Morning light filtered through the stained-glass windows, casting dappled spots of light across the long dining table.
The dining room was massive, large enough to seat thirty people at once.
A mural of stars and suns was painted across the high domed ceiling, and the walls were embedded with glowing magical crystals.
A deep blue carpet covered the floor, its edges embroidered with the crest of House Sunfire in gold thread.
The long table was carved from a single piece of white marble, its surface polished as smooth as a mirror.
Right now, only four people sat around it.
At the head of the table sat Rommath Sunfire.
Today, the old man had changed into a deep purple mage robe.
Complex runes were embroidered in silver thread along the collar and cuffs, and a massive sapphire insignia rested on his chest.
His hair was combed meticulously, his expression as solemn as an inquisitor’s.
To the old man’s right was Alice.
Today, she had changed back into her dark gold hunting garb, her face once again veiled in white silk.
She sat with poise, but her eyes held a clear note of wariness.
To his left sat a female elf whom Luo Xun had never seen before.
She looked to be in her early thirties by human standards, though her actual age was likely much older.
She wore a simple, milk-white robe, the typical attire of a High Elf priest of the Holy Light.
Her reddish-brown hair was braided into a tidy, strict bun at the back of her head.
Her face was elegant, her eyes clear and resolute, and her hands rested naturally, clasped in her lap.
What drew the most attention was the gentle, stable energy field radiating around her.
In Luo Xun’s energy vision, it appeared as a pure, milky-white halo, vastly different from the blue arcane energy typical of elves.
Luo Xun sat at the far end of the long table, directly opposite Rommath.
An exquisite breakfast was laid out on the table, but there wasn’t a single servant in sight.
*This is clearly a Hongmen feast,* Luo Xun thought.
“Let us begin,” Rommath spoke, his voice remarkably clear in the empty dining hall.
“Before we eat, there are some matters that require clarification.” Here it came.
He knew this so-called thank-you feast wouldn’t be simple.
But Luo Xun was already mentally prepared.
As a top-tier noble family, it would be absurd if they didn’t do a background check before letting a stranger move in.
Luo Xun set down the napkin he had just picked up and raised his head.
“Ask away.” “Your origin,” Rommath got straight to the point.
“How does a human hunter end up traveling alone to Quel’Thalas?” Luo Xun picked up his water glass and took a sip.
The water was just the right temperature, with a hint of lemon flavor.
He used these two seconds to quickly run through the story he had prepared last night.
“I didn’t come here by choice.” He set down the glass, his tone flat.
“My hometown is Stratholme.” The mention of that name caused the atmosphere at the table to freeze instantly.
Alice’s body stiffened slightly, and a flash of pity appeared in the priest’s eyes.
“That city is gone,” Rommath said, his sharp eyes filled with obvious skepticism.
“Yes,” Luo Xun sighed.
“That is why I am here.” He began to tell the story he had rehearsed countless times in his head: an orphan raised by an old hunter; going deep into the mountains after prey and thereby missing the plague; returning to find nothing but undead.
The prince purging the city, fleeing north, and eventually hiding out in the Ghostlands—until he ran into Alice.
The story was simple, logically sound, and Luo Xun delivered it with such heartfelt emotion that he almost believed it himself.
Rommath remained silent for a long time, his fingers lightly tapping the table.
His sharp gaze locked onto Luo Xun.
“You say you are a hunter,” he finally spoke again.
“But you have a strange energy reaction within you.
That is not something a hunter should possess.” “I don’t understand energy,” Luo Xun said candidly.
“But since I was a child, my body has indeed recovered faster than average, and my wounds heal easily.
The old hunter said I was ‘tough to kill.'” He spoke a mix of half-truths.
Many details were based on his actual experiences, so they didn’t trigger any nervous fluctuations in his emotions.
“When you rescued Alice, you healed her wounds that had been corrupted by death energy.” Rommath’s questions came one after another.
“Have you studied healing spells?” “No.” Luo Xun shook his head.
“I just pressed my hand against the wound, felt something flow through, and the injury healed.
As for the underlying principle, I have no idea.” This was the truth.
Rommath observed him for a long time, and finding no anomalies in his demeanor, he turned to look at Alice.
Alice nodded.
“It’s true.
A warm current flowed from his palm, dispersing the death energy that clung to me.” “A Holy Light-attuned constitution…” Rommath murmured to himself, a trace of doubt in his eyes.
This was something even he had never encountered before.
Just then, the female priest suddenly spoke up.
“Master Rommath, why don’t you let me try?” Her voice was soft and pleasant to the ear.
Rommath nodded.
“Very well.
Lady Liadrin, if you would.” Liadrin.
Luo Xun’s heart skipped a beat.
So it was her—the future leader of the Blood Knights.
In his memory, she was already a High Priest at this point.
But…
in his recollection, this woman was a ruthless figure who had led the charge in siphoning a Naaru’s energy to gain power.
*Damn, she’s not going to try and siphon me, is she?* Liadrin stood up, walked to Luo Xun’s side, and extended her right hand.
“Please, place your hand here.” Luo Xun complied.
Liadrin’s hand was warm and dry.
The moment their palms touched, Luo Xun’s energy vision activated on its own.
Warm, milky-white energy flowed through Liadrin’s body, running as quietly as water.
At her core, a flickering white flame seemed to dance.
Much like her calm eyes, it was gentle, yet searingly hot.
That energy probed into his body, moving gently and observing slowly, like turning the pages of an unfamiliar book.
Meanwhile, something deep within his own body stirred, as if in response.
After about ten breaths of probing, Liadrin withdrew her hand, a flash of surprise crossing her eyes.
“How is it?” Rommath asked.
“Very unique,” Liadrin replied as she returned to her seat, her tone sincere.
“His energy field is unlike any living being I’ve ever seen.
Untrained, yet naturally possessing an incredibly high affinity for order and life.
The strangest thing is its stability—it is like a naturally formed, pure crystal with a perfectly balanced internal structure that external forces can hardly disrupt.” She paused, looking at Luo Xun with a clear, direct gaze.
“Furthermore, I can feel that the essence of your energy shares…
some distant affinity with the Holy Light.” At the mention of the Holy Light, the atmosphere in the dining room shifted subtly.
Rommath’s brow twitched imperceptibly.
Alice’s eyes flared with surprise, mixed with something Luo Xun couldn’t quite read.
Luo Xun kept his face expressionless, but his mind was reeling.
*An affinity with the Holy Light?* *I’m literally from Earth.
What does the Holy Light of this world have to do with me?* “Of course, this is only a preliminary sensing,” Liadrin added.
“Without training or faith, this affinity remains purely potential.” “Potential,” Rommath repeated the word.
His gaze fell upon Luo Xun once more, but his expression had softened significantly.
If it was related to the Holy Light, at least it wasn’t anything harmful.
Luo Xun met his gaze with an air of complete transparency.
Though the Holy Light was not mainstream to the High Elves, it certainly wasn’t a bad thing.
In a land ravaged by the powers of death, having this affinity was basically like having a giant sign that said, “I’m one of the good guys.” However, the old man wasn’t about to drop it that easily.
Luo Xun could still see a trace of reluctance in his eyes.
His mind spun rapidly, but he couldn’t quite grasp the core issue.
What was wrong with this old codger?
Was he determined to pin some crime on him today?