Chapter 58

It's raining again.

As summer approaches, the rainfall becomes more frequent and unpredictable.

Xiaoman, holding up a hastily constructed "shield" of a thin layer of dark elements, found a small wooden house built on the side of the road and walked in.

——Behind the half-open wooden door, in the simple hut that was visible to the naked eye, there was another person.

Seemingly familiar.

"Good afternoon, lady." The man in an embroidered cloak sat quietly on the only chair inside, with his hands on his knees, and turned his head to greet Xiaoman.

The hood was very large and made of generous materials. As the hood tilted and slid with the movement, most of the smooth silver mask was exposed.

"...Winchester?" Xiao Man hesitated as she stood at the door. Some raindrops slid down her coat and hit the still new floor.

"I'm so glad you still remember me." Winchester's voice and appearance hadn't changed at all from the last time they met in Bronze City. He spoke with a smile and humility.

"Your outfit is very unique and hard to forget," said Xiaoman.

"——Then do you remember what I said?"

Before he finished speaking, Winchester suddenly moved closer, just like the position he had taken when he opened the door for Xiaoman last time, so close that if either of them slightly raised their arms, they would touch the other.

The businessman lowered his head slightly and asked in a soft voice, as if in a scolding tone, "I clearly told you that you can go to the Chamber of Commerce and register my name. Why not?"

"Are you worried about being asked to pay back? Or is it..."

"—Because I don't need it."

Xiaoman looked back calmly. From this distance, even though the light was dim in the rainy weather and there was no light in the cabin, she could already see the color of Winchester's eyes behind the mask.

It turned out to be a very sweet red color.

It was very much like toffee made by lavishly adding a large bowl of syrup to the teacher's brewed tea.

These eyes are very much like sugar before it solidifies, with a beautiful, sweet and clear color, which does not match the overly complicated and thick cloak at all.

She added: "The teacher gave me a lot. I have no shortage of money."

This performance was so honest and straightforward that Winchester was speechless and the conversation could no longer proceed.

The mysterious businessman took two steps back and paused.

He said sadly: "Time flies by so fast. It seems that you don't need my help at all now... What a failure in life."

"Why do you say that?" Xiaoman opened the wooden door a little, and seeing that the rain was not going to stop, she pushed it back to block the rain. At this time, she didn't mind chatting with others.

"Please sit down." The businessman pushed the chair over. Seeing Xiaoman shaking her head to refuse, he said, "Do you think it's too hard and uncomfortable to sit on?"

Without waiting for Xiaoman to deny it, he fumbled with the buttons inside the cloak and with a "bang", he peeled the entire cloak off his body and spread it on the ordinary chair like a throne.

Xiaoman didn't have time to think about why he was so attentive to her, because she immediately noticed a handful of long hair pouring out as the cover fell.

Because this suspicious guy actually has long pink-purple hair that is longer than his knees, and has curls that make his hair look very soft.

The lovely large area of ​​peach pink is smudged with blurry violet. The color looks dreamy and natural, and it still seems to be emitting a soft light in the dim wooden house. It can be said that it is completely inconsistent with his daily appearance.

The special color triggered a special memory, which immediately reminded Xiaoman of the starlight she saw at the end of the ceremony of her second awakening of talent.

It was always there for him, just like... just like Winchester who had appeared in the Bronze City and given him clues.

"You've been watching me." Xiaoman blurted out.

The businessman, who was bending over to smooth out the wrinkles, tilted his head, as if he didn't understand: "No."

At this moment, the talent that still retained its original nature did not give any warning. This made Xiaoman realize that there was a strong abnormality.

He is lying. He must be deceiving me. His words are obviously false. But the talent failed and there was no reaction to the lie.

This is the first time such a problem has occurred. Why?

Is he something more special than the Golden Blood, more special than the Lich, or even the Dragon?

Xiaoman recalled how he had approached her quietly without warning, with a gentle and elusive gesture. However, rather than an imaginary ghost, it was more like the unpredictable soul of a snake-like creature contained in a human body.

The "light" with low activity level in rainy weather is immediately mobilized by the user and instantly gathered into a stable chain structure with a pointed tip.

One part of the chain, which emitted a fiery white glow, encircled the merchant from the knees to the waist and shoulders, completely trapping his rather thin figure. The other part was suspended in the air and stretched taut, maintaining a threatening posture ready to attack at any time.

After proper training from his teacher and special competition training in Flora City, Xiaoman has almost turned his quick-action reflexes into an instinct.

The businessman was caught off guard and locked into a ball by the light chain, standing still obediently.

After taking off his cloak, he was only wearing ordinary clothes. If you ignore the silver mask on his face, he would look like a well-off branch child of a noble family. However, his extremely beautiful and unique long pink-purple hair was draped behind him and tied up in a mess with chains.

"Did I irritate you?"

The businessman was not angry at being treated like this, but asked in a humble and submissive manner, showing that he was under someone's control.

He was so honest that it looked like Xiao Man was bullying a good guy. But the only murderer present was not moved at all.

"I just don't believe you anymore." Xiaoman looked at him and replied.

"Now tell me. Why did you go so far as to approach me?"

"...You've really become a lot stronger." The businessman sighed with a mixture of sadness and joy.

This is the truth. Xiaoman thought about the last time they met, he had never come into contact with magic and knew nothing about fighting. He felt it was so mysterious when he disappeared.

Now, even though he still has some other secrets that are unknown to others, he can completely control this individual from the perspective of combat power. As the first person to take action, Xiaoman is very clear about this.

The fact is that if she doesn't consider the consequences, she can do whatever she wants to the guy in front of her, whether it's killing him or taking off the mask.

The change in power difference brought about a change in perspective. At that time, she was being watched by someone in the dark without realizing it, but this time the situation was reversed.

Even though he came here alone to find me, Xiaoman thought. This is too fake. Even Lielie wouldn't believe such an encounter today.

"But you still have no evil thoughts in your heart. I am sincerely... happy about this. Then please let me go, since you will not kill me and you have enough ransom."

The businessman said softly.

"What is your purpose?" Xiaoman used another light lock to pick up the tent he had carefully prepared, pulled a chair over with one hand and sat down, looking at him straight.

The lack of expression and tone did not affect her ability to express a calm attitude through body language. Xiaoman learned this trick from the Dragon King after observation. She felt that it would be very useful when she had already formed an overwhelming strength.

"I just want to greet you and protect you." He replied, "The owner of the City of Commerce is the servant of the Lord of Flora. You must have been hunted down a few days ago. It was all sent by him."

"..." Xiaoman then revealed a look of realization. So those criminals were hired?

After being intercepted, she never bothered to interrogate him, because the threat was not great each time, and it was easy to defeat him and run away, so she just dealt with him and continued on her way, not thinking that there was any difference. Single young women are easy to be targeted, and she often encountered similar troubles when she was on the road before.

"It's just a small fight now, but when he finds that he can't kill you, the people he sends will become stronger and stronger. Your enemy is very rich, Miss Pan." The businessman explained considerately.

"But I don't have time to kill another city lord." Xiao Man looked at the other party and said, meaning that she wanted him to hand over the next step.

The merchant went along with it and said, "I hope you can come to Dinos City and live there for a while, just for fun. This will prevent the conflict between you and Shangye from getting worse. When the murderer who actually killed Lord Flora is caught, he will certainly stop harassing you."

"Okay." Xiaoman thought about it and felt there was no problem, so he approved the plan.

Regardless of whether Winchester was trying to trick her, her plan was to visit the City of Arts, so this proposal would not affect anything for now, so she could just go with his for now.

The chains slowly loosened one ring at a time. The freed businessman combed his hair and took off his mask.

As his true face was revealed, as his features were reflected in the azure sky—

In another corner of the world, the viscous and turbid sea surface broke apart, and "he" broke out at the same time.

"I think you're a little cold. Maybe after seeing my face, you'll be a little gentler to me."

The beautiful and gentle face surrounded by pink and purple hair was smiling, but there was a clear look of haggardness and weakness between the brows, which made the appearance look extremely harmless.

The businessman walked towards the seated Xiaoman, half-knelt in front of her and raised his head so that she could see her appearance better.

The long hair fell to the ground and draped over his body like another layer of midsummer dream hidden under the awning.

"Please allow me to reintroduce myself to you in my true form - I am Chen Xing. The so-called Winchester is just a pseudonym for mortals."

"And you are the noble messenger I have been waiting for since before my consciousness was born, so everything you do is right and you can rest assured in me. Do you like it?"

He looked over expectantly.

Xiaoman was silent for a while and looked away.

She said, "Someone asked me to beat you up. He told me that you would understand when you saw me."

"His name is Bernaludos."

Winchester, no, Chen should be woken up. After hearing this, the warm smile on his face suddenly broke.

He stood up suddenly and covered his face with his hands: "You recognized the wrong person, it must not be me."

Fortunately, Xiao Man was not the type to walk over and pry his hands apart. She just stayed where she was, silently looking at Chen Xing and said:

"But he told me that if you see someone whose hands itch, that's it."

"My hands are itching right now. Why?"

“…”

Chen Xing didn't dare to answer at all. He looked extremely helpless, as if he was a weak rabbit that could only curl up and tremble in front of a vicious wolf with sharp teeth and claws.

…

[You saw him. So I woke up.]

[You will hate him because of the mission given by your Father. That is the murderous instinct.]

[You don't like him anyway. That feels good. After all, I share the same goal as you.]

[You have to look at me, always, always look at me...]

[That's it. That's it. Others only admire your clean soul, but I need your attention like a drowning man needs air.]

…

[You have to look at me. And then——be replaced by me.]