Veil 10

But poison couldn't kill an immortal. So why was it used? Lia could guess it was to indicate her time limit. If she managed to get out of the house, then she lived, if not, she would die.

Although normal poison couldn't kill her, it might be one modified by Min. Not taking any chances, Lia quickly wrapped her lower face with a cloth and looked for a way to leave this place.

She had to act quickly as she had no idea where the poison came from and how fast it spread. They could've used a poison that didn't reek but Lia was sure that the Lord wanted to make the 'player' aware of the time limit.

Lia had two options, either she stopped the poison leak or she focused only on escaping. Not even needing to think about it, Lia decided to focus on getting out of here.

The ground floor had only one room designed like a living room while the first floor was a simple bedroom. There was typical furniture everywhere but the windows and the door left no way to get out.

There were also no knives or any sharp or heavy objects to smash the walls and get out that way. Lia touched the outline of the house.

The wood was thicker and harder than that in the Lord's mansion where Lily could easily tear a hole through the ceiling.

Lia scanned the first floor. A bed, wardrobe, a drawer and a table. Running out of time, Lia pulled up the blanket, looked under the bed, inside the wardrobe, the drawer, underneath the table but there was nothing.

It was almost as if it was designed for an immortal to stay here until they met their end. Hundreds or even 1000 years full of despair. It was cruel.

The ground floor had a sofa, another table, a small stove and a closet. Again after searching through the floor, there was nothing she could use but the stove caught her attention. Why did this exist? If there was nothing to cook with, a stove was deemed useless. However, despite its obvious out-of-place appearance, it was the key to getting out of here but then again wasn't this too easy?

Lia knew that the puny fire of the stove couldn't possibly set the house on fire and even if it did, it would take her ages to accomplish that and for the house to burn enough so she could escape.

However, if there was a stove, especially a gas stove, then there was gas but this would lead to an explosion at most. So, the stove at best was only a bait for the person trapped in here to suffer. Even if they healed constantly and eventually will be able to escape, it was a risk that involved a lot of pain.

Or should Lia indeed go with a gas leak explosion? Lia shook her head. This was only the last resort. She would also run the risk of endangering the surrounding.

After another thorough examination, the best bet was still to break the windows. She couldn't do it with sheer force and there was nothing that could be used to smash the windows.

There was an option, however. Lia was frustrated by how she didn't think of it earlier. The stove was indeed the key. The iron frame on the stove plates was sharp and heavy enough to break the windows.

It was easily removed from the stove and despite its small size, it was incredibly heavy in Lia's hands. She swung it a few times, getting used to it before she smashed it against the window.

Upon closer look, there was a small dent, not enough to be visible from the distance. In her hurry, Lia didn't even notice that the material of the window wasn't even glass but something akin to plexiglass.

Repeatedly, Lia hit the frame against the same spot, making the dent deeper and deeper. The spreading poison also started to have its effects, not only did the smell get stronger and harder to cope with but it also numbed Lia's body severely. It wasn't normal poison after all.

Lia's arms felt sluggish and her hands shook under the weight of the frame but she brought herself to raise and bring the frame down on the window.

It took a whole five minutes of enduring the paralysing effect before the glass finally shattered. The iron frame dropped to the ground and Lia slowly crawled out of the window.

A lot of effort and strength was wasted with that action and once Lia made it out of the small confinement, she fell to the ground, unable to move.

The poison swirled in her body and she needed time to adjust it. Exhausted, she closed her eyes and in the middle of the landscape full of veils, all around her the grassy ground, Lia fell asleep.

***

Meanwhile, at the same time Lia was teleported to the small wooden house, Xavi found himself in a pitch-black area. He could neither see his own hands nor anything that surrounded him. Only the hard ground gave him a sense of security and put his mind at ease.

There were no noises, Xavi instantly knew he was alone and separated from Lily and Lia. In the worst case, they wouldn't be able to meet again easily or Xavi would fail to get out of here.

He knew this was one of the Lord's plans to keep them from going to Rag. So, all the people that in the end won the hide and seek game ultimately met their demise like this.

Xavi didn't waste time questioning how he got here or what happened to the others. It was important for him now to quickly leave this place and hopefully meet up with the others again.

The first step brought Xavi terror but he quickly calmed himself and walked decisively through the darkness without regarding the environment.

This heavily reminded him of the times where Lia pulled him and Lily through the white veil as if it didn't faze her. As if she simply walked through a street on a busy day.

He missed the warmth. To him, Lia became a precious friend. He has been stuck in the mansion his whole life, having to hide, nowhere able to go, no one able to meet, so going on this journey, being able to experience what he had been through was an incredible part of his life he didn't want to give up.

And Lia… Lia was like the stream flowing around the safe spot of a rock he has been sitting on. The waves gently crashed against the hard surface, tempting him to come down and indulge himself in the pleasure of a new adventure that involved risks.

Xavi was glad he dipped into the waters and went along with it. He knew despite Lia's cold façade, she was a heart-warming and caring person. If she became the Immortal King, Xavi would lay down his life to follow and support her. Just like how his family died in the past.

The blackness was endless and Xavi almost laughed thinking about how concerned Lily must be. He was thankful to have Lily accompany him since his childhood, since his parents decided to leave this world and leave everything behind to him.

After a while, Xavi figured out that this was a test of endurance. There would be an exit waiting at the end but how many could actually withstand the mental torture of aimlessly walking with almost all senses cut off?

The key here was to persevere and go on. Just how life was.

***

On Lily's side, the moment the Lord touched her, she felt herself falling from the air into an unknown spot.

From above she could see the campfire surrounded by brisk men in black robes. Soldiers.

As she fell, she didn't see Xavi nor Lia. Her brain wasn't working as fast as Xavi's and she only thought they might not be far from her.

She had no time to think about it as her goal was clear the second she saw the soldiers.

Get rid of them.

She knew she needed to kill them or else she wouldn't be able to leave here alive.

It was either killing them or them killing her. Another thing, Lily instantly caught on was that the place looked similar to the border.

She was indeed back at the wall. Lily cursed and changed her position in the air to land on the ground.

Once her feet touched the ground, the impact was so great the earth spread dust and extinguished the campfire.

The soldiers froze and took too long to process what happened. Using the tiny opening, Lily stole a sword from the closest soldier and injured them enough to not be able to attack her until she brought an end to them.

However, the loud screams of the soldiers attracted only more and soon Lily was once again surrounded. No matter where she went, it was impossible for her to escape the soldiers.

"Young master?" Lily shouted as she ran away from the horde of soldiers. She could kill them later but the priority now was to find her young master.

She didn't dare to call Lia's name as her name was kind of special. Yet, even after running along the wall with arrows aiming at her and an angry mob behind her for a long time, Lily heard nothing from those two.

She finally concluded, they must be somewhere else. This meant Lily could focus on the soldiers alone. As long as her young master was safe, she didn't have to worry too much. It would be even better if he was with Lia. She prayed he was with Lia.

In the beginning, Lily didn't trust Lia, even when she revealed herself as the daughter of the K family. Lily knew the rumours surrounding Lia and the K family murder weren't true, but the Lia before her was arrogant and cold, Lily could never accept her as the Immortal King.

Especially not having her young master close to her. However, after hearing what Lia went through, Lily's heart went soft and she couldn't help but feel bad for Lia.

But this didn't mean Lily had good feelings or trust towards Lia. It was only after seeing Lia work hard, seeing how she indeed wasn't a bad person, only with a rather sharp and vicious tongue, could Lily rest at ease and know that Lia wouldn't make a bad Immortal King.

It was also only when Lily discovered to what lengths Lia would go for someone that Lily accepted Lia properly.

So, whatever may come in the future, whatever may be thrown at them, Lily was sure that nothing could stop them, nothing could break apart this bond they've formed.

And so, this little ordeal was nothing for Lily to handle. A few soldiers? She could easily deal with it. In the future, they would be much tougher enemies.