"Come here." the woman called out.
Lucy Luan mustered her courage and walked over.
The woman extended her wrist, still bound by sigil chains. "Go ahead!"
So, Lucy took her pulse.
After finishing, Lucy frowned slightly.
She seemed quite old, showing the weak pulse of someone elderly—maybe... she didn’t have much time left.
A hundred years?
Two hundred years?
"Am I going to die soon?" the woman asked.
Lucy shook her head. "No! Please don’t worry. It’s just that... it’s way too cold in here, and that’s not good for your health."
No matter what crimes she might have committed in the past, locking up someone so old and frail in a freezing underground cave—Lucy Luan just couldn’t bear it. It felt cruel, somehow.
After thinking it over, Lucy reached into her Storage Pouch and pulled out a fox-fur cloak. "This cloak is made from the warmest fox fur—no matter how cold it gets, you’ll stay cozy if you wear it. Would you... would you like to put it on?"
The woman in white gazed at the fox-fur cloak and smiled. "You’re such a kind child! Just like your Divine Father."
Lucy cast a spell to help her into the cloak and asked, "Does it feel warmer now?"
"Mmm! I do feel it!" the woman replied. "It’s so warm—thank you, Lucy..."
Seeing her accept the gift, Lucy’s heart fluttered with pride, and her fear melted away. She actually felt a little brave.
She rummaged through her Storage Pouch for her medicine bag, chatting as she searched: "I’ve got some Spirit Elixirs here that’ll help replenish your qi. I’ll leave you a few bottles—just take one every so often, okay?"
"I am a fiend." The woman in white suddenly interrupted, her voice calm but heavy.
"Huh?" Lucy blinked, startled.
"Not a Demon Beast corrupted by demonic qi. Not someone poisoned by Demonic Poison. I am a true high-level Mutant Fiend!"