After the slave owners went bankrupt, they all wanted to keep me as a mistress.

Little Lina never quite understood this sentence.

Why can the right or wrong of something be determined?

It wasn't until the day the temple knights broke into her home, brutally murdered her parents, and accused her of harboring a witch, that little Lina finally understood.

It turns out they weren't people, but food on a plate.

It turns out that those noble gentlemen really could decide whether something was right or wrong.

Lina pulled her wandering thoughts back and stopped at the end of a dead-end alley that could barely accommodate one person.

At the very back of the alley was a pile of nearly collapsed abandoned wooden crates and miscellaneous items.

She glanced around warily, and only after confirming that no one was following her did she carefully move a few wooden crates aside, revealing a hole just big enough for one person to crawl through.

Without hesitation, Lina crouched down and crawled inside, then slowly moved the wooden box at the entrance back to block the opening.

She felt like a rat in a sewer.

Every day, I had to hide and return to this dark and damp rat hole, living in constant fear that I might be caught by a passing stray cat.

Lina slowly turned around. Behind the opening was an extremely small space, more like an abandoned cellar or crevice than a room.

In the corner, some dry grass and rags were laid out, which could barely be considered a bed.

A weak figure was curled up there, covered with a thin blanket whose original color was indistinguishable.

By the faint moonlight filtering through the cracks in the wall and the light from an oil lamp in the room, one could see a pale-faced woman with purple hair.

She looked a bit older, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Her features should have been delicate, but at this moment, they had lost their luster due to illness and weakness. Her lips were chapped, her eyes were sunken, and her forehead was covered with fine beads of cold sweat.

"Sister Sophie!"

The cloaked girl quickly crawled over and carefully helped the weak woman up, letting her lean on her not-so-broad shoulders.

"I'm back! Look, I found some silverleaf and calming flower, and I even dug up a small piece of ground yam! I'll brew some medicine for you right away!"

The woman called Sophie opened her eyes with difficulty. Seeing the girl return safely, she seemed relieved, but then frowned and scolded in an extremely weak voice, "Little Lina... you... sneaked out again? It's too dangerous... it's not safe outside right now..."

"I'm fine, Sophie!"

Lina forced a big smile and quickly took out a chipped earthenware pot from a corner. She took out the herbs she had carefully wrapped in her bosom, washed them, put them in the pot, added a little water, and placed it over the dim flame of the oil lamp to simmer slowly.

A bitter herbal smell quickly filled the cramped space. Lina stared intently at the earthenware pot, stirring it occasionally with a small stick, while Sophie leaned against a pile of hay, her eyes closed, breathing heavily, each breath seeming to exhaust all her strength.

"Sister Sophie, I almost got caught by a patrol of guards today."

As Lina looked at the medicine, she whispered about her day's events: "Luckily, I reacted quickly and jumped into the stinky ditch next to us. They didn't leave until much later..."

Sophie's eyelashes fluttered, but she didn't open her eyes; instead, she clenched her hands slightly at her sides.

"Later on my way back, I think I startled a den of cave hyenas."

Lena's voice carried a hint of lingering fear: "They chased me for a long time... I ran for my life, and even lost a shoe... Luckily, I climbed a tree that they couldn't climb..."

The medicinal soup in the earthenware pot began to bubble and fizz, and the bitter taste became even stronger.

Lina let the brewed medicine cool down a little, then carefully brought it to Sophie's lips and fed her little by little.

Sophie swallowed the medicine willingly, her brows furrowing with bitterness with each sip. But after the medicine went down, a faint, almost imperceptible color seemed to return to her pale face, and her breathing became a little easier.

After giving her the medicine, Lina carefully used a clean, damp cloth to wipe the cold sweat from Sophie's forehead and neck.

After doing all this, she felt as if she had been relieved of a heavy burden, leaning against the cold wall and taking a few breaths.

After a moment of silence, she seemed to remember something, and her voice became a little cheerful: "Sister Sophie, do you know? I was delayed a long time on my way back today, and the city gates were closed. I almost couldn't get into the city."

Sophie immediately opened her eyes, her gaze filled with worry.

Lina quickly waved her hand: "Don't worry! I'm fine! I... I met some adventurers! They were riding huge and majestic earth dragons! Especially the leader... he looked like a noble young master, but he seemed like a good person... he didn't charge me a penny and brought me in for free."

She omitted the details of her actively pleading, simply mentioning it in a single sentence.

But Sophie's eyes were sharp; she saw Lina's evasive gaze and slightly reddened ears and immediately understood what was going on.

Her tone instantly turned serious, even stern: "Lina! You...you went to beg them? You...how could you so easily approach those strangers! Especially those nobles! Do you know that your parents are..."

The intense emotional turmoil caused her to cough violently, coughing so hard it was excruciating, and her body curled up into a ball.

"Sister Sophie!"

Lina was so frightened that she quickly patted her back to help her catch her breath.

It took Sophie a while to recover, her breathing was even weaker, and her voice was even lower.

"Lina... listen to me... those nobles... not a single one of them is any good!"

"They appear respectable on the surface, but they are more wicked than demons in secret! Promise me... you will never do this again! Even if you have to stay outside the city for one night, you must not beg those nobles, understand?"

Lina opened her mouth, wanting to refute, wanting to say that the boy really did look different.

There was no arrogance, no contempt, and no disgust at her dirty appearance in his eyes. He helped her onto the dragon's back. The two older women seemed to be his servants as well, but they were also able to ride on the same horse as their master...

But seeing Sophie's expression, she just silently lowered her head, her small hands tightly clutching the tattered hem of her clothes.

"I understand, Sister Sophie. I won't ask them for help again next time."

Seeing that Lina was obedient, Sophie's tense expression relaxed, and she nodded slightly.

She lay back down, closed her eyes, as if she no longer had the strength to speak.

The room fell silent, broken only by the occasional crackling of the grease lamp wick and the faint breathing of the two people.

After an unknown amount of time, Sophie suddenly spoke again softly, her voice as fleeting as a breeze: "Lina... come here..."

Lina quickly moved closer.

Sophie raised her hand with difficulty, and a dark magic power with an aura of darkness swirled around her fingertips.

"I...I might not be able to hold on much longer..."

Lina grabbed Sophie's hand in a panic, her voice trembling with tears.

"No! Sister Sophie! I won't let you leave me!"

“Little Lina… I’ve already heard that the Empire’s arrest warrant has been issued. By then, their actions will no longer be as minor as they are now.”

Sophie's voice was filled with endless weariness and reluctance.

If she didn't use the magic within her body, she could actually hold on for a while longer.

But... as long as I'm still alive, the temple will find her sooner or later.

Lina has the aptitude to learn dark magic. As long as she doesn't go to the Abyss of Faith and leaves this place, she can still stand openly in the sunlight as a dark mage.

If the temple comes knocking on her door, Lina will be considered an accomplice of the witch and will be confined to the dark sewers like a mouse for the rest of her life.

"The little knowledge of potions I taught you... can't protect you."

"While I still have some strength, today...I'll teach you something else..."

Sophie extended her slender fingers and gently touched Lina's forehead with her fingertips, and the magic in her body flowed silently into Lina's body.

……

The next day, early morning.

Mu Qiu woke up early in the morning and had just stretched when he heard Vera's voice beside him.

"Ugh... My body is so sore and aching, Master. Were you too rough last night?"

"This is clearly a problem with your sleeping posture!"

"That kind of thing is impossible, isn't it?"

Vera raised her chin, revealing a confident smile: "I am Vera, an elf, you know? As for sleeping posture, of course I would lie very elegantly on the bed, but when I woke up I was pinned down by my master. Is it because my master did a lot of rough things to me last night?"

Mu Qiu's lips twitched slightly.

"Are all elves as narcissistic as you?! Take a good look in the mirror and see your sleeping posture! Next time you sleep, I'm going to use a magic crystal to record all your embarrassing moments!"

"Eh?! Not only does Master want to play with the beautiful body of the elven girl, but he also wants to record such a lewd scene for future enjoyment? Truly worthy of being the most lewd master among humans."

"I'll take that as a compliment to me being the most handsome man among humans."

Mu Qiu had gotten used to Vera calling him "lewd master," and he no longer had any expectations of "capturing innocent and ignorant girls with pure and clear eyes."

Even if the temple's saintess looked at him with disgust and said he had an unprecedentedly lewd gaze, he probably wouldn't be surprised at all.

He sat up and casually patted Fiona's shapely buttocks, who was fast asleep.

"Snapped--!"

"Get up! Fiona! We need to get down to business!"

"Are we... going to do it?!"

Fiona had just been slapped awake when she heard Mu Qiu utter a single word. Her pretty face instantly turned red, and she instinctively kicked her legs, saying, "Wait...wait! At least not inside..."

"..."

Before she could finish speaking, she saw Mu Qiu staring at her silently.

Eh?

Lord, the master doesn't want to do...

"When I said we should get down to business, I meant going to the Earth Temple. What are you thinking about?"

"..."

Fiona couldn't say a word. Her face flushed, she quickly jumped off the bed and went into the bathroom.

Soon, Mu Qiu and Vera finished washing up.

Perhaps because it was morning, Vera was unusually well-behaved and didn't do anything else.

"So, is your luggage all packed? Have you put everything into your storage ring? We should get ready to head to the Earth Temple."

Mu Qiu stood at the door of the room and spoke.

"Ok!"

Fiona nodded emphatically.

Vera pursed her lips, pushed open the door and walked out, muttering to herself, "I heard that the Holy Maiden of the Earth Temple usually wears a black cloth to cover her eyes when she appears in public. I think Master can also wear a black cloth to cover his eyes, so that when your lewd gaze falls on the Holy Maiden, she won't kick you out."

"She's a saintess, after all. She shouldn't be so petty. Besides, doesn't she think I'm just appreciating pure beauty?"

Mu Qiu refused.

He felt his eyes were very clear, at least clearer than Vera's!

Vera suddenly spoke up: "You reacted the moment you saw me. Is that your pure admiration? That's pure enough."

"Do you still remember what happened back then?! No, why are you focusing on that kind of reaction first?!"

Vera sighed, looking troubled. "It's because you're so lewd, Master, that every time I see you, I can't help but think of lewd things, as if you're trying to invade my retina like a little umbrella."

Mu Qiu: "?"

When he heard what Vera said, his ears were already ringing, so he had to shut his mouth to avoid Vera giving him another little bit of lewd elven shock.

The three of them left the inn and headed straight for the Temple of the Earth.

The Temple of the Earth is located on the north side of the city's central square. In front of the temple is a huge circular square, which is now packed with people.

Thousands of citizens gathered here, their faces displaying a variety of expressions—some pious, some expectant, some nervous and anxious—but without exception, they all craned their necks to look at the temple's tightly closed doors.

"what happened?"

Mu Qiu frowned slightly.

The Earth God Temple usually has so many believers coming to the temple to pray early in the morning, right?

Are the people here so good at praying?

Fiona stopped a middle-aged woman who looked kind and asked, "Auntie, what's going on at the temple today? Why are there so many people?"

The older woman had a look on her face that said, "You don't even know this? You must be from out of town."