Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

An hour later, the atmosphere in the small building had changed from tense to strangely relaxed.

Redbeard was the fastest to leave. Before he could even board the ship, he sent his men to order the Red Dragon to set sail, while he himself, along with two trusted men, rowed a small boat to catch up.

Foreign Minister Hales was so weak in the knees that he had to be supported by two attendants on either side of him when he left.

Now, only Lin Yi and a few others remain in this light red building.

Mond sat in the large wooden chair in the corner of the room, with a pile of things he had just looted from Agati's treasure room on the small round table in front of him.

A fist-sized piece of deep-sea mithril, its surface gleaming with a deep blue luster, looked like a piece of solidified seawater in the setting sun.

A short sword, its blade jet black, yet so sharp it could reflect a person's image. A dark red gem was inlaid on the hilt. According to Lin Yi's assessment, it was a Saint-level weapon.

There were also several bottles of potions, and a palm-sized seashell with a golden bead inside.

He just grabbed these things casually from the treasure room; Agati didn't even dare to lift his eyelids.

Mond picked up each item and examined it carefully, then put them down one by one, a near-reverent smile on his face.

"Hehehe..." He picked up the piece of deep-sea mithril, wiped it on his sleeve, held it up to the sunlight outside the window, smelled it, and then stuffed it into the leather pouch at his waist with satisfaction.

Shangyue leaned against the opposite wall, her black wings slightly folded, her arms crossed over her chest, and her silver eyes coldly swept over Mond's silly grinning face.

She stared for about ten seconds before finally rolling her eyes.

"You've never seen the world." Her voice was cold, her tone carrying undisguised disdain. "You've completely disgraced the demon race."

Mond didn't even look up when he heard this.

"So what if I'm naive and haven't seen much of the world?" he said without turning his head, his tone full of indifference. "With these things, I can become stronger even faster. The stronger I become, the more people I can beat up. The more people I can beat up, the happier I'll be. And if I'm happy, I'll keep laughing. What's it to you?"

Shang Yue's lips twitched slightly.

She wanted to argue, but swallowed the words back.

She found that although this guy's logic was simple and crude, there was nothing wrong with it.

She snorted coldly, turned her head away, and refused to look at him again.

Mond didn't care about Shangyue's reaction. To him, all those glares and snorts were less valuable than the short sword in his hand.

He stuffed all the items into his pouch, patted the bulging bag, stood up contentedly, stretched his shoulders which were stiff from Su Xiao's beating, and then strode over to Lin Yi.

Lin Yi sat on the large wooden chair in the center of the room, holding a cup of Agati's treasured tea, his gaze fixed on the sea outside the window.

Mond squatted down in front of Lin Yi, his bruised and swollen face close to his, his eyes full of curiosity.

"Doctor, I have a question for you."

Lin Yi glanced at him sideways, but didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue.

Mond scratched his white buzz cut head, hesitated for a moment, as if considering his words.

He's always been straightforward and rarely speaks so hesitantly.

"Is this how you do things in the Paradise of Reincarnation?" Mond finally managed to utter a sentence, his voice very low, as if afraid of being overheard.

He raised his hand and pointed his thumb toward Turtle Island outside the window: "So... you just extort a little, collect protection money, and then the good stuff comes to you?"

Lin Yi paused, holding his teacup. He glanced at Mond, whose rugged face was filled with seriousness and expectation, like a child asking an adult if Santa Claus really exists.

He put down his teacup, leaned back in his chair, and looked past Mond's head to the sea outside the window, which was dyed red by the setting sun.

After flipping through his memories, he suddenly realized that he really didn't seem to have any normal experiences.

He has joined so many major factions that he can't count them on one hand. Each time, the other party took the initiative to extend an olive branch, offering increasingly generous terms.

He only needs to nod to gain access to resources, intelligence, and connections that ordinary people could never obtain even after a lifetime of hard work.

As for extorting protection money, he did it quite often, but he never had to ask for it.

When those people saw him arrive, they prepared the gifts themselves, afraid of giving him too little and upsetting him.

Lin Yi nodded.

Mond's eyes widened, his mouth gaped open for a long time, and his expression changed from surprise to envy, from envy to longing, and from longing to a kind of almost devout worship.

"This is so awesome." His voice was even lower, as if he were talking about some unspeakable secret. "No fighting, no risking your life, you can just sit there and people will deliver things to your door. Doctor, does your Samsara Paradise still accept people? Do you think someone like me is okay? I can fight, I can take on heavy loads, I'm not afraid of death, and I can do any dirty or hard work."

He became more and more excited as he spoke, placing his hands on his knees, leaning forward to get closer to Lin Yi, his eyes shining like two light bulbs.

"I've been in the demon race for so many years, getting beaten up and attacked every day, and I still have to find resources and figure out how to get stronger on my own. How come I didn't know you had such good things going on there?"

Shangyue leaned against the wall, taking in Mondstadt's eager look.

She didn't need to use her brain to guess what this big, dumb guy was thinking.

The demon race's thought process is that simple: they want to pounce on any benefit they see, and seize any opportunity they see, without ever considering whether a windfall might kill them.

She sneered, "If you're not afraid of dying slowly, then hurry up and go to the Paradise of Reincarnation."

Upon hearing this, Mond frowned instantly.

He turned around, glaring at Shang Yue, his bruised and battered face full of defiance.

"What do you mean? Are you looking down on me?"

Shang Yue didn't even lift her eyelids, her tone as flat as if she were reading a textbook.

"You don't know how high the mortality rate is for contractors in the Paradise of Reincarnation? Your demon race has dealt with the Paradise of Reincarnation so many times, surely you haven't even inquired about this?"

Mond knew that Shangyue was right. The demon race and the Paradise of Reincarnation had indeed had a lot of dealings, and he had heard about the death rates of those contractors.

But those numbers were just numbers to him, things written in reports, topics discussed by the elders in meetings. What did they have to do with Mondstadt? He only saw Lin Yi living a comfortable life, Su Xiao living a carefree life, and all the good things being delivered to his doorstep.

"So what?" he said stubbornly. "If they can survive, why can't I?"

Shangyue glanced at him, her gaze as if she were looking at an ignorant child.

She didn't say anything more; some things don't need to be explained too clearly.

Those who need to understand will understand, and it's useless to explain to those who don't.

Mond felt uncomfortable under her gaze and was about to argue when a hand reached out from behind and gently patted his shoulder.

He turned his head and saw that Su Xiao had appeared behind him at some point.

Su Xiao didn't speak, she just shook her head.

It's like someone seeing another person about to jump into a fire pit, reaching out to pull them back, then shaking their head, meaning, "Don't go, it'll be a waste of your time."

Mond stood there, stunned. He looked at Su Xiao's calm face and suddenly remembered something.

Just how low is Su Xiao's charm? He has seen many people with low charm in the demon race. Those guys are disliked wherever they go. No one listens to them when they speak, no one helps them when they get things done, and even the waitresses in the tavern are unwilling to pour them an extra drink.

But Su Xiao's situation seems a little different. He is indeed disliked, but his circumstances are also very special.

Mond blinked, leaned closer to Su Xiao, lowered his voice, and spoke with a hint of probing.

"Bai Ye, do you usually just sit there like a doctor and people bring you resources?"

The moment the question was asked, the air in the room seemed to freeze.

Baha, who was perched on the windowsill preening his feathers, froze upon hearing this, his beady black eyes widening and his mouth agape, unable to close for a long time.

Bubuwang was lying at Lin Yi's feet, its tail which had been swishing leisurely back and forth. Upon hearing the question, its tail froze in mid-air, and the expression on its face was as if it had heard something unbelievable.

The two men exchanged a glance, then simultaneously took a step back.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, as if they had rehearsed countless times.

It's not that they're not loyal enough, it's just that this issue is too painful to bear.

It was so heartbreaking that they thought Mondl might be in big trouble today.

Su Xiao's expression remained unchanged, and her half-closed eyes revealed no emotion.

But Mond noticed that Su Xiao's fingers on the hilt of the knife tightened slightly.

The movement was so subtle that it was almost imperceptible unless you were looking at it up close.

But Mond noticed it, and he instinctively sensed danger.

His body reacted faster than his brain. The moment he realized he might have said something wrong, his muscles tensed up, ready to back off.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Su Xiao removed his hand from the hilt of the knife, spread his fingers, and grabbed Mond's collar.

Before he could struggle, a tremendous force came from his collar and pulled him to the floor.

boom.

The floorboards made a dull thud.

Mond's back slammed solidly onto the wooden board, making him see stars.

He instinctively tried to roll over and get up, but Su Xiao was already on top of him, her right fist clenched, and she punched him in the face.

boom.

Another muffled thud. Mond's head was knocked to one side, a gash appeared at the corner of his mouth, and dark red blood dripped from his chin onto the floor.

"No, I..." Bang.

The third punch.

Mondl's words were forcefully swallowed back down his throat.

He felt a sharp, teeth-grinding crack from his cheekbone, making him wince in pain.

But his body was much stronger than that of an average person, and this level of blow was far from enough for him.

Su Xiao's punches weren't heavy, but each punch landed precisely on Mond's most painful spots on his face—his eye socket, bridge of his nose, corner of his mouth, and cheekbone.

The other people in the room watched this scene unfold, but no one stepped in to break it up.

Shangyue leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching Mondl get beaten and howl, a slight smile playing on her lips.

After beating him for more than ten minutes, Su Xiao finally stopped.

He released Mond's collar, rolled off him, sat on the floor, and shook his slightly reddened palms.

His breathing was relatively steady, and there was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, but his overall condition looked pretty good.

There were a few red marks on the back of his hand from being pressed against Mondstadt's cheekbone, and his knuckles were a little swollen.

The number of people he had killed would be higher than a mountain, and he had never encountered anything like this before—beating people until his own hands hurt.

Mond lay on the floor, panting heavily.

His face was even more dramatic than before. His eye sockets were swollen and bruised, looking like two small steamed buns. His nose was crooked to one side, his mouth was split in two places, and his cheeks were covered in bruises. His whole face was swollen like dough that had been stung by bees.

He reached up and touched his face, hissing in pain. He then touched the bridge of his nose to make sure it wasn't broken before letting out a sigh of relief.

He struggled to sit up, looked at Su Xiao's still calm face, opened his mouth as if to say something, but swallowed the words back.

He suddenly realized that his question was indeed a bit off.

Although he didn't understand what was wrong, judging from Su Xiao's reaction, it was definitely not a good problem.

He scratched his head, his face a mixture of confusion and resentment, making his expression even more distorted and unsightly.

"I was just asking casually..." he muttered softly, his voice unclear, it was hard to tell if he was explaining to Su Xiao or talking to himself.

Just as Mond was still wondering what he had said wrong, a chilling aura suddenly wafted in from the corner of the room.

The aura arrived without warning, like a sudden surge of cold air from the deep sea, instantly shattering the relaxed atmosphere in the room.

Lin Yi paused, his hand holding the teacup still. He put down the teacup, sat up straight in the chair, and looked at the blank wall in the corner of the room.

Su Xiao drew his Dragon Slayer Blade half an inch from its sheath, a flash of blue-green lightning disappearing from the blade.

His body turned slightly to the side, his center of gravity lowered, and he looked like a fully drawn bow, ready to unleash a powerful strike at any moment.

Mondl got up from the floor, the pain on his face mostly dispelled by the chilling aura, and demonic flames erupted from his body, slightly distorting the surrounding air.

All four people simultaneously entered combat mode.

The aura was too strong; it was like an invisible mountain pressing down on everyone's heads, making it difficult to breathe.

A few seconds later, Lin Yi came to a conclusion that made him frown slightly: the opponent's strength was slightly weaker than that of the Nightmare God Nigadi, but only slightly.

If the maximum score is ten, Nigadi can score eight and a half, and this guy can score at least eight.

As for Redbeard and Agati, those so-called great pirate captains, they weren't even qualified to carry his shoes.

A dark shadow emerged from the wall in the corner of the room. The shadow had no physical form; it was like a wisp of solidified smoke, moving slowly through the dimly lit room.

It drifted silently through the walls, through the neatly arranged furniture, through the blooming flowers on the windowsill, and into the center of the room.

The walls, the planks, the bricks—they seemed to exist in its presence, posing no obstacle whatsoever.

The dark figure landed on the floor in the center of the room, and the smoke gradually condensed, transforming into a human shape.

It was a figure dressed in a long black robe, thin and slightly hunched, standing there like an old tree bent by the wind.

The hood of his robe was pulled low, covering most of his face, leaving only a pale chin and a...

The grayish-white finger bones are clearly visible, with fine cracks at the joints, like old bones weathered by time.

The man in black robes took a step forward, bent his knees, arched his back, and knelt down in an extremely slow motion.

His forehead touched the back of his clasped hands, and he prostrated himself on the ground, his posture as respectful as if he were worshipping some deity.

Everyone in the room was stunned.

Lin Yi looked at the man in black robes, his brows furrowing slightly.

His senses swept over the other person several times, and only after confirming that there was no hidden hostility or intention to attack did he relax his guard slightly.

He didn't speak, nor did he tell the man in black to get up; he simply sat there and waited.

The man in black robes lay motionless on the ground.

After about ten seconds, he slowly straightened up, but instead of standing up, he changed from a kneeling position to a kneeling seat.

His hands remained folded on his knees, his posture as upright as a prisoner awaiting sentencing.

As he moved, the hood slipped back a little, revealing more of his face—no skin, no muscles, only grayish-white bones.

High cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and several fine cracks along the edge of the jawbone, like an old piece of porcelain worn down by time.

His eye sockets contained no eyeballs, only two pale blue flames that flickered slowly.

“I am a loser, a loser who refuses to accept defeat. I have waited for many years. I waited for those who seek the ancient gods to come, to guide them. To tell them where the ancient gods are, to tell them how to get there, to tell them what they must face.”

“A few days ago, I discovered that the ancient god on the island had disappeared. I can smell His presence on you.”

“I am a farmer. It happened many years ago, so long ago that I can’t remember when it was, the weather that day, or what was planted in the field, but I remember her.”

His fingers curled slightly, and his knuckles made a soft grinding sound.

“My wife was very thin. The harvest was bad back then, and there wasn’t enough food to eat. She saved her grain for me and ate tree bark herself. I said, ‘You eat it, I’m not hungry.’ She said, ‘You have to go to the fields tomorrow, how can you not eat?’ I said, ‘Then we’ll eat together.’ She smiled but didn’t answer.”

His voice was calm, as calm as if he were telling someone else's story.

"Later, she got pregnant. Her belly grew bigger every day, but she got thinner and thinner. I went to the river to catch fish, but I couldn't catch any. I went to the mountains to hunt, but I couldn't catch anything. I went to town to buy things on credit, but people wouldn't even let me in the door because of my tattered clothes. The night she gave birth, it was raining heavily. The roof was leaking, and rainwater dripped onto her face, but she was still smiling. She said, 'Look, this child looks like you.'"

“I didn’t have time to name him. They died on the same day. That evening, there was a beautiful light on the horizon. She sat at the door with her child in her arms, looking at the light, and said it was so beautiful. Then the light dimmed, it got dark, and I couldn’t see anything. When I could see again, she was still there, the child was still in her arms, but they were no longer moving.”

"Later I learned that the light was not light, but the afterglow of a deity's descent. He was just passing by, my wife, my children, my neighbors, everyone I knew. He didn't even leave behind any bodies, only I survived."

His fingers clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

“I don’t know why. I’m not in good health, I’m not strong, and I’m timid. I can’t even watch when they slaughter pigs in the village. But I survived.”

When the man in black spoke again, his voice returned to its previous calm.

“After that, I forgot even the smiles of my wife and daughters. I don’t remember what they looked like, what their voices were like, or what their laughter was like. I have nothing, or rather, the only thing I have is hatred for Him.”

His tone contained no joy, no excitement, only an indescribable calmness.

It's like someone has waited for a very, very long time, and finally, they get a result. They didn't receive that result themselves, but they no longer care.

He was just confirming, confirming that the thing that had taken everything from him was really gone.

He took out a box from his robe. The box was not large, about two feet long and one foot wide, and was completely black with no decoration on its surface.

“This is His collection. He hid it in a crypt on the island, sealed with a curse. Those curses are dangerous to the living, but they have no effect on me.”

“He is dead, so these things have no owner.” The man in black robes pushed the box in front of Lin Yi.

“I searched His palace and brought back everything I could find. It’s just gathering dust there anyway, so I’ll give it to you.”

He looked up, and the two eerie blue flames stared at Lin Yi. "I don't need these things. I just need to know that He is dead, that's enough."

“There’s another one on the island.” The black-robed man’s voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself. “A seed. A seed left behind by the God of Nightmares. He is dead, but the seed remains. Sooner or later, that thing will grow into a new ancient god. Having witnessed the cruelty of the ancient gods, I cannot allow such a thing to happen.”

He raised the skeletal hand and pointed it at Agati.

Agati froze, her mind blank, unable to remember or say anything. She simply stood there, staring at the hand pointing at her, watching the two eerie blue flames dance before her.

"I'll give you a chance this time because my benefactor is here, but I won't let you off the hook next time."

After saying this, the man in the black robe walked towards the wall in the corner of the room.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished completely into the wall, leaving not a trace.

The room remained quiet for a long time.

Mond was the first to break the silence, scratching his head, his confusion almost overflowing.

“That…” He pointed to the wall where the man in black had disappeared, then to Agati standing by the window, “He’s gone? Wasn’t he supposed to be looking for her? Why is he gone?”

Lin Yi looked at her, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke.

"The seed he mentioned, is it you?"

Agati's body trembled slightly. She lowered her head, stared at her toes, and remained silent for a long time.

"Yes." (End of Chapter)