Chapter 61: The Retreat to Norlant’s Territory

In the lush, verdant woods, Aric, clad in plate armor, strode towards the wooden cabin, an oil lamp in his hand.

Upon reaching the entrance, Aric, about to open the door, paused.

He glanced back over his shoulder, his gaze filled with melancholy.

The anomalous space was contracting once more. If they remained there, one day, everyone residing within would inevitably turn to dust, returning to the earth.

With a sigh, Aric pushed open the wooden door.

“What’s the situation? What’s it like outside?”

The moment Aric stepped inside, Ailin, having heard the commotion, approached him, his eyes serious as he questioned Aric.

The wagging tail behind Ailin was a clear indicator of his inner anxiety and impatience.

Closing the door and hanging the oil lamp on the wall, Aric walked into the main hall, grabbed a stool, and promptly sat down.

“This question… how should I put it? It’s complicated.” With his fingers interlaced on his thighs, Aric leaned forward, chin in hand, his tone somber.

“Complicated? How complicated?”

Hearing Aric and Ailin’s conversation, Qi Lin, aware that Aric had returned from his patrol above, tiptoed from the stairwell and leaped into the ground floor hall. She then looked at Aric, who sat on the stool with a melancholic gaze, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

“The space continues to collapse. Up above, they’ve discovered your escape and initiated a city-wide alert — all to find you, or rather, *you*, Qi Lin!”

Aric lowered his gaze to the floor, recounting the current situation point by point. He specifically emphasized the words ‘space’ and ‘Qi Lin’.

Now aware of the situation below, Ailin and Qi Lin fell silent, beginning to ponder their next move.

“Everyone,” Aric proposed, “while the space is still relatively stable and they haven’t discovered us yet, leaving Candilac immediately is our best option.”

“Leave? But where would we go?” Arms crossed, Ailin looked directly at Aric.

“We’ll go to Norlant’s territory,” Aric stated, rising to his feet with a solemn expression. “Once there, we’ll have ample time to escape Candilac.”

“Norlant?” Qi Lin asked, her face filled with confusion. “Where is that?”

“That’s right, Norlant,” Aric replied, his expression earnest. “He’s Novas’s younger brother. We’ll go to his territory; only by going there will we gain a moment’s reprieve.”

Norlant, Novas’s younger brother, was a prince of Candilac. He had been granted unparalleled privileges by Novas, making him the first prince in the continent’s history whose authority reached directly to the Emperor.

After a long analysis of the pros and cons, and concluding that the benefits outweighed the risks, Ailin nodded in agreement.

Seeing Ailin nod, Qi Lin had nothing further to add.

“Good. No time to waste. Prepare yourselves; we leave today!” Aric declared, walking towards his room on the second floor as he spoke to them, having seen both agree to his proposal.

Ailin and Qi Lin exchanged glances for a moment before following close behind.

Back in her own room, Qi Lin looked at the person lying on the wooden bed.

On the wooden bed, Nia, dressed in a short blue nightgown, lay sprawled, hugging a pillow, sound asleep. Her ears drooped, and her tail gently swayed.

Looking at Nia, Qi Lin felt a headache coming on.

Ever since they arrived here, Nia had comfortably slept beside her. Yet Qi Lin herself had been constantly on edge, unable to get a good night’s rest.

Even though they had been here for less than a day, and she wasn’t particularly sleepy, the thought of Nia’s sleeping habits—the frequent kicks or slaps—filled Qi Lin with a sense of suffocation.

In the dead of night, she had even asked Ailin to take Nia back, but Nia had been completely unmoved.

‘Why does she insist on sleeping with me?’

Pouting slightly, Qi Lin walked to the bedside and poked Nia’s delicate cheek.

Feeling a poke on her face, Nia slowly stirred awake.

“Haaah~” Nia yawned, still groggy with sleep, as she lifted her head to look at Qi Lin standing by the bed. “What is it?”

“Wake up, get ready. It’s time to leave,” Qi Lin told Nia, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Leave? Haaah~” Nia yawned again, rubbing her eyes.

“Yes, leave! Our escape has been discovered. Aric came back and told us that now the whole city is searching for us.”

Qi Lin nodded her small head, her soft white hair swaying with the movement.

Sitting on the bed like a duck, Nia, still clutching her pillow, pursed her lips. “I see~ I understand.”

“Alright, then get changed!” Qi Lin said. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

With that said, Qi Lin stood up, preparing to leave, but before she could take a step, Nia grabbed her arm.

“What is it?”

Turning back to look at Nia, Qi Lin felt a little bewildered. ‘Why is she holding me?’

Nia stared directly at Qi Lin for a moment, her big, sparkling eyes wide. “Um… let’s change together!”

“Huh?”

Abruptly pulling her arm free from Nia’s grasp, Qi Lin stumbled back several steps.

“No, what do you mean?”

“What else could I mean? Just changing clothes together. Look at what you’re wearing.” Nia stood up from the bed, hands on her hips, eyeing Qi Lin.

“What’s wrong with my clothes?”

Looking down at herself, still wrapped in a fur coat, Qi Lin was puzzled by Nia’s meaning.

“Oh, come on, take off your clothes,” Nia insisted. “I’ll find you something else!”

Getting off the bed, Nia quickly walked to Qi Lin’s side and grabbed her hands.

“No, it’s fine. I’m perfectly alright as I am,” Qi Lin stammered, her face flushed with embarrassment. She desperately wanted to escape, but her hands were trapped.

Walking behind Qi Lin, Nia pushed her onto the bed. With her ears twitching and her previous fatigue gone, Nia looked at Qi Lin with sparkling eyes.

Under Nia’s wolf-like gaze, Qi Lin trembled and scooted from the edge of the bed further onto it.

“What are you afraid of?” Nia said. “We’re both girls, and these clothes are brand new!”

Having just pulled out a set of clothes from her magic dimension, seeing Qi Lin’s reaction, Nia was a little speechless.

‘Is it really that big of a deal? We’re just girls…’

“No, that’s not right! I’m a boy!” Qi Lin shook her head vigorously, like a rattle drum.

“How can you be a boy? You’re clearly a girl!” Nia declared, leaping from the floor onto the bed and tackling Qi Lin, starting to strip her clothes.

Qi Lin’s mouth hung open in an ‘O’ shape. Realizing her current predicament, she was utterly speechless.

However, the moment she felt her clothes being removed, Qi Lin immediately snapped back to reality, tightly clutching the garments Nia was pulling.

“No! Don’t!”

After a while, her struggles proved fruitless. Stripped of her clothes by Nia, Qi Lin gave up.

“Here, what do you think of this one?”

Nia retrieved a dress from the foot of the bed and spread it out for Qi Lin to see.

With a look of utter despair, Qi Lin glanced at the green long dress Nia was holding, shaking her head to indicate she didn’t want it.

“Hmm? It’s not pretty?” Nia flipped through the long dress in her hand, then returned it to her dimension and pulled out another set of clothes.

Qi Lin grabbed the bedding to cover her delicate, pale body, and shook her head again.

“…” Nia fell silent, only speaking after a long pause. “No, seriously, if this won’t do and that won’t do, what *do* you want to wear?”

Hearing Nia’s somewhat resentful tone, Qi Lin hesitated. “Um, do you have… do you have long sleeves and long pants? I don’t wear skirts…”

“?”

Nia tilted her head, but nonetheless began searching through her dimension. Having a dress code was better than continued head-shaking.

In a moment, she pulled out a relatively loose grey-black high-collared lace long-sleeved top and a pair of grey bloomers.

“I wonder if this is what you’re looking for?” Nia asked, unfolding the clothes for Qi Lin to see.

Qi Lin snatched the clothes as if robbing her and immediately put them on in front of Nia. She was afraid Nia would continue to pull out a pile of skirts for another dress-up game.

Nia’s eyes widened as she watched Qi Lin quickly dress before her.

“W-what is it?”

Under Nia’s unblinking stare, a thin sheen of sweat appeared on Qi Lin’s forehead.

“Emm… Qi Lin, you… you forgot to put on your underwear!”

Nia’s words reached her ears, and Qi Lin’s pupils slightly widened, a blush beginning to spread across her cheeks.

*Swish!* Qi Lin instantly grabbed the bedding and covered herself completely.

At this moment, Qi Lin wished she could burrow into the floor! The feeling of social death was overwhelming! *Wuwuwu.*

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