Chapter Ninety-One: The Bar Staff

Yixin dragged over a chair and sat down at Blackfeather’s desk. Blackfeather was sprawled over it asleep; he lifted his eyes listlessly to glance at him, then buried his head again.

“Blackfeather.”

Remembering what had happened atop the tower last night—his encounter with Yifeng and the mysterious man in black—he fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

“I know that ever since the first day you came to this house, I’ve never shown you a kind face. Especially the first time you lost control—I beat you like mad, took all my hatred for him and poured it out on you. You were just too much alike. I couldn’t help thinking of him…”

He tilted his head slightly, staring at the vast pale sky beyond the window. The corners of his eyes stung, but his voice remained hard.

“I hate him. I could never miss him.”

Yet after saying it, Yixin’s voice caught.

“Later, the old man told me he rescued you from the institute… You were already pitiful enough, and I still…”

He laid a hand on Blackfeather’s arm.

“I know you’re not asleep. As for what happened before, I hope you won’t take it to heart.”

Blackfeather slowly lifted his head from the crook of his arm and saw Yixin looking at him. He reached both hands into the hair by his temples, took out two earplugs, and stared at Yixin in puzzlement.

“Huh? What did you just say?”

Yixin was so furious he nearly blacked out. Flames had already condensed around his fist, and he drove it straight at Blackfeather’s face.

“Go die!”

“Huh?—”

The school building shook with a thunderous crash. A pillar of fire blasted through the top-floor window and shot into the sky. Glass shattered everywhere, and a student in a black magic robe went screaming out through the broken opening.

Students walking below the building stopped in their tracks. They saw Blackfeather crash to the ground, smashing a crater into the earth, glass fragments scattered all around him.

He rubbed his head and looked in bafflement at the shattered top-floor window and at Yixin, who had turned away in blazing anger.

“Why hit me…”

After school, Blackfeather and Ling Xiaolei arrived at the Demon Empire Tavern at the same time. Divine Slaughter Fruit followed them in as well, and the three sat down before the bar.

During the time Blackfeather had been away, Ling Xiaolei had come here more often than anyone else, because she could always ask Boss Ling about the meanings of certain words in ancient dark elf spells.

“There are patrol guards all over outside the city. We’ll have to wait till nightfall and sneak out then.”

After sitting down, Blackfeather was surprised to find that Ling Xi was not behind the bar today. Just as Ling Xiaolei drooped her eyelids and slumped unhappily over the counter—

A bright female voice rang out above their heads.

“Welcome! What would you like to drink?”

Ling Xiaolei’s eyes flew wide, and she jerked backward in fright. The girl before her also took a step back at the same time, all the fur on her body bristling.

On top of her head were fluffy ears, and behind her swayed an enormous fox tail. It was the fox demon they had encountered the night before.

“Y-you little thief!”

The fox was so angry steam practically rose from her head. “I am not a thief!”

Just as the two were baring claws and glaring each other down, Boss Ling came over from the side.

Ling Xiaolei pointed at the fox. “Sh-she, she, she—what is she doing here?”

The fox lifted her chest proudly and declared with perfect confidence, “I am an employee hired by Boss Ling!”

“What?!”

Blackfeather stared in surprise. “Boss Ling, you really hired staff?”

Ling Xi gestured for the fox to go on about her work, then personally took over mixing drinks.

Pouting, the fox picked up the order pad and walked off among the customers. The tavern had been unusually crowded these past few days, all because of this graceful barmaid with the swaying fox tail. Wherever she went, the men’s eyes followed.

Now that he studied her more carefully, Blackfeather suddenly remembered. “The day Thunder Jade was slaughtering demonfolk outside the city gate, that little fox in the crowd—it was her, wasn’t it…”

“In the future, when I’m not here, the tavern will be left in her care,” Ling Xi said.

“What?…”

Ling Xi had casually mentioned before that he intended to leave the tavern one day, so Blackfeather had tried to prepare himself. But now that he was truly saying he would go, a wave of loss still swept through him.

“We’re used to having you here. Even if we don’t know what mysterious business you’re always occupied with, and it’s not really our place to ask…”

He knew Ling Xi well enough: anything the man did not wish to say was something no one could pry out of him.

“But if you suddenly leave, it really will be hard to bear.”

Ling Xiaolei added, “Don’t go! If you leave, who’s going to teach me magic?” Over these days, she had developed a dependence on Ling Xi almost like that of a disciple upon a master, though he stubbornly refused to take on students.

Ling Xi gazed into the distance. “Your talent is already very good. There’s not much I need to teach you. Still, I did think of a secret inherited ability of the dark elf clan—this is the perfect chance to learn it while demons are roaming through the surrounding forest… Would you like to?”

At the mention of magic, Ling Xiaolei’s eyes lit up at once.

“Of course I would!”

“Boss, are you going training with us tonight?” Divine Slaughter Fruit asked, blinking her wide innocent eyes.

“You go ahead first. We’ll meet in the village center,” Ling Xi said.

“Okay!”

Blackfeather had seen Ling Xi’s strength with his own eyes. Once, with a single move, he had instantly killed White Scorpion and the others after their transformation by the ogre potion. The chance to enter the forest with such a powerful mage delighted him beyond measure.

The three of them headed toward the main city gate, exited the city, and traveled north until they reached the village center. The villagers had all gone to sleep early. Only the Holy City Guard stationed around the village remained, standing watch in shifts.

As soon as Blackfeather and the others neared the forest, the guards on duty stopped them.

“Hey, hey, no farther. There are demons in the forest ahead. The area’s under lockdown.”

The three had no choice but to halt and wait in an open area nearby. While Ling Xi had yet to arrive, Blackfeather supervised Ling Xiaolei and Divine Slaughter Fruit as they trained.

“Your barrier keeps shattering at the slightest thing. Right now it can’t withstand the intensity of my attacks at all. You need serious practice.”

As he spoke, Blackfeather rubbed Ling Xiaolei’s head, tousling her hair until static made it all stand up.

“All right, all right, I know!”

Ling Xiaolei spread out a barrier shield, while Divine Slaughter Fruit conjured a greatsword in her hands, unfurled dragon wings and a dragon tail, and took charge of the attack. In the free-practice sessions of magical combat class, they often worked together like this, and their progress had been swift.

As Divine Slaughter Fruit swung and hacked again and again, Ling Xiaolei resisted with all her strength behind the shield, constantly feeding stream after stream of runes into it to make it tougher and gradually thicken it.

At the same time, Divine Slaughter Fruit intensified the force of her attacks. The blade turned crimson, and she continued striking the barrier with all her might.

Before long, both girls were drenched in sweat.

Ling Xiaolei withdrew the barrier and, by the light of the moon, steadied her breathing and slowly recovered her strength. Tonight was the full moon, whose light benefited the dark elf race just as sunlight benefited the light elves.

A while later, Ling Xi arrived. His whole body was wrapped in a black mage’s robe, his broad hood hiding his face.

And yet, from the pale, beautifully shaped line of his jaw alone, and from the cold aura he carried as he approached, one could tell at once that it was him.