Chapter 38 The Muscular Chick

They had been walking for a while when the muscular chick spoke again.

"Why did they even send you here?" she asked. "They know a male’s going to get treated like trash the whole time."

Lin Feng didn’t have a good answer. "I’ve been wondering the same thing."

He really had. Sect Master Yue Qingfeng had looked at him like he saw some potential in hin and said that vague line about reminding him of his younger self, then dropped him into an all female managed cursed swamp with a deadline.

Silence settled again. But after a stretch she spoke once more.

"Heard you weren’t half bad in a fight. Would’ve liked to find out how true that is." She gave him a menacing grin.

"Uhh i’ll pass on the offer for now," Lin Feng said.

She shrugged. "Your loss."

He tried asking about the Orchid Veil Sect after that. What it was like inside, how many disciples, whether the stories about the sect were exaggerated. Every question got shut down with a flat look or a short "not your business."

The system chimed in his head.

[Irritation detected]

[Rage Value +18]

[Note: Host’s curiosity remains poorly timed.]

Lin Feng took the hint and shut up. They kept walking and jis mind started running through what he actually had on him. The clothes he’s wearing, watch token and hatever was left of his prid. He had walked into a sealed swamp with no resources like an idiot. He slapped his own forehead.

"Is there a town or village nearby?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I need to buy some things. A sack,waterskin and a knife. Basic stuff. Is that not allowed either?"

She looked at him for a second, then shrugged and changed direction without another word. The village sat in a shallow valley, it was mid sized, with proper wooden houses and a small market street. Both men and women moved through it. When they saw a sect disciple walking in with a man, conversations faltered and eyes yes followed them.

The muscular chick noticed the looks and her lips curled in a sneer.

"What are you looking at?" she said, loud enough for the nearest men to hear. "Keep staring and I’ll assume you don’t need those eyes anymore. Disgusting."

She glanced at Lin Feng. "This place falls under sect protection. Buy what you need and don’t linger. I want out of here."

He nodded and headed into the market. The coins he had earned from assessment tasks and the missions were still in his inner pocket. He found a stall selling travel goods and picked out a sturdy leather satchel, a waterskin, and a simple but sharp knife. The merchant kept glancing between him and the disciple standing behind him with her arms crossed.

"So... you’re with the Orchid Veil, young master?" the man asked carefully.

Lin Feng opened his mouth. But the muscular Chick’s glare hit the merchant like a punch and the man clamped his jaw shut and focused on counting the coins.

Purchases done, Lin Feng slung the satchel over his shoulder. He wasn’t quite done with exploring the village. They had a small tavern further down the street. The smell of food and drifted from there and he took a step towards it.

Suddenly strong hand clamped onto his shoulder and dragged him backward with zero effort.

"You got what you came for," she said. "No reason to stay."

"I was just—"

One look from her cut the protest off. The system pinged again.

[Irritation rising]

[Rage Value +22]

[Current Rage Points : 1802]

"Alright, alright," Lin Feng muttered. "No tavern, Got it. Your hospitality continues to impress."

She didn’t bother answering. They left the village the same way they came in. He noticed she walked faster once the houses were behind them, like the place annoyed her. This time he didn’t ask why.

"Let’s go hunt something," he said once the trees closed in again. She didn’t object to that.

The forest around the swamp was denser than the outer sect woods but far more normal. Lin Feng tried using Fleet Footed Coward Dash to close on a pair of rabbits. The first attempt ended with him landing face first in a bush while the rabbits vanished. The muscular chick laughed seeing his failed attempt.

He wiped leaves off his face and tried again. With better footing he managed to snag two rabbits and a fat forest bird before the afternoon wore down. On the last catch he kicked up a spray of wet mud that slapped across her robes. She looked down at herself, then at him. The temperature around them seemed to drop.

[Target irritation spiked]

[Rage Value +41]

[Cureent Rage Points : 1843]

"That was accidental," Lin Feng said quickly.

She kicked him in the leg hard enough to drop him onto the dirt.

"Stay put," she said. "I’ll be back."

She stalked off into the trees. Lin Feng watched her go, then grinned to himself and pulled out the new knife. He had the rabbits and the bird skinned and wrapped in clean leaves and packed them into the satchel. He still needed some fruits, water and a chance to get the swamp smell off his skin.

He moved forward until the sound of running water reached him. A clear stream cut through the rocks, widening further up into a deeper pool. Lin Feng knelt and filled the waterskin. When he looked ahead he saw a robe folded on a flat stone near the pool. His brain froze for a second. H e knew that robe.

He should have turned around. Instead the old Earth habit surfaced, the same one that used to get him kicked out of gyms and other places. Women had always been his weakness. He edged closer, just enough to see.

The scene infront of him took his breath away. There was a naked broadened shoulder with wet dark hair clinging to skin, muscles shifting under the surface as she washed. He desperately tried to get to a different angle but it was difficult without being seen so he chose to stay where he was.

"Come on, turn around a bit. " He whispered.

But she never did and the only thing he saw was her naked back. He stood there for some more minute and his heart was thumping loudly. His pants grown uncomfortably tight, while a completely stupid idea crossed his mind. If he either announce himself, or worse, move the robe the Rage Points would be massive but his body probably wouldn’t survive the aftermath.

He forced himself to back away before she finished. He circled through the trees, waited a few minutes, then walked back toward the stream while making enough noise to be obvious.

She was already dressed, tying the last knot on her robe. Her eyes narrowed the moment she saw him.

"Were you here earlier?"

"No," Lin Feng said. He lifted the waterskin. "Just filled this. Was coming to wash off."

She studied his face for a second, then snorted. "Then go soak."

Her hand shot out, grabbed the front of his robe, and threw him. Lin Feng didn’t even have time to scream before he hit the water. Cold shot through him. He thrashed up, coughing and clothes completely soaked again, and glared at her from the pool.

"Rude."

She only grinned and turned away. He climbed out, dripping and shivering, and collected a few non glowing fruits while they walked back toward a clearer patch of forest. Night was already pulling in. He gathered dry wood, got a small fire going with the tools from his new satchel, and roasted the meat. When it was done he held a portion out to her. She took it after a moment’s hesitation.They ate in silence at first. Then she spoke, quieter than before.

"The swamp doesn’t like outsiders. Especially men. The fact you’re still breathing after a night in there is... not common."

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

"It wasn’t a compliment. That meant you might be a trouble for us."

But she didn’t get up and leave. They talked a little more, nothing deep, just how the fog shifted, which outer channels were less likely to get you killed, how the token would burn if he pushed the boundaries. It wasn’t friendly, exactly. It was just less hostile than every other conversation he had had with an Orchid Veil disciple so far.

When the fire started burning out, he stretched out on the dirt with the satchel as a pillow. She stayed sitting, back against a tree, clearly taking first watch.

Lin Feng closed his eyes. The last image that drifted through his head before sleep took him was the line of her shoulder in the water, and the completely suicidal thought of how many Rage Points that temper of hers was probably worth.