Reon turned toward the soft voice behind him.
To his surprise, Mei Lin stood there.
He hadn't expected her to come back.
The moment she saw Reon burning hundreds of corpses, she immediately realized he had killed them all—and fled without once looking back.
Reon hadn't followed—he understood. She was probably terrified of him now.
And yet, here she was, standing before him again.
With hesitant steps, she approached and bowed deeply.
"Thank you… for saving all of us. I'm truly grateful. I… I don't know how I'll ever repay such a debt."
"It's fine," Reon said calmly. "I didn't do it so you'd owe me. I did it for my own peace of mind."
"I know Brother Xue killed all those bandits… and I'm sorry for running away back then," she said softly, lifting her gaze. "It's just… I remembered something from my past."
Reon's expression softened as he watched her.
'I see… it must've reminded her of how her parents died,'
Then—
An unexpected question.
"Will Brother Xue kill me too?"
