Chapter 186: Awake, but in Hell

‘Sigh, what a devastating loss.’

‘I’d love to sell her off to Pigeon Lane…’

Twilight descended, and the moisture in the forest air slowly condensed into dewdrops clinging to the tips of grass blades.

A bonfire crackled in the clearing outside the general store. An oversized stew pot hung over the flames, its contents of creamy potato soup bubbling away.

Theodore and the other artisans sat around the bonfire, chatting as they ate.

Lu Wei, however, was sitting alone on a tree stump not far away, cradling a bowl of soup. Ten hours had passed, and he was still muttering to himself about that bag of ears.

He had never suffered such a huge loss since arriving in this world, not even in his previous life.

So, naturally, he couldn’t just let it go.

He was so furious with the main culprit, Mirana, that his teeth ached.

Normally, a mouthful of delicious mushroom soup might have lifted his spirits a bit.

But today, with Bai Ya away, Clara and Anna were in charge of cooking. The potato soup couldn’t be called “bad,” but it certainly wasn’t “delicious” either.

So it did nothing to console him.

‘Hm?’

‘Maybe I can try using [Magic Tricks] for seasoning?’

Suddenly, an idea struck Lu Wei.

He focused for a moment, then rubbed his fingers together.

The faint scent of braised pork belly instantly filled the air.

That was followed by the aromas of steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted chicken, roasted goose, braised pork, soy-sauced chicken, and cured bacon…

‘I’ve decided!’

‘Tonight, I’m having corn and pork rib soup!’

Overjoyed to find his method worked, much of Lu Wei’s gloom dissipated. He lowered his head and began to eat his soup.

However, it was impossible to turn a bowl of “perfectly plain potato soup” into “delicious corn and pork rib soup” with a single Trick.

The aromatic effect created by [Magic Tricks] was limited to the sense of smell.

So, to put it bluntly, he was just smelling pork rib soup while eating potato soup.

“Huh? What’s that smell? It’s amazing.”

Suddenly, Clara’s voice came from in front of him.

“Is there?”

Lu Wei looked up and discreetly canceled his Casting. “I don’t smell anything.”

“That’s strange. I could smell it a moment ago, but now it’s gone.”

Clara was puzzled, but she quickly put the trivial matter aside and said urgently:

“You should go take a look.”

“Furen’s awake.”

…

…

“Don’t speak. Just answer my questions.”

“What’s 1+1?”

“Huh?”

“You can’t even answer that…?”

「A few minutes later, on the second floor of the general store.」

Lu Wei stood before Furen, holding a kerosene lamp, and came to a heartbreaking conclusion:

“It’s obvious. He’s been turned into an idiot.”

“H-how could this be…”

At his side, Clara swayed, her face instantly turning deathly pale.

“Sigh, the poison must have damaged his brain.”

Lu Wei sighed, shaking his head with a heavy expression.

“Sob…”

Clara’s eyes reddened. She covered her mouth, letting out stifled, mournful sobs.

“Don’t you worry. I’ll get revenge for Furen.”

Lu Wei’s tone was Firm as he patted her on the shoulder.

“SOB!”

As if her heartstrings had been struck, Clara could no longer contain her emotions. She threw herself against his chest and began to wail.

“My condolences.”

Lu Wei stroked her hair, comforting her in a soft voice.

“…”

The lamplight flickered. It was a very moving scene.

As for Furen, he stared blankly with wide eyes, feeling like he must have died and gone to Hell.

But the surrounding scene was completely different from the depictions of Hell in novels.

So…

“TWO!!”

“ONE PLUS ONE EQUALS TWO!!!”

…

…

“Furen, my friend, that’s not right of you!”

“You obviously knew the answer, so why didn’t you say anything!”

“You made us all get the wrong idea!”

“Alright, now I’ll continue… What’s 2+2?”

“Mm, and 4+4?”

“8+8?”

“9,735 times 36,251?”

“That’s right, you’re not supposed to know. If you *could* answer that, *then* we’d have a problem.”

After a few more minutes of simple testing, Lu Wei determined that Furen’s brain hadn’t likely suffered any damage.

Furen finally found an opening and asked anxiously:

“Lu Wei, my friend, what happened? Why was I asleep for so long?”

“Is Mirana okay? Where did Gante and Cersei go?”

“And why are you and Clara here?”

“What’s for dinner tonight?”

?

‘Is that last question really appropriate right now?’

“Go get him a bowl of soup.”

Lu Wei glanced at Furen’s empty stomach and spoke to Clara first, then gave Furen a concise answer.

“Mirana poisoned you.”

“What?”

Furen’s mouth fell open instantly, his face filled with disbelief:

“Poisoned me? When?”

‘When do you think?’

“This morning, of course. When she came to see you.”

Lu Wei muttered, “Your sister found her and had her come take you back, so she fed you some sleep powder… It was in that cup of tea you drank.”

“Luckily, I happened to come by today to pick up that bag of ears, and I saw them just as they were about to take you away.”

“Without a second thought, I immediately blocked their path. I risked my life, fighting one against three, and managed to save you.”

“As for Clara…”

“She was so worried about you that she came along with me.”

“That’s more or less the situation.”

After briefly explaining the matter, Lu Wei paused to let Furen slowly digest it.

After all, given Furen’s personality, it would be difficult for him to accept it all at once.

‘He might even think I’m lying…’

“That’s impossible!”

Sure enough, in the next moment, Furen shot back emotionally:

“How could Mirana do something like that!”

“What’s so impossible about it?”

Lu Wei curled his lip. “If you don’t believe me, you can go ask the others. Clara, Anna, and Theodore all saw it.”

“B-but…”

Furen’s eyes were wide. Although he didn’t argue anymore, it seemed he still couldn’t accept this fact.

His state of mind must have been similar to Wu Dalang’s after he drank the poison.

No wonder they say the knife in the back is the one that hurts the most.

“Sigh. She must have made some kind of deal with your sister.”

After waiting a little longer, Lu Wei sighed helplessly and said:

“They may have failed this time, but they’ll definitely keep trying other things.”

“They’re probably plotting their next move right now.”

“So, what do you plan to do now?”

“I…”

Furen looked up blankly, his eyes a little vacant:

“I don’t know…”

“So, do you still want to stay here?”

Lu Wei clarified the question further, “Or will you go back to Kalin Port with your sister?”

“Of course I don’t want to go back!”

The question seemed to touch a raw nerve. Furen took a deep breath, as if finally snapping back to his senses, and answered with great seriousness:

“But I can’t cause any more trouble for you.”

“My sister is capable of anything. You’ve already offended her today. If I stay here, she’ll definitely get revenge on you.”

“So I plan to find another place to hide. As long as she can’t find me, she’ll leave after a while.”

“Hmm, that makes sense.”

Lu Wei nodded. “So where do you plan to hide?”

“I definitely can’t go back to town. For now, I’ll just find a random spot in the forest.”

Furen thought for a moment. “Maybe I can go to Nick’s place. I could also help you with deliveries. Didn’t you promise to procure a Weapon and tools for it?”

“It’s too soon. It definitely hasn’t saved up enough for payment yet.”

Lu Wei immediately shot down the idea. “Besides, its place is too far. It’s a bit dangerous for you to go alone.”

“I think you should just hide out around the Dome Pillar for a while.”

“We just finished clearing out the nearby monsters, so it’s safe, at least.”

“Your sister only brought Gante and Cersei with her this time. If they don’t know your exact location, they won’t be able to find you.”

“Alright… I’ll do as you say.”

Furen thought about it seriously for a moment, felt it made a lot of sense, and immediately stood up.

“Then I’m off. Help me take care of Clara.”

“…”

???

‘You’ve got to be kidding me. Is he really that terrified???’