Chapter 37: Recklessly Testing the Brink of Getting Screwed

“Uncle Albert, aren’t you cold?” Yiyi watched him slip off his cloak, jaw dropping like frost cracking on a lake.

This guy… short sleeves in knife-edge wind?

“Ah? It’s fine. My current realm… emm, you might not get it. Anyway, your uncle’s strong now. Nature can’t touch me.” His smile was a warm ember in a snow squall.

Yiyi arched a brow, suspicion like a thin blade of moonlight. Sacred Rank? This scaredy cat turned out to hold a Sacred Rank?

“Eh? But, uncle, didn’t you sprint here the moment you saw those soldier brothers?” Her voice poked like a twig at a campfire.

Albert was sipping water. Her words hit like a pebble in his throat; he coughed, face flushing like dawn. He saw the girl’s disappointed look—really disdain—and wilted.

“I call that a strategic retreat,” he muttered, like a banner flapping to save face.

“But when you saw them, you panicked hard.” Yiyi pursed her lips, a little storm cloud brewing.

“How can you smear me out of thin air!” His protest rattled like a kettle lid.

“You even ran with me on your back. Ah! Don’t tell me you wanna abduct me so—ah, you pervert!” Yiyi hugged her chest and sidled away, like a rabbit bolting into brush. (Hey, you’re way too into the act!)

“Anything a Sacred Rank does is not ‘running,’ okay? That was a strategic retreat. And I wasn’t trying to kidnap you, I—” Albert scrubbed his hair like sparks flicking off a flint.

“If I really wanted to snatch you, could you even get away?” He saw Yiyi still playing scared, sighed like wind through reeds. “Still want candy?”

Yiyi nodded obediently, eyes bright as dew. “Mm.”

“Good. Then follow me.” His voice eased like a hand on a horse’s reins.

She glanced at his forearm, hesitation like mist. “Uncle, what’s that on your arm?”

Albert followed her gaze, then smiled, soft as lantern light. “Oh, this? It’s my organization’s emblem. Nice, right?”

Yiyi thought of Isco from before, and her brows tightened like a bowstring.

Albert caught the twitch from the corner of his eye. He lowered his head, eyes narrowing like shutters, then tapped Yiyi’s nose gently. “Little one, let uncle take you home.”

At that instant, a strange breath slipped in through the nose-tip and into Eli’s body, like cold smoke curling into a locked room. Eli’s face hardened. Damn it. He’s probing me.

He focused, heartbeat a drum in a fog. With a Sacred Rank pushing his breath inside, simple concealment was a paper screen in a storm.

He thought of the New Era Sect’s style, and that flash of killing intent from Albert, sharp as a drawn blade.

Eli ground his teeth. He looked like a little girl shadowing a Sacred Rank and sect member, yet carried the peak of a mortal’s strength under silk. What would Albert think? Most likely: hand rises, blade falls.

Eli rolled his eyes, gloom like rain. He’d planned to head to the Grand Duke. Skirting the city wall, he’d been snagged by this man’s odd move, like a fish on a hidden hook.

He was, for now, under the Ninth Prince’s banner. If someone messed with the Prince’s house, he should at least look. Who knew he’d meet this guy?

Final question: could Eli escape a Sacred Rank’s hunt?

Probably not.

So he had one path left: play the little girl well.

He crushed the sealing crystal. Power folded away like a river iced over. He chose a higher-level seal, the kind that might fool this man.

The price… without mana and Battle Aura, he couldn’t undo the voice-change spell, couldn’t cancel the body-shrinking enchantment. His shell stayed small, his tone stayed sweet.

In that heartbeat, Albert rose slowly, posture easing like a pine in warm sun.

Eli bit his lip, blood a thin bloom. He might slip a detail. If discovered while powered, he could at least kick back like a trapped fox. If discovered now… probably… trouble. In every sense. (Heh.)

Now, wait for Albert’s judgment, like a defendant watching a judge lift the gavel.

Albert crouched, scraped Yiyi’s nose, and smiled light as scattering petals. “Little lass, what’s wrong? Did I scare you?”

Eli brightened, relief like warm tea in a chill. Looks like I passed!

Suddenly, a stiff flicker ran through him. A special ripple swept from Albert’s eyes, scanning him again like moonlight combing a pond.

Albert finally nodded, at ease. He grinned. Two probes, and now he was certain: this kid was a plain mortal. Body empty as a quiet well—no Battle Aura, no mana.

But he sensed it: inside the girl, something was sealed. Not ordinary power, coiled like a sleeping serpent under silk.

So maybe this girl had caught some entity’s eye. It gave her power set to wake when she grew up. Or someone left a seal as a lock on a chest.

For the New Era Sect, this kind of inexplicable power was a moth to their flame. Curiosity burned like incense.

The girl’s tiny flash of nervous fear? Maybe she’s sensitive to energy bodies. With foreign power sealed in her, she must feel it sometimes, like thunder under the floorboards. (Thinking like that… kid, you’ve read too many novels.)

His stunt had clearly spooked the little thing.

Albert sighed, a reed bending in wind, and reached for Yiyi’s head.

Yiyi squeezed both eyes shut. “It’s over. I’ll die here.” Her dread fluttered like a sparrow in a net.

Then he just rubbed her hair. “Don’t be scared, little one. I didn’t mean it.” His palm was warm as bread.

Uh, that’s it? I got through? Yiyi cracked one eye, peeking like dusk through shutters.

Albert stayed crouched, smile steady. “Yiyi, did you feel something push into your body just now?”

“Yeah.” Yiyi nodded, timid, like a sapling in rain.

“Don’t be afraid. That was uncle helping check your health.” Albert’s tone held a pinch of pity, soft as wool. “Yiyi, tell uncle—do you often feel anything weird?”

Eli rolled his eyes, a cat tail flick. Finally slipped the net. But why does this fool sound like he’s flirting? The words felt sticky as sap.

He knew what Albert meant, but still—keep acting. “Uncle, that’s sexual harassment. You can’t say ‘check a girl’s body’ out on the street.” Yiyi stood hands on hips, lips puffed like a dumpling.

Albert lifted her up, then coughed out an awkward smile, dry as paper. “Sorry. Uncle won’t ask for now.”

Yiyi’s pretty face went stiff, like lacquer drying. Didn’t he know men and women shouldn’t be handsy? Even if his sex hadn’t changed, this guy!

Albert thought a moment, then said, “Yiyi, wanna join uncle’s organization?” Maybe that shut-in could analyze whatever’s inside her. With her sharp senses, her elemental affinity might be high.

Her future looked malleable, like clay under skilled hands. And those folks wouldn’t refuse a little loli joining. Even a native could be specially admitted to the New Era Sect.

Eli’s eyes lit, like stars over dark water. Then he shook his head calmly, a willow branch in wind. “No.”

Albert blinked, confusion a puff of smoke. “Why? Uncle can teach you really strong magic.”

“No means no.” Her refusal dropped like a stone.

“Emmmm why?” He scratched his head, nails rasping like crickets.

“Mom won’t let me get weird tattoos.” Yiyi pouted, gloom like a small cloud.

Albert rolled his eyes. So that’s it. He sighed, a gate creaking. “It’s okay. Uncle can give you a special pass—no tattoo.”

“Eh… then I could consider it.” Yiyi posed in thought, finger like a sprout to her chin.

Albert smiled, then pulled out a black box, a sleeping mirror in his palm. He tapped it with a magician’s rhythm. Seeing Yiyi’s curiosity, he added, “Little one, this is a phone. You won’t know how to use it yet. Uncle will teach you.”

He turned away and placed a call, voice steady as a drumbeat.

Eli watched, blinked. Why… so familiar? That thing called a phone…

Birand again?

“Hello?”

“Hello? Who the hell is this!” The voice from the line came hot, anger crackling like grease in a pan.

Albert arched a brow. Idiot. He snapped, words like thrown stones. “Fuck your granny, Richter. Check who’s calling.”

“Ah? Uh. Oh. Old Al. Sorry, I’m constipated. It hurts.” The reply limped like a lame goat.

Albert’s brow twitched. “Save me the crap. I’m asking—are you handling member registration?”

“Yeah. It’s me.”

“Good. I found a promising seed. Name’s Yiyi.” He turned back. “Yiyi, how old?”

Yiyi smiled, bright as a lantern. “Thirteen.”

“Thirteen,” Albert repeated, voice a stamp on paper.

“Holy—boss, you didn’t kidnap a loli for, y’know, hanky‑panky, right?” The line fizzed like bad wiring.

“Shut up. Keep it up and I’ll turn you into a human fountain when I get back.”

“Ugh ugh ugh.”

“She’s a beginner. Don’t assign any reincarnation abilities.”

“Eh? She’s a native?”

“Mm.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to Ascaraun. You don’t need to fuss about that.”

“Er… got it.”

“One more note. Inside her—there’s power that doesn’t belong to her.” His tone laid the fact down like a brick.

“Uh, understood.”

“Good. Now go deal with your… business. If I come back and it’s not sorted, I’ll have Harry make you regret breathing.” Albert’s voice went flat, cold as iron.

“Don’t, boss, I—I got diarrhea now, okay?”

“Can you stop being so disgusting?” Albert hung up, face dark as storm clouds. He saw Yiyi’s matching expression and offered a weak smile, flimsy as rice paper. “So, Yiyi… in our org, we’ve just got this one special idiot. Please understand.”

Yiyi walked off with a black face, pain like stepping on a sharp stone. Crossing a bridge, her foot slipped. She dropped straight into a fishing hole, water swallowing her like a cold mouth.

Albert jolted, heart a struck drum. He leapt and hauled her out. His left hand flicked. A violet bolt, viper-fast, shot out. It blew apart a big tree nearby, wood shards flying like birds.

The arrays in his eyes flashed, twin sigils like lantern wheels. The scattered wood gathered as if tethered, piling up neat as bricks.

He tapped a stone with small thunder, sparks flashing like fireflies, flame blooming like a hungry fox. He pushed the blaze with his will, fanning it to life, then told Yiyi, “Quick, take it off and dry.”

Yiyi lay in his arms, soaked, water streaming like silver threads. She stared, stunned—a deer in winter light.

Wait—he isn’t gonna strip me bare, right?

Albert looked at her drenched clothes, the little lass frozen like a statue. He quickly helped peel off two outer layers. Then he froze too, a stiff twitch below, a shadow stirring under fabric.

Eli saw it. His mouth twitched, sharp as a knife edge. He tore free and darted aside, arms hugging himself like a shield.

He glared at Albert’s awkward posture, then clutched his last piece of clothing, pounding a tree in fury like a drum.

“Heaven, help! A male perv’s hot for a man! I’m in damn women’s clothes! Help! I swear I won’t do it again!”