Long Yixiang knew the girl possessed a genuinely kind heart, one that could ache for strangers. In many ways, she seemed perfectly suited to be a nun. Her core beliefs—honesty, compassion, and universal love—aligned seamlessly with the central tenets preached by the Cross Holy Church.
Yet, reality often fell short of such ideals. Most people were primarily concerned with their own interests, making those who cared for others truly rare and precious.
"Can you contact anyone from your Church?" Long Yixiang asked, attempting to steer the conversation elsewhere.
She shook her head.
"Perhaps we should venture deeper into the forest," he suggested, his tone persuasive. "With a Slime tide this large, the interior might be safer. Besides, we can't stay here indefinitely. We need to find a way back."
"Is there even a path? It's getting dark."
"We just need to go through the forest. I've been here before, gathering materials for quests. A beginner's forest like this holds no danger for a seasoned, year-round adventurer like me. I'll guide you." The lie came to him smoothly, naturally.
"Just the two of us? Into the deep woods? At night?" Lilith brows furrowed slightly.
"Of course! This forest usually has plenty of adventurers. Like I said, it's a common questing area. People from town are often here..." Long Yixiang hurried to explain.
His clever justification earned him only a skeptical roll of her eyes.
His goal for this trip wasn't merely to reconnect with his would-be partner; he intended to kill two birds with one stone.
During his first playthrough, he had discovered a certain "treasure" here in this starter forest. While it seemed like the most barren beginner zone to others, for him, it was entirely different.
The items from that treasure had been crucial to his progress in his first life. Therefore, his top priorities in this second run were to find Lily and then immediately secure that treasure again.
What he sought so urgently was of monumental importance for his future: the ruins of an ancient kingdom, containing detailed scientific research and design schematics for modern technology!
He didn't know if he was the only person ever transported to this world, but he felt certain he wasn't the first in its history.
The predecessor who had left these ruins had clearly progressed much further than he ever had in his first life, achieving computers and information systems—a level of technology utterly alien to this world. It had to be the work of another transmigrator, someone who must have arrived years ago and served the kingdom of that era.
He imagined that ancient kingdom, bolstered by such advanced knowledge, must have been incredibly powerful in its prime, easily a dominant force even by today's standards.
Yet, it had fallen. Completely. Long Yixiang had no idea what could have happened. No records remained. It was as if the kingdom had been utterly erased overnight. Had he not stumbled upon these ruins, no one would ever know such a technologically advanced civilization had existed.
What kind of power could obliterate a kingdom so thoroughly, leaving almost no trace behind?The early spring forest hummed with vitality. Trees stirred from their winter slumber, and young shoots burst forth from the soil in fierce competition. This was the season of raw impulse, where battles over food, territory, and mates raged fiercely across the land—humans being no exception.
Deep within the dense woods, a figure moved with purpose.
Long Yixiang scattered scented pellets along his path. He hadn't wanted to use them again, but he'd underestimated the challenge of winning the girl over.
Perhaps emotion had clouded his judgment. In his memories, they had grown close over time, yet in Lilith's eyes, he remained a stranger. This was an unfair contest—she stood free of emotional baggage, capable of clear reasoning, while he remained tangled in his feelings.
"If the forest is the safest place now, then I suppose I don't need your protection anymore?"
She did have a playful wit at times, and her sharp mind was one of her strengths—though when directed at him, he found it frustrating.
But Long Yixiang remained confident. These things couldn't be rushed. A watched pot never boils, he reminded himself. The key was to make her rely on him gradually, not to push too eagerly. In matters of the heart, the one who showed their hand first often lost.
Firmly believing this, he had no intention of letting Lilith forest excursion remain peaceful.
He climbed a small ridge, lit a stick of dynamite, and hurled it with a sharp swing. "Whether it's safe or not—that's for me to decide!"
The fuse sparking through the air, the explosive landed perfectly in a dark cave mouth. He scrambled down the slope and ducked behind cover.
Seconds after the blast, the cave erupted like a stirred anthill.
They were grotesque creatures—ghastly green faces and protruding fangs, hunched and crooked postures, jagged bone spurs piercing their skin. It was as if the creator had cobbled them together from discarded scraps of failed creations.
Aside from Slimes, other monsters were drawn to the scent as well. They pursued the source of the fragrance—human women.
Goblins had no females of their own. Upon maturity, the males sought human women as reproductive tools, their primal instincts telling them that following such scents was the most effective method.
Long Yixiang raced toward Lilith position, loading his crossbow as he ran. He lacked alchemical arrows designed for monsters, but standard steel bolts would suffice against low-tier creatures like Goblins.
From afar, a hymn as pure as starlight drifted through the air, cleansing the heart and mind.
A beam of light, almost too fast to see, pierced through the atmosphere. Intense heat followed, vaporizing part of the nearby stream into rising plumes of mist—along with the grotesque bodies caught in its path. The searing radiance evaporated both the failed creations and their twisted desires into mere wisps of vapor.
Fear quickly overrode desire. The surviving creatures dared not approach Lily again. In their eyes, the girl with golden light blazing in her gaze was akin to a wrathful deity.
Crossbow now loaded, Long Yixiang crouched in the bushes, taking aim at his target.