"After causing such a big incident, you actually dare to appear here so brazenly. Truly surprising."
"You can speak more clearly. What exactly did I do?"
On the high building where they had met that day, Xue'er and that mysterious elf stood facing each other. After hearing Xue'er's words, the elf was obviously stunned, then asked quite puzzledly.
"Hmm? The attack the afternoon before yesterday—wasn't that your doing?" Xue'er was also stunned. This elf's reaction didn't seem fake. Could she really have found the wrong person?
But that wasn't right either. This person's target was also Lin Qingyu, and the attacker had almost a 100% probability of being from the elven race. There couldn't possibly be two different groups of Elves who weren't communicating with each other simultaneously targeting Lin Qingyu, could there?
"The afternoon before yesterday? I'd like to ask why you think it was me who did it?" The elf asked somewhat indignantly. She had been fairly well-behaved these past few days, wandering around various places in Central City trying to find any trace of that person.
But she couldn't find anything.
When Xue'er came to find her today, she thought there were results from what she had asked Xue'er to do a few days ago. She never expected that upon meeting, Xue'er would hit her with such an accusation right off the bat.
This left the elf feeling extremely wronged. When had she ever suffered such slander?
She had wanted to turn around and leave immediately.
"Because the attacker was obviously from the elven race, and quite powerful." Xue'er, realizing she might have found the wrong person, explained somewhat awkwardly. "Don't your elven experts communicate with each other?"
"We do communicate. I'm just the diplomatic officer of our action team. The other members are all searching the city for our target." The elf didn't mind telling Xue'er she wasn't alone. "But you say the attacker was an elf—what evidence do you have?"
"A girl who happened to pass by was poisoned with elven poison. Isn't that evidence enough?"
"What does that have to do with you demons? Besides, poison is something anyone can use once they get their hands on it." The elf retorted.
Elven poison didn't have some mystical bloodline restriction. The poison was just poison—a weapon that anyone could use with the same effect once they got it.
Elves and humans had quite a few private transactions. Poison, being an elven specialty, was often secretly sold to the human world by some bold Elves.
So while the quantity of elven poison in the human world wasn't large, saying there was none would be absolutely impossible.
"Regarding your previous question, as you know, I have many employers and many friends." Xue'er indicated she was also acting on someone's behalf. "A certain important person has connections to that poisoned young lady, so they asked me to inquire whether you, the 'culprit,' have any way to treat her."
"That depends on what kind of poison it is. I can neutralize ordinary ones, but the question is, what benefit do I get?" The elf hugged her underdeveloped chest and said coldly. "You still haven't given me an answer about what I asked you before, but now you're approaching me for another person's request. Don't you think that's being rather unfair?"
"Quite the contrary—I already have some leads, and the leads point to that very important person." Xue'er raised her slender index finger and waved it twice in front of her. "I'm just a middleman."
The elf frowned. If what Xue'er said was true, then she might really need to meet this important person.
But before that, she needed to confirm whether this important person was deceiving her.
"I need evidence." The elf said. "Evidence to make me believe your words are true."
"Alright, I'll ask." Xue'er nodded, took out her phone, and called Bai Ling.
On the phone, she told Bai Ling everything in detail, then waited for Bai Ling to make a decision.
Bai Ling also fell into a small dilemma. Beside her was the unconscious Miss Xi, with Candice sitting by the bed keeping the comatose girl alive.
Songstress wasn't here—she had been running around these past two days, searching for ways to detoxify.
As the guardian of humanity, she needed to protect humans. Bai Ling quickly made her decision. "You can tell her that Lin Qingyu is here."
If what Xue'er said was all true, then having two different elven factions clash first wouldn't be a bad thing either.
If that elf was deceiving Xue'er, then letting her know Lin Qingyu's location would obviously be even less of a problem.
Because she already knew anyway.
One side was profit, the other was no loss. And before that, Miss Xi's poison could at least be neutralized. This deal was quite worthwhile.
It was basically getting something for nothing.
"Alright, I understand." Xue'er nodded. Her thinking was similar to Bai Ling's. If the elf in front of her wasn't in league with the attacking elf, then having them clash first would be very advantageous for their side.
As for whether the two would unite to steal the person together?
Xue'er thought the possibility was low. The faction that launched the attack was obviously superior in intelligence compared to the elf in front of her. If they were going to unite, they would have done so already.
Would this elf still be asking her if she knew where the Half-Elf was?
"I can take you there." Xue'er said to the elf. "After that, you'll need to negotiate with that important person yourself."
"Ho, so straightforward?" The elf was a bit surprised. She had thought there would be some back-and-forth, but didn't expect such simple agreement.
"After all, I can't see anything special about that Half-Elf that would be worth your pursuit. You'll most likely return empty-handed this time." Xue'er indicated that Lin Qingyu seemed to have nothing special about her, so she probably wasn't the person this elf was looking for.
Of course, that was just lip service.
In her heart, Xue'er was basically certain that Lin Qingyu was the Half-Elf this elf was searching for.
Leading the elf all the way to where Bai Ling was, Xue'er quietly said to the elf, "You should prepare yourself mentally first. That person has quite strong presence."
The elf indicated that she was an elven elite no matter what. Could the presence be stronger than the Grand Elder's?
She was an elite elf who could remain standing under the Grand Elder's presence. A mere human was nothing to worry about.
A few seconds later, she was on her knees.
"Hmm? What's wrong with her?" Bai Ling, who had come to open the door after receiving Xue'er's message, looked at the prostrated elf with some confusion, her mind not immediately processing what had happened.
"It's nothing. Probably just wasn't mentally prepared and got caught off guard."
"Cough cough, that was an accident just now, an accident." The elf, helped up from the ground by Xue'er, coughed awkwardly twice.
She hadn't expected this white-haired person to give her even stronger presence than the Grand Elder. Truly surprising.
Such a big shot would definitely be considered unique even among humans. If she didn't know the Sword Saint was male, the elf would almost suspect this white-haired girl was that legendary disaster who had cut down all the race leaders in a single day.
"You should know why I asked you to come, right?" Bai Ling crossed her arms, her expression unreadable.
"Of course, Miss Xue has already told me." The elf immediately answered. In front of such a powerful person, she was indeed somewhat nervous.
"Good." Bai Ling winked at Xue'er. "I also know your request. I am indeed sheltering a Half-Elf here. If you can cure that poisoned girl, I can let her meet with you."
Bai Ling had already discussed this with Lin Qingyu. Although she seemed somewhat unnatural, Lin Qingyu had agreed to Bai Ling's request.
"If it's just a meeting that can save that girl, what reason do I have to refuse?" was how Lin Qingyu had responded.
"Just a meeting?" the elf asked quietly.
Normally, shouldn't it be a life for a life—she takes the Half-Elf away and then cures the poisoned girl?
Regarding the elf's wishful thinking, Bai Ling indicated she was being too naive. "If you want to take her away, you'll need much more than that."
"Alright, alright, you two go inside to talk. The doorway isn't a good place for conversation." Xue'er clapped her hands, mediating. "First, let our elf miss see if the poison can be neutralized. If it can, then we'll trouble the elf miss."
"Mm, that works too." The elf thought about it. She was already meat on the chopping block now. Refusing would at best result in returning empty-handed.
But agreeing would at least let her see if the Half-Elf here was the one she was looking for.
Originally, she thought that even if negotiations broke down, she could still escape, but now she knew that was impossible.
Bai Ling's presence was simply too strong. The elf had no doubt that if she showed even the slightest uncooperative behavior, her head would be separated from her body.
"Then, please excuse me."
Following Bai Ling into the house, the elf immediately saw a beautiful girl in a magic circle the length of a person.
The girl was completely naked, her face pale, with green lines like tree roots spreading from her heart, now covering the girl's entire torso.
If one looked carefully, they could see the green lines slowly creeping toward her limbs and head at an extremely slow pace.
"This kind of poison... is from our elven race." The elf knelt down, placed her hand on the girl's heart, and closed her eyes. A few minutes later, she looked up at the three people in the room.
"Of course it's from your elven race. With such a distinctive color, who else could it be?" Candice, who had been staying in the room all along, indicated the elf was stating the obvious.
This green color was obviously elven handiwork.
"Can you cure it?" Bai Ling was more concerned about something else.
"Yes, and it's not too troublesome." The elf rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a small green bottle. "Although I didn't bring specific antidotes, this universal antidote should be sufficient."
She opened the bottle and poured out a small, round pill.
"I'm going to feed this to her now." Before administering the medicine, she announced loudly to avoid being misunderstood later.
After confirming Bai Ling agreed to her giving the medicine, the elf pried open the girl's mouth and put the pill in.
As soon as the pill entered her mouth, the girl's complexion immediately improved. Those green lines seemed to encounter something terrifying and began rapidly retreating toward the girl's heart.
In just about a minute, those green things had condensed into a small, round green dot.
"Eh?" The elf looked at the small dot with some surprise. "How could this happen?"
Candice walked to the elf's side, frowning at the green dot on Miss Xi's chest. "It wasn't completely neutralized?"
"No, I should say it wasn't neutralized at all." The elf shook her head. She knew now wasn't the time to lie. "My antidote can only suppress its toxicity but can't eliminate it."
As she spoke, the elf placed her hand on Miss Xi's chest again.
After a while, she looked up and said, "One antidote can suppress it for three days. I have four more."
"Is there a way to completely cure it?" Bai Ling asked. Although it was somewhat disappointing not to succeed in one go, she was satisfied with being able to extend the time so much.
"Yes." The elf nodded. "But the difficulty of this matter has increased several levels. Just a meeting can't match the effort we'd have to put in."
In other words, the price Bai Ling offered was too low.
"You mean you want more compensation? I'm very wealthy—just name your price." Bai Ling wasn't dissatisfied with the elf's demand.
She knew you get what you pay for.
"I don't need human money." The elf indicated Bai Ling's money was worthless in her eyes. "If the Half-Elf you're sheltering is the one I'm looking for, I hope you can hand her over to me. If not, I hope you can assist me in finding that Half-Elf."
"I need to..." Bai Ling was about to say she needed to consider it when Xue'er beside her poked her waist with her elbow.
Bai Ling looked at Xue'er questioningly, only to see Xue'er mouthing the words, "Agree to it."
"Why?" Bai Ling didn't understand.
Xue'er pointed toward the door, indicating Bai Ling should wait for her outside.
Scratching her hair, Bai Ling obediently walked out of the room. After Bai Ling left, Xue'er gave the elf an apologetic smile. "Sorry, could you wait for us for a moment?"
"I can. I happen to need time to carefully observe this poison." The elf naturally agreed.
She also knew the other party needed time to think, and she believed the possibility of them agreeing was very high.
In another human's eyes, which was more important—a human's life or a Half-Elf? Wasn't that obvious?
Half-Elves weren't human.
They were children of humans and Elves, outcasts unwelcome in both races. Humans would protect humans, but when humans encountered Half-Elves, they wouldn't protect them.
Elves were the same.
So the elf was certain that ultimately, Bai Ling would agree to her request.