Xi to hold your hand—just a handhold, mind you.”

Fang Hong looked at her with a deadpan expression, her change of tone was too insincere.

”Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Xi?” he asked.

”What’s there to fear, she listens to me the most,” Sophie said with a beaming smile: ”Besides, tricking a master fighter with just a handhold, I think Xi would also find it quite a bargain, and at worst, she’d just have to wash her hands a few more times afterward.”

”Wait, are my hands that dirty?” Fang Hong looked at his hands, speechless.

”Of course, even though you’re still a green boy, you belong to the male species all the same.”

Fang Hong almost choked, imagining Xi’s murderous gaze, he didn’t think holding hands with that mountain girl would have any good outcome—especially when compared to his twin sister. He thought this while looking at his left hand, which she had just touched.

That warm, soft sensation seemed to linger still.

But it felt more like an illusion.

Sophie also smiled slightly, ”I’m just reminding you, most of the time when a girl suddenly turns gentle, she has an agenda, either she wants to steal your heart, which isn’t too bad—but if not, you might have to be cautious, Mr. Ade.”

Fang Hong shook his head.

He suddenly spoke, ”Actually, I want to discuss this with you.”

Sophie was surprised, apparently, she didn’t see how this was related to her, so she watched him, waiting for him to continue.

Fang Hong thought for a moment and then said, ”You seem to know them?”

Sophie nodded, ”I’ve been at Fenris for a while now. The Rain Listener twin sisters are quite famous. They had considerable skill, and being twin beauties added to their fame. Too bad they were in Rain Listener; if they were in a more renowned guild, with good packaging, they might have been as popular as a top-tier Chosen.”

She looked at him curiously, ”But to gain the favor of these sisters, you, Ade, are truly impressive.”

”Alright, Miss Sophie,” Fang Hong cut off her teasing, ”that’s not what I’m talking about. The corpse on the other side of that bridge...”

”I heard your conversation earlier. That was the younger sister?”

”No,” Fang Hong shook his head, his voice low in the darkness, ”that was her older sister, Elisa.”

”Ah?”

The little princess of Silver Weslan was truly taken aback this time, her mouth slightly agape.

”It’s somewhat of a coincidence, I just happened to see the whole process of her being killed in the communicator log,” Fang Hong whispered, ”you should know, when people are resurrected through Starlight, there is a period during the transfer to the respective deity’s Holy Sanctuary where communication is impossible, because the Starlight is blocked by Divine Strength.”