The pre-dawn night wind was cold, cold enough to steal away one's body heat. In the wilderness, Xiu and Father Cotton confronted each other, their eyes locked. Even the chirping insects, for some reason, had all silenced, hiding in the dark corners...

"Sigh..."

After a long while, Father Cotton closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. He shifted his gaze from Xiu and continued to gaze at the stars.

"Xiu Mula. Born to a middle-class merchant family in the Luowell Empire. Although not extravagantly rich, the family was affluent. Xiu Mula spent a wonderful childhood under the love of his parents."

"At the age of ten, his father sent him to the largest academy in the empire—Grace Academy, hoping to train the naturally frail Xiu into a magician. However, due to Xiu's extremely low magical storage, he failed several tests and did not meet the standard of a magician, hence he was refused by the magic department and instead joined the magic item creation department."

"But less than two years later, due to the vast difference between the magic items Xiu created and common understanding, and several incidents where users were put in life-threatening situations, Xiu, instead of repenting after several warnings, flaunted his belief that 'magic is useless, science is supreme.' Eventually, he was expelled from Grace Academy."

"Not long after, Xiu's parents died mysteriously. At just thirteen, Xiu alone handled his parents' funeral, sold the family property, and donated it to Grace Academy. Then, he began traveling alone. At fifteen, he became an apprentice under Delar Kulin, a former member of the royal knight's magic department in the Silver Moon Kingdom. And now..."

"The person with the name Xiu Mula stands before me."

Father Cotton spoke slowly, as if afraid of mispronouncing any word. Despite his slow pace, the iciness in his tone was exceptionally stern. Clearly, this was not the tone an elder should have when speaking to a junior.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Yet, facing Father Cotton's narrative, Xiu just listened quietly. After listening, he chuckled foolishly, scratched his head, and said, "Ah, Father. I know I'm bad. I've been learning magic with the teacher for almost three years and am still just an apprentice. Frankly, I've been scolded by Teacher Kulin more times than I've eaten at his house."

Xiu's foolish laugh couldn't melt the iciness in Father Cotton's eyes. As soon as he finished speaking, Father Cotton suddenly asked, "Then how do you explain 'Starlight Extinction'? This spell isn't recorded in any magic book, not even in forbidden books that are prohibited from reading."

"Ah, of course, there are no records~" Xiu's expression remained relaxed, "Because this spell was researched and invented by Teacher Delar Kulin himself. I just happened to peek at the teacher's notes once and thought this spell was interesting, so I remembered it. Ha-ha, after that peek, I was almost beaten to death by the teacher. Even now, I still get shivers thinking about it~ If you're interested in this spell, Father, why not go ask my long-lost teacher? Teacher Delar Kulin might know more details."

The great sage continued to stare at him, and after a long time, he sighed as if giving up, looking up at the stars.

"Xiu Mula... No, I'm not even sure if that's your real name. Yes, your resume is perfect. When you swore allegiance to the Grand Church, I had someone investigate thoroughly, and there were no mistakes. But now, I'm still very puzzled about your background. I'm not even sure which of your words are true and which are lies."

Xiu idly twirled his staff, smiling, "Father, you're overthinking. Actually, I do tell the truth most of the time, just occasionally spicing things up with a lie for entertainment. But don't worry, I would never lie about important matters."

"Is that so...? Well, I still hope to continue trusting you." Father Cotton withdrew his gaze from the stars, walked past Xiu, and patted him on the shoulder, "You... never mind, I'll still call you Xiu. Xiu, do you still pledge your loyalty to the Grand Church?"

At this question, Xiu's relaxed expression finally vanished. He put on a serious face and nodded lightly.

"I will follow any command of the Goddess without reservation."

"That's good." Father Cotton smiled with satisfaction, his kind and gentle eyes returning, "The Black Flame Serpent is becoming more active. Xiu, you must be careful in your actions. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Xiu nodded again, his gaze equally sincere. After receiving a satisfactory response, Father Cotton slowly walked back to his tent to rest.

Under the starry sky, Xiu still stood in place. Only after the light in Father Cotton's tent completely disappeared did the apprentice magician look up at the infinite sky...

"Hehe... Goddess... huh?"

He laughed.

※※※

After ten days of travel, the grand and splendid castle of Luowell City appeared before Mengdie and the others again.

"Phew~ Finally... we're back!"

It was the hottest part of the afternoon. The long journey had already exhausted the youngest Nia. Even Mengdie, made of ice and jade, was lethargically approaching Luowell City under the scorching sun, her ears and tail drooping.

"Whimper..."

The white wolf approached Mengdie, also panting heavily in the heat. But seeing Mengdie's tired appearance, it came closer and gently licked her ear.