Chapter 62: In the name of friends

Just before the illusion shattered, Weibai turned to Mei and asked, “Why are you all weepy?”

“Wahhh, my paradise… You just wait, Weibai! I will definitely find you!!”

Then, under Mei’s gaze that looked like it could devour him, the entire illusion completely collapsed.

“My lord, it’s terrible! The Celestial Kingdom has collapsed!”

At this moment, in the lord’s manor of Labia City, a servant rushed in a panic before a white-robed man, reporting frantically.

“Hmm, I know.”

The white-robed man responded indifferently, as if he didn’t care at all, waving his hand to dismiss the servant.

Then, another white-robed man nearby took two steps forward and asked, “The Celestial Kingdom has collapsed. Don’t you have anything to say about it?”

“No.”

The first white-robed man replied.

“The operation of the Celestial Kingdom is still in the experimental phase. The slightest error can cause it to collapse.”

“So this was within expectations?”

“Within expectations.”

“What should we do now?”

The later white-robed man sighed.

“Where should we conduct the next experiment?”

The first white-robed man paused, then walked to the room’s door.

“First, follow the usual procedure and investigate the cause of the collapse. Then, record the results of this experiment as well.”

“Alright.”

The later white-robed man stepped forward, standing beside the first one.

Pushing the door open, the two walked in one after the other.

The room was large, with bookshelves lining the walls, holding various magic potions, magic scrolls, and books.

In the very center of the room, a projection magic array was operating, displaying precisely the previous illusion.

The current projection showed that the once orderly environment had now completely disintegrated, looking like a complete mess.

The first white-robed man walked forward, stirred the projection with his finger, and pulled out a thin green thread.

It formed a small green light sphere at his fingertip.

“Hmm… Someone outside the experiment broke in, and their strength is not ordinary.”

The white-robed man analyzed, then placed the green light sphere into a glass vial.

“A light sphere in a vial… This person wasn’t purified by the Celestial Kingdom?”

The later white-robed man sounded puzzled.

“Logically, anyone entering the Celestial Kingdom should be assimilated to some degree.”

“Unclear. We can only infer they likely possess some self-protection methods that blocked the Celestial Kingdom’s purification.”

The first white-robed man replied, then pulled out a thin purple thread.

“And what is this?”

“A succubus.”

“Why is there a succubus in the Celestial Kingdom?”

Hearing the answer, the later white-robed man clearly found it hard to accept.

For them, the Celestial Kingdom was pure and flawless; such strange things shouldn’t appear there.

“It’s quite normal. For succubi, the Celestial Kingdom is essentially a huge cake. It would be abnormal if they weren’t attracted to it.”

The first white-robed man said solemnly.

Faced with these matters, he appeared extremely calm, as if nothing could stir his emotions.

“Alright, that’s it.”

After placing the purple light sphere into the glass vial as well, the first white-robed man stood up.

“I’ve thought of a good place. We can pack up here and head to the next site.”

“What place?”

The later white-robed man asked curiously.

“You’ll know when we get there.”

—

Weibai lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling light.

‘Weren’t I in the bathroom? How did I end up in bed after coming out of the illusion?’

‘Could moving in the illusion also cause movement in reality?’

Then, Weibai suddenly remembered something.

Because of the illusion, he hadn’t taken a bath yet.

Quickly sitting up from the bed, Weibai was just about to slip on his slippers and head to the bathroom for a shower when he turned his head and saw a familiar figure.

A silver-haired girl in a dress was sitting quietly on a nearby chair, holding a cup of tea and reading a book.

The moment he saw the girl, Weibai asked in surprise, “What are you doing here?!”

Hearing Weibai’s question, Taolani looked up and saw Weibai sitting on the bed.

Her crimson eyes were filled with concern.

The next moment, a look of delight appeared on her exquisite face.

“Little Weiwei, how are you feeling? Are you alright?” Taolani set the teacup on the table, disregarding any ladylike etiquette, tossed her book onto the sofa, and hurried to Weibai’s side.

“Wait!” Weibai suddenly shouted, forcing Taolani to stop, standing awkwardly by the bed.

“And when did you come in?!”

“I… I came in about two hours ago.”

Taolani fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, her eyes somewhat evasive.

After all, she had angered Weibai this morning.

Even she understood it was best to let Weibai cool off for a while.

Yet, she couldn’t restrain herself and had sneaked into his room.

In a foreign land, having received strict education as part of the Blood Demon royalty since childhood, this was the first time she had encountered another long-lived species, and they were even nominally friends.

She didn’t lack friends, but she inexplicably felt a fondness for this pure little elf, a desire to get closer from the bottom of her heart.

Perhaps it was the little elf’s innocence and sincerity that attracted her, making her feel a warmth different from others.

“Why did you come?”

Weibai hadn’t forgotten the morning’s incident, one hand already reaching for his ring.

“I wanted to… see you.”

Taolani now seemed like a child caught doing something wrong, standing somewhat awkwardly before Weibai.

“Fine. Two hours is long enough. You can go now.”

Weibai lowered his hand and spoke without emotion.

“But…”

Taolani tried to say more, but Weibai cut her off.

“No buts. As you can see, I’m fine. Don’t overthink it.”

After saying this, Weibai stood up directly, walked past Taolani, and headed straight for the bathroom.

Struggling internally for a moment, Taolani finally spoke up:

“Little Weiwei, I was really worried about you, so… that’s why I came to see you without permission. When I saw you lying on the floor, I really thought something had happened to you. If it weren’t for not being able to find a doctor at night, I would have wanted to take you to one. But there was no way. I could only watch over you, hoping you would wake up. If you don’t need it… I won’t come again!”

After saying this, a red light flashed around Taolani, and she transformed into a small bat, flying toward the window.

Just as the little bat was about to fly out the window, Weibai’s voice came through:

“If we’re friends, then why did you give me that fruit?”

The little bat turned its head and saw that Weibai had, at some point, taken off his pendant.

Mo Baiwei was silently looking at her.

Wearing the pendant and becoming Weibai could make her more mature and resilient, but the elf’s sensitive emotions would also be suppressed along with her bloodline.

Over time, these emotions wouldn’t disappear; they would accumulate more and more until they reached a limit.

Now, the little elf’s cheeks were wet.

Her pale green eyes gazed at one of the few people in her life she truly wanted to be friends with.

At the Adventurers’ Guild, he had companions to rely on, elders who gave him guidance, and newcomers he needed to teach.

But he alone had no friends.

And he couldn’t make many friends either.

Although he had comrades, unless they actively approached Mo Baiwei, the solitary nature cultivated since childhood meant that even at the Adventurers’ Guild, he wouldn’t actively seek out others.

The number of people she wanted to be friends with could be counted on one hand.

But besides Mida, the other two were: one, a very talented mage, an older sister figure, who had died unexpectedly during a commission; the other, a civilian girl, who was forced to go work as a maid in the lord’s manor.

The Blood Demon before her was the first person to proactively ask to be her friend.

She was also the fourth person Mo Baiwei truly wanted to befriend.

Yet, before they could even get to know each other well, this friend had given her a Hela Fruit.

If the pendant hadn’t identified it, she wouldn’t even have known what kind of fruit it was.

The Hela Fruit’s effects were doubled on elves and had hidden effects.

Considering all the effects of the Hela Fruit, Mo Baiwei could only think that Taolani had ulterior motives for approaching her, merely using friendship as a convenient excuse.

The feeling of being deceived was truly painful.

It would be one thing if her true colors were revealed from the start, but why did she have to deceive her?

Even if the other party didn’t want to be friends, she could have just made a direct request.

Why become friends first and then…

She just… wanted to make a friend, that’s all.

Hearing these words at the window, the little bat turned back without a word and saw Mo Baiwei, her face streaked with tears.