Chat group, if you have anything to say to my Holy Sword,

Xiling looked in the direction of the town, where there was only a trace of life at that moment.

The moment he felt that familiar scent.

Xiling took a step forward, heading towards the direction of life.

The church door was pushed open again, and Xiling walked into the church, where she saw that figure.

Moonlight streamed through the window, like a spotlight on a stage, gently illuminating the girl and outlining her thin and fragile figure, giving her an ethereal and sacred aura.

The moment Xiling entered the doorway, a smile that Xiling knew all too well bloomed on her face.

"Hero, you've arrived."

Xiling gazed at the girl at this moment. The girl had undergone some kind of change. Compared to the girl she knew, the girl now resembled the ancient god she had fought before. Eyes like the moon and silver patterns appeared on the girl's body.

In response to the girl's call, Xiling's expression, which was devoid of joy or sorrow, broke into a smile. "I'm here."

"Could you please come over here for a moment? I'm not available right now."

Xiling nodded silently and stepped forward. As he got closer, more questions about the girl came to his attention.

The girl was like a container, and something was trying to break free of this container and reappear in this world, but it was firmly imprisoned by the girl.

With the final step, Xiling was already in front of the girl. The girl smiled and looked at Xiling, "Why do you look like you're about to cry? This isn't like you."

Xiling tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to show his usual smile, but he couldn't.

Xiling stood silently in front of the girl, who sighed as if in despair, "Could you please squat down a little?"

Xiling didn't ask why; she slowly squatted down and looked up at the girl.

Just then, a cool hand touched Xiling's face. The girl gently stroked that face, the face that made her feel at ease, the face that evoked inexplicable emotions. A smile returned to the girl's face.

"Thank you for appearing and saving me when I called for you. Thank you for watching over me when I fainted. Thank you for being willing to deceive me with lies, even though I am not her."

Xiling wanted to say something, but a finger was placed on his lips, stopping him from speaking. At the same time, the girl gently placed another finger on her lips, making a shushing gesture.

"I know, I know Xiling, but... leave me a fantasy, a fantasy that belongs to me."

The girl withdrew her hand, then slightly opened her arms, making a weak yet incredibly clear gesture of embrace, her smile carrying a final hope: "Finally... can I... have a hug?"

Xiling stood up and silently approached the girl, but just as his arms were about to encircle her slender body—

The girl, however, threw herself into his arms!

Just like before, when she was still half asleep, the girl snuggled against Xiling's chest.

"It's so warm and smells wonderful. I love it. No wonder I slept so soundly back then."

Xiling remained silent, only tightening his embrace around the girl slightly.

Time seemed to stand still. The moonlight flowed silently.

After an unknown number of seconds, the girl's voice rang out again, faint yet incredibly clear, carrying an undeniable resolve:

"Let's do it, Xiling."

She placed her hands on Xiling's chest and pushed herself away from his embrace.

The moment she was completely out of his embrace, the moonlight clearly illuminated her current state—cracks, shimmering with light, spread wildly across her exposed skin! From her cheeks, neck, and arms, all the way down to her body covered by clothing!

However, a bright smile bloomed on the girl's face. She even winked playfully:

"Don't say 'no'~ You promised me a request, no matter what it was, you would agree to it... right?"

Her gaze was fixed on Xiling, with a final plea, "...Please don't let me...die when I'm at my ugliest, when I'm least like myself...?"

The girl took Xiling's hand that was holding the holy sword and placed the holy sword against her neck.

At the same time, a deafening shriek erupted from something imprisoned in her mind! It was like a million rusty steel needles churning deep within her soul! The girl's body jolted violently from this internal shock, and more cracks burst open on her body, with silvery fragments scattering from the cracks like teardrops!

But the girl's smile grew even brighter; she even slightly raised her chin, like a proud witch, as she uttered her final farewell:

"See you tomorrow!"

-

Consciousness... was as if it had sunk to the warmest seabed.

The light... shone softly through the thin eyelids.

Elena opened her eyes groggily, her vision gradually clearing until she saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

She looked somewhat bewildered, propping herself up from the soft bed, her fluffy gray hair slipping down her shoulders.

When her gaze fell upon the person sitting quietly in the chair with their back to her, a perfectly ordinary greeting rang out, carrying the languor of someone just awakened and a hint of dependence that she herself was unaware of:

Good morning, Xiling.

Xiling turned around and smiled at the figure. "Good morning, Elena!"

After the events of Chapter 112, Elena seemed a little strange.

"Looks like I've won."

Ute looked at everyone at the table with a happy expression, but just when everyone thought he was about to make a move...

Ute stood up from the stool and bowed to the crowd.

"Everyone, I'll be going now. I had a lot of fun playing this game."

After leaving those words, he actually left the room under Xia Yin's gaze, and the other party did not fulfill his earlier promise to take someone's life after winning.

The room remained silent for a long time.

In the end, Xia Yin spoke first. "Perhaps... this is another scam. Let's all go back and talk about it later."

After leaving those words, Xia Yin disappeared from the room, and the rest of the people also disappeared one after another, leaving only the blond man sitting in the room, sweating profusely.

He had a premonition that the other party was looking for him, and that his secret had already been exposed!

Why didn't the other party kill me? Did they spare me?

Yes, that must be the case.

The man tried to comfort himself and soon disappeared from the room.

-

Irene lay on the hotel's wooden table, her cheek pressed against the cool surface, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the faint glow of a photograph.

She felt a little strange.

What's strange about that?

Fragments of memories would occasionally flash through her mind, like shattered dreams or forgotten memories. They were blurry and always slipped away quietly when she tried to grasp them, leaving only a strange sense of melancholy.

Even stranger, whenever she thought of a certain guy—that annoying guy who always rejected her application to travel through time—a strange feeling would rise in her chest.

Frustration? Resentment? Or... something else?

"What's wrong with me..." she murmured, gently poking the face of someone in the photo with her finger.

Two days have passed since that incident.

It was called an incident, but she didn't even know the specifics of what happened. She only remembered that she seemed to have taken a nap, and when she woke up, it was all over.

"It's really baffling..."

Although her memory was hazy, she was certain that she had been involved in something.

Otherwise, how do you explain the changes in her?

She raised her hand, palm up, and a wisp of pale moonlight slowly condensed, transforming into a miniature moon that hovered at her fingertips.

—[The Broken Authority of the Moon]

These are the skills that inexplicably appeared on her character panel after she woke up.

"What is all this nonsense..." she sighed, and with a flick of her finger, the tiny moon vanished like a bubble.

She had no idea where this ability came from, let alone what it meant.

"and……"

She rolled over, lay back in the chair, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Why hasn't Xiling been saying anything in the group chat these past two days?"

What upset her even more was that he actually rejected her application to travel the world with him!

"Saying it's too dangerous and it's better not to come... Hmph! I've never been this nervous before!"

She pouted, then turned over and buried her face in her arms.

She knew that he was worried about her.

But this feeling of being protected only made her more irritable.

"I'm not a child..."

She stared at the familiar face in the photo, her fingertips gently tracing the other person's outline.

Did something happen to them?

Has she... forgotten something important to her?

-

Moonlight Town.

Xiling and a man placed the flowers they had bought on a tombstone, which was inscribed with the words "..."

Father Galen.

"What are your plans after this? Will you continue being a priest?" Xiling bowed to the tombstone and then asked the man.

"Spare me, I'm not cut out for that." The man shrugged.

"Really? I think you did a pretty good job."

The man smiled.

"It was just a scam. I probably won't be a scammer again."

"Is it a promise?" Xiling said with a smile.

“Yes, it’s a promise.” Lanster nodded gently.

“That’s good. By the way, don’t you think it’s a pity? You and the priest did so much for the town, but no one remembers it when you wake up.” Xiling looked at the many townspeople who had walked over to the cemetery that day.

"I already knew that, and I never expected their gratitude. I just did what I promised." The man turned his head, a hint of teasing in his smile.

"Don't you think it's a pity?"

Xiling looked at him with a puzzled expression, clearly not knowing what he meant by "what a pity".

Lanster nudged Xiling with a gossipy look, "Your little girlfriend, you've done so much for her, but she doesn't know anything. Don't you think it's a pity?"

Lanster would never forget that scene: the man before him had pierced his own heart with a sword, the cycle of constant repair and death repeating endlessly within him.

He couldn't even imagine how painful that must have been.

In response to the man's words, Xiling elbowed him back and spoke up as the man grimaced and hugged her waist.

First, we are not partners.

Secondly, there's nothing to regret.

"Like you said, I never asked for anything in return, and in a sense, it was I who failed to protect her."

Gee tut.

The man clutched his waist, placing a hand on Xiling's shoulder. "Ambitious, very good. My efforts have not been in vain."

Faced with Xiling's puzzled gaze once again, the man said nothing and walked out of the cemetery.

He had said that he was serious about matters of the heart, so he did something.

Although they are projections of dreams, they are somehow connected to the true self, so he took action. He pushed these connections a step further, allowing the memories of the dreams to flow into the true self.

"Oh dear, young man, you'll find out sooner or later. If you two end up together, I'll be the biggest contributor."

The man shook his head with a sigh and a smile.