Luke swung his sword. Light shimmered across the blade as a fierce gust erupted to either side, instantly dispersing the smoke.
At the same time, his sword swept upward and knocked Akali's kama out of her hand.
The powerful attack stopped at precisely the right moment and advanced no farther.
Akali stared at the longsword pointed directly at her face. Her reddish-brown eyes settled on Luke.
"Wind-Wielding Swordsmanship? Are you from the Wind-Wielding Sword School?"
"Looks like you've finally calmed down a little."
Luke sheathed Snowglance. The sharp sword aura surrounding him vanished instantly, and he once again appeared no different from an ordinary person.
That alone was enough to make Akali realize that the man before her was genuinely formidable.
Recalling the reputation of the Wind-Wielding Sword School, some of the hostility faded from Akali's eyes, although she remained vigilant. She frowned at Luke.
"As a disciple of a reputable school, why are you helping this fox demon?"
Luke countered, "Why are you trying to kill her?"
"I already told you. She killed twelve people around Tevasa. Rumors about a fox demon attacking people have terrified everyone in the region, so naturally I had to intervene."
Akali's words still carried a trace of coldness, though she was no longer as hostile as she had been at first.
Her attitude had clearly softened. Otherwise, they would not have been able to hold a proper conversation.
"I did kill those people, but every one of them was evil," Ahri finally had an opportunity to explain.
"If every murderer gets to declare their victims evil, wouldn't that make everyone in the world evil?" Akali replied, clearly unwilling to believe her.
"I only attacked them because they had hurt other people," Ahri insisted.
"You claim they hurt people, but where is your evidence? How can you prove they harmed anyone?"
Akali's question silenced Ahri.
She had seen those people's memories, but she could not share those memories with anyone else.
She truly had no way to prove that they had been evil.
Akali turned back toward Luke.
"And you believe a story like that?"
"I do."
Luke nodded.
"Why don't you let her tell you the entire story? You don't look particularly well yourself, so you might as well eat something while you listen."
"Fine. Let's hear what the two of you have to say."
Akali snorted and found a place to sit. She pulled out the dry rations she carried with her and removed her mask.
Her features were striking. Beneath her long, delicate brows, her almond-shaped eyes resembled a pool of clear water, bright yet cool. The nose previously concealed beneath her mask was straight and elegant, while her thin red lips looked somewhat dry, suggesting that she had barely drunk any water during the pursuit.
She appeared very young, probably around Lux's age. Her deliberately aloof demeanor looked like an attempt to force herself to appear older and more mature.
Ahri then repeated everything she had told Luke.
She did not mind recounting those painful experiences again.
She only hoped that she could clear up Akali's misunderstanding.
Akali listened silently from beginning to end. Even after Ahri finished, her brows remained slightly furrowed.
"That's entirely one-sided. How many people do you expect to win over with that story?"
Ahri lowered her head and answered softly, "I'm not trying to win anyone over. I only hope that people won't misunderstand me so completely. It's true that I made a terrible mistake, and I've never expected anyone to forgive me."
"Even assuming you're telling the truth and those people had hurt others, it still wasn't your place to judge them. Ultimately, you were still acting to satisfy your own desires. They may have committed crimes, but eventually…"
Akali suddenly stopped before completing her sentence.
Why was she beginning to sound more and more like Shen?
She raised a hand and rubbed her temple, swallowing the rest of her argument. Then she changed the subject.
"You said you can easily charm people? Remove your hood and try charming me."
"…All right."
Ahri hesitated before slowly lowering her hood, revealing her exquisite face.
She looked directly into Akali's eyes. Akali met her gaze without fear, while privately admitting that Ahri truly was remarkably beautiful.
The moment she looked into those eyes, however, she suddenly felt that Ahri possessed a breathtaking beauty. Strange yet wonderful sensations rippled through her heart.
After losing focus for an instant, Akali immediately realized that the ability had affected her.
She steadied her breathing, focused her mind, and banished every distracting thought.
Her reddish-brown eyes grew brighter and gradually regained their clarity.
A moment later, Ahri looked away.
"It doesn't seem to have worked."
"It worked. I resisted it," Akali replied indifferently, though she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Ahri had not lied about this part. Her charm was certainly powerful.
Akali had been afraid that if she had endured it for even a little longer, her resistance might have collapsed.
Merely looking at Ahri's face had caused strange feelings to surge endlessly through her, disturbing her concentration.
"That's incredible. You're the first person I've ever met who could resist my ability," Ahri said with sincere admiration.
Her power could passively charm those around her. However, Akali was the first person to resist when Ahri deliberately focused the ability on her.
"Of course. I'm the Fist…"
Akali instinctively raised her chin with a proud expression.
She suddenly remembered something and stopped speaking. Her expression immediately returned to normal.
"The Fist?" Ahri asked curiously.
"That has nothing to do with you."
Akali exhaled and looked toward Luke with a puzzled expression.
"You said I was the first. What about him?"
"His situation is different…"
Ahri had also wanted to try deliberately charming Luke.
She raised her eyes toward him and released the power of her charm.
Luke's eyes remained completely calm. There was not even the slightest ripple in them, and he felt nothing unusual.
Ahri was far more serious than she had been when charming Akali, but no matter how much effort she put into it, Luke showed no reaction whatsoever.
Instead, the longer she looked into his attractive eyes and remembered the fragrance of his essence, the harder it became for her to restrain herself.
She hurriedly looked away, feeling that if she continued staring, Luke might end up charming her instead.
How strange.
This was the first time her ability had completely failed.
Akali had been watching from the side. Seeing the result, she narrowed her eyes.
Luke might be even stronger than she had initially believed.
As the intended successor to the Fist of Shadow, Akali had trained in the Kinkou Order since childhood. Both her mental discipline and combat ability far surpassed those of others her age.
Naturally, she could resist an immature charm technique like Ahri's.
Even so, it had required some effort.
Luke, by contrast, had remained completely relaxed from beginning to end.
He also knew Wind-Wielding Swordsmanship, which only made Akali more curious.
Why had she never heard of someone like him in the Wind-Wielding Sword School?
Perhaps he was simply the type who rarely left the school grounds.
Akali temporarily set the question aside.
She looked toward Ahri. That was still the problem they needed to resolve.
Akali remained uncertain about her story. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Your ability is clearly real, but I can't completely believe everything you've told me. So what do you intend to do?"
She directed the final question at Luke.
He was the one who had intervened in their conflict, after all.
Luke replied, "If you can't completely disbelieve her, then you must not be certain that she's lying. In that case, you could observe her for a while."
"Observe her?"
Akali looked confused.
"You want me to supervise her?"
"That's one way of putting it."
Luke nodded and continued, "She can sometimes distinguish whether someone is good or evil. We can use that ability to identify and capture three criminals. If all three genuinely prove to be evil, I think that will demonstrate that her story wasn't a lie."
After hearing this, Ahri obediently nodded.
"I'm willing to prove myself."
She looked at Akali with wide, pleading eyes, as though begging her to grant her this opportunity.
The pitiful, animal-like expression made Akali's heart tremble, nearly destroying the mental composure she had just restored.
This fox demon really was far too skilled at seducing people.
Akali immediately looked away and nodded.
"Fine. We'll do as you suggested and have her identify three criminals."
Akali was not truly ruthless. Besides, she had never intended to kill Ahri outright.
She had only planned to subdue her, take her back, and hand her over to the local elders or judicial authorities.
She also had not thoroughly investigated the twelve dead men. Waiting for a complete investigation, however, might have allowed more people to be harmed.
The three of them reached an agreement.
After two days of fleeing and pursuing, both Ahri and Akali were exhausted.
"There's a village not far ahead. We can rest there," Akali suggested.
She did not want to sleep in the forest.
Luke and Ahri had no objections.
The three of them headed toward the village. They spoke very little during the journey, leaving the atmosphere somewhat quiet.
No one knew what to say, and before they realized it, they had reached the village.
It was nearly midnight, and most of the villagers had already gone to sleep.
Several militiamen were still patrolling at night, however, and they quickly discovered the three travelers.
"We're passing through and would like somewhere to rest," Akali explained. "Would it be possible for us to enter the village?"
"Do the three of you have anything that can verify your identities?" one of the militiamen asked. "The village generally doesn't welcome unidentified strangers at night."
Akali fell silent for a moment before pointing toward Luke.
"He's from the Wind-Wielding Sword School."
Several militiamen immediately looked at Luke.
Luke thought for a moment before gathering Wind Intent around himself.
"Would this be enough proof?"
The militiamen clearly sensed Luke's presence becoming several degrees sharper. The gentle breeze drifting through the area began converging around him, circling his body.
It was genuine command over the wind.
Their expressions immediately became far more respectful.
"Welcome, sir. Please follow me. The village happens to have an empty tree house with enough space for all three of you to rest."
One of the militiamen relaxed and turned to lead the way.
Seeing this made Akali even more certain that Luke belonged to the Wind-Wielding Sword School. Apart from that school, who else could control the wind so effortlessly?
The Wind-Wielding Sword School possessed only a modest degree of fame in Ionia.
Its leader, Elder Souma, however, had enjoyed an extraordinary reputation. He was a legendary swordmaster known throughout Ionia and deeply loved by its people.
The disciples of the Wind-Wielding Sword School also generally enjoyed a positive reputation throughout Ionia.
During the Noxian invasion of Ionia, most members of the school had left their homes to fight in the war.
It was during that period that tragedy struck.
Elder Souma died.
Because neither Elder Souma nor his school had possessed a poor reputation, Akali had decided to trust Luke this once.
The three travelers were brought to their accommodations, a modest tree house containing exactly enough beds for the three of them.
The militiaman did not disturb them further and soon departed.
Only then did Luke ask, "Why did you point at me just now?"
He had been forced to temporarily assume a false identity, though fortunately, it had worked.
Akali yawned.
"Because your supposed affiliation was more useful."
Seeing Luke and Ahri staring at her, she snorted and spoke bluntly.
"Because I don't have any affiliation. I'm just a wanderer. Satisfied?"
"You don't look like a wanderer," Luke said.
Ahri nodded in agreement.
She had not spent much time in human society, but judging by Akali's behavior, she had clearly come from somewhere formidable.
Akali had already stretched out on one of the beds.
"I used to have an affiliation, but I couldn't stand those cowards, so I went my own way. Now I wander around alone. Go to sleep. Keep asking questions and I'm going to lose my temper."
She had clearly noticed the curiosity in Ahri's eyes and irritably rolled over to face the other direction.
Ahri felt that she might have been somewhat intrusive. She sat down on the rather hard wooden bed and watched as Luke lay down as well.
Everything that had happened tonight felt strangely surreal.
She slowly lay on her side. Light shimmered within her bright eyes.
Her body was exhausted, yet she did not feel particularly sleepy.
It was not because other people were present.
There were no other empty rooms available, and she was not overly particular about such things.
She simply could not fall asleep.
Akali could not sleep either.
She had her back turned to the others and stared at the wall, unable to relax.
After all, she was sharing a tree house with two strangers. One was the fox demon she had pursued for two days, while the other was a mysterious member of the Wind-Wielding Sword School who had interfered in their conflict.
Many elders of the Kinkou Order had warned her never to lower her guard around others.
She had understood that lesson since childhood.
Ultimately, she still did not trust either of them.
Her thoughts were a complete mess. Akali knew that Ahri and Luke were probably still awake as well.
Just as she thought this, she suddenly heard slow, steady breathing coming from the other side of the room.
A man's breathing tended to be slightly heavier, so she quickly recognized it as Luke's.
He had already fallen asleep?
How long had it been?
Not even a full minute had passed since they stopped talking.
Was he seriously this carefree?
Was this simply how men were?
No matter how Akali considered it, the situation seemed impossible. Could he truly feel comfortable falling asleep in the same room as two strangers whose intentions and safety remained uncertain?
Unable to resist, she sat up and looked toward the bed beside his.
Sure enough, Ahri was also awake and staring at Luke.
Luke lay on his back. His handsome face looked peaceful in sleep, and his breathing was calm and even. He appeared to be sleeping incredibly soundly.
He was actually asleep?
Akali confirmed that Luke was genuinely sleeping before lying down again.
Ahri merely thought that Luke looked incredibly comfortable.
She silently lay back down, wishing she could fall asleep that easily.
Once, she too had been able to sleep without a care in the world. However, during the short year since she entered human society, the moment she closed her eyes, the memories of the people whose essence she had consumed flashed through her mind.
Joy and anger, sorrow and happiness, meetings and farewells.
Those memories made it impossible for her to sleep peacefully.
The two sleepless women listened to Luke's steady breathing.
The sound seemed to possess a strange magic, almost like a soothing lullaby.
Without realizing it, their eyelids began to rise and fall.
When their eyes finally closed again, they did not reopen.
Their breathing gradually lengthened, and the two women slowly drifted into sleep.
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