There was a circle of bruised marks in the middle of Dorothy's swan-like elegant neck because it had been tightly strangled.

"Don't worry, I did this myself." The girl's fair hand brushed over the strangulation mark.

She raised her wrist, showing dense cut marks: "Just like this, all done today, and you just happened to catch me."

"Have you been hurting yourself all day?"

"I didn't want to attend the welcome ceremony for Wendes, didn't want to go to some people's ball invitations, didn't want to attend the city hall social, Huo Fu was nagging in my ear, I saw you but didn't dare to speak, couldn't explain things clearly to Leona…"

Dorothy listed her troubles one by one. She didn't say it explicitly, but Li Ang already knew they all turned into those scars.

"I'm most afraid of talking to others, even when we're not familiar, everyone seems to want to get very close. So I always hide away to do these things. The next day, all the scars disappear as if they never existed."

"Why do it like this?" Li Ang said.

"After mom left, one time my father was teaching my brother and me to ride horses. I had a hard time mastering it, and he said maybe if a horse trampled my leg, I'd remember it better anyway, since I wouldn't die. After returning to my room, I suddenly thought if I hurt myself as punishment, could I do things better.

"I'm actually a bit afraid of pain. At first, cutting a small wound worked pretty well.

"But later, I gradually got used to it, and the effect wasn't as strong. Later on, I looked back and realized it was actually after returning from adventures at sixteen."

"After graduation, coming to Spark Island, one day waking up, seeing the same arrangement in the bedroom and the same street view outside the window, thinking of the same complex work, the same troublesome communication, I suddenly lost the feeling of being alive."

Dorothy's brown pupils gradually became dazed, staring into the emptiness of the dark secret passage.

"From that day on, I increasingly did not understand what it meant to be alive."

"To figure out why, I bought many books. Some books had situations similar to mine, along with analysis and answers. One of the more convincing answers was, because I lacked love."

The girl looked at Li Ang: "Tell me, what is love?"

Li Ang said: "This question, everyone has their own answer, no one dares to say they can summarize it. Love is also divided into many kinds."

"That's good, it means at least most people know at least one kind of love."

Dorothy tidied her lusterless ginger hair: "I increasingly can't feel the world's vitality, so I started looking for some... stronger sensory stimulation."

Her slender fingers formed a claw shape, pretending to grip her own neck.

"Suffocating bindings that unlock over time, bloodletting to near death, or even using intense joy to stimulate.

"Only when my body is close to the brink do I seem to feel a bit of the reality of being alive."

"When I ate the dumplings earlier, I said I understood my cowardice more than when I was sixteen; it's actually because I realized that no matter how I hurt my body, I can't bring myself back to life.

"I keep repeating like this, but can only grab a little feeling, as if sinking deeper into the world."

Li Ang shook his head: "This is actually avoidance."

"Hmm, now that you're here, I don't have to do this anymore."

Dorothy smiled faintly: "Just now, your words gave me a very strange feeling, like when mom was there, but a bit different. Is this the feeling of being alive?

"Do you know what I'm thinking now, and that is, I must board your ship, I can give up anything else.

"So, as long as you're happy and willing, you can do anything you like to me, and it can push me forward as well, isn't that great… ah!"

Li Ang sighed and withdrew the finger that had flicked her forehead.

"Don't say anymore." Li Ang shook his head: "I have to clearly refuse you, this won't do."

"You're still running away, just shifting the responsibility onto me."

Li Ang didn't expect Dorothy's past to be like this, but he understood a lot about why she was the way she was now.

Sometimes, people temporarily lose their intuitive sense of life.

Li Ang recalled his own slovenly period before crossing over, it indeed felt like falling into a crevice of the world, with society and all human relationships unrelated to oneself, time flying by, only to realize after a shock that so much had been missed.

Dorothy had tried to struggle, but no one ever correctly pointed her in the right direction. Without a method, she instead became increasingly immersed.

"Move forward."

Li Ang propelled the lady's back, and she obediently moved her steps in the direction of his power.

"We'll first go to the last room, then come back to deal with that guarding hound."

Now he felt that facing Dorothy without preaching wouldn't work; scolding didn't either. Because with Demon-Born Flower's granted immortality and after torturing herself for so many years, she's already immune to threats.

Before thinking of specific ways, start with doing the necessary things.

Wait, why am I starting to think of solutions for her? Where are my calm, steady, high-execution teammates?

Demon-Born Flower, Legendary Realm... alas, it's not easy to encounter one without problems but with high potential.

Arriving at the third secret passage exit, Li Ang found no dust or cobwebs along the way.

The entire secret passage was built a long time ago, most places were mildew-stained and mossy, dust was commonplace, indicating those sections had long been disused.

However, from the room where The Pale Hound was to this last exit was relatively clean, indicating frequent use.

Sure enough, the last room was quite weighty, the two stepped out from behind a movable mechanism bookshelf.

From the expensive, high-end desktop items and furniture, it was evident this was Count Feinat's room for handling affairs.

The books on the shelf were unimportant, Li Ang focused on the stacks of booklets on the desk.

Just as he picked them up, Dorothy said: "These are various records of Spark Port."

"Clerk, you must be familiar with looking at these, right?"

"After all, that's what I do."

No matter how boring work becomes, after familiarity, it solidifies into a skill. Dorothy quickly sorted out those records.

Spark Port's debts and profits, fund flows, trade reports... almost everything was complete.

"Having these is not surprising here," Dorothy said: "City hall only handles things, the decisions must be seen by the Lord. You want to see if he embezzled?"

"Private territory, that's meaningless. I'm thinking, can you analyze strange information from these data?"

"Such as?" The girl didn't understand what Li Ang meant.

"Like whether from comparing past years' trade and fund flows, you can see if there are differences now. Maybe we can deduce what the Empire's plans are in the Ignis Sky Realm from that."

Dorothy's eyes shifted, nodding slowly: "Should be able to."

She scanned the room, grabbed some ledgers, and also drew some documents from the Count's file rack.

"This should be enough."

"Then let's go."

In the long run, perhaps what was gained in this room would be the greatest.

The two had just returned to the secret passage entrance when sounds came from outside the room.

They quickly shut the secret passage door, but Li Ang left a slight gap to peek at the situation in the room.

Whoever came here wasn't the Count, or it was other key figures. Perhaps vital information could be overheard.

The footsteps were varied, meaning more than one person was present.

After the door opened, Count Feinat with his red beard and hair appeared, accompanied by Wendes. Neither entered immediately but made an inviting gesture toward the inside.

They courteously let two others enter first.

One had light-golden long hair, a handsome face, pointed ears, a young Half Elf.

He lagged half a body behind, following someone entirely shrouded in a wide black robe, whose broad hood hung down, covering half their face.

Yet, on the face-covering part, a huge eye was marked in some metallic dark gold substance.

The Celestial Blue Ring on Li Ang's hand began to heat up.

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