Tying Hair

Her hair was messy from the wind, with a few strands clinging to her cheeks and bits of grass stuck to her head.

Suren was reminded of countless mornings when she would sit on the bed, holding a polished horn comb in her hand, braiding Talisha's hair.

Talisha's hair had been soft and fine, like willow branches budding in spring, always slipping stubbornly through her fingers.

Whenever Suren slowed down, Talisha would stomp her feet in frustration and say, “Hurry up, Mama! Meini and the others are waiting for me.”

Suren would then tap the back of her daughter's head, telling her to stop moving so she wouldn't mess up the braids.

“Shall I tie your hair for you?” Suren blurted out as she looked at the black hair.

In all her time playing this game, this was the first time an NPC had initiated this kind of interaction.

She hadn't let her own mother tie her hair since she was in elementary school.

Her mother had always sent her off to school with a smile, completely unbothered by her messy, bedhead hair.

“Sure.” Wu Yao turned around and crouched down, positioning herself so it would be easy for Suren to reach.

Suren's fingers slid through Wu Yao's hair. Her movements were skilled and gentle, as if she were touching something fragile.

She gathered Wu Yao's black hair, using her fingers as a comb to smooth it down.

“You have beautiful hair,” Suren said softly. “So black and shiny. My Talisha's was just like this.”

Her calloused fingertips brushed against Wu Yao's scalp, bringing a strange, unfamiliar sensation.

Wu Yao remained silent. Her own mother had never been this gentle; every time she did her hair, she pulled so hard it felt like her scalp was being ripped off.

Well, that was exactly why she had adamantly refused to let her mother touch her hair after starting elementary school.

Suren pulled a simple, elegantly patterned blue-and-white cloth strip from her bosom. After tying it securely, she gently patted the knot, her eyes filled with tenderness. Standing nearby, Benita felt a sudden, inexplicable wave of sadness.

As a mother herself, she had already sensed what was going on.

“So, can you come with me now?” Wu Yao tossed the braid behind her back. It was braided tightly and hung heavily against her neck. She figured she would probably just cut it off with scissors later for convenience.

“Find someone else. I'm going to die soon,” Suren said with a faint smile, speaking of her own death as if it were nothing.

She had already avenged her daughter.

When that beast died, his eyes had been wide and bulging. She had been very careful not to let any blood splatter on her, simply standing there and watching his fat carcass slowly grow cold.

She thought she would feel afraid, thrilled, or excited, but there was nothing—only a dead, silent calm, as if she had just finished a necessary household chore.

Now, she was only waiting for the final end to arrive.

Wu Yao stared at the health bar above Suren's head: 【HP: 60/60】. Although her maximum HP was low, it was completely full. Tilting her head, she asked curiously, “Why?”

Suren shook her head and hushed her like a child. “It's a secret. You should leave quickly.”

She tried to step around Wu Yao to leave, but Wu Yao spread her arms and blocked her path.

Players loved secrets. A secret meant hidden lore or quests, and there was no way she was going to miss out on that.

“Move aside.” Suren's tone and expression suddenly turned dark. Her brief tenderness vanished in the blink of an eye, like smoke scattered by the wind.

“You have to come with me,” Wu Yao said with a grin, not budging an inch.

Suren already had a heavy weight on her mind. Harassed by this thoughtless youngster, her tone grew even harsher. “If you don't want to be dragged into my mess, stay far away from me.”

“Dragged into your mess?” Drawing from her years of gaming experience, Wu Yao quickly formed a guess. Leaning in close to Suren, she whispered, “Did you kill someone?”

Suren's expression didn't change. She slowly let out an unreadable smile. “A person? I only killed a beast.”

As she spat out the word “beast,” her lips twisted into an odd, distorted curve, as if she were waiting for Wu Yao to show fear, terror, or disgust.

“So will there be pursuers? Do you want me to kill them all for you? Or do you have any other enemies I can deal with?” Wu Yao's eyes sparkled. “As long as you come with me.”

Suren failed to react for a moment, staring blankly at the excitement on the girl's face, completely at a loss for words.

She hadn't seen much of the world, but she knew this expression was abnormal. No sane person would look like this when talking about murder.

Benita stood not far away, holding Phelin's hand. She could faintly hear bits of their conversation.

Words like “kill” and “beast” drifted into her ears, but she didn't pay them much mind. Beside her, Phelin was cheerfully planning what she wanted to buy once they reached town.

“Well?” Wu Yao asked again when she didn't get an answer.

“I...” Suren was somewhat wary of this strange-looking youth and cautiously declined. “I've already taken my revenge.”

“Who did you kill? A noble? A lord? A plantation owner?” Wu Yao didn't know what kind of setting this game had, so she just rattled off a few common villain archetypes.

Suren didn't understand why this bizarre youth insisted on meddling in her business, acting as if she wanted to seek justice on her behalf.

Yet, there was clearly no sympathy or sense of justice on her face—only a stubborn determination to pry the answers out of her mouth.

She couldn't tell if the girl was a lunatic or a fool.

“Let me guess. Revenge... Your daughter was harmed by someone, so you killed that person, and now their family is hunting you down. Is that it?”

Wu Yao was all too familiar with this kind of plotline, putting the pieces together in just a few words.

“Yes.” Suren was no longer in a hurry to leave. Now that her secret had been guessed, her desire to unburden herself seemed to surge up all at once.

“My daughter, Talisha, was about your age. She was killed by that beast. A noble? He was nothing but a fat pig with grease dripping from his mouth. It barely took any effort to kill him.”

Suren's lips twitched, her eyes burning with hatred. “Are we dirt-poor peasants born to be trampled underfoot? It was the first time Talisha ever left home with me, so why did she have to run into a beast like that...”

Wu Yao thought to herself, I know this plot so well. Oppressed commoners, wicked nobles, innocent young victims, and a mother seeking vengeance alone—all of it was incredibly familiar!

Suren desperately needed an outlet, a way to pour out all the words she had bottled up for so long.

Once she started, she couldn't stop. “That beast thought I wouldn't dare do anything. He didn't even bring a guard. With just a gentle slice, I slit his throat. A noble? Hahahaha!”

She laughed hysterically, bending over double as tears welled in her eyes. She should have stabbed that beast the very first time he blocked their path!

Her outburst caught Benita's attention.

At first, Benita only heard a muffled laugh and thought Wu Yao had said something ridiculous again, but the more she listened, the more unsettling it sounded.

She let go of Phelin's hand and quickly walked over to Suren to confirm. “Did you kill someone?”

“I killed a beast,” Suren said, her eyes cold.

She regretted it. She should have burned that manor to the ground. Why had she just walked away?

“You need to run,” Benita said, unable to say much more. Her words of advice crumbled into a sigh when met with the calm resolve on Suren's face.

“We're right at the border anyway. Flee to the Ulanda Federation.”