Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

"This is a base???"

Elvia's voice carried a clear hint of skepticism.

"This is clearly a city-state."

"That guy, did he give me the wrong address?"

Lin Gui did not turn around; his gaze remained fixed on the gray-white city wall in the distance.

"Just go up and ask."

He emerged from behind the bushes.

There was no disguise.

Without the veil of darkness concealing them, they sneaked in.

And so, without reservation, I walked onto that path that had been trodden out by people.

They walked towards the city gate.

Elvia paused for a moment, then followed.

The appearance of the two people immediately attracted attention.

On the city wall, several guards peeked out, watching them warily.

At the city gate, people entering and leaving stopped and stepped aside, their eyes scrutinizing them.

We haven't reached the city gate yet.

A troop of city defense soldiers rode out of the city gate.

The iron hooves pounded on the gravel, raising a cloud of dust.

They blocked Lin Gui and Elvia, forming a semicircle.

The captain, who was in charge, drew his sword from his waist and pointed the tip at Lin Gui.

Who are you?

His voice was cold.

"What are you doing here?"

Lin Gui did not retreat.

He raised his hand and waved the letter in it.

"I am a messenger."

"I don't know where I am."

"But the person who sent the letter gave me this position..."

"Let me deliver the letter here."

The captain's gaze fell on the envelope, and his brows furrowed.

"Who sent the letter?"

Lin Gui turned the envelope over and glanced at it.

"Kwell".

The city guards behind the captain exchanged glances.

Whispering in a low voice.

"Kwell?"

There is no such person.

Have you heard of it?

"no."

Their brows furrowed even more.

The wariness in their eyes surged.

Lin Gui ignored their reactions and continued:

The recipient is...

He paused for a moment.

"Sylvie Villa."

The air froze.

The expressions of those city defense soldiers changed instantly.

Some people stared wide-eyed, some gripped their weapons tightly, and some subconsciously took a half-step forward.

"It's my advisor's name!"

A young city garrison soldier exclaimed in a low voice.

"Is it a letter from Miss Vera?"

The other person's voice was filled with disbelief.

"How could there be a letter?"

"Didn't the mentor say that it was someone she knew..."

"Did they all die in that revolution?"

"Perhaps... it was sent by a colleague from the publicity department?"

The third person spoke, his voice very low.

"They traveled to various city-states, seeking men to serve them..."

Speculation is growing.

The information conveyed in their words is also increasing.

The captain, who was in charge, coughed suddenly, and the sound was very loud.

The whispers stopped instantly.

He turned around and glared at those people.

Then he said to the person next to him:

"Go and call the tutor."

The man dismounted and ran quickly into the city gate.

The captain turned his head and looked at Lin Gui and Elvia again.

He didn't speak.

They didn't move aside either.

The surrounding city defense troops also did not move.

The weapons remained pointed at them.

Time passed, second by second.

Elvia got bored waiting.

She pulled out the magical toy she had bought in Deadwood Town from her bosom.

A glass ball that lights up.

When you press your finger on the sphere, halos of various colors appear inside.

Red, blue, purple.

It sparkles in the sunlight; it's beautiful.

The city garrison's attention was drawn to the toy.

No, to be precise...

He was attracted by Elvia's beauty.

The tense standoff had prevented them from getting a good look at each other's faces.

Now, that face, bathed in colorful light, looks unrealistically beautiful.

But their gazes did not linger for long.

I only glanced at it before moving away.

Elvia raised an eyebrow.

She appeared to be playing with toys, but was actually observing them secretly.

Observe this so-called "outpost".

It was clearly a city-state.

Moreover, it is a city-state that is not marked on any city-state map.

However, it was a place designated by an inspector.

They also observed the city's garrison.

The armor was rough and showed signs of repair in several places.

The horseshoes were worn out and badly damaged.

Their eyes held a shadow of gloom and restraint that appeared intermittently.

Elvia had seen that look in a group of people before.

Rebels.

But to her surprise...

The other person was attracted by her appearance but did not linger for a moment.

They didn't even glance at it twice.

This is inconsistent with the characteristics of the rebels, who are characterized by naked desires and repressed personalities.

Or are they just used to seeing beautiful women?

Elvia soon learned the reason.

In the distance, a figure is walking towards us.

He was wearing a hood, which concealed his face.

She is petite and walks with a light gait.

Upon seeing the figure, the city's garrison soldiers quickly made way for him.

The captain sheathed his sword and bowed slightly.

The figure walked up to Lin Gui and Elvia.

He reached out and took off his hood.

A pair of large, furry ears popped out from the hair.

Its light blue fur is soft and fluffy.

Her face was small, and her features were so delicate that they looked like they had been painted on.

Her skin was fair with a faint pink tinge.

Its eyes were light blue, as clear as mountain streams.

Deep within the pupils, something indescribable seemed to be flowing.

She was petite; standing in front of Lin Gui, she only reached his chest.

She looked up at Lin Gui.

"Deliver a message?"

"So, it's you who's here to deliver this message?"

Elvia looked at the demi-human in front of her with a somewhat surprised expression.

Demi-humans are very common.

In the capital of Carter, many nobles preferred to employ demi-humans as servants because they were quick and efficient and had an exotic charm.

She had seen quite a few foxes, whose beauty rivaled that of elves.

only……

She was seeing a fox clan member with blue hair for the first time.

Blue Fox Clan?

Elvia was sizing her up.

Lin Gui, standing beside him, simply glanced at it.

The other person looks exactly like Sivir.

but……

is fake.

From the moment he received that flyer, Lin Gui knew that this Sivir was a fake.

But he didn't expect that those guys would go to such lengths to destroy Xinghuo.

Same appearance, same hair color.

Even his clothes were the same as when he last saw her.

Only temperament.

The Sivir before him had a kind of artificiality that made Lin Gui feel psychologically disgusted.

That old woman who always pretends to be a young girl, whose age is unknown, would never do that.

And, most importantly...

She didn't recognize herself.

Lin Gui handed over the letter.

"Your letter."

Sivir took the envelope and glanced down at it.

Lin Gui turned around, preparing to leave.

"etc."

A voice came from behind me.

Lin Gui stopped and turned around.

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

The smile was intriguing, but it was quickly masked by kindness.

She looked down at the contents of the letter.

The interest in his eyes and brows grew increasingly pronounced.

She spoke as if reading a letter aloud:

"Seven Copper Coin Post Office..."

"Sending letters to the vast majority of the underprivileged..."

Is this true?

Elvia quietly reached out and tugged at Lin Gui's sleeve.

He was being gestured to stay out of it.

Lin Gui calmly turned around.

"It is not a letter sent to the vast majority of the underprivileged."

He paused.

"It's everyone."

"Whether refugees or nobles..."

"As long as there is longing, as long as we are on the path we set..."

"They can all be delivered for seven copper coins."

He also secretly opened the letter from the censor.

However, the content inside is all written in an encrypted font.

He doesn't understand.

He didn't know what message the letter was conveying to the imposter Sylvie in front of him.

He just needs to handle it normally.

Some of the city's garrison soldiers nearby secretly peeked at the letter in Sivir's hand.

He frowned.

"What does this say?"

"Why don't I understand?"

Sivir explained with a smile:

"The language of the fox clan."

"You wouldn't understand."

The man didn't ask any further questions.

Sivir looked up at Lin Gui.

"Can I send a letter too?"

Lin Gui nodded.

"certainly."

Sivir chuckled softly.

"That……"

"Let's enter the city."

"I will treat you well."

"And while I'm at it, I'll grab some stationery to send a reply to my friend far away."

Elvia's lips twitched.

Could this guy be planning to slip them a tracking message too?

She reached out and tugged at Lin Gui again.

wink.

He signaled to Lin Gui to refuse.

Lin Gui was completely unaware.

Instead, he calmly took it out of the mailman's package...

Seven-coin post office special letter paper.

And pen.

Hand it to the other party.

"There's no need for me to be a guest."

"I have the letter paper."

"Just write it down."

He paused.

"Please hurry up."

"I'm in a hurry."

Sivir raised an eyebrow.

Elvia secretly gave Lin Gui a thumbs up.

Clever enough.

Sivir wanted to speak again.

Lin Gui then pulled out another flyer from the package.

The seven copper coins were newly made by the post office.

He handed it over, pointing to the route on it.

"This shows our mail delivery route."

"Sending them to other places is also acceptable."

Lin Gui pointed behind him again.

"My captain is still waiting for us not far away."

The city garrison soldiers looked in the direction he was pointing, but did not see the so-called captain.

Several people showed obvious doubt and surprise on their faces.

"There are accomplices?"

"No, they're companions," Lin Gui corrected, his tone flat. "So please hurry."

The city guards exchanged glances, and one of them whispered, "Then let's hurry up and get the instructor to finish writing the letter so they can leave."

"Yes, let's not waste time, after all... strangers aren't welcome here."

The captain nodded slightly, his gaze shifting to Sivir with a hint of urging.

Sivir raised an eyebrow, a hint of displeasure flashing in her eyes.

But she didn't say anything.

Her eyes swept over Lin Gui's black hair and black eyes for a moment, as if confirming something, or perhaps just glancing at him casually.

Then, she lowered her head, placed the letter paper under her knees, and wrote a few simple lines.

After she finished writing, she folded the letter and handed it to Lin Gui.

Lin Gui took the envelope and glanced at the address on it.

This is not a reply.

The mailing address reads: Copper Gate City Magic Guild.

This is a letter sent to Tongmen City.

Lin Gui raised an eyebrow but didn't ask any further questions. Following the rules, he extended his hand towards Sivir.

"Seven copper coins."

Sivir paused for a moment, looked down at her empty palms, and then looked around.

The city's garrison soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment.

The captain touched the money pouch at his waist, rummaged around for a while, and finally pulled out a gold coin, which he handed over.

A look of pain flashed across his face, but he quickly suppressed it.

Lin Gui took the gold coins and bent down to count out a pile of coins from the package.

Ninety-nine silver coins and ninety-three copper coins.

He handed them over; the two bags were completely full.

The captain was dumbfounded when he took the two large bags of money. He looked down at the bags and then looked up at Lin Gui.

I really didn't expect that the other party would actually give me so much... money.

He was prepared to run out of gold coins, since seven copper coins were too small, making it difficult to make change.

Lin Gui put the letter away and turned to leave.

at this time,

"Wait a moment."

Sivir's voice came from behind, much softer than before, with a strange sense of intimacy.

Lin Gui stopped in his tracks.

Sivir stepped forward, her steps light, like a cat approaching its prey.

She walked up to Lin Gui, tilted her head back, and wore an overly sweet smile.

"I didn't notice you just now. You...you little rascal, right? Long time no see."

She uttered the name softly, her voice as gentle as if she were coaxing a child.

That was Shinjiro's exclusive, affectionate nickname for Lin Ghost.

Within the Starfire organization, only the real Sivir would call him that.

She stared intently into Lin Gui's eyes, her pupils slightly contracting, trying to catch any abnormal reaction on his face.

Surprise, nostalgia, panic, anger.

There was nothing there.

Lin Gui's expression remained unchanged.

He looked down at Sivir, his gaze as calm as if he were looking at a stranger.

"You've mistaken me for someone else," he said, his tone flat and even. "I don't know you. Such a beautiful fox spirit like you, I don't think I'll ever forget you."

Sivir's smile froze for a moment.

She continued to stare at him, trying to find some clue in his dark pupils.

But Lin Gui just blinked and then tilted her head slightly, as if waiting for her to finish speaking.

A few seconds later, Sivir looked away and put on a smile again.

"Sorry, I mistook you for someone else."

She took a step back and waved.

Lin Gui didn't linger any longer and turned to leave with Elvia.

Elvia kept her shoulders tense the whole time, and only after walking a dozen steps did she quietly let out a sigh of relief.

The two walked back along the path.

Behind them, Sivir stood still, watching their retreating figures.

Her smile faded little by little.

Instead, there was a gloomy, almost distorted expression.

Her expression was so unusual that even the city defense army captain next to her couldn't help but glance at her again.

"Mentor..." the captain tentatively began.

As if suddenly realizing something, Sivir's gloomy expression was instantly replaced by a kind smile.

She turned her head to look at the captain, her tone as relaxed as if she were talking about the weather.

"By the way, how's the thing I asked you to do going?"

The captain breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his expression still showed some unease.

"It's all done."

He paused, then hesitated before speaking.

"But... will any powerful mages really come to visit?"

Sivir laughed, a very soft laugh.

"Of course."

She turned around and looked again at the disappearing figures of Lin Gui and Elvia in the distance.

"If only their letters could be delivered quickly."

Her voice lowered, as if she were talking to herself.

"They'll be here soon."

The captain remained silent for a moment, but finally couldn't help but speak.

"Besides this, there's another thing I've been worried about, mentor."

Sivir did not turn around.

The captain continued.

"You have been secretly spreading the word about the existence of the embers of the star, inviting those with rebellious intentions to come to the city."

"Many people have come, powerful people have come, they've joined Starfire Embers, and I can feel their intense hatred for the Alliance..."

He lowered his voice even further.

"But more often... there are real criminals I can't stand."

"Are those people really worth winning over?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly felt a chill rise up his spine.

He looked up in astonishment.

Sylvie turned to look at him with a kind smile on her face.

That smile was so gentle, yet it sent a chill down the captain's spine.

"Relying solely on ideals is not enough to overthrow that behemoth."

Sivir's voice was very soft, as if she were explaining a simple truth.

"What the embers need to do is gather all the embers that have a rebellious spirit."

"Regardless of who they were before."

She turned around, her back to the city guards, and walked towards the city gate.

As I walked, I looked at the peaceful city before me.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the gray city walls, bathing everything in a warm hue.

As she watched all this, a slow smile curved her lips.

That smile was unseen by anyone.

It was gloomy and profound, carrying a hint of cruel expectation.