Chapter 27: The Mystery of Age

After exchanging information roughly, the two parties parted ways at the entrance of the Temple Knights’ headquarters under the mediation of Kleisius.

I was surprised that Ming Lan was so casual about letting her go, but the former’s exact words were— “What does it matter? Since the young lady is temporarily unable to accept us, there’s no point in pushing. As long as we can confirm that you and the Mask of the God Fox are safe, that’s already the greatest harvest in nearly a thousand years. We, the Lingyin Ethnics, have transcended beyond the river of the dead, and time means nothing to us; we can wait as long as it takes. The young lady can do whatever she wants without any hurry.”

Before leaving, he handed the White Fox Girl a small jade pendant carved with a pattern remarkably similar to her mask, saying that if she needed anything, she could always use this item to seek help from the Lingyin Merchant Association in any city, and they would do their utmost to assist her.

After that, Ming Lan bid farewell with a few Lingyin Ethnics.

On the way back to the temporary inn, Vilyric fidgeted with the small, exquisite pendant in her hand, her expression still showing unusual thoughts.

“The Lingyin Ethnics… God Fox… Xī…”

The White Feather Girl, who had stayed by her side and witnessed the entire event of the night, finally spoke her mind softly as the surrounding crowd began to thin.

“Do you think it’s just a coincidence of the same name?”

At her words, the White Fox Girl could only chuckle helplessly.

“Leila, why have you started saying such thoughtless things? Coincidences in names might be possible, but how could the name ‘Mask of the God Fox’ coincidentally repeat itself?”

She held up the white pendant in her hand, the little fox shape gleaming faintly in the night, easily distinguishable even without deliberate illumination.

“Look at this image; isn’t it almost identical to the mask I’m wearing on my face?”

After staring for a moment, Leila couldn’t help but show her surprise.

“This… really is, but how is that possible? Xī is clearly just your alias, not to mention if that Spiritual Fox Priestess that Ming Lan mentioned truly exists, wouldn’t she be…”

As she said this, the girl’s expression changed slightly, but she quickly shut her mouth, as if there were some taboo.

Though she and her sister had traveled quite a distance with the Priestess, they still knew little about her background and past. Vilyric, with her clear ties to the Little Dragon Daughter from the same place, had never discussed such topics either.

So, regarding this issue, no matter if it was the sisters or Tilysha, even Edwina, who had already taken the lead back to the capital City of Angels, each had their own speculations but tacitly avoided bringing it up.

“Hey, hey, hey, what do you mean? Do I look like an old lady who has lived for thousands of years? That’s too much!”

“Uh… Miss Xī, I think mere age isn’t a sufficient standard to measure a lady’s overall qualities, so you really don’t need to be so coy…”

“Come on! I already said I’m not some Spiritual Fox Priestess from the Lingyin Ethnics! I don’t even know that Ming Lan! And I certainly didn’t lose my memory! Xiao Guang, you agree with me, right?”

“Exactly, my master may be older than me, but at most, she should just be a few hundred years old and couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the Lingyin Ethnics. That fox-eared person is definitely talking nonsense, plotting something crooked.”

“Yeah! Wait, what do you mean just a few hundred years?!”

…

After fussing about on the road for a while, the girls still hadn’t reached a conclusion that everyone could agree on. Although the conversation gradually shifted to “how old is Miss Xī”—a topic that made the Priestess very flustered—truth be told, even Vilyric found it hard to clearly state.

Upon returning to the previously booked hotel, Vilyric found herself in the inn, sitting by the bed, stroking the smooth pendant in her hand while removing the little fox mask from her face. As the light enveloped her, she returned to her original appearance and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

“Age, huh…”

From the perspective of memories from Blue Star, she should only be in her early twenties, but…

The girl brought up her personal panel and stared at the significant “Unknown” in the age column, falling into silence.

“Xī, who exactly are you?”

Although she had several potential ideas in her mind, Vilyric didn’t have sufficient evidence to confirm any of them; they were still merely hypotheses.

Since that was the case, it was the usual approach to take it step by step. At least for now, this mysterious Lingyin Ethnic seemed very low-key and had no ill intentions towards her. Rather, they seemed surprisingly open-minded in some respects.

Could it be that this is the true ease of the immortal beings?

But what kind of incredible existence is the God Fox that could grant eternal life to an entire race?

Speaking of immortality, the Priestess couldn’t help but recall the underground organization, the Throne of Immortality, which she had encountered multiple times during her time in the United Kingdom and Beast Kingdom. Ever since Liliya defeated his brothers and became the Queen of the United Kingdom, those guys had seemingly vanished, and it had been a long time since Vilyric had encountered any members of that organization.

Since the Lingyin Ethnics possess the power of immortality, would the Throne of Immortality, which harbored similar ideals, have turned their ambitions towards them?

This… indeed warrants attention. However, according to Ming Lan, the main members of the Lingyin Ethnics still dwell on the outer islands, and those operating inland number only a few dozen, all fulfilling the initial agreement to help the descendant of that visitor manage the Lingyin Merchant Association. Few people truly know their real identities.

Moreover, the fact that the Lingyin Ethnics are immortal is already a secret similar to legend; after all, it’s quite shocking. On the surface, who could imagine that the cultured and slightly petty merchant Ming Lan is actually a creature who has lived for over thirty thousand years?

“Doo doo doo.”

A somewhat heavy knocking sound came from outside the room. Without needing to ask, Vilyric knew who it was and chuckled lightly.

“Come in.”

“Click~”

The door was gently pushed open and quickly closed again, revealing the golden-haired girl in her usual attire, stepping in barefoot and light-footed.

“Did you not read today, Master?”

“Um, after everything that just happened, how could I possibly concentrate? Did you find the things?”

The Little Dragon Daughter nodded, pulling a stack of documents from her pet backpack and handing them to the Black-haired Girl in front of her.

“This was found by Leila and the others. That Lingyin Merchant Association seems quite famous; flipping through it revealed a ton of records.”

“Thanks for your hard work~”

Even though she didn’t plan to do much for the moment, since such a situation arose, Vilyric definitely couldn’t pretend nothing had happened. No matter what, gathering more information about the other party would be beneficial.

And to learn about the Lingyin Ethnics, naturally, the most convenient method was to start with this Lingyin Merchant Association.

   

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