Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Lin Gui raised an eyebrow and glanced at the document.

He took it and turned to the first page.

The first line of text that catches the eye is:

"The man (Lin Gui) pays the woman (Elvia) 10,000 gold coins per week as living expenses."

Lin Gui looked down.

There are a few more lines of text after this:

"The man must be responsible for the woman's three meals a day and cannot make any excuses to shirk this responsibility."

"The man is required to purchase any reasonable luxury items for the woman, including but not limited to clothing, jewelry, and cosmetics."

"The man must guarantee the woman's personal safety and must not put her in a dangerous situation."

Lin Gui's lips twitched.

He continued scrolling down.

Next page.

"The woman (Elvia) voluntarily joined the man's (Lin Gui) revolutionary revenge plan."

"The woman must unconditionally obey the man's strategic arrangements and must not act on her own."

"The woman needs to use her political experience accumulated in the Carter capital to provide the man with strategic support in dealing with nobles and powerful figures."

"The woman needs to..."

Lin Gui didn't finish reading it.

He closed the file and looked up at Elvia.

Elvia looked at him with half-closed eyes.

"How is it?"

Her voice was languid, like a cat basking in the sun.

"I wrote this very seriously for a long time."

Lin Gui placed the file on the bedside table without any expression.

"You call this being serious?"

Elvia nodded confidently.

"certainly."

She shrank further under the covers, leaving only her face visible.

"Ten thousand gold coins a week is already very little."

"Back in the capital of Carter, I used to spend 100,000 gold coins a month just on clothes."

Lin Gui looked at her speechlessly.

That was your past.

You don't have a single penny right now.

Elvia pursed her lips.

That's why I contacted you.

Her voice softened slightly.

"As a princess of a country, and without any foundation, she fought against the third prince and the eldest princess for so long."

She paused, her eyes becoming serious.

"I may not be much in combat."

"But no one knows better than me how to deal with aristocratic power."

Lin Gui remained silent.

Elvia looked at him, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"You poisoned me back then."

"Isn't that part of the consideration?"

Lin Gui remained silent for a while.

"really."

He did not deny it.

The reason I gave Elvia the Demonic Kiss wasn't just to control her.

He wanted to tie her to his boat.

It wasn't because of her fighting ability.

It was for what was in her head.

She survived so many years of power struggles in Carter's capital.

Without the support of her maternal clan, and without a powerful knightly order.

She has to rely on herself.

This ability is more valuable than any high-level magic.

Lin Gui cannot fight the alliance alone.

He brought up the entire city of Karan, but that was just the beginning.

There wasn't a single person who could truly assist him in his core operations.

Despite having opened so many post offices, he still only has himself as a permanent employee.

He needs people.

He needs someone who can help him deal with those complicated and troublesome aristocratic relationships.

We need people who can find loopholes in the rules of those city-state alliances.

Elvia is the most suitable candidate.

But the premise is that if he dies, she must also die.

Only being truly on the same boat can put his mind at ease.

And now.

Lin Gui remained silent.

Elvia, however, guessed what he was thinking.

She looked at him.

"If I were you."

Her voice was very soft.

"It's impossible for me to just let go of someone who can provide me with so much help."

"Especially since the enemy is so powerful."

She paused for a moment.

"If you really want to destroy that behemoth."

"There should be no room for so-called sympathy or morality."

"They shouldn't let me off the hook just because I haven't done as many things as nobles are supposed to do."

She looked straight at him.

"And now."

Elvia threw back the covers, revealing her beautiful body.

The moonlight shone on her, and her face wore a strange composure.

"You still have a chance to make amends."

Her voice was very soft.

Lin Gui had no idea what it was.

They have a physical relationship and get married.

The devil's poisonous kiss was the premise for his initial trust in her.

But that's fake.

Now, what Elvia is doing is establishing a different kind of co-death pact.

Physical union, followed by the merging of souls.

Physical relations do not mean dying together.

In this oppressive, post-apocalyptic city-state, prostitutes selling their bodies are everywhere.

I haven't seen many people die from doing that.

Unless it involves the biggest taboo of the alliance.

The Spark Revolution is the Alliance's biggest taboo.

Despite Elvia's compelling request, Lin Gui did not take any action.

Instead, he asked in a strange tone:

"You did not succeed in Dragonbone City."

"Why do you suddenly want to join me now?"

Elvia tilted her head.

A smile appeared on her face, but her eyes were somewhat unfocused.

"Because of love."

Her voice was very soft.

"You have no idea how desperate I was when I learned that the Black Tide was going to erupt near the capital of Carter."

She paused.

"So when I saw you risk your life to rescue me, my heart was pounding."

Her fingers were pressed against her chest, as if she were sensing something.

"And afterwards, when you shoved me into the Golden Adventurer's Guild and sent me away, my heart ached terribly."

Her voice grew softer and softer.

"The thought of your bleak future makes me realize..."

"I may have fallen hopelessly in love with you."

Lin Gui's face darkened.

He interrupted, his deadpan eyes narrowing:

Do you think I'd believe that?

Elvia's words stuck in her throat.

Lin Gui looked at her and said seriously:

What truly made you change your mind?

Elvia fell silent.

She sighed.

Then, an extremely resentful expression appeared on that stunningly beautiful face.

"Because it's so damn torturous."

Her voice had a hint of gritted teeth.

"Do you know how that woman treated me?"

"That tomboy, she's using me like crazy."

"The cargo, weighing over a hundred pounds, is getting heavier every day."

"It's never left my side!"

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, and sat up in bed, not even caring that the blanket had slipped off.

"I am the princess of the Kingdom of Carter, a high-ranking knight."

"I carried a pack bigger than myself and walked through the mud for a whole week!"

"My feet are covered in blisters. The blisters break and new ones grow back."

"My shoulders were rubbed raw, and the scabs scabbed over, only to be rubbed raw again."

She held out her hand, letting Lin Gui see her palm.

There are still calluses there that haven't completely fallen off.

"Look!"

"These are my hands!"

"These hands used to touch silk, jewelry, and perfume bottles!"

"And now?"

"Now it's touching mud, rotten leaves, and those damned wrapping ropes!"

Lin Gui looked at her expressionlessly.

Elvia continued her accusations.

"Even going to the toilet requires several women to watch over you!"

"They said they were afraid I'd get lost, afraid I'd be carried off by a demon."

"I, a princess, don't even have privacy when I go to the toilet!"

Her voice grew louder and louder.

"At night, we just spread a tattered cloth on the floor and call it a bed!"

"That tomboy's stinky feet are right next to me!"

"That smell was even stronger than the stuff from the stables I used to keep!"

Lin Gui's lips twitched.

Elvia took a deep breath, as if suppressing something.

"Not to mention meals."

"Black bread, so hard you could kill a dog with it."

"Soak it in water for half a day until it softens, and it tastes like mud."

"Occasionally there's some dried meat, but it's incredibly salty, and you can chew it for ages without being able to swallow it."

Her eyes were a little red.

"Do you have any idea how desperate I felt when I asked that woman when she was going to arrive in the magic city, and she said it would take another six months?"

She practically screamed it out.

"Six months!!!"

"That'll take another six months, damn it!!!"

"Don't even mention six months, I'd die on the road in a month!!!"

She finished shouting and gasped for breath.

Then, as if giving up on himself, he said:

"I'd rather join you in a rebellion; at least I could live a few more years of enjoyable life."

"If I follow them and don't reach the magic city, I guess I'll have to start thinking about how to commit suicide without pain."

……

Lin Gui stood by the bed, looking at her.

The expression on his face changed from speechlessness to a strange calm.

He didn't seem to feel anything about Elvia's painful experience.

This is basically how a low-spec gold-level adventure team crosses the wilderness safely.

His journey to the magical city was far more arduous than this.

Eating grass roots is a common occurrence for them.

They were so hungry that they even gnawed on tree bark.

Once, he walked in the wilderness for five whole days without eating anything.

In the end, he survived only by eating the rotten flesh of the devil.

The smell still makes him feel nauseous when he thinks about it.

But it's much better than the pain in his heart.

He looked at the blonde princess trembling with anger, his expression strange.

"Just because you can't stand the hardship of crossing the wilderness, you're planning to fight the Alliance with me?"

This reason is clearly absurd.

But when applied to Elvia, Lin Gui found it strangely convincing.

He was silent for a long time.

Elvia looked at him, her eyes filled with resentment and grievance.

"Is that not allowed?"

"I came here from Dragonbone City in a miserable state, suffering all kinds of grievances and pain."

"What's most damn upsetting is that you bastard, even though you're so much later, you still arrived a day earlier than me."

"When I entered White Cliff City and heard the news that the 7-copper-coin post office had opened, I almost wanted to rush over there and bite you to death, you know?"

"Since the first stop is on the way, why the hell didn't you take me with you?!"

"You let me suffer that torturous week on purpose, were you fucking doing it?!"

Just thinking about it makes Elvia furious.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this bastard probably just dumped her as a burden.

While he was suffering in the wilderness, Lin Gui was already enjoying himself in the city-state.

A warm bed, enticing wine, and delicious food.

Elvia was extremely annoyed.

She stared at Lin Gui, her eyes filled with resentment.

"I don't care anymore."

Her voice carried a sense of resignation, as if she had given up entirely.

"I'm sticking with you no matter what."

"Wherever you go, I'll follow."

"If you dare to send me to any more adventure groups, I'll..."

She thought for a moment but couldn't come up with anything threatening.

He simply lay down on the bed, sprawling out his limbs.

"I'm just going to lie here and not move."

Lin Gui's lips twitched as he looked at her shameless demeanor.

"What are you planning to do?"

Elvia was perfectly justified.

"I'll cling to you until I drop dead."

"Since you've already gone to the rescue, go all the way and take responsibility for me!"

Lin Gui sighed silently.

His eyes held disdain, yet also an indescribable helplessness.

"You, a princess of a nation, have such meager ambition?"

Elvia closed her eyes and refused to look at him.

"Princess? Which country is she from?"

"The Kingdom of Carter is gone."

"I am now a poor, homeless woman."

Her voice was muffled.

"Just consider it as keeping me as a sugar daddy."

Lin Gui remained silent for a while.

He pulled up a chair and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Are you sure you want to join me?

Elvia opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him.

Lin Gui's expression was calm, but there was something in his eyes that she had never seen before.

"My future plans are not just about delivering mail and opening a post office."

His voice was very soft.

"I will annihilate the Black Dragon Army."

Elvia's eyelid twitched.

"Kill the Pope of the Church of Light."

Her fingers gripped the blanket tightly.

"Dismembering the city-state alliance"

Her breathing became rapid.

"Kill all those involved in the massacre in Xinghuo Three Cities."

"Whether the other party is a clan leader or a highly skilled expert."

"I picked them all out and killed them."

One terrifying target after another was lightly spat out from that mouth.

Elvia's eyelids twitched wildly.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Lin Gui looked at her.

This is your last chance to back out.

His tone was calm.

"Baiya City is a transportation hub, where transport teams are connected to the transportation network."

"We're still heading to the magic city."

"After all, the biggest buyer of White Cliff Stone is Magic City."

He paused.

"If you travel with the transport caravan, you won't experience the arduous journey that the Golden Adventurers endured."

"The transport team is very powerful, and it's led by a legend."

"Moreover, the transport team is very well-equipped."

"Unlike the Crimson Iron Adventurer Group, whose most important mage for crossing the wilderness is not of a higher rank than mine."

"The skill level of a team's mages is almost directly related to how comfortable it is to traverse the wilderness."

He looked at her.

Elvia did not speak.

Something flashed across her face, but quickly disappeared.

Lin Gui noticed that her eyes darkened for a moment.

It was as if something had been suppressed.

"I'm not going."

Her voice was crisp.

"I've had enough of that kind of life."

"I don't want to go through any more trouble."

"I just want to go back to living like a princess right now."

She paused, then added:

"You don't need to try to persuade me."

"I've thought it through."

Her tone was firm, but Lin Gui noticed that her fingers were gripping the corner of the blanket, her knuckles turning white.

The room fell silent.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the two people.

Elvia lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

She had no idea what Lin Gui was thinking.

I don't know if he will agree.

All she knew was that her heart was beating very fast.

Thump, thump.

It looked like it was about to burst out of his chest.

She waited for a while.

I waited a while longer.

Just when she thought Lin Gui was about to refuse.

"OK."

One word.

It's very light and very short.

Elvia's body stiffened for a moment.

Her fingers slowly loosened.

Several deep creases were left on the corner of the quilt.

She let out a long breath.

It felt like something very heavy had been unloaded.

Then, her heart began to race.

Because she realized what Lin Gui would do after agreeing.

Thump, thump, thump.

faster and faster.

She instinctively gripped the blanket tighter.

The fingers squeezed the fabric into a fold.

"Since you agree..."

She cleared her throat, pretending to be calm.

"Then let's get this done quickly."

Her gaze drifted to the side, not daring to look at Lin Gui.

"By the way, remember to treat me well from now on."

"It's like an agreement with me."

After saying that, she stiffened her neck and her face turned slightly red.

The moonlight shone on her face, clearly illuminating the thin blush on her cheeks.

She sensed that Lin Gui was moving.

His shadow moved from the window, blocking the moonlight.

She sensed his approach.

I could smell a faint herbal scent on him.

There's also a warm, masculine scent.

Her heart was pounding.

My mind went completely blank.

Then, she began to think about her future life.

I sleep until I naturally wake up every day.

There was hot food.

There are beautiful clothes.

There is a soft bed.

No more carrying that damn package.

No more gnawing on that black bread that was so hard it could kill a dog.

No more smelling that tomboy's stinky feet.

No more being stared at by a group of women while going to the toilet.

The corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.