The little boy led Luo Wei to a small house, confidently stating that Troy was inside.

However, Luo Wei didn't immediately enter. She lowered her head and said, "You should go now. I'll come find you in three days."

The boy stubbornly stood his ground: "I'm already seven years old."

Seven years old?

Luo Wei looked at his small frame. He was so thin and weak that she had thought he was at most five.

"Alright, I understand. Now, hurry along."

The boy looked up, his big eyes full of seriousness: "I'm a seven-year-old adult now. I can protect you."

"Pfft—"

Luo Wei couldn't help but laugh, tapping his forehead with her finger: "How old are you really, claiming to be an adult? Even at seven, you're still a child."

"I am an adult!"

The little boy puffed out his cheeks, looking like an angry pufferfish.

"Go on now," Luo Wei deliberately put on a stern face, "If you don't leave, I'll assume you want to give up on my test."

Hearing this, the boy indeed became nervous. He looked at her twice, pursed his lips, and then turned and ran with his head down.

Luo Wei watched his figure disappear at the end of the road before stepping forward to knock on the door of the house.

Three long knocks followed by three short ones - this was the secret code the boy had told her.

After six knocks, the door opened.

"Who are you?"

The person who opened the door was a hunched little old man with messy white hair and only one ear.

"I'm here to see Troy," Luo Wei said with a smile.

The old man's expression changed instantly: "Who did you say you're looking for?"

"Troy," Luo Wei repeated.

The old man scanned her attire with his cataract-covered eyes and pushed the door open: "Come in."

There was another door inside, covered with a sheepskin curtain.

The old man lifted the curtain, his cloudy eyeballs turning towards her: "Troy is inside."

"Thank you."

As Luo Wei stepped in, a wave of hot, humid air immediately hit her face.

The stinking air was mixed with the smell of cheap alcohol and the heavy body odor of men.

The noise inside was deafening. All sorts of people sat around low wooden tables, some drinking and playing finger-guessing games, others rolling dice for fun. Their rough, loud voices seemed about to lift the roof off.

The counter near the door was filled with wine jars. It turned out to be a tavern.

Luo Wei stood at the entrance, like a little white rabbit that had wandered into a wolf's den.

"Hahaha——"

Someone spotted her and burst into wild laughter.

"Where did this delicate lady come from? Shouldn't you be at home counting your dowry, waiting to get married? What are you doing here?"

"Don't tell me she's here to find her lover, haha!"

"Come on, tell us which one of our brothers you fancy. We don't mind sharing, you know!"

"Hahaha!"

The tavern erupted in laughter. They spoke lewd words, their eyes shamelessly fixed on the girl who had wandered in, as if trying to strip her clothes off with their gaze.

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If Luo Wei were really a fifteen-year-old girl, she might have been frightened by this scene.

But she wasn't.

Moreover, the fact that no one had dared to lay a hand on her after standing there for so long meant that these men were afraid to touch her.

They probably recognized that she was either rich or noble, and only dared to indulge in verbal harassment.

Ignoring the crowd, Luo Wei walked calmly to the counter.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Troy. Could you tell me where he is?"

Behind the counter sat a big-bearded uncle with a red, bulbous nose and a waist as thick as a barrel.

"You're looking for Troy?"

The big-bearded man stood up, like a small mountain rising.

He looked down at Luo Wei, his eyes revealing an indecipherable meaning: "Do you know who 'Troy' is?"

"A swordsman," Luo Wei smiled, "I'm here to hire him."

The tavern had gone quiet at some point.

Those drunkards stared at the girl at the counter with curious eyes. She wasn't afraid of them at all, as proud as a queen, and she said she was here to find Troy.

Troy, Troy!

Did she even know who Troy was, to dare come looking for him!

The big-bearded man also stared at Luo Wei for a while, finally revealing a look of amusement on his face. He pointed with his hand: "Troy is in that corner, the one wearing the mask."

Luo Wei nodded in thanks and walked towards the corner he had pointed to.

Only one person sat in the corner, wearing half an iron mask that revealed his well-defined lips and stubbled chin.

He wore a large black cloak, the hood covering his forehead. When he raised his head to drink, one could see fiery red curls under the hood.

A figure suddenly invaded Luo Wei's mind.

On a dark and windy night, a man in a black cloak appeared at the foot of the city wall.

He told the dying original owner of this body that if she wanted to change everything, she should make a sacrifice to the evil god.

With her soul.

The memory faded, and Luo Wei quickly walked to the table of this mysterious swordsman.

"Hello, Sir Swordsman, how many gold coins would it take to hire you?"

Troy put down his wine bowl: "I don't accept employment from little girls."

He picked up his sword and stood up, walking towards the counter.

Luo Wei grabbed his cloak, and as his green eyes turned to look at her, she parted her delicate lips and uttered a sentence.

"To the darkness, I offer my—"

"Stop!"

Troy's gaze instantly became extremely sharp. He lowered his voice in anger: "Do you know what you're doing!"

Luo Wei asked with a smile: "So, will you accept my employment?"

Troy fell silent.

"One gold coin per day," Luo Wei waved one finger, "You won't need to do anything dangerous, just protect me."

Troy looked at her as if she were an idiot.

Luo Wei didn't mind at all that he thought she was a fool. She introduced herself: "My name is Luo Wei, I'm a junior magic apprentice at Siria Magic Academy. It seems someone has been trying to assassinate me recently."

......

The small tavern was crowded and full of prying eyes. Troy paid for the drinks and led Luo Wei out through the back door, coming to a deserted grove.

"Why did you bring me here?" Luo Wei looked around vigilantly.

The tall, slender swordsman turned around, took off his hood, revealing a head of fiery red hair.

"Weren't you so brave?" Troy's green eyes flashed with a cold light as he gripped his sword hilt, "Who sent you to find me?"

"You're overthinking it. No one sent me to find you."

"I just heard that there was a very skilled swordsman in Siria called Troy, and as it happens, I need a bodyguard, so I came looking for you."

Luo Wei seemed not to notice him drawing his sword. She stood on tiptoe to pluck a few five-pointed red maple leaves from the tree, planning to press them between the pages of a book when she got back.

Troy saw the girl completely focused on the red leaves, not caring about his actions at all, and felt somewhat depressed.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" he couldn't help but ask.

Luo Wei spared him two glances before returning her gaze to the leaves.

"What am I afraid of?"

Troy's voice was hoarse: "My hair is red, red like blood."

"I am the incarnation of a demon, covered in countless sins. Anyone who sees me will be unlucky, will be polluted and devoured by my soul."

Luo Wei withdrew her hand and turned to look at him: "Are you really?"

"I have killed many people."

"That has nothing to do with whether you're a demon incarnate or not." Luo Wei walked closer to him, her gaze falling on his vivid red hair, "Your hair is beautiful, like red maple leaves in autumn, or like torches in winter."

"When I see it, I only feel warmth."

Hair color is merely determined by the proportion of different pigments, which is related to their living environment and genetic factors. How could it represent a demon?

If we really say it represents a demon, with so many people dyeing their hair red in modern times, wouldn't the streets be full of demons, easy to catch?

Luo Wei couldn't explain to him what pigments were, so she could only analyze it from a historical and cultural perspective.

"I've read your history. Other people say that red-haired people are barbaric and evil, but that's because you are the true masters of this continent."

TBC