Chapter 181: Keep Them Here

“He’s fine, but he can’t go back to town right now for certain reasons.”

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Yeah, his sister came. She wants to take him back to Kalin Port, but he doesn’t want to go back.”

…

…

“We’re almost there. It’s just ahead.”

“You’re going to be amazed in a bit, I guarantee it. The working environment here is absolutely the best in all of Heitai Town.”

“Not only are there separate employee dorms, but in the future, we’ll also have a bathhouse and a restaurant.”

“You can eat wild game every day, and you’re free to order Anna and Zovir around as you please…”

Sunlight filtered through the dense layers of branches and leaves. The beast trail, barely noticeable a month ago, had become much clearer and more solid. In the distance, the massive treetop looked like a green mushroom cloud rising from the sea of trees.

Around one in the afternoon, Lu Wei and Clara were finally about to reach the Dome Pillar.

Their pace wasn’t actually that slow; in fact, it was faster than most new Adventurers.

The reason for this, besides Lu Wei being as familiar with the path as one could possibly be, was that Clara’s barely adequate [Physique] was also a key factor.

It was probably 6 or 7 points.

Compared to an Ordinary person, that wasn’t low at all.

The only reason Lu Wei initially felt she was slowing them down was that the [Physique] of every member of the Mushroom Squad was just too “abnormal.”

“In any case, just stay here for a few days and get a feel for the place.”

“I’ll have Furen show you around, maybe catch some rabbits or go fishing, that sort of thing.”

“We’ll talk about everything else after you and Furen sort things out.”

Reaching out to push aside a slanted branch, Lu Wei was all smiles, still trying his best to project the image of a “peerless boss.”

But the next second, when voices from not too far away reached him, he froze.

“Mr. Gante, you’re putting us in a very difficult position.”

“We may just be hired craftsmen, but Mr. Lu Wei employed us, and Mr. Furen is Mr. Lu Wei’s companion…”

“No, no, we’re well aware of your relationship with Mr. Furen, but with Mr. Furen in this state…”

“…”

‘Wait, what the hell is going on??’

Staring wide-eyed at the scene before him, Lu Wei was completely baffled.

Because about a few dozen meters away, it was unusually lively outside the general store.

Theodore, along with a group of craftsmen and the two young slaves, Anna and Zovir, had completely surrounded Gante, Cersei, and Mirana. It looked like they were about to start a fight.

Er, judging from the looks on Theodore and the others, they probably wouldn’t actually fight.

It looked more like they were trying to persuade someone of something.

Gante, on the other hand, looked impatient, and the Female Holy Knight named Cersei even had her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

‘???’

‘When did this woman get here?’

‘Why is Mirana here too?’

‘And what the heck is that thing Gante is carrying on his back?’

Staring dumbfounded at the scene, Lu Wei’s mind was full of questions.

Beside him, an even more bewildered Clara asked:

“So, this is what you meant by ‘amazed’?”

…

…

“Hey, what’s going on? What are you all arguing about?”

When Lu Wei and Clara hurriedly arrived on the scene, things immediately fell silent.

Gante, Cersei, and Mirana all looked at him in surprise, clearly not expecting him to show up so suddenly.

And it was only then that Lu Wei finally got a clear look at what Gante was carrying.

‘Holy shit!’

‘Furen???’

“What is going on here?!”

Frowning, Lu Wei’s first reaction was that Freya had finally decided to use force.

Although he didn’t know why Gante and Cersei would dare to make a move, he was sure they were the ones who had knocked Furen out and were now preparing to take him back.

“Mr. Lu Wei, please don’t misunderstand. Young Master Furen is fine.”

Gante guessed his thoughts and quickly explained, “He’s just temporarily asleep. He’ll wake up in a dozen or so hours at most.”

‘Asleep?’

Lu Wei narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure he’s not just passed out?”

“Of course not. How could we possibly treat Young Master Furen like that?”

Gante said seriously, “We just used a little Sleep Powder.”

“…”

‘Well now, you’ve got a pretty flexible moral compass, don’t you?’

‘You don’t dare to knock him out, but you dare to drug him?’

‘So what now?’

‘Let them take him away?’

‘But wouldn’t that mean all my effort was for nothing?’

‘But if I insist on stopping them… setting aside whether I’m in the right or not, I probably can’t stop two Professionals by myself anyway.’

Frowning as he stared at Gante, Lu Wei’s mind raced, trying to figure out what to do next.

After thinking for a long time, he was still conflicted.

So he decided to call Mirana over first. That way, if a fight really did break out, he wouldn’t lose too badly.

“Why are you here too?”

With that thought, Lu Wei turned to look at Mirana, guessing she probably didn’t have enough points to level up and had come back to the forest to do quests.

But unexpectedly, Mirana didn’t answer his simple question.

She just looked at him silently, a hint of guilt in her eyes.

‘?’

‘What does that mean?’

Lu Wei didn’t process it at first—or rather, it was truly difficult to process.

After all, just like Furen, after fighting side-by-side for so many days, he had long since come to see Mirana as a member of the Mushroom Squad… even if she had never admitted it.

So naturally, it didn’t occur to him to suspect she had anything to do with Furen’s situation.

But the next second, before Lu Wei could ask again, Anna suddenly ran up to him and reported in a nervous whisper:

“Miss Mirana came with Miss Cersei.”

“And I saw it. Miss Mirana secretly gave a letter and a small bottle to Mr. Gante.”

“…”

It was as if someone had hit the mute button; the surroundings instantly fell dead silent.