Chapter 454: Where's the Command Spell?

A Xing heard the sound, turned her head slowly, glanced at Bai Hang, and in her golden eyes seemed not even a ripple of emotion rose.

She raised one hand, waved it casually, meaning roughly "Don't ask me, I don't want to move."

Only then did Bai Hang notice that on the back of the right hand A Xing raised—nothing at all!

The three bright red Command Spells that should have been there were gone!

"Eh?!"

Bai Hang's azure eyes widened instantly, pointing at A Xing's hand back, voice raised an octave, "Where's your Command Spell?!"

A Xing lowered her hand, still slumped, and in her flat tone, nonchalantly uttered three words:

"It was stolen."

Bai Hang: "…???"

Stolen? Who stole it? How was it stolen? When was it stolen? Why can you stay so calm and slumped here after it was stolen?!

A thousand words were instantly blocked at Bai Hang's throat; she opened her mouth, looking at A Xing's "everything is empty" expression, and for a moment didn't know where to start, completely stunned.

At that moment, Jing Yuan also stepped out from behind Bai Hang, his gaze naturally falling on the sofa's A Xing.

When he saw that expressionless gray‑haired face, Jing Yuan's eyebrows twitched slightly.

(Pioneer?)

A Xing also saw Jing Yuan.

At the instant Jing Yuan's gaze landed, A Xing's golden eyes, which seemed eternally still as an ancient well, narrowed slightly.

(Jing Yuan?)

(No way… madam, your Script… is it a bit too exciting?)

The same thought flashed through her mind as Bai Hang's.

Then, an even simpler thought took the upper hand: trouble, get out.

So, under Jing Yuan's and Bai Hang's watch, A Xing leisurely propped herself up from the sofa.

She circled the sofa, moving still at an unhurried pace.

Bai Hang and Jing Yuan both thought she was coming over to greet them or explain something.

Then they saw A Xing wobble to the apartment doorway.

"Click." The door opened.

A Xing stepped out, and then—

"Whoosh!"

Her previously sluggish figure accelerated instantly, like a gray shadow, vanishing into the dark hallway beyond the door, leaving only a farewell, carried by the night wind, still flat:

"Goodbye."

"Bang." The door behind her automatically closed gently.

The living room fell into dead silence.

Bai Hang and Jing Yuan stood where they were, staring at each other.

Bai Hang's expression remained in a "dazed" state, while the faint smile on Jing Yuan's face showed a slight crack, his golden eyes full of questions.

(…ran away?)

The mystery in Jing Yuan's mind grew larger.

As for why A Xing ran away so decisively?

The reason was simple: the moment she saw Jing Yuan, she instantly judged—trouble was big.

With Jing Yuan's mind and status, once involved, things would inevitably become extremely complicated, far beyond the scope of her simple Task of "finding Huo Huo and taking it away."

And she now no longer had Master Qualification; according to the Rule, she didn't even count as an official "participant" anymore.

Therefore, the best strategy was—to stay away from the storm's center, act alone, and continue executing the core Task.

How Jing Yuan and Bai Hang would fare, how the Holy Grail War would develop, were no longer matters for her to worry about.

As for where A Xing's "Master Qualification" went?

Time rewound a little.

Earlier today, A Xing visited Yan Feng Qili's Mapo Tofu Shop again.

After finishing that bowl of ramen that made a ripple in her hollow heart, A Xing didn't leave, but kept sitting there, spacing out, or rather, contemplating life.

After Yan Feng Qili finished cleaning the kitchen, he also sat opposite her; the two stared at each other in silence.

After a while, A Xing raised her right hand, looking at the three bright red Command Spells on her hand back, her golden eyes showing no emotion.

She suddenly stretched out her hand, turning the back of her hand toward Yan Feng Qili, and then… began to slowly swing her right wrist, the motion a bit like shaking water off her hand, and a bit like indicating something.

Yan Feng Qili: "???"

He stared for a long time, then, not quite sure, tentatively asked, "Teacher… the red mark on your hand back… is that a Command Spell?"

A Xing stopped the swinging motion, nodded.

"You… want to get rid of it?" Yan Feng continued to guess.

A Xing nodded again, then continued to look at Yan Feng with that "you quickly take it away" gaze.

Yan Feng fell silent.

He understood the "teacher"'s meaning: she wanted to transfer this Command Spell, representing Holy Grail War Master Qualification, to him.

But… why?

As a former priest who once pursued "pleasure" and now found a new kind of "pleasure," Yan Feng Qili had no attachment to the Holy Grail itself.

Moreover, wasn't the Holy Grail already ended?

Yet since it was the "teacher"'s intention…

After a brief "transaction," mainly A Xing's unilateral gestures and gaze prompting Yan Feng to fill in the rest, the Command Spell on A Xing's hand back quietly transferred to Yan Feng Qili's hand back.

As a "reward", Yan Feng promised that A Xing could come to the shop anytime in the future to eat mapo tofu ramen for free.

A Xing was very satisfied with this.

The qualification is gone, but it was exchanged for a long‑term meal ticket; it's a great deal.

As for what Yan Feng intends to do with the Command Spell, she doesn't care.

So, now the perspective shifts back—

Yan Feng Qili stood in the back alley of his own little shop, looking down at the three brand‑new Command Spells on the back of his right hand, feeling the magic and Contract Link they contained. His face showed little expression, yet an inexplicable sense of… an ominous foreboding rose in his heart.

(I have a feeling… taking this over will bring trouble onto me…)

Especially when he looked up at the blond youth leaning against the opposite wall, his face wearing that smile he knew all too well (the same as a golden Servant from ten years ago), the ominous foreboding grew even stronger.

Sha Jin toyed with a golden token, deftly making it spin and bounce on his fingertips.

He also surveyed Yan Feng Qili, the Command Spell on the other's hand, and the dim, tangled back alley.

Just as he was pulled from Pinokanni into this world and forcibly implanted with the "Holy Grail War Servant Basics" in his mind, a clear, icy female voice rang directly in the depths of his consciousness:

"Win the Holy Grail, and I can let you see your family."

Family…

The smile on Sha Jin's face did not change at all, even grew a bit brighter, but deep within his ever‑smiling eyes, a layer of ice suddenly formed.

He quickly assessed the situation.

From "senior corporate executive and Pinokanni Holy Grail War participant Master" to "summoned Servant of the Fifth Holy Grail War in Dongmu City", the shift was a bit sudden, yet still within his capacity to handle.

The key is that voice and promise… worth pondering.

As for the new Master before him…

He looks like an ordinary middle‑aged man who runs a small restaurant?

But his gaze lacks vigor, his aura is so steady it seems inhuman… interesting.

"Then,"

Sha Jin spoke, his voice carrying a disarming friendliness, "According to the Rule, I suppose I should address you as Master? Nice to meet you, I am Sha Jin. My class… seems to be Archer? Though I'm better at using this."

He shook the token in his hand, smile unchanged, "Master, I wonder what wish you have that requires the Holy Grail to fulfill?"

Yan Feng Qili stared at Sha Jin's flawless smile, and somehow recalled the Gilgamesh who ten years ago called himself "Hero King" and liked to smile the same way, his lingering regret swelling inside.

(This deal… seems a bit disadvantageous.)