Chapter 14: Cooling Down

“Hoo…”

The morning was frigid; the water mist in the air drifted out like white smoke with every breath.

With the mace, the two-handed axe, and two daggers tucked into his belt, Xia Nan carried the heavy pack on his back, feeling a vague sense of exhaustion. But the moment he thought of the price they might fetch back in town, his spirits lifted again. This trip had been far more profitable than farming back home.

The morning sun pierced through the gaps in the tree canopy, casting patches of light onto the lush meadow. Walking mechanically, Xia Nan’s thoughts drifted.

Regarding the deceased Maji, he simply felt the man didn’t have to end up like this. Even though he had absorbed eighteen years of memories from his predecessor, the consciousness steering this body was a soul that truly belonged to modern civilization. It wasn’t about putting on airs; Xia Nan genuinely felt that Maji didn’t need to act out that pretense of generosity. He could have just clearly and openly stated his demands, and if there was a disagreement, they could have negotiated.

After all, the bugbear had been killed by both of them. Maji’s two arrows had drained the “Deflection Field” cooldown of the [Deathline] ring and pierced the enemy’s eye, inducing paralysis, which gave Xia Nan the opportunity to land the killing blow with his upgraded body. Maji’s contribution was undeniable. Under those circumstances, as long as Maji had been honest, even if he had asked for the enchanted ring, Xia Nan would have been willing to accept it, provided he received his fair share.

In his view, if he could have such a harvest on his very first adventure, then continuing to run missions with an experienced adventurer like Maji would likely have yielded steady, decent returns.

Replaying the events now, Xia Nan felt he had made two mistakes:

First, his mindset hadn’t shifted. Even though he had traveled to another world, he still subconsciously treated the people and events around him with the values and perspectives of his past life. Perhaps he needed to be more “down to earth.”

Second, he had approached issues with assumptions, lacking a clear understanding of the realities of adventuring. The fact that Maji, a veteran hunter would risk everything to try and swallow the loot solo suggested that magical items in this world, or at least among bottom-tier adventurers like them, were far more precious than he had imagined.

As time passed, the mist dissipated.

The temperature in the air gradually rose, the dense jungle grew sparse, and human-made trails appeared more frequently. Smoke curled from chimneys, and medieval-style brick houses came into view.

A clear stream meandered along, where several women dressed as farmhands were crouched, washing clothes and laughing from time to time. Two small children played by the side of the road; one held a crude wooden sword, face solemn with righteous indignation, while the other gestured wildly, as if acting out the part of some monster.

Having stayed in the Mist Forest for so long, far removed from human habitation, Xia Nan’s tightly coiled nerves relaxed in the face of this ordinary, human scene. Since the town housed the only Adventurer’s Association in the area, the locals were clearly no strangers to adventurers.

Seeing Xia Nan walking alone along the country path, loaded down with bags, the two children looked curious. However, perhaps warned by their parents, they didn’t approach, instead watching him wide-eyed from a distance.

Xia Nan, having just escaped the high-pressure, danger-filled environment of the Mist Forest, felt a moment of ease. Seeing that the children looked frail, clearly suffering from chronic hunger and malnutrition, he pulled a piece of dried meat from his cloak, broke it in two, and beckoned to them.

When the children saw the meat, their eyes lit up. They immediately scurried over. Watching the two devour the food, Xia Nan gently patted one on the head and asked offhandedly:

“What are your names?”

“Moses.” “Fay…”

Xia Nan nodded, just about to say something else, when a hurried, anxious voice came from behind.

“Sir, sir, I am sorry!”

Turning around, he saw a blonde woman in an apron. She looked to be under thirty, full-figured, with freckles on her cheeks and two braids over her shoulders—a simple, rustic image. She was likely the mother of the two children; the moment she appeared, the kids ran toward her.

“Didn’t I tell you not to talk to this… kind of gentleman?”

“But Mom, the meat!”

“Forget the meat, even if it were sweet cake, you wouldn’t take it! Behave!”

The deliberately hushed voice drifted to his ears. The joy Xia Nan had felt upon leaving the forest gradually cooled.

Noticing he was looking at her, the woman hurriedly pulled her children behind her. Regardless of the sweat on her face from running, she bowed repeatedly:

“I am sorry, sir, really sorry.”

Xia Nan glanced at the two boys hiding behind their mother’s back, silent as if they had committed a grave sin. Looking at the woman, tense and forcing a stiff smile, Xia Nan suddenly lost the desire to speak. He waved his hand and turned to leave.

Meanwhile, not far from Xia Nan, in a house with closed doors and windows:

“What do you say, Boss? Should we make a move?” a burly man with a dull expression asked, crouched under the window sill in an awkward posture.

“No rush. Let’s observe a bit longer,” replied a man with a fierce-looking buzzcut.

“What are we waiting for? I checked—he’s all alone!” the dull man said, sounding anxious. “He’s got hammers and axes; there must be plenty of valuables on him! If we don’t move now, someone else might snatch it!” He gripped the pitchfork on the ground, ready to push the door open.

He was rewarded with a slap to the back of the head.

“You realize the guy is covered in weapons, right?” the buzzcut man whispered sharply. “He’s just one person, walking straight out of the Mist Forest like he owns the place, and he’s not even injured.”

“Do you really think he’s a fat lamb? You think you just stumble upon that kind of luck?”

The buzzcut man felt more certain of his deduction as he pressed against the wall, peering through the window crack at his subordinate:

“Look, the adventurers we usually run into—aren’t they always in groups of three or five? Even the ones who are alone are always covered in wounds, barely escaping with their lives. How many people have you seen walk down the middle of the road like him, carrying all that loot without a care in the world?”

“I guess I haven’t seen that,” the dull man scratched his head. “So, Boss, what do we do?”

The buzzcut man cast one last wary glance out the window before pulling back.

“The kid looks young, but he’s likely got some tricks up his sleeve. Not worth the risk.”

“Forget it this time. Let’s wait a couple of days and see if a better target shows up. We’re leaving soon anyway, we’ll just pull one job and run. These adventurers die by the dozens every year—toss a body into the woods, and who’s going to know?”

“Boss, I’m with you!”

(End of Chapter)