Chapter 21: Saint Yi

The cold night wind from the wilderness continuously poured into Bai Jin’s lungs.
Every breath pulled at the intense pain from the backlash of Blood Evasion.

She held the trembling Vera tightly in her arms.
The soft, boneless body was her only anchor at this moment, supporting her will.

The silhouette of Twilight Town appeared in the night.
However, unlike the tranquility when they left, the entire town was now enveloped in a thick, blood-red light screen.

The light screen protected the town tightly.
The viscous, blood-plasma-like energy ripples flowing on it exuded a rich life aura.

It was as if this light screen were a living thing, each rippling wave its breath.

“Director Emma! I’ve brought Vera back!”
Bai Jin screamed with all her might, her figure stumbling towards the light screen.

Inside the barrier, the town mayor, Director Emma, and others were gathered together, their faces filled with anxiety.

When she saw Bai Jin and Vera in her arms outside the barrier, Director Emma cried out in alarm, “It’s them! Quick! Open a passage!”

The blood-red light cover cracked open a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.
Bai Jin practically fell in, holding Vera tightly.

The barrier closed again after she entered, isolating the cold wind of the wilderness.

“Sister Bai Jin! Heavens, you’re…”
Director Emma rushed forward to help her up.
Her hand touched something wet, cold, and sticky.
Bai Jin was bleeding from all over.

Other townspeople also gathered around, chattering.
Fear spread through the crowd.

“Where is Her Holiness the Saintess? Didn’t she go out with you?”
The town mayor asked anxiously.
The activation of the blood-red barrier meant that the town was facing a disaster.

And with the unknown crisis and the disappearance of their pillar of strength, the Saintess, they were even more panicked.

Bai Jin forced herself to get up from the ground, grabbing Director Emma’s supporting hand, and spoke to her in a rushed tone.

“Lilith… Her Holiness is in trouble! There’s no time to explain now. Where is Miss Louise?!”

“Miss Louise from the Merchant’s Contract Alliance?”
The town mayor was stunned for a moment.
“She lives at the exchange, but it’s so late…”

“Take me there! Immediately!”
Bai Jin interrupted him, her tone decisive.

She knew that everyone present was an ordinary person.
Faced with a strong enemy that could severely injure Lilith, they were completely powerless.

The only hope now was the person in charge of the Merchant’s Contract Alliance, Louise!

Only she, with the power of a contract, could possibly intervene in a battle between contractors!

Director Emma looked at the urgency in Bai Jin’s eyes and knew that the situation was far worse than she had imagined.
She immediately nodded, “Quick! Follow me!”

A group of people surrounded Bai Jin and the others, hurrying through the streets under the cover of the blood-red barrier.
The air was filled with a tense and suffocating atmosphere.

Soon, they arrived at the exchange.
Bai Jin broke free from the support, practically collapsing at the door, and pounded hard on the heavy wooden door with her fists.

“Louise! Open the door! Miss Louise! Open the door, quick!!”

There was a dead silence from inside the door at first, then after a moment, a slightly impatient and sleepy complaint was heard, accompanied by the sound of shuffling footsteps approaching.

“Who is it? In the middle of the night! The Alliance has rules. No reception at night for non-urgent, major matters! Even if the sky is falling, you have to wait until tomorrow morning…”

“Creak—”
The door was pulled open a crack from the inside.

Louise was wearing loose pajamas, her chestnut-colored long hair casually draped over her shoulders, her face still showing her displeasure at being woken up.

The red-framed glasses were crooked on her nose.
She poked her head out with sleepy eyes.
“What’s all the noise… uh, hmm?”

The complaints came to an abrupt halt.

Outside the door was a dense crowd of terrified townspeople.
Overhead was a barrier emitting an ominous blood-red light, enveloping the entire night sky.

And at the very front stood Bai Jin, covered in blood, her breath faint, yet her eyes were anxious.

Louise’s sleepiness was instantly scared away by this scene, and she was completely awake.

“This is… the Holy Blood Barrier,”
Her gaze quickly swept over the crowd, finally settling on Bai Jin.

“You are… Lilith’s attendant nun? What happened?”

Bai Jin took a step forward, her blood-stained hand grabbing the doorframe tightly to support her crumbling body.

She looked directly into Louise’s eyes, with a desperate plea, “Her Holiness the Saintess is in the wilderness outside the town!”

“She encountered a strong member of the God-Burying Society! She’s trapped in a strange black cover! I beg you! Miss Louise! Only you can save her now!”

The air seemed to freeze.
The townspeople held their breath, their gazes all focused on Louise, their eyes full of pleading.

The surprise on Louise’s face quickly faded, replaced by the calmness of a merchant, or even… indifference.

She adjusted her glasses, the gaze behind the lenses sharply scrutinizing Bai Jin, her tone becoming business-like.

“A strong member of the God-Burying Society? Save the Saintess?”
She shook her head slightly, her voice clear and cold.

“Sister Bai Jin, I sympathize with your situation and understand your anxiety.”

“However, the Merchant’s Contract Alliance has its own rules.”

She held up her index finger and shook it slightly.
“Under the Merchant’s Contract, everything is a transaction.”

“Risks need to be offset by a corresponding price. Saving a Saintess trapped by the God-Burying Society, the risk involved could be my life, you know~”

Louise’s gaze swept over Bai Jin’s blood-soaked nun’s habit, and her empty hands, her flat tone carrying a bone-chilling coldness.

“So, what can you pay? Or rather, what do you have now?”

She leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping, yet it was like a heavy hammer striking Bai Jin’s heart.

“Are you a member of the Alliance? Do you have an equivalent to pay for this rescue service?”

“Your life? Or the lives of everyone here? Is their value enough?”

Bai Jin’s heart instantly sank to the bottom.
Louise’s words were like ice picks, piercing through her last bit of luck.

‘That’s right, what did she have? She was just a transmigrator who had occupied someone else’s body, a plaything imprisoned by Lilith, a penniless, fake nun who couldn’t even control her own power…’

The only thing she could rely on was the life force from Lilith, which was now chaotic and weak due to the isolation of the contract.

Bai Jin tried to argue, “Isn’t Lilith your partner? If she dies, who else can you cooperate with in Twilight Town?”

Louise’s tone became distant.
“Heh, that’s just fine. Do you think I want to stay in this remote little town where I can’t make much profit?”

“In the Alliance, there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests.”

“When there’s no more business here, I can be transferred back to the headquarters and choose a new post.”

Bai Jin was still trying to think of a way.
“Then let’s save her first, and deduct the payment from Lilith’s Merchant’s Contract later. Will that work?”

“A verbal promise is far less useful than a contract in hand. Besides, can you sign a contract with me on behalf of Lilith?”

A huge sense of powerlessness and grief surged into her heart, making Bai Jin’s vision go black.

‘That’s right, talking about feelings with a profit-driven merchant, wasn’t that asking them to betray their own interests?’

All the townspeople were in a bit of an uproar.
They never expected Louise to be this kind of person.
To save Lilith, they did not hesitate to criticize, curse, and plead…

And Louise just looked at them coldly, sighed, and was about to close the door.

At that very moment!

Louise’s body suddenly froze!

The shrewdness of a merchant on her face, the calmness of an onlooker, and even that hint of a sigh, all froze in an instant.

Her pupils suddenly contracted, then expanded into a shimmering gold.

The gold was like molten gold, flowing in her eyes.
An endless stream of information and an absolute will descended!

From her small body erupted an aura as vast and majestic as the rules of the world itself.

This aura instantly dispelled all mundane emotions, making her entire temperament become as mysterious and noble as a god’s.

As Bai Jin was stunned by this sudden change, the authority in her mind issued a notification.

[Descending Contract of Fate Detected…]

[Contract of Fate · Holy Exchange, Reverse?]