The sound of the ferry cutting through the waves filled his ears. When Nguyen Thanh An regained consciousness, he was forced to lie on the cold floor of the cabin, his hands tightly bound behind his back with hemp rope.

Having been bound by trouble for so long, Ruan Qing'an could even clearly feel that his wrists had been chafed raw by the hemp rope...

"Tch, damn it."

Ruan Qingan couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath.

The mage's physical condition was really poor, even to the point of being so weak that he was practically a weakling; he would be out of breath after walking just a few steps.

Now she is completely isolated from the elements, and her whole body is limp and powerless.

This seemed to be a small corner of the ship's cabin. The floor was dusty, and it was dark all around. Ruan Qing'an couldn't help but frown and look around: "Something's not right, something's very wrong..."

She originally thought that the archbishop meant to send her back to the Lycas Empire for trial and then burn at the stake.

But now it seems...

The situation made Nguyen Thanh An feel increasingly uneasy.

Putting aside the ferry cabin at this moment, the Church of Light, which was attacked again before she lost consciousness, was utterly illogical. Everyone knew that she had taken down the Church of Light, and that they would be heavily guarded during this time. Who would be so brainless as to launch another attack at this time?

Unless... they want to disrupt the situation and do something in the chaos.

Just as Ruan Qingan was thinking of this—

"Dolores Lancaster, the de facto head of the Lancaster family in the Lycas Empire, provoked the Church and the glory of the Xisha Empire three days ago in the capital of the Xisha Empire, at a branch of the Church of Light. The court arrested her and sentenced her to be sent to be burned at the stake."

"The day before the transfer, the Church of Light was attacked again. Dolores Lancaster's associates tried to rescue her from the inquisition, but in the chaos, the attack accidentally landed on the inquisition, resulting in her death."

"Therefore, the investigation into the church arson ended with the death of the sinner Dolores Lancaster, and all further investigations ceased."

A familiar voice suddenly came from afar, growing louder as it approached.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing'an's leaden gray eyes flickered slightly. Just as she was about to raise her head with difficulty, a black figure appeared before her.

The man then spoke up: "Long time no see, Dolores."

"...Ai, Lin."

Ruan Qingan spoke slowly and deliberately.

Standing before Ruan Qing'an was none other than Eileen, who should have been far away in the Lycas Empire. At this moment, she was wearing a black cloak, completely hidden in the darkness. As the shadow fell, the expression on Eileen's face appeared sinister and twisted, even sending chills down one's spine.

She pulled down her cloak and looked at Ruan Qing'an coldly: "You didn't expect that I would be the one to come here, did you, Dolores?"

"After you slapped me in the face and trampled on my dignity, you should have expected that this day would come when I would crush you under my feet!"

Seeing Dolores, who used to look down on her from a high position, now lying on the ground like a pitiful reptile, her disheveled appearance trampled into the dust, Eileen couldn't help but feel smug.

So what if you're born into a noble family?

So what if you're exceptionally talented?

Now, they're lying at her feet like pitiful wretches!

Eileen was hoping to see Ruan Qing'an beg for mercy, but the girl lying on the ground had no emotion in her leaden gray eyes.

She merely raised her eyes: "It seems you've got your hands on this."

"you--"

Eileen was furious. Even at a time like this, why was she still able to maintain her arrogance? Why?!

Burning with rage, Eileen lost her mind and pressed herself against Ruan Qing'an, her hands gripping her neck tightly, her eyes bloodshot.

She shouted, "Losers should act like losers!"

"Since I received the news and rushed to the Xisha Empire, I am grateful to the envoy for giving me this opportunity. Dolores, you—you've lost miserably. You bet on the wrong horse, do you understand?!"

"...Ahem, so you've been following me around like a mouse all along."

Ruan Qing'an breathed heavily, barely managing to say, "You've used a scheme to make me fake my death, what exactly do you want to do..."

"The envoy will spread glory throughout the continent of Hilar."

"The Lycas Empire is the first stop. Dolores, in the Lycas Empire, you are the biggest obstacle. You will never have the chance to see the glory that the Envoy will bring to the continent of Hilar."

As Eileen spoke, the excitement in her voice grew stronger, and the expression on her face became almost distorted, as if she were possessed.

Eileen gripped Ruan Qing'an's neck tightly, watching as her breathing became increasingly difficult and her face even began to turn cyanotic—

'Bang!'

A loud noise suddenly came.

Eileen, who had been pressing down on Ruan Qingan, was suddenly kicked aside, and Ruan Qingan, who was finally able to breathe, couldn't help but take a deep breath the moment he was released.

She was forced to fall to the ground, coughing violently, and through her blurred vision, Ruan Qing'an vaguely saw a figure.

The man was wearing a black cloak, dressed the same as Eileen.

Who is it?

The first to react was Eileen, who had been kicked to the ground. She instinctively stood up, leaned close to the person affectionately, and said softly, "You're finally here. Dolores is already—"

With a 'smack'!

Eileen's only response was a hard slap across the face!

Eileen fell to the ground, right in front of Ruan Qing'an, raising her hand to cover her face, seemingly unable to come to her senses and completely frozen.

But the man who hit her showed no remorse. He simply looked down at her, his voice, indistinguishable between male and female, filled with intense killing intent and ferocity, as he coldly questioned, "What are you doing?"

Hearing this, Eileen finally snapped out of her love-struck state.

She quickly knelt on the ground and cautiously began, "I'm sorry, Your Excellency, I didn't know you were here, she..."

Ruan Qing'an, who was lying on the ground, subconsciously raised his head after hearing this name, forcing himself to wake up. This person should be the person behind Eileen, and also... the mission taker she was looking for.

Ruan Qingan could sense the change in Eileen's emotions, suggesting that the relationship between Eileen and this mission taker was not simple.

After a brief silence, the man finally spoke.

He leaned down slightly and grabbed Eileen's chin: "I've said it many times, understand who you are. I sent you here to contact the Archbishop, not to cause trouble."

"Eileen, who gave you permission to touch her?"

Eileen was stunned for a moment: "But Dolores, she—"

But before she could finish speaking, the man shoved her away and whispered in Eileen's ear, "Did I say I was going to kill her?"

"Don't be so clever, you idiot."

"Get out of here right now!"