Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

When she uttered the last four words, Susie's voice finally trembled slightly.

But there was only a tiny bit.

After she finished speaking, she waited quietly for a while.

Daisy did not turn around.

He didn't say anything.

Her back remained motionless.

Only the bottom of the cane tapped lightly on the ground.

Heh.

Like a response.

It also sounds like a rejection.

Susie took one last look at her.

Then he turned around and walked out.

Daisy listened as the footsteps behind her grew fainter and fainter.

It's getting lighter and lighter.

Finally—it disappeared.

She turned her head abruptly.

The entrance was deserted.

The corridor was also empty.

Only the blackened silver necklace on the table gleamed faintly in the morning light.

Daisy looked at the necklace.

Looked for a long time.

Then extend your hand.

Hold it in your palm.

It was gripped very tightly.

Outside the main gate of the manor, the sunlight had completely pierced through the clouds.

The carriage stopped at the end of the stone-paved road, and the driver was idly feeding the horses water.

Lund leaned against the car door, closing his eyes to rest, the bandage on his left arm looking pale white in the morning light.

Xilun stood beside the car, talking to the teacher.

His briefcase was already in the car, and the iron gun, wrapped in a strip of cloth, was leaning against the seat.

Everything is ready, just waiting to depart.

Just then—

A voice came from behind.

"Please wait a moment."

It's very light.

Very soft.

Like a feather falling on the water.

Xilun and Lund turned their heads at the same time.

Susie stood ten steps away.

She has changed her clothes.

It's no longer that faded cotton pajama set.

She was wearing an old gray coat, two sizes too big, with the cuffs rolled up several times.

Below were a pair of dark brown coarse cloth trousers. On her feet were a pair of old leather boots that didn't look quite right.

He had a small bag slung over his shoulder.

Very small.

It's so small that it can probably only hold a few changes of clothes and a book.

Her hair was simply tied back, revealing a thin, pale face.

She stepped forward.

Stop two steps away.

Then—respectfully bowed and performed a salute.

A standard Victorian bow.

Bend your waist to a 90-degree angle.

Palms down.

It lasted for a full three seconds.

"Gentlemen."

She straightened up.

Thank you.

Xilun looked at her.

After a moment, he calmly said—

"I didn't help you with anything; I was just helping myself."

Susie shook her head.

"No."

Her gaze was clear and serene.

That dull, empty look had completely disappeared.

Standing before Xilun was no longer the foolish adopted daughter who had been squatting by the flowerbed in a daze.

She is someone who knows what she wants.

"I will always remember this kindness," she said. "I will definitely repay you."

Xilun did not respond.

He simply nodded slightly.

Over the years in the North District, he had heard far too many similar promises. Most of these promises were eventually forgotten in some dark alley, washed away by the rain without a trace.

But he could see it—

Susie isn't that kind of person.

This girl, who lay low in Risa's shadow for four years, feigning ignorance for four years, and cultivated herself into an intermediate scholar—

She will do what she says she will do.

Susie thought for a moment and took something out of the small bag on her shoulder.

It is a notebook.

It's very thin.

The cover was made of cheap kraft paper, with the corners rolled up, clearly indicating it had been read countless times.

She handed the notebook to Xilun with both hands.

"This might be useful to Mr. Celen."

Xilun looked at his notes.

He didn't reach out to take it.

"What is it?" he asked.

Susie said, "It's a life-soothing technique that soothes the spirit."

Xilun's gaze shifted slightly.

"I found it by chance," Susie continued, "but only those with the talent for life magic can practice it. It's never been of much use to me."

She looked up at Xilen.

"I think... God gave me this to give to Mr. Celen."

Life techniques for the purpose of comforting the spirit.

Several thoughts raced through Xilun's mind.

This concept was not unfamiliar to him.

In the ancient texts, the rituals used to soothe the spirit have another, more fitting name—

Hypnosis.

Or rather—deep meditation.

Completely relax your mind.

Enter a state of conscious stillness that is far deeper than ordinary meditation.

In that state—

The speed of mental recovery will be greatly improved.

The efficiency of breathing exercises will increase exponentially.

The mental wear and tear caused by the overuse of extraordinary power can be effectively repaired.

even--

The body's recovery speed will also be significantly improved with mental relaxation.

It has many benefits.

Much.

Xilun had specifically noted the existence of such techniques when he was reviewing the ancient religious texts—but he never found any specific methods of practicing them.

Because this kind of thing is so rare.

Life techniques are extremely rare.

In the realm of life-soothing spells, those that soothe the spirit are extremely rare.

Unlike healing spells, it does not have clear practical value, nor is it valued by the church as much as purification spells.

It was too "quiet".

It was so quiet that most extraordinary people were unaware of its existence.

But Xilun knew.

Because he knew—

On this extraordinary path that leads further and further, and becomes increasingly dangerous, maintaining one's spiritual world is more important than any martial art, any breathing technique, or any external force.

The extraordinary person who suffered a mental breakdown

It's worse than death.

He stretched out his hand.

He took the notebook.

Turn to the first page.

The handwriting is very small.

Very dense.

But every single character was written extremely neatly.

It looks like it was carved on.

That's Susie's handwriting.

Four years of forbearance and repression are condensed in these strokes of copying.

Xilun closed his notebook.

"Thanks."

He said.

It's very brief.

But these two words—

When Xilun said it, it carried significant weight.

Susie smiled slightly.

That was the first time she had ever truly smiled in this manor—perhaps in all these years.

Not big.

She just slightly curved the corners of her mouth.

But it's very real.

"Then I'll be going," she said.

Lund leaned against the car door, quietly watching the scene unfold.

He didn't ask until Susie turned to leave:

"You still want to stay with the Link family?"

Susie stopped in her tracks.

Lund frowned.

"I remember you didn't like being there."

Susie turned her head and said softly, "I'm thinking of going for a walk outside."

Lund glanced at her.

His eyes held a keenness unique to veterans—the kind of intuition that could tell at a glance whether an enemy could survive the first night on the battlefield.

This girl—

Too thin.

It's too flimsy.

Her wrists were so thin they looked like they might break at any moment.

He frowned and said, "Things aren't stable outside."

Susie was not intimidated by those words.

She said calmly, "I want to go out to sea."

Her gaze was fixed on the distance.

She gazed outwards from beyond the manor walls, beyond the south district, beyond the north district, beyond the city itself—in a direction she had never been before.

"Experience a different way of life."

After saying this, she bowed to both Xilun and Lund.

Then turn around.

Along the stone-paved path.

We walked step by step.

Her silhouette cast a long shadow in the morning light.

The small bag on her shoulder swayed slightly with her steps.

The old leather boots splashed tiny water droplets as they stepped into the puddles.

Xilun watched her retreating figure.

Until that small, thin figure turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

She traveled alone.

Lund shook his head.

"I'm not at ease with that."

Xilun looked away, opened the car door, and got in.

"Teacher, please don't worry."

He put the notes Susie had given him into his purse and zipped it up.

She wasn't as frail as she appeared.

He paused.

"She is actually very smart."

His gaze fell on the street scene outside the car window.

The carriage began to move slowly.

"and--"

He said.

"Rather than going on a trip... I'm afraid she just wanted a temporary escape from the city that brought her so much pain."

His voice faded into indifference amidst the rumbling of the wheels.

"She just wanted to get away from home and clear her head."

Lund was silent for a moment.

Then he sighed.

"At sea..."

He said it as if talking to himself.

"Things are not stable right now."

His fingers tapped lightly on his knee.

"Even with the peacekeeping patrols of the Victorian royal fleet, there are still pirates plundering and looting in various places, making it very chaotic."

As he spoke, his gaze became somewhat distant.

"However—if there's any benefit to it..."

Xilun looked at him.

Lund said, "I'm afraid that's it—as long as you escape there, you won't be hunted down by any force, you won't be wanted, and you won't be punished."

He shook his head.

"After all—the chaotic maritime world is no longer under Victoria's jurisdiction."

The carriage continued on its way.

Walk through the dilapidated streets of the South District.

Passing through neglected flower beds and rusty iron fences.

Passing through the long lines of ashen faces waiting to buy antipyretics.

Xilun leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

His fingers, through the leather bag, touched the thin notebook inside.

Life techniques for the purpose of comforting the spirit.

Deep meditation.

This is what Susie left for him.

A girl who pretended to be stupid for four years in the manor—

When she finally left, she left him with her most precious possession.

He had no idea what her sea voyage would bring.

pirate.

storm.

Different species.

Or—something even more unknown, beyond his imagination.

But he knew—

This girl will survive.

She will definitely survive.

Because anyone who could survive four years under Risa's command—

They won't die somewhere else.

The carriage crossed an old bridge.

The river water beneath the bridge was murky, with withered leaves and garbage floating on its surface.

Xilun suddenly opened his eyes.

His gaze fell on the scenery outside the car window.

On the distant horizon, the outline of the North District can be vaguely seen—those chimneys of varying heights, the gray rooftops, and a wisp of smoke rising from the direction of the Brotherhood residence.

He's going back.

The carriage continued its journey, bumping along.

Lund had already dozed off against the car wall, the bandage on his left arm swaying slightly with each breath.

Xilun glanced at the teacher.

Then he took the notebook out of his bag.

I turned to the first page.

Let's start watching.

The morning light slanted in through the car window, falling on the yellowed pages.

The densely packed rune notes gleamed faintly in the sunlight.

Like someone—

It took four years to write all my loneliness and solitude into these words.

The carriage gradually disappeared into the distance.

They disappeared at the end of the long street leading to the North District.

Behind us, the southern district remained dilapidated, desolate, and shrouded in the shadow of an unknown disease.

But on some inconspicuous street corner—

A thin girl, carrying a small bag and wearing an old coat two sizes too big, was walking step by step in the direction leading to the dock.

She didn't turn around.

The wind is blowing from the direction of the sea.

The wind was salty, damp, and carried the scent of distant lands.

The wind blew through her hair.

The wind stirred the hem of her dress.

It also blew away the last trace of the Link Manor scent from her body.

……

The carriage stopped briefly at the edge of the northern district.

Xilun got out of the car and handed the bag and iron gun to Kusuo, who had come to meet him.

"Go back and tell Rhodes that I will not be returning to the manor for the time being."

Kusuo was taken aback: "Boss, where are you going?"

"Go stay with the teacher for a few days."

Siren handed over several letters. "Have Rhodes process these in order. The first is for Rena, regarding the daily patrol arrangements for the South Warehouse in the North District; the second is a reply to the Armed Insurgent Party, using the same wording as before. The third..."

He paused.

"The third letter is about Susie. Have Rod keep an eye out for the South Wharf area. If anyone asks about the whereabouts of a thin girl, don't interfere, but write down the information."

Although Kuso didn't understand, he still nodded.

"Understood. When will you be back?"

"One week."

After Xilun finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the carriage.

Lund has woken up.

His left arm rested on the car window sill, the bandage slightly yellowed in the sunlight, clearly having not been changed for some time.

"Have you thought it through?" Lund didn't turn around.

"I've made up my mind."

He opened the car door and got in.

"Teacher, I would like to stay with you for a week."

Lund hummed in agreement.

The carriage restarted and headed towards the manor in the southern suburbs.

The wheels rolled over the gravel road, making a dull rumble.

The two remained silent for a long time.

Lund only spoke slowly when the manor's iron gates came into view:

"How long will you be staying this time?"

"I just sent Kusso back to inform the butler," Xiren said calmly. "Another week is fine."

Lund nodded without asking any further questions.

He pushed open the carriage door and stepped down first.

A thin layer of moss grew on the stone path of the manor.

It's clear that Lund hasn't taken care of this place much since the last battle.

Half of the roses in the flowerbed had withered, and the remaining few leaned crookedly against the wooden frame, as if they might fall over at any moment.

Following behind Lund, Xiren crossed the courtyard and entered the training shed that he knew all too well.

The setup inside the shed was exactly the same as when I last visited.

The ground was compacted loess, and there were several iron guns and wooden targets piled up in the corner of the wall. An oil lamp hung on the crossbeam of the roof.

The most conspicuous thing is the iron stake that is deeply driven into the ground in the very center.

The pile was covered with scratches and dents.

Every mark was left by a bayonet thrust.

Lund walked to the corner, took an iron gun from the gun rack, weighed it in his hand, and then put it back.

Then they changed the pole.

He turned around.

"Speak."

Xilun stood in the center of the training shed, his gaze steady.

"Teacher, about the Red Star Spear you taught—"

He paused for a moment.

"I still have many shortcomings."

Lund didn't say anything.

He is waiting.

"During the last practice session, my breath control was about 40% complete. No matter how much I compressed it, I was always just a hair's breadth away from it."

Xilun stated the truth.

"I tried to infuse both the Great Thunderclap and Profound Yin energies into the spear at the same time, but at the moment of convergence, there was always a gap of a fraction of a second—that gap was too short, having almost no impact in ordinary combat, but if facing a truly powerful opponent..."

He raised his head.

"That fraction of a second is the difference between life and death."

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Lund's eyes.

It's not because Xilun did anything.

Rather, it's because he knows where he falls short.