Free Web NovelVieya had always thought she’d seen a wide enough variety of people in her life.
But an adult as single-mindedly simple as Marlam?
Still rare.
For once, genuine curiosity made her ask,
“Marlam, do you have a mom?”
“Ah... what do you mean?”
Marlam snapped out of her self-satisfaction—but her mouth was stuffed full, mint leaves dangling from her lips like some kind of noodles.
She squinted suspiciously.
“Are you insulting me?”
The little white dog cut in with a sharp bark,
“That’s right! She’s maliciously insulting your mother. We’re exposed! Marlam, once you’ve eaten your fill, attack! Fight! Only combat can keep us alive!”
Before he could finish, Marlam grabbed him with one hand and slammed him onto the table, ignoring his frantic squeals.
“No insult. I’m just curious about your upbringing,” Vieya muttered, wincing.
I’m a slime girl, and yet this pure human could crush my shoulder barehanded... without using strength or magic?
But Marlam soon released her shoulder, swallowed what she’d stuffed into her mouth, and only then replied slowly:
“I said already—I’ve cultivated since childhood. Early on I trained with my master in the mountains. After Master ascended, I stayed alone on the mountain. I grew wild vegetables, lived by myself, and would sometimes go down to help villagers with monster problems in exchange for salt and oil.”
“Then how did you join Ghost, that wicked organization? Were you recruited?” Vieya continued asking, quietly signaling Hua Shiyu’s group to stay calm—just keep eating and drinking.
“Recruited... Ghost?”
Marlam scratched her head, then suddenly turned toward the white-haired girl beside her with enlightenment dawning.
“So the ‘ghosts’ you kept talking about are those people!”
“Idiot Marlam! You’re only realizing it now?! That sly white-furred brat figured out who we were ages ago!” Pike barked.
“Pike, quiet.”
Marlam frowned.
“I haven’t killed or burned anyone, and I’m not some fugitive with my head hanging on a bounty board. Since they’re officials, they won’t kill without reason.”
“But we came here to cause trouble,” Pike protested.
“We haven’t caused anything yet. If it hasn’t happened, how can it be called trouble?” freewēbnoveℓ.com
Marlam said calmly, continuing to eat and drink at her leisurely pace. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
“But she tried to kill you the moment she met you!” Pike argued with deep grievance.
Marlam remained unconcerned.
“A little girl walking alone at night being followed—having some self-defense instinct is good. Besides, the Holy Sword’s special damage doesn’t work on me. It’s fine.”
“Unbelievable!”
Pike slumped across the table like his soul had left his body.
Immune to the Holy Sword?
Vieya narrowed her eyes.
She was genuinely curious why this beggar girl was so certain.
The Holy Sword specialized in slaying monsters, yes—but it was equally effective on humans, just to a lesser degree.
And the more sin a person carried in their lifetime, the greater the Holy Sword’s divine damage.
To be completely unaffected, one must have no karmic sin at all.
Even newborn babies carried karmic residue.
Even Vieya—its own wielder—was affected.
So what gave her the confidence to say the Holy Sword had no effect?
Vieya didn’t ask further. She’d find out easily enough—with another stab someday.
“Little sister,” Marlam suddenly said, setting down her bowl.
“That woman who treated me to a meal back then—you killed her, didn’t you?”
“Oh? You want revenge?”
Vieya folded her arms, raising her chin.
“Not revenge. The karmic ties between us already ended back then. I only find it a pity that things developed this way. Everyone could have had a better future.”
She still held a white porcelain bowl full of wine, cheeks tinted pink with drunken warmth.
“I miss that peaceful time... cultivating in the mountains, tending my vegetables, cut off from the world.”
“Then why did you come out? And why become their accomplice?” Vieya asked.
“Who knows?”
Marlam chuckled, then glanced at her.
“But you seem to really hate them?”
“Other than you, everyone at this table hates them,” Vieya said flatly.
Hua Shiyu’s group nodded in absolute agreement.
If not for Ghost, they wouldn’t have to run missions constantly, nor face life-threatening situations day after day.
Humans who mixed with monsters were far more dangerous than monsters alone.
“......”
Marlam lifted her bowl and took a small sip.
She didn’t reply—perhaps indifferent to their hatred, perhaps simply absorbed in savoring the wine.
After a long while, she finally spoke again.
“I don’t have a place to sleep tonight. Any suggestions?”
“Go sleep under a bridge!”
A squad member snapped.
Now that they knew the beggar girl was part of the infamous Ghost, their goodwill had evaporated.
If their leader hadn’t stayed silent, and if Vieya hadn’t shown signs of letting her roam free, they would already have contacted headquarters for reinforcements.
“Under a bridge...”
Marlam actually began thinking seriously.
She turned to the officer who’d spoken.
“I just arrived in town today. Do you know any bridge that blocks wind and rain?”
“Recommend your m—”
“Xiao Mo.”
Hua Shiyu cut her off before she could curse.
She turned to Marlam, face calm.
“How long do you plan to stay in this city?”
“......”
Marlam drank another sip, glanced toward Vieya, and said,
“Since our identities are all exposed, no need to pretend. I’m here to tail her. The length of my stay depends on her.”
Vieya stiffened.
“You’re tailing me? For what?”
“Want to know?”
Marlam stepped closer, breath warm with alcohol.
She used her height—head taller than Vieya—to press down with heavy, suffocating pressure.
“If you want to know... then tell me what that— that... um, that who?”
“Youze! It’s Youze!” Pike prompted.
“Right, Youze.”
Marlam leaned in.
“Tell me—what did Youze say to you before she died? Our leader is curious. All footage taken from her body was cut off. Why? Why was the surveillance left on her intentionally destroyed?”
Vieya kept her arms crossed, chin high, staring back coldly.
“We’re enemies. I like doing things that make you all unhappy. Any problem with that?”
“No problem. ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Absolutely no problem.”
Marlam placed her bowl back on the table.
Her drunken haze peeled away, expression sharpening.
“But little sister, do you know?
Youze was beaten to death after her authority and magic were stripped away.
Or maybe she bled out.
Or just died from pain.
You must really hate her.”
“I have no obligation to answer you,” Vieya said.
“Is that so? Then I’ll change the question.”
Marlam paused, then asked softly—
“That dragon horn—was it you who activated it and took it away?”
