"If you weren't you, and I wasn't me, that would be nice." Leticia sighed, "You're pretty good-looking. Having you as my wife would be passable."
Hearing this, Bai Ling was also stunned. This seemed to be the first time Leticia had said something like this, right?
"Pretty good-looking, having you as my wife would be passable"—coming from a tsundere, this should mean the same thing as a confession, right?
"I thought you really hated me."
"Hate? Not really. I wouldn't hate pretty girls." Leticia turned to look at Bai Ling's face. The girl's absolutely beautiful face looked even more captivating under the orange firelight. "But we can't work."
Bai Ling fell into silence. Yes, they couldn't work.
Could Leticia abandon her demon race and live with Bai Ling?
Or should Bai Ling abandon humanity to be with Leticia?
Neither would work.
"Sometimes I envy these people in the wilderness. They don't have to think about so many things—just do what they need to do." Leticia scooted a bit closer to Bai Ling. "By the way, why do you like girls?"
Although modern society advocated free love and people's thinking was relatively open, girls who really liked other girls were still a minority.
For someone like Bai Ling, an innocent girl who didn't know much about the world, Leticia really couldn't understand why she would like girls.
Normally, shouldn't such a girl like handsome boys?
With Bai Ling's social circle, there should be quite a few high-quality men, right?
"I don't like girls," Bai Ling shook her head. "I just like you, and you happen to be a girl."
Bai Ling's requirements for a partner were simply: good-looking, not too weak in ability, and good to her sister.
She didn't really care about gender.
And it just so happened that she met Leticia on the day she retired and returned home.
In terms of strength, Leticia was the only foreign ruler who had escaped from her hands. In terms of looks, Leticia was no less beautiful than herself. As for her sister, Leticia was even better to Bai Ya than Bai Ling was.
All three conditions satisfied at once—how perfect.
Of course, Bai Ling didn't have such thoughts initially. She didn't attack simply because Leticia was her sister's friend. She couldn't just kill her sister's friend as soon as she came back, right?
Later, she gradually became familiar with Leticia and discovered that the current Leticia had changed—she had become lazy.
A lazy Demon King posed much less of a threat, didn't she?
After spending time together, Bai Ling inevitably developed feelings. Honestly, spending every day with such a cute girl, even a stone would develop feelings.
Before retirement, Bai Ling could be said to be like a stone, but after retirement, she gradually changed from a stone back into a human.
And Leticia happened to be the person who accompanied her transformation from stone back to human. With such proximity, Bai Ling naturally developed feelings for this girl who met her criteria for choosing a partner.
"Actually, you know you shouldn't have developed feelings, right?" Leticia asked.
Bai Ling didn't answer.
But they both knew the answer.
Bai Ling indeed shouldn't have developed feelings.
"After going back this time, I probably won't come back again." After waiting a while, Leticia brought up another matter. "As for you, you'd better forget about me and find another pretty girl to mess with."
"What are you going to do?" Bai Ling suddenly looked up. She had a bad feeling.
"Nothing much. I'm just afraid that if I keep staying by your side, who knows what might happen between us one day." Leticia indicated she was a bit scared. To avoid such a situation, it was better for her to run away first.
If she couldn't provoke it, couldn't she hide from it?
She didn't believe that after staying in the Demon Realm for a year or two, Bai Ling would still have other feelings for this bad-tempered, skinny enemy.
A year or two was enough time to change many things. Maybe when they met next time, Bai Ling would already have a new girl by her side.
"You'd better forget about me. We'll mind our own business—you find your true love, I'll find my pretty sisters." Leticia squinted her eyes and spoke in a dreamy tone, "I still want to open a big harem and pass down our Demon King bloodline."
Then she was lightly punched by Bai Ling again.
"No being unfaithful."
"I'm the Demon King! Opening a harem is totally normal. My grandma had several male consorts!" Leticia held her head and said that opening a harem was perfectly normal for her, and Bai Ling had no right to criticize.
"I said no. If I find out you've toyed with other girls' feelings in the future, believe it or not, I'll kill my way directly into your Demon King palace," Bai Ling said quietly.
Of course she believed it.
But wasn't this reason for killing her way over a bit too frivolous?
While Leticia was still thinking, Bai Ling had already moved to her side and wrapped her arms around the girl's petite body.
The girl's body trembled imperceptibly, but she didn't react as she usually would.
She just leaned against the white-haired girl like that, quiet in a way that wasn't like her.
"Don't forget, I still owe you three days."
"Actually, that bet was just something I said for fun. You don't need to take it to heart." Leticia's head rested on the white-haired girl's shoulder as she explained softly, "Lin Qingyu is the Half-Elf those Elves were looking for. It's just that the Elves' methods weren't good enough—they didn't discover she was that Half-Elf."
To be honest, Leticia was bound to lose that bet.
"I lost. That's what I said." Bai Ling spoke like a domineering CEO from novels, "I owe you three days. Don't forget."
"Sigh, if you insist on saying that, then so be it." Leticia didn't say anything else. Why not take advantage of benefits delivered to her door? "I'm a bit hungry. Do you have anything to eat?"
The girl twitched her nose—she seemed to smell something sweet.
"I have a cold roasted sweet potato. Want it?" Bai Ling pulled out from her chest the roasted sweet potato Yi Yujun had used to bribe her earlier. "You can roast it a bit more and it should be edible."
"You haven't eaten either, right? Aren't you hungry?" Leticia took the sweet potato that looked pretty good, then suddenly remembered that Bai Ling probably hadn't eaten either.
This girl had quite an appetite. She must be starving by now.
"I'm fine. Even if I were really hungry, this thing wouldn't fill me up." Bai Ling replied, "You eat it. Don't worry about me."
Leticia pursed her lips. She held the sweet potato in her palms and channeled a bit of magic power to heat it up slightly.
Then she broke the sweet potato in half from the middle, peeled the skin off the slightly larger half, and brought it to Bai Ling's mouth. "I don't want your charity. Hurry up and eat."
After finishing half the sweet potato, Leticia felt a bit fuller. With the warm feeling in her stomach and the clear fragrance belonging to the girl surrounding her, the Miss Demon King felt somewhat drowsy.
"Hah, I want to sleep." She yawned and said quietly.
"Sleep then. I'll stay with you." Bai Ling held Leticia a bit tighter. "I'm here."
Bai Ling's words were very reassuring. Although she never admitted it, Leticia had indeed developed complete trust in Bai Ling.
She was willing to trust Bai Ling, this girl who had nearly killed her years ago.
Closing her eyes and leaning on Bai Ling's shoulder, Leticia slowly sank into dreamland.
Bai Ling exhaled a breath of stale air. She felt that today would probably be a day she'd never forget.
Leticia had opened her heart to her and was resting quietly in her arms—these were things she wouldn't have dared to imagine before.
Although Leticia's words made Bai Ling somewhat disappointed, those were matters for later. Right now, it was good enough to enjoy this rare tenderness.
Sitting not far away, Yi Yujun sniffled. She was secretly glancing at the two girls snuggling together.
"Tch, the sour stench of romance." Like venting, she bit into her cold sweet potato. Yi Yujun felt like she'd been force-fed premium dog food.
Between this Bai Ling and Su Qianqian, there was definitely something going on. If they had nothing between them, Yi Yujun would twist her own head off.
But what could she do? They were talented and beautiful, a perfect match. How could a monster like her criticize them?
Besides, her current identity was more accurately defined as a prisoner.
Although she seemed to be able to move freely and Bai Ling currently had no mood to manage her, Yi Yujun had no doubt that as soon as she made any move, Bai Ling would make her sing a song of sorrow.
Sigh, this was fate.
What could she do? Wait. Maybe tomorrow when Bai Ling was in a good mood, she'd let her go.
Though that possibility was quite low.
Organizational support?
Not happening. Non-existent.
Divine Throne's main forces were causing trouble in other areas. Being assigned here was like exile for her.
By the time things were handled over there, Yi Yujun felt she might have been locked up in prison for several months already.
However, she didn't doubt whether Divine Throne would come to rescue her. The most attractive thing about their organization was that they never easily abandoned any member.
Even if you were locked in the world's most heavily guarded prison, Divine Throne would do everything possible to get you out.
If she could be locked up in prison, that is.
While the three girls by the campfire were each lost in their own thoughts, the other three on the other side had fallen into great crisis.
Three mountain-sized enormous monsters were chasing closely behind Songstress. The huge noise they made while running even drowned out the sound that Songstress relied on most.
Very frustrating, quite frustrating—this was Songstress's current thought.
It wasn't that she was afraid of the three monsters behind her. Given some time, she could deal with these three things.
But once she started fighting, she wouldn't be able to look after Lin Qingyu and Xi Mengyao.
Her mission was to ensure Lin Qingyu stayed alive, but this mission was now somewhat difficult to complete.
"It won't work to keep being chased like this. You two run in other directions as much as possible. I'll come find you after I deal with things here." Songstress stopped her steps. The monsters were getting closer and closer—she had to settle things here.
Lin Qingyu was stunned for a moment, then unhesitatingly pulled the already out-of-breath Xi Mengyao and ran toward the distance.
Staying here would be useless for her, and Xi Mengyao staying would only be a burden. Rather than this, it was better to take Xi Mengyao and leave, letting Songstress fight with full strength.
Although she was reluctant to admit it, Songstress was currently the only one who could protect her and Xi Mengyao in the wilderness. If they wanted to survive, they'd better listen to Songstress.
The reasons didn't matter. Lin Qingyu only needed to know that Songstress didn't want her to die.
"Hah, no good. I can't run anymore." After running forward for a while, Xi Mengyao indicated she really had no strength left.
This girl who didn't exercise regularly had been running around the wilderness with Lin Qingyu and Songstress for an entire afternoon, only resting a few times in between. Being able to hold on until now was already a miracle.
And now, she really didn't have the strength to run forward anymore.
"But if we don't run, we might die here." Lin Qingyu vigilantly watched several pairs of red eyes that appeared at their side and said to Xi Mengyao.
They were several gray wolves living in the wilderness—not strong, cannon fodder-level beasts that wouldn't last one round against Songstress.
But for Lin Qingyu and Xi Mengyao, two girls with no combat ability, these wolves were undoubtedly death god-like existences.
Songstress was being held up by three monsters—who knew how long it would take for her to arrive.
Xi Mengyao had already knelt on the ground. She really didn't have the strength to escape.
What should she do? If she abandoned Xi Mengyao, she might be able to escape.
Even though Xi Mengyao had no ability to resist, these wolves would still take some time to deal with Xi Mengyao, and that time would be enough for Lin Qingyu to get away.
If she was lucky, maybe these wolves would be full and stop chasing—who knew?
"Qingyu, you go. With me as a burden, you definitely can't get away." Xi Mengyao also saw the gradually approaching wolves. She was very afraid, but she also knew there were only two choices now.
One was for her to sacrifice herself to give Lin Qingyu hope of living. The other was for both of them to die here together and become the wolves' dessert.
Of course Xi Mengyao was afraid of death, but no matter how scared she was, she couldn't squeeze even a bit of strength from her already depleted body.
She knew she definitely couldn't escape.
One person dying versus two people dying—even though Xi Mengyao wasn't a selfless girl, she was willing to let Lin Qingyu live.
Throughout the entire afternoon, it had been Lin Qingyu pulling her to escape. Many times when she couldn't hold on, it was Lin Qingyu who forcibly pulled her to continue running.
Without Lin Qingyu, Xi Mengyao might have died long ago.
"I..." Lin Qingyu fell silent.
She knew that the best method now was to abandon Xi Mengyao and escape alone. As long as she waited for Songstress to deal with those three monsters and find her, she could save her own life.
But was this really okay?
Did she really deserve to live this way?
For the sake of her own life, watching a companion die in desperation—she couldn't do it.
Yes, she was a Half-Elf, but she was also a life with a kind heart!
"You'll die, you know." Flora's voice rang in Lin Qingyu's ear. The world seemed to stop, giving Flora enough time to speak with Lin Qingyu.
Lin Qingyu silently nodded. She knew that if she chose to stay, what awaited her would inevitably be death.
She was indeed the Elven Empress, but she was equally a Half-Elf without the strength to truss a chicken. What she inherited from her parents was probably just relatively decent physical fitness.
But this physical fitness was only within the range of ordinary people. Moreover, the poison from the elven race in her body had been constantly consuming her stamina.
She had no chance of winning at all.
"I've been cowardly my whole life. It's time to be brave once." Lin Qingyu said quietly.
The previous her had been weak, only wanting to escape when encountering problems. After gaining Flora's recognition, her choice wasn't to take revenge on those who had hurt her, but to secretly slip away with Flora and another divine artifact.
"It's just that my promise with Her Majesty Leticia, I'm afraid I'll have to break it." There was some regret in Lin Qingyu's eyes. She had finally mustered the courage to take revenge on the elven race with Leticia's help, but she hadn't expected that in less than a day, she would have to break her word.
But Flora's eyes flashed with satisfaction. This was the Lin Qingyu she wanted to see.
If this girl had continued to be cowardly like before, only wanting to escape when encountering problems, then Flora might still help this girl, but she definitely wouldn't give her true power to this girl.
The current Lin Qingyu had already satisfied Flora.
Choosing for two people to die together or choosing to survive alone—honestly speaking, ordinary people should choose the latter option.
After all, her staying wouldn't change anything—it would just change the wolves from eating one dessert to eating two desserts.
But Lin Qingyu chose to stay. She didn't stay for any particular reason—she just wasn't willing to abandon this girl she had only known for a few days.
"I can't help you defeat those fierce beasts, but you possess the power sufficient to defeat them." Flora said to Lin Qingyu.
Her power could only affect intelligent beings, and these wolves around Lin Qingyu obviously had no intelligence.
So this time, the divine couldn't be of much use.
"Me?" Lin Qingyu smiled bitterly. Her power was almost negligible in front of these wild beasts, right?
"That's right, you." Flora said very seriously to Lin Qingyu, "Although I don't know which of my old friends is sleeping in that staff, I do sense a connection between you and her."
"Hm?"
"Call to her. Let her see your will, let her see what kind of person this generation's Elven Empress is. Perhaps she'll lend a helping hand." Flora's gaze turned to the distance. If Lin Qingyu could obtain power from that divine, then these wolves shouldn't be a problem.
If not... then there was no other way.
Flora could only try her best to control these wild beasts, but she didn't think she could do it.
"Call to her?" Lin Qingyu shook her head. She didn't know how to call.
"Yes, call. I can't explain the specific method clearly, but I'm certain that like me, she can hear your inner voice."
After saying this, Flora's figure flickered like a device running out of power and disappeared.
The originally stagnant time and space also began flowing again. A total of five black wolves slowly approached the two girls from the wilderness.
"Qingyu, hurry up and go!" Xi Mengyao shouted loudly.
"I'm not going." Lin Qingyu shook her head. "To be honest, I'm sick of it. I don't want to live this kind of hiding and fearful life anymore."
"I originally wanted to go back to the elven race to cause some destruction, but now, dying here with you isn't bad either."
"Speaking of which, there's something I need to apologize to you for."
"Don't say these things now. Hurry up and go!" Xi Mengyao really wanted to cry.
She didn't think she could leave alive, but Lin Qingyu completely could go.
They had only known each other for a few days and weren't even ordinary friends. Burying herself in this place for an almost stranger like Xi Mengyao—Xi Mengyao really couldn't understand.
"If you do this, I'll think you have ulterior motives toward me."
Perhaps death's approach made Xi Mengyao let go of her usual restraint. She boldly said something she would never have said before.
"If you really want to think that, it's fine." Lin Qingyu gently touched her necklace. "My real name is Evangelyne. As for my surname, if we can live until tomorrow, I'll tell you then."
"I am the Empress of the elven race."
"Ah?" Xi Mengyao was stunned.
Empress?!
The Empress of the elven race?!
This... this news was too explosive, wasn't it?
She was completely unprepared.
"The attacks you encountered were all because of me. Songstress wanted to use you to approach me. For this, I should apologize to you." Lin Qingyu said in a low voice. "Forget it. Since we're going to die anyway, there's no need to meet Death with a fake face."
Wait, what was this? Xi Mengyao vigorously rubbed her eyes. She suddenly felt that Lin Qingyu in front of her had changed.
Thanks to her parents' high attractiveness, Evangelyne was actually quite beautiful. Her features combined the advantages of both parents and had characteristics of both the elven and human races.
Her hair wasn't pure black either, but a beautiful dark green that complemented her emerald eyes.
"How... how did you do this?" Xi Mengyao tried hard to recall, but she discovered that Lin Qingyu in her memory was actually like this now.
That ordinary Lin Qingyu had disappeared from her memory. Xi Mengyao couldn't even remember what that Lin Qingyu looked like.
In her memory, it seemed to have always been Evangelyne.
"This is divine power. Actually, I never changed my appearance." Evangelyne said with a smile. "Alright, alright, don't think about so much. Time to face these wild beasts."
While they were talking, the wolves had slowly approached them. These wolves were much stronger and more vicious than the wolves Xi Mengyao had seen on TV.
"But I still have to resist a bit." Evangelyne closed her eyes and began quietly calling to the divine artifact she had casually thrown away. "Can you help me?"
Actually, Lin Qingyu didn't hold much hope. She was just trying with the thought that this was the only method anyway.
But to her surprise, she really heard an unfamiliar voice full of resentment: "What, you only remember me when you're about to die, my little Empress?"