Xilin stood up abruptly when he saw the visitor. The blood moon shone through his hair, illuminating his shocked expression.
“Why…how did you…”
“Maybe just to see the look on your face,” Asho smiled. “Asho Heath, who has never learned swordsmanship, fought against an ignorant elf swordsman in a battle and miraculously defeated him. After escaping from prison, he seeks revenge on those who framed him, thus beginning his magnificent journey. What do you think of this script?”
“Oh, and don’t move, or my fingers will shake,” Asho warned.
Xilin suddenly felt a chill on his neck, and warm liquid seeped into his collar.
“Don’t lower your head, or your head will fall off,” Asho said seriously, pointing his sword at the elf professor.
He drew a long sword from under his tongue and leaned it against the ground. The “Sword Barrier” miracle was ready.
Xilin glanced down, “Heart Sword…Wakas’s Heart Sword Artisan? I was wondering, Wakas is not a careless elf. If he really wanted to kill someone, there would be no reason for such a mistake as ‘almost dying.’ It’s more likely that he did it on purpose, he has always loved showing off.”
“Really? For example, getting one more point on every exam, balancing on one finger, or turning the tables in a sword competition after losing ten points… He has always been so obsessed with his talent, wanting to become a dazzling hero and always trying to attract attention by increasing the difficulty for himself,” Xilin half-closed his eyes. “He was a mischievous and proud child since he was young.”
Asho’s pupils slightly dilated, “What…is your relationship with Wakas?”
Xilin tilted his head slightly, allowing the Heart Sword to cut a bloodstain on his throat. “I know what you’re thinking… I used to be a teacher at the ‘Emerald Dragon Foster Home’ for thirty-one years. Well, now it’s called the ‘Emerald Garden.’ In my second year of teaching, the beloved church sent six elf children, one of whom was Wakas Ur.”
“I named him, meaning ‘free water lily.’ Normally, when elves leave the foster home, they would choose a new name for themselves, just like my name, which I chose myself, meaning ‘gorgeous iron begonia.’”
“He didn’t change his name, which means he really liked this name, and it also means…”
Xilin lightly pressed his left chest with his right hand. “He respected me, his guardian teacher who watched him grow up.”
Although Asho had already anticipated that Xilin and Wakas had an unusual relationship, as Wakas’s deep resentment towards Asho was not fake, indicating that the enmity between these two elves was not an ordinary matter of interest.
But Asho never expected that Xilin and Wakas’s relationship would be so intimate!
“Then why…did you send Wakas to the Blood Moon Trial?” Asho asked. “It’s a strange question, Heath, very strange. He violated the law, was imprisoned, and sent to trial. Everything he got was deserved, everything was natural. Clearly, he took the wrong path, made the wrong move, and killed himself. Why do you make it sound like I killed him?”
“Don’t pretend. After listening to Fenanche’s speech a few days ago, do you think I would still listen to your nonsense?” Asho sneered. “Being in a high position, using power wisely, wrapping personal motives in public interests, hiding personal matters in official business, of course, you can achieve your goals within the legal limits. It’s just a ‘small whim of power.’”
“What I want to ask is, why did you have the determination to eliminate him, considering your deep connection with Wakas? Just because he didn’t kill me in the life-or-death battle? Just to ensure that I would die in the Blood Moon Trial, you included him in the trial sequence and let him die with me?”
“Just ‘just’?” Xilin’s face showed rare anger. “I was seriously planning to kill you! I did my best, I used all my means. You easily summarized my efforts and determination with just a ‘just’!?”
The sudden outburst from the elf forced Asho to step back slightly. If he didn’t retreat, the Heart Sword would cut the elf’s throat! Xilin completely ignored his own safety, staring at Asho with his head forward, as if Asho’s words had touched a nerve!
“Calm down, Professor Xilin,” Asho didn’t know what he was saying. “Take it easy, let’s talk slowly. I don’t want things to develop like this either.”
In an instant, the positions of the two sides were reversed. The assassin Asho became submissive, while the victim Xilin became arrogant. The reason for this was that Asho realized that his “threat” was not as effective as he had imagined.
He thought that when he successfully held the Heart Sword against the elf’s neck, there would only be two possibilities:
The elf would rather die than yield, and Asho would have to grant him release;
The elf would be terrified and beg for mercy, and Asho would enjoy a satisfying revenge.
But Xilin’s behavior completely exceeded Asho’s expectations.
Although he was surprised, he showed no fear. Although he was not afraid of death, he didn’t mind revealing information to Asho.
Asho thought that Xilin was preparing for some kind of miraculous counterattack. He was ready to behead him with a single sword, waiting for Xilin to think of something and kill him before he could act.
However, instead of counterattacking, Xilin voluntarily pressed his neck against the sharp edge of the Heart Sword.
This left Asho conflicted because he not only needed Heath’s information but also needed information about escaping from the Blood Moon Kingdom.But the latter is definitely not the ordinary information that a social idler like him without an ID card can inquire about. The elf in front of him is a high-level player who has reached a level of reverence in terms of political prestige (member of parliament), racial prestige (Elf Rights Association), academic prestige (university professor), and inner prestige (woodpecker). With the connections accumulated over two hundred years, Xilin has become a huge source of information.
With Asho’s current abilities, Xilin is the best person for him to consult before leaving the Blood Moon. Of course, besides Xilin, there are definitely many others who know about the exit channel, such as the Bloodthirsty Hunter Jielade, the director of the research institute, the commander of the war zone, and the bishop of the beloved church… That’s why Asho is so conflicted, because besides Xilin, all the others can easily defeat him with the lalafell he ate at night.
Asho quickly weighed the benefits and decided to first appease the elf and extract the information he needed. Then, he would stab the throat of the mastermind behind the scenes with his sword, completing a magnificent revenge and becoming a legitimate fugitive.
When Wakas stabbed my throat during the Blood Moon trial, I will now stab your throat. Isn’t that fair? I’m just making a little profit, taking the Heart Sword with me. Essentially, it is Wakas’ rebellion against you.
As the saying goes, there is a master for every debt. Professor Xilin, when you arrive in the Virtual Realm, seek revenge on Wakas. Of course, you can also come to seek revenge on me, and I will let the Sword Girl smash your dog head.
After mentally preparing himself to be a great villain, Asho reluctantly squeezed out a kind smile. “Professor Xilin…”
“I have given him a chance.”
“Ah?”
“I am never stingy with my kindness towards my compatriots. For any elves who have gone astray, I will give them multiple chances to redeem themselves.” Xilin said calmly, “If given the opportunity, I really wish I could have a drink and chat with Wakas, and how I wish I could hand over this study to him… Just like 70 years ago, when the previous president handed over this study to me.”
“He was the successor I admired the most. He detested politics, but he was skilled in it since he was young. He loved killing, but he always did it cleanly without leaving any evidence. He enjoyed taking risks, so he was the leader of the woodpeckers for ten years – those were truly the most satisfying ten years. Compared to him, Gesas is simply a wild boar that only knows how to search for treasures in the mud.”
“And, your initial guess may be correct.”
“Hmm?”
Asho couldn’t react for a moment – his initial guess?
“I am not only Wakas’ guardian teacher, but I may also be his ‘provider’ in the physiological sense.”
Asho opened his mouth wide, stunned for a moment before uttering a word, “Maybe?”
“I didn’t have the same interest as Fenanche to specifically investigate the flow of my bloodline.” Xilin said calmly, “But we elves are a very special race. Besides having low mating desires, the probability of our genetic combination is also very low. It only increases from 0.8% to 13% in a certain month. This month is called the ‘Elf Birth Month’, and on average, a birth occurs only once every three years.”
“Unlike other races that can reproduce freely, elves only have ‘complete mating rights’ during the Elf Birth Month. This is not only to increase the birth rate, but also to sever bloodline ties – there are too few elf births, and if they were scattered, bloodline providers would easily find their own children based on their birth dates.”
“And a year before Wakas joined the orphanage, I responded to the church’s call and had a complete mating. Theoretically, Wakas could indeed be my child. Our hair color and eye color are exactly the same, and I can see my past self in him.”
Xilin’s voice had no fluctuations, but his pupils revealed the frozen years.
Time cannot engrave the physical bodies of elves, but their souls have long been occupied by a vast past. Just by flipping through a page in their memories, one can sense the winds and dust of traversing mountains and hills.
“He is both your student and your child, so why…”
“Wakas has disappointed me.” Xilin covered his eyes with his hand. “He is a stain on the elves, a rebel of the long-lived race. I gave him a chance, using the reunion with his biological family as a reward, but he still decided to defy my wishes… I wish to see him suffer in the Blood Moon Kingdom.”
Perhaps living in this surreal country for too long, Asho found himself able to calmly observe this incomprehensible and strange interpersonal relationship, losing the desire to comment.
Now that the mystery of Wakas has been unraveled, what comes next…
“Professor Xilin, why… do you…”
Asho suddenly realized that he had become very slow, even his thoughts were sluggish, as if he were listening to a foreign language listening test. He watched as Xilin took a step back, out of the range of the Heart Sword’s attack, and sorcery spirits appeared on his body, performing a miracle.
And at this moment, the thought of “I want to use the Sword Body Barrier for defense” slowly emerged in Asho’s mind.
However, he didn’t have time to do anything. The wooden floor suddenly grew branches that pierced through the carpet, and the tree trunk flowed along his body. In no time, a large tree formed in the study, and Asho had already merged with the tree trunk, completely bound by it!
Crack!
Time fell like raindrops, making a clear sound. Asho finally returned to normal, but it was useless – this tree not only firmly trapped his body, but also locked his artificing. The floating Heart Sword had dissipated due to the interruption of artificing!
As a necessary condition for driving the Sword Artisan, and even more so, it had been taken away by the branches. Now, he couldn’t use any of his Sword Artisan abilities!This is the weakness of a professional Sorcery Spirit – as long as one can identify the common limitations of the corresponding faction and take away the necessary casting medium from the opponent, they can disable most of the opponent’s powerful Sorcery Spirits!
“Indeed, you can’t resist the control of the ‘Eye of Awe’.”
Only then did Asho notice that Xilin had somehow taken off the glove on his right hand.
He was clearly covering his eyes with his right hand, yet Asho could clearly see the elf’s emerald green pupils. They were so deep, so dazzling, as if they wanted to suck in people’s souls.
But what surged in Asho’s heart at this moment was deep shock.
Because in the palm of Xilin’s hand, there was a hole.
A hole that could allow an eye to peek through!
“You’re not Asho Heath, who are you?”
Xilin put down his hand, sat back in his chair, and looked at Asho with a puzzled look in his eyes.
Although he didn’t know how he was discovered, Asho quickly played along: “Yes, yes, I’m not Asho Heath, just an ordinary person who couldn’t sleep and came out for a walk at night. I hope the elf lord will let me go immediately, otherwise I will sue you for imprisoning me and violating my human rights—”
Xilin didn’t pay any attention to him, and kept mumbling to himself with his head down.
But soon he stood up abruptly, his face filled with undisguised terror and hysterical ferocity!
“Could it be… the ritual was successful?”
He stared at Asho as if he wanted to tear the handsome young man apart: “Are you the real ‘Touch’?”