Only a Scrap of Cloth

Sean grabbed Lucia Lu with one hand and the supposed Faustin with the other, escaping into a secluded valley.

"We actually got found out!" Lucia exclaimed. "Good thing the mission's done!"

Sean nodded.

"We owe it to Faustin," Lucia looked at him. "Faustin, you helped us again—thank you!"

The little demon Sean had dragged along stared wide-eyed at Lucia, then at Sean, his face full of terror.

"Why do I feel like something's off?" Lucia's qilin eyes flashed, and she suddenly gasped. "Ah! He's not Faustin!"

This little demon was wearing clothes identical to Faustin's.

And his face was the kind that was completely forgettable—easy to blur out and never recognize.

For a moment, both of them had mistaken him for Faustin.

They rushed back to save him, but the estate was already deserted—not a single demon left.

They'd only left a single message: If you want Faustin, come to the base of the cliff behind the villa.

Lucia and Sean headed straight for the cliff behind the estate.

It was a truly towering precipice, sheer and immense.

They restored their full cultivation and flew down.

At the bottom, they found a valley—completely empty.

But both could sense the presence of demon beasts, each one extremely powerful.

Yet, intimidated by their Divine Race blood, the beasts hid, not daring to show themselves.

"Baxa!" Lucia called. "Come out and talk!"

A muffled whimpering sound came from a cave.

They went over and saw Faustin stripped of his disguise, bound to a large rock inside the cave by a blue Immortal Binding Rope.

"Faustin!" Lucia waved her hand, pulling the rag from his mouth. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Saint Maiden!" Faustin replied. "Please, help me undo this Immortal Binding Rope."

Lucia stepped up and cast a spell to unlock the rope, but suddenly, poisonous gas sprayed down at her.

She looked up to see a massive red Beastcatcher Vine clamp opening wide to bite her.

"Lucia!" Sean shouted, pushing her out of the way.

Lucia watched in shock as Sean was swallowed by the clamp and vanished above.

"Hahaha!" Faustin suddenly burst out laughing and disappeared too.

From the energy signature of his escape, Lucia realized he was never Faustin at all!

A total fake!

Furious, Lucia drew her immortal sword and flew toward where the Beastcatcher Vine had disappeared.

There was a narrow fissure in the cliff, leading straight up to the surface.

But the vine wasn't actually rooted there.

A long, thin stem kept retracting, pulling the clamp farther and farther away.

The Beastcatcher clamp flew further and further off.

Lucia teleported after it and slashed down with her sword.

With a loud 'clang,' she didn't manage to cut through.

She tried a few more spells, and finally discovered the plant did have a weakness.

It was afraid of fire.

As the Qilin Saint Maiden, Lucia was a master of fire attacks. At last, by a riverside, she managed to rescue Sean.

He was covered head to toe in sticky, slimy goo—and completely naked.

His divine robe, normally resistant to the five elements, had been completely corroded by the slime—leaving only a tiny scrap, which he clutched to cover himself.

"Sean, are you okay?" Lucia asked anxiously.

"I'm fine! The toxin can't corrode my dragon scales—for now."

"Oh... then wait, let me find a Cleaning Talisman to help you wash it off."

"No need!" Sean said awkwardly. "I'll... I'll just bathe in the river first."

He turned and slipped into the river, then transformed into a small red dragon, swimming back and forth to wash himself.

"Hey!" Lucia suddenly widened her eyes. "Come here!"

Sean swam over.