Winter.
Late at night.
The rooftop of the main villa at Jack's Winery.
Chen Lun and Floey were sitting up there, gazing at the Purple Moon in the night sky.
"Lord Jack, do you think the Moon Goddess is watching over us right now?"
Floey nestled in his arms and asked softly.
Chen Lun silently looked up at the crescent moon and after a while, he answered:
"Of course."
The old lady he had once t in Amber City was still vividly rembered by Chen Lun; he strongly suspected that she was an incarnation of the Moon Goddess Margaret... and there must also be a deep connection between Her and Floey.
Therefore, Chen Lun's certainty was not baseless.
Floey lifted her head, her fair and lovely face slightly smiling.
A breeze swept through, and the ethereal sound, weaving between the slowly falling snowflakes, sounded incomparably moving:
"Then will She bless us?"
Chen Lun once again affird:
"She will... We have already received Her blessing."
"That's wonderful."
Floey breathed out softly, resting her cheek against his chest, listening to the warmth of his heartbeat.
"Lord Jack, could you tell your story?"
Chen Lun bowed his head, lightly brushing her blonde hair, gently tucking a wind-tossed strand behind her clear ear, then kissed Floey's forehead and began slowly:
"I am a foreigner, Floey...I truly don't belong here."
His eyes were slightly distant.
In his bright eyes, the silhouette of Floey was reflected.
This was the first ti Chen Lun had opened his heart to soone since crossing over.
"Is your hotown very far?"
Floey leaned on him and asked, not lifting her head.
"Very far, so far... that I might never be able to return in this lifeti."
Chen Lun's voice was calm; he had long accepted this reality, but speaking of it now was sowhat lancholic. If his family was still alive, if things were as they once were, he would be having dinner at ho with his parents and sister, in perfect harmony.
But there were no ifs.
All that was no longer possible.
"Our family has a sort of 'curse,' my father and sister passed away one after another, my mother couldn't accept this reality and chose to escape... I was also supposed to die, but in the end, I miraculously survived."
Chen Lun substituted "hereditary disease" with "curse" because it was easier for Floey to understand.
Floey seed to sense his mood, and involuntarily extended her arms up, clinging tightly to his back.
"I have no hotown, Lord Jack... I was very young when I started wandering with my foster parents, and I had an older brother who looked after . But after he was killed by the Red Apple Church, no one cared for anymore... until I t you."
She spoke as if comforting and confiding.
Chen Lun chuckled softly and, like soothing a small animal, caressed Floey's back with his warm palm.
"So we are both holess wretches, wandering in this foreign land until our death."
"It's wonderful... at least I can walk with you to the end, to the Moon."
Floey spoke softly, pointing towards the night sky.
"After death, the soul will rush toward the Moon, which is our final resting place."
"If that is the case, then we will never get lost or wander, because we will always et on the Moon, right?"
Chen Lun couldn't help but smile.
Floey humd softly and lifted her head, and the two "looked" at each other and smiled.
In the cold surroundings, both of them were covered in a layer of pure white snowflakes, sparkling under the moonlight. Yet they felt not the slightest chill, instead feeling a warmth emanating from each other.
Chen Lun's thoughts seed to drift back to the past, to that era of advanced technology, back to his hotown, as he spoke with a tone of rembrance:
"I once lived in a bustling city, but the people there were no different from those here; most of them had no 'souls,' living life as though they were walking dead... or perhaps their 'souls' were too noble to be confined by their bodies."
Floey, half-understanding, pondered for a mont before gently speaking:
"But I can clearly feel your soul, unique, deeply drawing in."
Chen Lun took a deep breath, cupped her face, and touched the black vine fabric over her eyes. Floey, feeling his touch, removed it, revealing her tightly shut eyes.
Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and Floey slowly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of pupil-less pale eyes.
"Your eyes are beautiful, Floey... unfortunately, they cannot see beautiful things."
Chen Lun spoke softly.
On Floey's perfect face, a serene smile lingered.
"But I can see you, and only you, Lord Jack."
Shoo—
Boom!
Fireworks suddenly erupted under the night sky.
Between the buildings outside the winery, beams of fire shot up and exploded high above, turning into brilliant blossoms of fire, illuminating the entire night sky.
Floey tilted her head up proactively, the firework's light illuminating her cheeks, turning them a shade of crimson... In the darkness, as if a mysterious force was pulling her, she involuntarily drew closer to the soul that attracted her until in the cold surroundings, she found a gentle support.
After a while.
Lips parted.
Floey embraced him.
Feeling the intense emotions that could not calm for a long ti.
When the fireworks had burned out, silence fell around them once more.
It seed Floey rembered sothing and said to Chen Lun,
"Lord Jack, I feel that the next Sequence is not far off... and that dream appeared again, a familiar yet strange voice in the dream telling not to go forward, that the end of the soul is darkness, not light... Do you know what this ans?"
Chen Lun was slightly startled.
This was the second ti Floey had ntioned this to him, which inevitably provoked his contemplation.
Transcendents do not dream idly, once they do, it signifies sothing.
Chen Lun speculated whether this could be an enlightennt from the Moon Goddess Margaret to Floey, hinting at so potential secrets and dangers in the Moon Path...
But he could not be sure, after all, there was no basis for this.
To prevent Floey from overthinking, Chen Lun simply noted this matter.
He then soothingly said,
"Don't worry, Floey, it might just be a dream."
"Mhm."
Floey responded softly, burrowing into his arms.
Ti passed unnoticed.
Her breath gradually lengthened, falling into a deep sleep in the warmth of his embrace.
Chen Lun looked down at her sweet sleeping face, her fragile cheeks slightly lifted at the corners of her mouth, as if having a pleasant dream.
He raised a finger and silently perford magic to levitate, flicking off the snowflakes and ice crystals from their bodies. He then carried Floey, using instantaneous movent, back to her room, and gently placed her on the bed.
Chen Lun kissed her forehead and said goodnight.
*
*
*
A short while later.
Chen Lun returned to the living room.
The team mbers had already retired to their rooms, leaving the place silent and unoccupied.
"Co out."
He poured himself a cup of hot milk and spoke to the empty space in front of him.
The air rippled, and a spectrum that mortals could not see appeared; a faceless servant stepped out from a blue fissure, bowing to him.
"Happy New Year, Mr. Jack."
The ssenger said respectfully, holding a tray.
Chen Lun took out a gift box he had prepared earlier, which contained several dozen Gold Coins and a bottle of Supernatural Wine.
"You are much more sensible than so ssengers… Happy New Year to you too, ssenger," he said, placing the items on the tray with a smile.
The faceless servant bowed its head.
"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Jack."
It then voiced its purpose, delivering the latest intelligence to Chen Lun.
Just as Chen Lun rembered from his previous life.
The Black Knife Brotherhood and the Murder Club had embarked on their final battle tonight!
So ti ago, the Sun King had decreed to forcibly remove the Naturalist Sect's eligibility for the competition, and of the remaining supernatural forces, only the Mutual Aid Society erged triumphant. It was almost certain they would fill the seat of the new Righteous God Church, replacing the Red Apple Church.
But within the Mutual Aid Society, two factions had to compete to determine the true ruler.
The two factions had been at odds, ready to launch their final battle at this mont.
Across various main cities in the Tresor Empire's State Cities' Red Calamity Areas, battlefields bore witnesses to mbers from the Black Knife Brotherhood and the Murder Club engaged in fierce clashes. Clearing the Red Calamity was rely a byproduct; resolving their enmity was the real goal.
Even mbers of the Rothfuss family and knights from the Round Table Knights had personally joined, clashing in the Spirit World or higher dinsions beyond mortal ken.
Almost everyone in the Mystic Realm was watching this event.
The noise from the Spirit World and various places was significant, and they were also curious about which faction would eventually take control of the Mutual Aid Society and ascend to the seat of the new Righteous God Church.
"Mr. Jack, the Knight Commander personally led the Round Table Knights, fully mobilized, with the help and coordination of the Twilight Tea Party, and by tomorrow evening at the most, the final victor should be decided..."
The faceless servant said solemnly.
"I understand."
Chen Lun nodded.
With the advantage of foresight, he had requested a leave from the Round Table Knights a week earlier, not just to celebrate with his team, but also to temporarily avoid this final battle...
If he rembered correctly, at that ti the fight was extrely fierce, and now, even with the help of the Twilight Tea Party, the Club could not erge unscathed... Chen Lun did not want to risk leading his team into the fray personally.
He had already done enough for the Club.
If they couldn't ascend even with that, then even his participation wouldn't change the outco. In such a large-scale battlefield, the powers of the Circus mbers couldn't play a decisive role and would instead pose dangers.
Of course, considering his substantial contribution to the Club and the high regard the Round Table Knights held for him, even if Chen Lun outright refused to participate, the Knight Commander would agree.
But Chen Lun chose a more prudent, more emotionally intelligent approach.
"Mr. Jack, this is the Supernatural Knowledge brought to you by the Twilight Tea Party before the decisive battle began... The knights of the Round Table entrusted it to to deliver into your hands."
The faceless servant took a small roll of parchnt from the tray.
Chen Lun's brows lifted, and he eagerly took it and unrolled it.
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