The cold touch of the key settled into Wuli’s palm. Only when she felt that chill against her skin did it finally begin to feel real.
It had been a little too easy.
The white-haired girl stared blankly at the key in her hand, while the smile on the Saint’s face deepened.
Wuli did not immediately put it away and leave in delight. A trace of caution still lingered in her voice.
“I heard that the library in the restricted area… isn’t open to outsiders.”
Fion gently patted Wuli’s head. Soft strands of hair slipped through his fingers as he looked away.
“That’s true. However, you’re an exception.”
Wuli did not understand what he meant until he personally escorted her there.
She inserted the key into the lock with her own hand. As her fingertips turned it, the door slowly creaked open.
The next moment, the white-haired girl’s eyes widened.
The scene before her was reflected in her pupils.
Books lined all four walls, while a circular magic array occupied the center of the room. The enclosed chamber had no natural light. Dim candles flickered around the perimeter.
A gust of cold wind swept past.
She stopped in her tracks.
This scene…
It looked exactly like the sacrificial ritual she had imagined.
Even the magic array was right there in the center.
Seeing that the girl before him had frozen in place, the Saint maintained his gentle smile.
“What is it?”
His voice came with the cold wind brushing against Wuli’s neck.
“Nothing.”
Wuli stepped into the room. After Fion followed her inside, the door slowly swung shut behind them.
Bang.
At that instant, a chill rose from the depths of her heart.
Pretending to remain calm, she began looking around.
The restricted library did not contain only materials related to transference magic. It held all kinds of texts related to theology.
As Wuli passed a bookshelf, a particular book caught her attention.
It was wrapped in parchment. Faint lettering was stamped across the cover, and the pages looked brand new.
The moment Wuli saw the words written on it, her eyes widened completely.
The title read:
《A Maiden’s Western Fantasy World Setting Collection》
Wuli immediately stopped walking.
Turning her head slightly so Fion could not see her expression, she asked, “May I take a look?”
A trace of surprise flashed across the blond young man’s face before fading away. He replied gently,
“Of course.”
The candlelight was dim and unsteady.
Holding the book beneath the flickering glow, Wuli opened it, and a chill instantly ran down her spine.
Why?
Why was there a setting collection here?
And it really was a setting collection.
Page after page flashed past before her eyes.
She saw Fion’s name.
Fion’s character profile.
Even the profiles of the other two male leads were recorded here as well.
Why would something like this be in the restricted area?
Had Fion read it?
What exactly did Fion know?
Just then, a voice sounded from behind her…
Fion’s tone remained calm and even.
“It’s impressive that you’ve been staring at a blank book for so long.”
Wuli’s hand trembled slightly.
Acting as though nothing had happened, she casually flipped through a few more pages before returning the book to the shelf.
“I was just curious.”
In reality, cold sweat had already broken out across her back.
A blank book…
Was she the only one who could read it?
That meant Fion did not actually know what was written inside. He knew very little about the truth of this world.
But that raised another question.
If she was the only one who could read it, did that mean it was connected to the real world?
Yet with the pressure of Fion’s presence still looming beside her, Wuli no longer had the courage to open the book again. Instead, she turned her attention to several other volumes.
Fortunately, Fion said nothing.
In the dim surroundings, Wuli’s shadow stretched beneath the candlelight and gradually merged with the magic array on the floor.
The array showed no abnormalities whatsoever at this moment, but Wuli remained on edge. She had become far more wary of anything related to it.
How exactly was she supposed to get home?
Keeping that goal firmly in mind, Wuli swept her gaze across row after row of bookshelves.
If she could find a setting collection here, then there had to be other clues as well.
When her eyes landed on the section dedicated to space-time magic, her heart skipped a beat.
She glanced at Fion.
Fion was looking at her too.
Silent.
Even his gaze was extraordinarily calm.
Wuli swallowed.
Under Fion’s watchful eye, any action born from her true intentions risked exposing her purpose, exposing her thoughts.
If she took down a book related to space-time magic right in front of him, Fion would immediately realize what she truly cared about.
Wuli withdrew her gaze and reached out toward a different section of the shelves.
She selected a book from the category on sacrifices.
Her expression remained perfectly calm as she pulled it out. In truth, her purpose was to observe Fion’s reaction.
Other than his gaze shifting from her to the book, he showed no unusual response at all.
Wuli: “…”
A few seconds later, she put the book back.
“All right, let’s head back.”
The white-haired girl smiled at the blond young man, expressing her gratitude to the Saint.
With Fion standing right beside her, she could not act freely. This trip had yielded little of value.
She would have to find another opportunity and come back when Fion was not paying attention.
Wuli silently made her plans.
Yet after hearing her words, the Saint did not move.
Several seconds of silence passed through the room, and Wuli began to sense that something was wrong.
“There’s no need to go back.”
Fion’s gentle voice drifted over to her.
The white-haired girl’s eyes widened.
The door had already been shut the moment they entered. And from the look of it, Fion had absolutely no intention of opening it again.
“What?”
Fion wore a smile, yet the aura around him was a hundred times colder than usual as he slowly approached Wuli.
Instinctively, Wuli stepped backward. Her shoes scraped against the floor.
What was going on?
A sacrifice?
Was he really going to sacrifice her already?
Wuli nearly lost control of her expression.
A dreadful possibility rapidly took shape in her mind, and her body responded before she could stop it, gradually stiffening with fear.
“Saint Fion?”
‘No way. No way.’
‘I just got the key. I’ve only been at the Church for a few days!!!’
Fion continued walking forward until he stood directly before her.
His gaze swept over her.
He examined her from head to toe with unmistakable scrutiny.
Then he reached out, hooked a strand of her long hair around his fingers, lowered his head, and pressed a kiss against it.
“The most perfect sacrifice indeed has the qualifications to enter the restricted area.”
Wuli’s pale blue eyes widened.
“Because once you’ve entered…”
His smile deepened.
“…there’s no need for you to leave.”
The next moment, Fion softly recited an incantation.
Before Wuli could react, the magic array on the floor began to emit an eerie glow.
Light spread across the entire room.
Its radiance illuminated the depths of Fion’s heterochromatic eyes.
One eye, golden, appeared incomparably holy.
The other, black, was unfathomably deep.
Those two eyes were reflected in Wuli’s pale blue pupils, intertwining with the terror that filled them.
Why was one of the Saint’s eyes golden and the other black…?
Because he was not entirely holy.
Beneath the eerie light cast by the magic array, Wuli’s survival instincts completely took over.
After kissing her hair, the blond Saint kept his gaze fixed on her.
Now that she knew she had been chosen as a sacrifice, she would probably be disappointed in him, her instructor.
The blond young man pondered leisurely, a trace of regret surfacing in his eyes.
But then he thought:
‘So what?’
If the most perfect person could not become a sacrifice, that would be a million times more regrettable.
At that thought, a smile immediately returned to his face.
A satisfied smile.
Just then, the white-haired girl before him reacted.
The shock and disbelief in her eyes transformed into urgency as she grabbed his hand, her expression filled with pleading.
Wuli clasped Fion’s hand and brought it before her lips.
From the outside, it looked as though she were reverently kissing the Saint’s hand.
In reality, her eyes were glistening with moisture, filled with unease. Every movement carried a desperate plea.
Her grip tightened around his hand.
Wuli knew very well that if she wanted to survive this situation, the fundamental problem she had to solve was the person standing before her.
So what was she supposed to do?
Her voice trembled with fear as she asked,
“Am I not your favorite student?”
“Then why do you still want to make me a sacrifice?”
The white-haired girl frowned.
The moisture in her eyes was not an act.
She looked exceptionally innocent.
At that moment, Saint Fion felt something he had never felt before.
Never had he felt so strongly that he had done something profoundly unholy.
The unsettling sensation made Fion furrow his brows.
The momentary hesitation she saw in him made Wuli realize there was still a chance to turn things around.
“Saint Fion.”
“Please don’t sacrifice me. I’m begging you.”
The light of the magic array around them began to fade.
Its glow gradually diminished until it finally died out completely.
In the end, the sealed chamber was left with only the same faint light it had possessed from the beginning.
Wuli had no idea whether she had successfully persuaded Fion.
Nor did she know what the extinguishing of the light signified.
Her hands remained tightly clenched, her entire body expressing a desperate will to survive.
After a long silence, Fion lifted her chin with his free hand.
Their gazes met directly.
Wuli’s heart leaped into her throat.
She no longer dared to speak.
Never before had Fion looked at her with such seriousness.
Wuli had no idea what that look meant, so she could only allow him to examine her.
The white-haired girl’s skin was fair and almost luminous.
Viewed on their own, her pale blue eyes carried a trace of coldness, but unfortunately, the soul within them seemed to be the complete opposite.
That was why, when those eyes filled with pleading, it did not look out of place at all.
There was also a tiny beauty mark at the corner of her eye, so small that it was difficult to notice unless one looked closely.
The Saint who was usually so gentle was no longer smiling.
He could not understand why Wuli’s words had managed to sway him.
Perhaps it was because she was gripping his right hand too tightly?
In the end, Fion simply gave up trying to figure it out.
Lowering his gaze, he let the familiar gentle smile disappear from his face.
Without that warmth, he seemed even more divine.
His jaw was taut.
And the silence hanging in the air became incomparably solemn.
Wuli did not dare move even slightly.
She knew that if she failed to persuade him this time, she would never escape the fate of being sacrificed.
There was only one option left.
She had to risk everything.
Fion watched her expression gradually grow more resolute.
In the end, a faint smile returned to his face.
The white-haired girl had just called herself his favorite student.
He found that somewhat amusing.
His hand relaxed, yet Wuli’s grip remained as tight as ever.
The white-haired girl had no intention of letting go until she heard Fion relent.
Even though, deep down, she knew that holding on like this would not actually allow her to stop him.
Meeting Wuli’s wary gaze, the blond young man spoke.
“Since you’re this unwilling, I can indeed give it more consideration.”
Wuli abruptly looked into his eyes.
What she saw there was a depth she could not fathom.