Chapter 194: Highlight, But Not Lu Wei

‘Gotta say, I was pretty cool just now, wasn’t I?’

‘Those last few lines were epic, just like a novel’s protagonist.’

‘You could say they struck right at the heart.’

‘Mirana must be crying tears of Confession by now…’

Half a minute later, Lu Wei swaggered back to the first floor of the inn, convinced his performance had been flawless.

He was also extremely satisfied with the outcome.

He’d gotten the money back effortlessly and had successfully announced his “return” to Freya.

Now, all he had to do was wait for her to come looking for him.

With Furen’s whereabouts unknown, he didn’t believe the woman could keep her cool.

‘So cool. It would’ve been even more perfect if I’d added, “You’d best watch yourself.”‘

‘It’s still early. I might as well go see Aryan.’

‘Last time, I think she wanted me to go with her to do something.’

Stepping out of the inn, Lu Wei stood outside and savored his “highlight moment” once more before heading toward Daffodil Lane.

Little did he know, once he learned the truth, all these “highlights” would become “blemishes,” permanently staining his life.

From Mirana’s perspective, his recent words and actions probably made him look like the cringey try-hard of the class.

He’d said things he thought were cool, but in reality, they were cringey as hell.

When the time came, Lu Wei would surely be overcome with the urge to kill someone to silence them.

Under normal circumstances, he would have found out what a fucking idiot he was in just a few hours.

But unfortunately, the one person in the know, Bai Ya, was currently in a bit of a special situation.

…

…

“What are you doing?!”

Meanwhile, in the front yard of the small cabin.

While Lu Wei was on his way to find Aryan, Bai Ya was blocking the door to the cabin, facing off against Silas and Watson, who stood two meters away.

“We already told you. We just want to borrow some money from an old friend for an emergency.”

Silas crossed his arms, a mocking sneer on his face.

Watson wore a similar expression, his fingers casually stroking the hilt of the Sword at his waist.

“As our former teammate, you wouldn’t just leave us to die, would you?”

“Impossible!!”

Bai Ya bit her lip hard. “You two Swindlers! I’d rather throw the money in the river than give it to you!”

“Swindlers?”

Silas shook his head, feigning hurt. “Now that’s a sad thing to say. When did we ever lie to you?”

“This morning! Everything you told me was a lie!”

Bai Ya’s hands clenched unconsciously, her voice trembling with anger.

“From the very beginning, you never cared whether I lived or died! You never even looked for me! You were just after my money!!”

“Hahaha, you finally figured it out? Seems you’re not as stupid as you used to be.”

Silas let out a piercing laugh. “But let me stress this again: we’re not swindling money, we’re *borrowing* it.”

“Then I’m not lending it!” Bai Ya said resolutely.

“Not lending it, huh…”

Silas and Watson exchanged a look and drew their One-handed Swords in unison.

“Not lending it isn’t an option.”

“Y-You!”

Seeing them switch from borrowing to robbing, Bai Ya’s eyes widened, and she instinctively reached to draw her Sword.

But her hand grasped at empty air.

She had taken off her Short Sword while eating, and it was now lying quietly on the table inside the house.

Even though it was only three to five meters away, they would surely stop her the moment she made a move.

But without a Weapon, there was no way she could beat these two robbers, Silas and Watson… even if they didn’t know any Combat Skills.

As their former “teammate,” Bai Ya had a rough idea of their fighting strength—

—about the same as an adult Kobold.

And while Bai Ya had indeed killed many Kobolds, she had mostly done so by shooting them from a distance with Crossbow Arrows, or in unfair duels within a [Force Field].

But now, she had no Crossbow Arrows, no Weapon, and no Force Field.

‘What do I do? What do I do? Should I run?’

‘They’re after money. If I run, I should be able to get away.’

‘Captain said that while money is important, you have to be alive to spend it.’

‘But if they break in, they’ll definitely find my coin purse.’

‘I don’t care about my own money, but the bounty for those ears is in there, and the Pendant the captain gave me…’

Her face pale, Bai Ya stood blocking the doorway, trying desperately to think of a plan.

But alas, hindered by her pathetic 1 point in Perception, she racked her brain and still couldn’t come up with a solution.

Silas and Watson immediately noticed her hesitation and took another step forward, applying more pressure.

“Heh, our patience is limited. If you don’t know what’s good for you, don’t blame us for forgetting our old friendship.”

“Y-You…”

As their shadows fell over her, Bai Ya instinctively took another step back.

And it was this step that allowed her to catch a glimpse, in her peripheral vision, of Hess cowering behind the door, its eyes filled with terror.

…

‘Ah, I forgot about Hess!’

‘Run, quick!’

Growing even more anxious, Bai Ya didn’t dare speak. She could only pray inwardly that Hess would escape quickly, lest it be casually cut down by Silas or Watson.

However, who would have thought that not only did Hess not run, but it even shuffled a step forward, a hint of courage appearing in its eyes.

“Prrr…”

The little grunt trembled, but its meaning was “I’m not afraid.”

But Bai Ya wasn’t using [Beast Language] at the moment, so she didn’t know what it was saying. She just looked at Silas and Watson in a panic, hoping they hadn’t heard.

But the two men weren’t deaf. Of course they heard the sound, which was like a sow’s grunt.

“What was that?!”

They instantly became alert, raising their Swords horizontally in front of them in a defensive stance.

But in Hess’s eyes, this was a prelude to them harming Bai Ya.

“HRUMPH!”

The next second, its round eyes shot wide open, and its snow-white fluff instantly turned black.

Then, without even waiting for a command from Bai Ya, it leaped out from behind the door without a second thought, slamming into Silas’s face like a “fluffy cannonball.” It desperately spread its fluff, trying to block the man’s vision with its body.

“HRUMPH!!!”

“AH!!”

The sudden turn of events scared Silas out of his wits. He fell on his butt and screamed, swinging his Sword wildly like a headless fly.

The terrified Watson also turned pale with fright and quickly retreated a few steps, afraid of being accidentally hit by Silas.

The two had clearly not expected this. Coupled with the fact that they weren’t Adventurers with any real Power, their reaction was far out of proportion to the threat Hess actually posed.

Their opponent had landed a single basic attack, and they’d already blown their ultimate, their Flash, and their heal.

Meanwhile, after being stunned for two seconds, Bai Ya finally reacted. She seized the opportunity to rush back into the house, snatch up her Short Sword, and draw it from its scabbard in one smooth motion.

In less than a second, the sound of the Sword Scabbard hitting the floor and the sharp whistle of the sword tip cutting through the air rang out almost simultaneously.

To be honest, if you ignored the two seconds she was stunned, Bai Ya’s combat prowess was far superior to that of Silas and Watson.

But five or six seconds had passed. No matter how amateurish the two were, they were still Adventurers who had muddled through in the forest for a few years, so by now they had finally dealt with the trouble that was Hess.

THUD!

With a heavy thud, Silas finally managed to forcibly tear Hess off his face and slam it hard onto the ground.

The violent struggle had torn out a large handful of its fluff. The once plump black ball instantly deflated in one spot, turning from a round ball into a dented one.

“Damn it, what the hell is that thing!”

Cursing while still shaken, he didn’t even bother to check if he’d killed Hess. He scrambled to grab his One-handed Sword, which he’d flung away nearby.

But just then, a glint of sunlight reflecting off a blade flashed across his eyes.

…

Silas instinctively looked up, and his eyes shot wide open.

But the Short Sword didn’t stop for his stupor. Reflected in his rapidly contracting pupils, a silver arc of the blade tore through the air from above, striking his left shoulder in the blink of an eye.

SPLURCH—!

The blade tore through flesh and severed bone. The dismembered arm fell to the ground, its fingers still twitching faintly.

Warm blood sprayed out like a fountain, dyeing Bai Ya’s long skirt a jarring crimson.

Silas stiffly turned his head, staring in disbelief at his empty left shoulder. His mouth hung open, but all that came from his throat was a gurgling gasp.

Then, the excruciating pain washed over him like a tide.

Right shoulder, chest, stomach… His consciousness was rapidly fading, but in his increasingly blurring vision, Bai Ya was still swinging her Sword.

Splattering droplets of blood struck her body, her face, her eyes. Strands of her loose brown hair stuck to her cheeks and shoulders, making her look like a Demon that had just crawled out of Hell.

“M-Mad…”

“S-She’s gone mad…”

A few meters away, Watson, his face pale, watched Bai Ya frantically hacking at the corpse. He was completely dumbfounded.

After stumbling back a few steps, he turned and fled, scrambling and crawling, shouting as he ran—

“Murder! Murder!!!”

…

The terrified shouts quickly faded at the end of the path. Only after Watson had completely disappeared from sight did Bai Ya finally stop, collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut. She sat beside the mangled corpse, gasping for breath.

The Short Sword slipped weakly from her hand and fell into the pool of blood beneath her.

The sun was still bright, and the wild thistles in the corner of the yard swayed gently in the breeze.

…

…

“Teacher, don’t forget to change Mr. Barton’s dressing later~”

“I’ll be back before nightfall~”

Meanwhile, at the Sawing and Sewing clinic.

Under Elder’s resentful gaze, Aryan, carrying a small bag, ran joyfully up to Lu Wei.

“Okay, we can go now~”

“Mm…”

Lu Wei glanced at Elder, feeling a little guilty.

After all, it was because of him that Aryan had asked for three hours off.

As a fellow Crafty Merchant, he could completely understand how Elder was feeling right now.

But he had to declare that he had by no means betrayed the ranks of the Crafty Merchants.

‘Besides, this old geezer doesn’t even pay his apprentice a salary, so taking a little time off is no great loss.’

After a moment, Lu Wei retracted his gaze and looked at Aryan.

“So, where exactly are we going?”

“I already said it’s a secret.”

Aryan shook her head mysteriously, tugging on his sleeve and urging,

“Hurry up, you’ll find out in a bit~”

‘So what’s the difference if you tell me now?’

‘Young girls just love playing these kinds of games.’

“Fine… Uncle Elder, we’re leaving now.”

Lu Wei nodded resignedly, said goodbye to Elder, and was then pulled out of the clinic’s main door by Aryan.

They hadn’t even left Daffodil Lane when a man in a grayish-white uniform approached them.

Pinned to his chest was a Shield-shaped badge, indicating he was a member of the Heitai Town guard.

Generally, this kind of “law enforcement agency” was mostly composed of locals.

Heitai Town was no different, so both Lu Wei and Aryan knew this man.

“Uncle Reck, good afternoon~”

Aryan waved and greeted him from seven or eight meters away.

But the man didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he quickened his pace, walked over, and said with a serious expression:

“Aryan, you need to come with me to the guard station right now.”

“The guard station?”

Aryan was taken aback. “What’s wrong?”

The man’s expression was grim. “A friend of yours just killed someone. Since she’s not a resident of the town, we need you to identify her.”

“Huh? Killed someone?”

Aryan’s eyes widened instantly. She asked in shock, “Who is she? What’s her name?”

“Her name is…”

The man recalled for a moment. “Oh, right. Her name is Bai Ya.”

…

Lu Wei: Huh?