Stirling turned around and saw Alena steadily walking into the house.

  Upon getting closer, Stirling finally saw Alena's appearance.

  As Joe Mosley had said, the people of the Cathode were all beautiful women without exception. The more beautiful they were, the faster they improved.

  Even though Alena dressed in a simple robe, her graceful figure was still undeniable. With her looks suggesting she was around twenty-eight, she had a unique beauty suited to a mature woman.

  Stirling dared not look any longer and kneeled on one knee right off, saying: "Greetings, Your Highness!"

  Alena ignored Stirling and went straight to Lilith, checking her injuries.

  "Your Highness." Lilith saw Alena and tried to get up. Alena pushed her down with one hand and used the other to press on her chest, as if she was finding something wrong.

  "You were too reckless." After a long inspection, Alena said.

  "Yes," Lilith lowered her head. The two intertwined their fingers.

  Stirling kneeled with his head down. He glimpsed the scene from the corner of his eye, and he was out of the loop. Could these two be in that kind of relationship? Would he be killed for stumbling upon them?

  Thinking this, Stirling felt his temples throb. He cursed the worshippers for lacking any normal people.

  At this moment, Alena finally turned her gaze to Stirling and said: "Luis, stand up and speak."

  Stirling immediately stood up and stepped to the side, not daring to move.

  "Are you Master Kim's disciple?" Alena asked.

  "Exactly." Stirling, though confused about why she knew Master Kim, still replied.

  "You just said that the person in the courtyard was hiding something. Have you discovered anything?" Alena looked at Stirling with poise, a smile playing on her lips.

  Stirling, hearing this, knew he couldn't be perfunctory any longer. Alena was a shrewd envoy, far more capable than the inexperienced Lilith.

  "Your Highness," Stirling said, "when I used the Malice-Breaking orb, I noticed the Virl-Malice below the person's head was almost transparent. However, the Virl-Malice above his head was still layered."

  "So, I thought his attempt to hide his face meant he had a secret he couldn't expose."

  "Looking at it that way, it makes sense." Alena frowned a tad, recalling her confrontation with that person.

  As if to confirm her thoughts, Alena walked to Lilith's side, then glanced at Stirling.

  Stirling promptly and obediently turned his back, even covering his ears.

  Alena noticed this and pulled down Lilith's shirt from her shoulder, showing a wide stretch of smooth skin. But now, a dark palm print was embedded in that fair skin.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  "Did he hold back his Virl-Malice and use only his physical strength to hit?"

  Alena looked with a keen eye at the palm print and the surrounding bruises. Then, she covered Lilith's clothes with it. The choice was already clear in her mind.

  "You know how to explain what happened today." Alena picked up Lilith and then said to Stirling.

  "Yes, Your Highness!" Stirling, with his back turned, bowed and replied.

  Once Stirling stopped speaking, a fragrant breeze brushed past him. When he focused, he saw a figure dart through the courtyard, vanishing in a shot.

  Stirling stood up; the room was now empty. Having endured a fierce battle that night, he was full of worry.

  After his reminder, the envoy must have found something. Otherwise, she wouldn't be in such a rush to return. But once she's gone, with his own strength, and one more nascent enemy appearing, he'd be completely at their mercy.

  Thinking this, Stirling crossed his arms and paced back and forth, his mind racing until he made a plan for the next step. Only then did he go to the courtyard and push aside the stone table.

  The courtyard was a mess after the fierce battle. It had tiny holes everywhere. But the spot where the object was buried remained untouched, thanks to the stone table's cover.

  Stirling watched his surroundings as he dug with his blade. After a few minutes, he had finally got the buried object. He filled the hole with fresh soil and returned in a hurry to the inner room.

  Stirling took out the Quicksand Map from a bundle full of dirt; this was his most precious possession. He took a deep breath and spread the map out under the oil lamp.

  The map appeared completely normal, with no hidden dangers like the red crosses.

  Stirling was a little surprised.

  Although puzzled, it was still good news. Stirling closed the map and hid it gingerly against his chest.

  Then, Stirling also tucked the Malice-Slaying Pistol into his waistband. He tore off and held the first page of the visualization diagram from all the manuals. The rest were burned with the oil lamp.

  Having done all this, Stirling let out a long sigh of relief before turning to the wooden box on the table.

  With those two worshippers present, Stirling couldn't risk using his powers. He would refine all these fragments tonight, keeping just one or two pieces to hand in. Anyway, it must be the shadow man's responsibility if the fragments were wrong; what did it have to do with Stirling? Thinking this, Stirling opened the food box. He pulled out the yellow cloth bundle and spread it on the table. Then he opened it again.

  Inside the yellow cloth were eight fragments of different sizes. They slowly released malice.

  Stirling raised an eyebrow. He picked up two small fragments, put them in the yellow cloth, re-wrapped it, and returned it to the food box. Then he took the remaining six fragments and went into the kitchen.

  Stirling had to admit that sleeping in the kitchen, forced by that vixen Lilith, had its benefits.

  The space is very secluded, and the back window let him climb out without a hitch. This made escaping onto the street quick and simple if trouble arose.

  Stirling walked into the kitchen and sat on the woodpile. He picked up a statue fragment in each hand and started to refine the malice.

  Meanwhile, at the city government building.

  Hoffmann lay asleep in the side room. In an instant, he opened his eyes. He glanced at his sleeping mistress beside him, then sat up without making a sound.

  The fat man moved his heavy body, grabbed the long robe by the bedside, got out of bed, wrapped himself in it, and sluggishly walked to the door. He pushed it open and stepped outside the side room.

  A full moon hung high, casting a cool light on the small pond in the courtyard. In the reflection, a figure was faintly visible.

  Hoffmann paced over.

  "Why did you come at this moment?" Hoffmann asked somewhat displeased.

  "The people of Yearning Palace have interfered." The figure said it was at a crawl.

  "What do you mean? You've been discovered? How could this have happened?!" Hoffmann's tone was low and somber.

  "No, but I've also discovered something."

  "Speak."

  "The Yearning Palace should not be the mastermind of the Pathos incident. They're searching for it too. There should be another force in the city; maybe they've got something."

  The figure continued.

  "Another force?" Hoffmann was taken aback. He didn't understand what was going on in Farfield City that he didn't know about.

  "So, what do we do now?" Hoffmann asked.

  "Let's hold off for now. The woman in the Yearning Palace isn't stupid. We'll make plans after I break through the Perfected Nascent Realm." The figure said, then clasped his hands together.