I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

"Mr. Bai, please eat slowly. I have plenty more here."

Watching Bai Zhou, who was eating a crispy biscuit and unconsciously squinting his eyes comfortably, Jingzhe felt like he had discovered something.

"Does Mr. Bai like the cuisine from the Jiangzhe region?"

"Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine is fine to eat occasionally, but it's not so good to eat it often."

Bai Zhou's words surprised the girl. Did she only like desserts and pastries and not particularly favor sweet dishes?

"Because of my older sister's influence, I personally prefer dishes with stronger flavors."

Over the years, I've come to understand why people crave spicy food so much.

In the long, uneventful years of the past few centuries, we do need something to stimulate our minds and make us lively and energetic again.

"However, I quite like snacks like these to be a little sweet."

As he spoke, Bai Zhou took another piece of crispy biscuit and took a bite.

"I see."

The girl nodded thoughtfully.

"Phew, thank you for your hospitality, young lady."

After eating three crispy biscuits and satisfying his appetite, Bai Zhou thanked Jingzhe with a happy smile.

"Mr. Bai, there's no need for such formalities."

"Sir, you accompanied me here to hunt down the villains. I should be thanking you, but it would be great for me to be able to please you with some snacks."

The girl also picked up a piece of crispy biscuit and slowly ate it.

The food entered her stomach, providing energy to her body, and the girl's vitality, which had been depleted by the cold wind, was replenished.

"Phew, I've had a good rest, Mr. Bai..."

The girl wanted to ask about the daytime situation, and when she looked up, she saw those holy blue eyes.

Seeing the girl looking over, Bai Zhou smiled slightly and extended his hand to her.

"Bai has finished resting. Miss Jingzhe, let's set off."

Return to Sixty-Nine: Reality, Dream, Knife

Yan is a land of chivalry and righteousness. Chou is a person who hates evil as if it were their enemy.

The combination of the two represents his lost childhood ideal.

A flash of cold light, the blade cleaved through the bushes blocking his path. Shaking off the snow, the thirty-year-old Rupert sighed wistfully.

Because of a momentary mistake, he is now like a wandering bandit, unable to return to his hometown or report to the authorities.

Looking down at the weapon he was clutching tightly in his hand, Yan Chou's face twisted in pain.

"How can I get rid of it?!"

He swung his weapon haphazardly, and invisible blades of energy slashed out from the blades, splitting and shattering the surrounding trees, snow, and rocks.

"call……"

Having wasted half a day's energy, Yan Chou leaned on his knife, panting heavily. His breath turned into visible water vapor that drifted into the sky.

"Whoosh!"

A dark shadow pierced through his head like an arrow, and a thunderous roar filled Yan Chou's ears, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. The cold snow soaked his clothes, but it could not calm his restless heart.

Rupert's indomitable heart pounded endlessly within his body, like the ceaseless drumbeats on a battlefield. An inexhaustible source of power surged from his limbs and bones, as if his heart would provide him with endless motivation as long as he breathed.

At the same time, the knife he was gripping tightly trembled with his heartbeat, and a tidal wave of roars invaded his mind, as if trying to shatter his skull.

"what!!!"

Rupert's roar echoed across the plains, accompanied by the howling wind, truly like the clamor of ghosts and vengeful spirits.

The blade swung forward fiercely, and the invisible shockwave transformed into a tangible blood-red blade that tore through the incoming lightning.

"Indeed, no one should be underestimated."

It sounded like a girl's voice, but Rupert was too preoccupied to discern the girl's gender.

In the field of vision provided by his eyes, which were already red from the gushing blood, everything he saw became only two colors: a delicate gray-white image and a blurry blood clot.

"Thunderbolts, come forth!"

That clot of blood... no, the girl seemed to have thrown something at us.

Yan Chou roared, his blade flashing up and down, the shockwaves he unleashed precisely shattering those small, pebble-like objects.

"What... my decree..."

What edict?

Yan Chou looked at it, his body, internal organs, and viscera all sending him a message that made him anxious...

It yearns for bloodshed and soul-devouring.

It's just a knife... Is it because it's just a knife that it can so openly display its desires compared to the person himself?

Yan Chou didn't know, and he didn't want to know.

He just wanted to get rid of this harmful thing.

"It comes suddenly like lightning, and disappears like a white rainbow!"

That strange prayer again... Are you still praying at a time like this?

The rumble of thunder from the sky overlapped with the pounding of his heart, making it impossible for him to discern which one posed the real danger.

But the knife in his hand had already responded for him.

The towering crimson shockwave swirled and swallowed the falling lightning bolts like noodles.

But the danger was not over yet; a dazzling light suddenly burst forth before Yan Chou's eyes.

It was as if the sun had risen right in front of us.

"The first thunderclap was as brilliant as the sun, sweeping away evil spirits from all directions!"

The Qilin girl raised her staff high with both hands, and fierce, untamed lightning flashed on it, crashing down on the villain who seemed to have lost his mind like waves, tides, and waterfalls.

"Knock this villain unconscious and arrest him before Mr. Bai arrives!"

She initially intended to launch a surprise attack, but she did not expect the demon soldiers to be so troublesome. They not only prevented her lightning spells in advance, but also rendered her decrees ineffective before they could take effect.

But now, the girl has given up on the idea of ​​a quick victory and is going all out, using the strongest spell she knows.

But the other party's reaction was beyond the girl's expectations. The man just stood there, stunned, holding the knife horizontally in front of his chest, as if he wanted to take the blow head-on.

Although she didn't know why the other person was so stunned, the fact that the other person was unwilling to leave satisfied her.

After all, even a master wouldn't directly use their body to withstand such a lightning attack...

"How could this be!"

The lightning suddenly dissipated, and the scene before her eyes made the girl involuntarily cry out in doubt.

That lightning spell, powerful enough to tear apart a great river, was cleaved in two with a single strike!

Just this one strike...

Looking at the majestic and seemingly unstoppable lightning bolt, a strange thought arose in Yan Chou's mind.

And so, he gathered his strength, and then swung his sword.

His heart told him this, and his body responded in this way.

In his eyes, the knife sliced ​​the lightning bolt in two like a cutting surface. Yan Chou could even see the cracks in the lightning bolt as it brushed past him.

Two thoughts arose in his mind in quick succession:

This lightning spell is not perfect...

So... lightning can be cut off too?

He looked at the knife in his hand, as if he had remembered something.

"I also want to be a chivalrous knight-errant, whether I use a sword or a knife, I want to travel the world and uphold justice like them!"

Scenes of playing with his friends as a child flashed through his mind, and he still remembered what the patterns on the wooden sword he had carved looked like.

But... how many people actually realize their childhood dreams when they grow up?

Waking up every day to a monotonous and boring life... unchanging.

If it weren't for this sword, when would he have been able to abandon everything to travel the world, and when would he have been able to experience what it's like to be a highly skilled knight-errant?

Knight-errant...

"A knife is not a good thing."

He uttered whispers that he himself could not understand, as if seeking answers.

"But am I... a good thing?"

The joy of wielding the knife, the delight of harvesting, the satisfaction of tasting that salty, rusty flavor...

Is this something a chivalrous person would do? Is this what a chivalrous person would feel?

"Yes...a person who is not a good person at heart, no matter how much they pretend...will never really become a good person..."

"what happened?"

The Qilin girl looked at the villain in astonishment.

What did he do? Why did his demeanor suddenly change?

It's like... confirming something, and then going from confusion to certainty?

Is this also the effect of that demon weapon?

"Phosphorus...is that your name...?"

Yan Chou raised his hand and wiped the blade, not caring that blood was flowing.

Just hold the knife... just swing it...