The stone road was deathly quiet.
A shocking pool of blood remained where Zhou Yi had been dragged away.
Xu Zhiheng gripped the 【Acting Caravan Master】 wooden badge in his hand, his thumb mindlessly tracing the dark red scratch on the back.
Suppressing the rising irritation in his chest, he turned his gaze toward Damon.
Damon’s hand was still resting on the edge of his shield.
Meeting Xu Zhiheng's eyes, his face darkened instantly.
“Don’t look at me. I’m the Guard Captain. You all saw how those roots came at us just now.”
“If I go carry cargo, I won't have any time to defend against attacks. When that happens, you can expect to be poked full of holes.”
Xu Zhiheng was annoyed, but he had to admit Damon made sense.
If something happened to the Guard Captain, the road ahead would only become harder to traverse.
Even if he held the authority to command, he didn't want to push the only person capable of shielding him into another role.
Xu Zhiheng could only turn his gaze to Reece, but the latter was even more direct than Damon.
He raised the wooden badge in his hand, the words 【Cargo Escort】 on its surface gleaming faintly in the mist.
“I can’t do it either.”
Suppressing his temper, Xu Zhiheng asked, “Why?”
Reece glanced at the wooden chests by the roadside. “The Cargo Escort is responsible for verifying the cargo, while the Porter is responsible for moving it.”
“If these two duties are mixed, and something goes wrong with the cargo, does it count as my failure to escort, or my failure to carry?”
Xu Zhiheng’s face stiffened, a surge of irritation rising in his chest. Just as he was about to say something, Kolo suddenly moved beside him.
She took a step forward, her dark green cloak swaying gently with her movement. The heavy, double-bitted greataxe on her back remained as eye-catching as ever.
Kolo had always disliked watching people pass the buck.
If you could do something, you did it; if you couldn't, you didn't.
To her, carrying a few chests was much simpler than standing here listening to them make excuses for each other.
But just as she was about to speak, Rena’s voice rang out first.
“Su Xiaoman can do it.”
Kolo turned to look at her, and Su Xiaoman was completely stunned.
She had not yet recovered from the sight of Zhou Yi being dragged away, and this sudden recommendation was like a bucket of cold water poured over her head.
“Me?”
Her voice trembled as she instinctively took half a step back.
“I can’t. I’m the physician. How can I carry cargo?”
Rena stood to one side, her face devoid of any extra expression.
“You saw it just now. The Porter doesn’t need to physically carry the chests.”
“Besides, you were already in the middle of the formation, and given your unique status, you needed to be protected anyway.”
Having said that, she turned her gaze to the indecisive Xu Zhiheng.
“What does the Acting Caravan Master think?”
Xu Zhiheng’s eyes widened, as if he had suddenly been awakened.
Right.
Su Xiaoman.
He actually hadn't thought of her just now.
Su Xiaoman was timid, had no mind of her own, and was used to listening to him.
More importantly, she was one of his own.
As long as she took on the role of the Porter, the cargo would nominally follow her, but in reality, it would still remain under his control.
When they cleared the dungeon and settled the quest rewards, Su Xiaoman’s share would naturally be distributed according to his arrangements as well.
The anxiety in Xu Zhiheng’s heart finally subsided.
He looked at Su Xiaoman, the expression on his face softening slightly compared to before.
“Xiaoman.”
Su Xiaoman shuddered at his call, shaking her head repeatedly.
“No, Zhiheng, I really can’t. Zhou Yi died just now because of carrying the cargo. I don’t want to take that badge.”
“I still have to heal you all. I can’t take on another duty...”
She spoke in a frantic, disorganized rush, her eyes quickly turning red.
Xu Zhiheng walked up to her and lowered his voice. “Zhou Yi didn’t die because of carrying cargo.”
Su Xiaoman froze for a moment. Xu Zhiheng stared into her eyes, emphasizing every word:
“He died because he pocketed the cargo. As long as you don’t do something that stupid, you’ll be fine.”
Su Xiaoman’s face was clouded with worry.
Of course she wouldn’t pocket it; she didn’t even want to touch it.
Sensing her hesitation, Xu Zhiheng softened his tone again.
“And think about it. The Porter is positioned in the middle of the team.”
“The cargo is so important that Damon will protect you, Reece will keep an eye on the goods, and Severn’s lantern will shine on you.”
“Taking this duty actually makes you safer.”
Su Xiaoman stared at him blankly, those last few words acting like a fine thread that slowly hooked her chaotic thoughts.
She was afraid of dying—she was far too afraid of death.
When Zhou Yi was dragged away just now, she hadn't even dared to spare him a second glance.
If the cargo was truly that important, then wouldn't standing next to it mean she wouldn't be easily abandoned?
At least everyone would keep their eyes on her, and Xu Zhiheng would watch over her too.
“Will you... really protect me?”
Her voice was very soft. Xu Zhiheng raised his hand and pressed it onto her shoulder.
“Of course. You are very important to me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
When these words fell, a faint trace of sarcasm flickered deep within Isolde’s eyes.
In her past life, Su Xiaoman had been fed on these very words.
Back then, Su Xiaoman had always felt she was different from the others.
She was the person Xu Zhiheng trusted, the most special one by his side.
Because of this, she had been willing to hand him the blade, trick others out of potions for him, and sprinkle lethal powder on innocent people.
Even when Yu Lingye begged her for just a little more healing potion, Su Xiaoman had only looked down on her, her eyes filled with a ridiculous sort of pity.
“Lingye, you can't go on like this. In a place like this, no one is going to treat you well for no reason.”
“You don’t even know how to please a man. You deserve to end up like this.”
At that time, Yu Lingye had not argued back.
It wasn't that she didn't understand; she understood all too well.
She understood too well how many hooks were hidden beneath those gentle words, and she understood too well that every bit of favor a man like Xu Zhiheng handed out would eventually be reaped back with interest.
Xu Zhiheng would never truly love anyone.
He merely enjoyed having someone depend on him, obey him, and clean up his dirty work for him.
Speaking of which, Yu Lingye actually admired Su Xiaoman a little.
At least in a place like this, she indeed relied on this set of skills to live a more decent life than many others.
It was just that Yu Lingye could never learn such a way of survival.
Nor did she deign to learn it.
She could bow her head, she could endure, and she could temporarily crush her dignity and swallow it down just to stay alive.
But she could not treat a rope tied around her neck as some kind of affection worth boasting about.
Thus, back then, Su Xiaoman had looked at her like a pitiful wretch who didn't understand the rules.
And Yu Lingye had looked at Su Xiaoman like a beautiful, well-tamed hound.
But a hound was a hound in the end.
When starving, a wicked person's first thought would never be to slice off their own flesh.
Instead, they would gently coax the most obedient one to their side.
Su Xiaoman seemed to grab onto her last shred of security.
She slowly turned her head, looking at the blood-stained 【Porter】 wooden badge on the ground.
As if sensing its new owner, the wooden badge shifted slightly on its own.
Several tiny roots wriggled out from the stone cracks, pushing it toward Su Xiaoman's feet.
Terrified, Su Xiaoman shrank back, but Xu Zhiheng's hand pressed down on her shoulder, preventing her from retreating.
“Pick it up,” his voice murmured close to her ear. “Once we get out, I'll give you whatever you want.”
Su Xiaoman stared at his handsome profile, her eyelashes trembling violently.
In the end, she obediently approached the wooden badge.
The moment her fingertips touched the wooden badge, a trace of dark red light slid in through her finger.
【Porter duty confirmed.】
The wooden badge at Su Xiaoman’s waist suddenly lit up.
The words 【Caravan Physician】 shrank slightly, and new writing emerged beside them.
【Porter】
At the same time, dense, fine roots suddenly wriggled out from the bottom of the wooden chests by the roadside, moving closer to Su Xiaoman.
She froze on the spot, not daring to move.
Xu Zhiheng said gently, “See? You don't need to carry them. They'll follow you on their own.”
Su Xiaoman stared blankly at the chests. Hearing Xu Zhiheng’s gentle voice, the tightly wound string in her heart finally loosened slightly.
It seemed... she really didn't need to carry them.
As long as she walked in the middle, didn't run around, and didn't touch what she shouldn't, she wouldn't be dragged away like Zhou Yi.
Su Xiaoman nodded gently. “I understand.”
Isolde stood to the side, remaining silent.
The mist slowly pressed in from both sides of the stone road, and the direction of the central ancient tree remained quiet.
But she already understood.
Xu Zhiheng had not learned how to lead a team or respect the rules from Zhou Yi’s death.
He had only learned how to allocate the greatest benefits to himself and avoid taking a loss.
Isolde looked at the wooden chests at Su Xiaoman’s feet, her eyes devoid of even a shred of pity.
In her past life, Su Xiaoman had always loved hiding behind Xu Zhiheng, actively pushing Yu Lingye to the front to die.
In this life, Isolde had merely suggested a name.
From the moment Su Xiaoman took the wooden badge, the cargo was no longer just cargo.
It was a rope.
One end was held in Xu Zhiheng's hand.
The other end tied Su Xiaoman to a ledger of interests.
Rate on N.U.
