"What are you trying to do?" Axina asked distrustfully.
"To lure the people outside away," Luo Wei replied as she walked toward the door. As she moved, she tugged at her collar and tore at her already tattered clothes until a large portion of her chest and back was exposed. Then, she placed the wolf fur cloak she had draped over her arm onto her chest, holding it tightly with both hands.
The rustling sounds in the hallway grew louder, eventually stopping outside the wine storage room.
Luo Wei deliberately made her footsteps heavier as she approached the door and kicked over a barrel of wine.
"Thud!" The barrel toppled, spilling its murky, dark liquid onto the floor like a rushing waterfall, splashing everywhere.
She righted the barrel and tried to squeeze inside, only to quickly retreat. She then moved to the door, clutching her chest with her left hand, and gently pulled the door ajar with her right.
The door to the wine storage room opened inward and had no lock on the inside, making it impossible to secure. The bolt and lock were on the outside.
She opened the door slightly and peeked through the crack. Seeing no one, she exhaled a deep breath and closed the door again.
"Creak—"
A hand suddenly appeared outside, firmly stopping her from shutting the door.
"Ah!" Luo Wei let out a startled cry, retreating several steps.
The wooden door was pushed open from the outside, revealing the cold and resolute face of Arvic.
"Sir Paladin!" Luo Wei exclaimed, clutching the wolf fur cloak tightly against her chest. A blush rose to her cheeks. "You... Why are you suddenly... Sorry, I think I might have had too much to drink. My wings popped out uncontrollably."
Arvic's gaze fell on her wings—white feathers with black tips, resembling those of a stork.
"Are you a descendant of the Stork Angel?" he asked.
"Do you think so too?" Luo Wei's eyes lit up with a hint of joy, and her wings fluttered slightly. "My classmate just said the same thing."
Arvic's eyes shifted to the fur cloak she held against her chest.
"Miss, this wolf fur doesn't seem to belong to you, does it?"
Luo Wei shyly lowered her head. "I borrowed it from a classmate. I'll return it once I get back to my dorm to change."
"Is that so?" Arvic glanced behind her, his sharp gaze sweeping through the wine storage room. There was nothing out of place, other than the toppled barrel and the spilled wine.
"Why is the barrel overturned?" he asked.
"It's all my fault," Luo Wei said, her head hanging in embarrassment. "I was afraid someone would come in, so I tried to hide inside the barrel. But my wings wouldn't fit, and it was so embarrassing."
Arvic touched the gemstone on his chest. It remained unresponsive, indicating that she was telling the truth.
He glanced around the dimly lit wine storage room, which had only a small window. The air was thick with the sour and bitter smell of wine, masking any other scents. There was a faint trace of wolf, but it was so weak it could be ignored—likely coming from the wolf fur cloak.
Arvic felt a pang of disappointment. None of the five people he suspected were here?
"Miss," he asked one last time, "is there anyone else in this wine room besides you?"
"Someone else?" Luo Wei shook her head in confusion. "No, you're the first person to open the door since I came in."
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The room only held a wolf that looked human and a succubus. If werewolves counted as humans, she would accept her fate.
Arvic dismissed his doubts. "Alright, Miss. My apologies for disturbing you. I must take my leave now. I hope to have the chance to make amends next time."
"There's no need to be so formal, Sir Paladin. Safe travels to you," Luo Wei replied. She hoped there wouldn't be a next time.
Finally, Arvic left.
Luo Wei let out a sigh of relief, closed the door, and leaned against it.
Only then did she have the presence of mind to wonder why they mistook her for a descendant of the Stork Angel.
It was sheer luck. Her wings had coincidentally turned black-tipped, and the Stork Angel had long since fallen. It just so happened that the descendants of the Stork Angel were said to have such wings.
The Stork Angel was originally a divine messenger of the Goddess of Life, taking the form of a white-winged, black-tipped stork that delivered babies to couples longing for children. Granting the gift of reproduction was one of the Goddess of Life's powers. She had once held dominion over fertility, entrusting the Stork Angel with the task of blessing humanity with new life.
But the Stork Angel had fallen during the Faith Wars two thousand years ago, and the Goddess of Life had lost this aspect of her power. The authority over fertility was later transferred to Freya, the Goddess of Love, who now presides over both human desire and reproduction.
Luo Wei's thoughts grew chaotic as the danger passed, and a burning pain surged through her limbs and body once again.
Her tongue, bitten earlier, throbbed painfully with every swallow.
After an unknown amount of time, the heat within her body finally subsided.
Luo Wei retracted her wings and approached the wine barrel. Lifting the lid, she found Gladys curled up inside, fast asleep. Her brows were furrowed tightly, as though she were having a painful dream.
Fortunately, she didn’t snore in her sleep; otherwise, Luo Wei wouldn’t have been able to fool anyone.
Behind Gladys stood the Iceplain Wolf Tribe, the largest faction in Exile City. Saving her was a profitable investment.
The Abyssal Canyon was near Exile City. If Luo Wei ever wanted to explore the canyon in the future, she might need the Iceplain Wolf Tribe to guide her.
However, the thought of another person lying behind the barrels left Luo Wei feeling uneasy.
This had been the perfect opportunity to get rid of Axina. She wouldn’t have had to lift a finger; the Paladin would have killed Axina upon discovering she was a succubus.
What a pity. To protect Gladys, she had to save her enemy as well.
Still, on the bright side, she now held Axina’s fatal weakness.
Luo Wei turned and walked toward the racks of barrels.
Rounding the wooden shelves, she stopped in her tracks.
There was no one there. Only traces of spilled wine remained on the floor.
She glanced at the small window on the wall.
A strip of fabric hung from a nail on the window frame. Luo Wei walked over and took it down. The coarse linen suggested it had torn from Axina’s skirt as she escaped through the window.
Luo Wei tucked the fabric into her pouch and found a clean chair to sit on in the storage room.
Over twenty minutes passed before there was any movement from the barrel by the door.
The lid was pushed open by a head of silvery-white hair. Gladys brushed her hair out of her face and climbed out of the barrel.
"Awake?" Luo Wei asked, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at her.
Gladys jumped in surprise, her icy blue eyes wide as she stared at Luo Wei.
"Luo Wei, you’re still here?"
Luo Wei tossed the wolf fur cloak to her. "How could I leave while you were still unconscious?"
Gladys caught the fur cloak, her face uncharacteristically shy as she murmured, "Thank you for saving me."
"You knew what just happened?" Luo Wei asked, surprised.
Gladys lowered her head, embarrassed. "I knew, but I wasn’t fully conscious and couldn’t react."
Luo Wei nodded and stood up. "I’m leaving now to change clothes."
She gestured to her torn and tattered coat.
"W-Wait," Gladys called nervously, holding out the wolf fur cloak. "Wear mine."
"What about you?" Luo Wei asked, knowing the cloak was likely used to mask her scent.
"I’ll be fine," Gladys insisted, pushing the cloak into her hands. "I’ll go back with you."
Luo Wei considered for a moment. "Alright, let’s go together."
She donned the fur cloak, adjusted the collar, and left the storage room with Gladys.
The two descended the stairs to find the restaurant on the first floor nearly empty.
"Gladys!"
A voice as coarse as a duck’s quack rang out before Luo Wei saw its owner. The stench of salted fish filled the air.