When Lu Mao returned to the inn with Novia, Balen and his companions were utterly dumbfounded.
Just a moment before Lu Mao pushed open the inn's front door, Balen had been regaling some newly arrived rookie adventurers with the legendary tale of “Lu Mao the Dragon Rider.”
He had been telling it with flying spit and boundless passion.
But now, seeing the man himself actually walk in, Balen was so startled his lips began to tremble.
Fortunately, his descriptions of certain details had been highly euphemistic; unless someone was an experienced old hand, it was unlikely they would grasp the hidden double entendres upon first hearing them.
The inn's landlady, who had dealt with adventurers for years, knew exactly who the “little girl” standing next to Lu Mao was.
She hurriedly wiped her hands on her apron, poured a cup of hot water, and offered it to her—only to be ruthlessly rejected.
“Does Milady require a room? I'll prepare one right away—”
“No need,” Novia waved her hand dismissively. “Whichever room he's staying in, I'll just stay there.”
Upon hearing this, Balen, who had just taken a sip of water to calm his nerves, couldn't hold it in and spat it all out.
He lowered his head to clean up the mess while secretly flashing a thumbs-up at Lu Mao, as if to say, “Impressive, brother. It's only been one night, and you've already won her over.”
Lu Mao was speechless. He wanted to explain what had actually happened, but he couldn't.
Balen's thumbs-up was practically waving right in front of his nose, and the mischievous grin buried in his bushy beard was impossible to ignore.
After holding it in for a long while, Lu Mao managed to squeeze out only two words from between his teeth: “It's... not...”
Balen waved his thumb even more enthusiastically, his face practically screaming “I get it, I get it.” Then, clutching his cup, he scurried back into his corner and continued to stare at Lu Mao with a look that made his scalp tingle.
The landlady's gaze darted back and forth between Novia and Lu Mao. Asking no questions, she retrieved a room key from beneath the counter, her movements at least thirty percent swifter than usual.
Novia took the key and glanced at Lu Mao, her eyes clearly telling him to lead the way.
Lu Mao led Novia up to the third floor and pushed open his room door.
He usually slept on the bottom bunk, while the top bunk was piled with spare arrow quivers and bandages.
He gathered the clutter piece by piece to clear the top bunk. Just as he was about to say, “All cleared,” he turned around and froze—
Novia was already lying on her side on the top bunk, her face buried in the pillow. Her dragon horns rested crookedly against the edge of the bed frame, and her breathing was steady and deep.
She hadn't even wiped off the bloodstains on her uniform.
Only then did Lu Mao recall that she had spent the entire night hunting and killing cultists, and hadn't even changed her clothes since returning.
Standing by the bedside, he looked up at her sleeping face, his emotions a bit tangled.
She looked down on him, but then again, when had Lu Mao ever liked her?
A Dragon Rank expert who had toyed with him during his review, and a Silver Rank ranger who had supposedly climbed the ranks through connections—
For two people who mutually disliked each other to be forced together was nothing short of a cosmic joke.
Forget it. Dislike was one thing, but holding a grudge while someone was sleeping was just petty.
Lu Mao quietly closed the door behind him, walked over to Liz's room, and knocked twice.
“Come in,” Misha's voice drifted from inside, slightly softer than usual, clearly afraid of disturbing someone.
Lu Mao pushed the door open. The room was filled with a faint scent of herbs, mingled with the lingering warm fragrance of Holy Light.
Liz was leaning halfway against the headboard, her light flaxen hair splayed across the pillow. Her face was even paler than when they had last met, but upon seeing Lu Mao enter, she managed to force a small smile and weakly lifted a finger in greeting.
Misha sat by the bedside, clutching a damp cloth soaked in herbal decoction, carefully applying it to the back of Liz's hand.
She glanced over at Lu Mao, her eyes carrying a trace of exhaustion, but even more so, a sense of relief.
“She woke up not long ago,” Misha said. “She had some hot soup, and she's doing a bit better now.”
Lu Mao nodded and sat down on a chair at the foot of the bed.
“Where are the captain and the others? I didn't see them when I came in.”
“The captain went to the guild to settle today's commissions. Gerak and Elliot went to buy supplies for our journey tomorrow—potions, dry rations, spare bandages, and a few alchemy materials. Elliot said we might need them on the road.”
As Misha spoke, she gently flipped the damp cloth over, her movements incredibly tender.
On the road...
“Is there news from Elliot?”
Misha nodded, a hint of joy she couldn't conceal creeping into her voice: “His family sent a reply. They're sending a carriage to pick us up tomorrow.”
“Sigh, they've done so much for Liz. I really don't know how we'll ever repay them...”
“Don't talk like that,” Lu Mao interjected, his gaze settling on Liz's pale, almost bloodless face.
“Everyone wants little Liz to get better. Balen is already planning to take you to Rhode City's night market once you've recovered. He keeps saying there's a roasted mutton chop place that's incredibly authentic. He's been bragging about it for half a month, basically just looking for an excuse to go stuff his face again.”
Hearing this, the corners of Liz's mouth curled upward slightly.
She tilted her head, her light flaxen hair sliding off her shoulder, revealing her calm, light green eyes.
Looking at Lu Mao, her voice was soft but her pronunciation was very clear: “Thank you, everyone.”
She turned her gaze to Misha, sliding her fingers out from beneath the blanket to gently rest them on the back of Misha's hand, which was holding the damp cloth.
“Big Sister used to frown every single day, but now she doesn't seem to frown as much.”
“So don't worry about me. I'll take my medicine and eat my meals properly to build up my strength.”
The moment Liz finished speaking, a line of system prompts suddenly popped up at the edge of Lu Mao's vision.
【New Quest: Survive the Cultists' Attacks for Five Days】
【Quest Reward: Save Attempt +1, Special Rune Explosive ×1】
【Bonus Sub-quest: Protect Liz and ensure her safe arrival at the alchemist's secluded retreat, free from attacks by other factions】
【Quest Reward: Save Attempt +1, Black Dragon Bow ×1】
That was a lot of information to take in.
Two more quests added all at once, and finally, quest rewards other than just save attempts were starting to appear.
It seemed his tireless daily grinding over the past dozen days had finally yielded some results.
The system was unlikely to issue quests at random. He had already mentally prepared himself for the cultists trying to assassinate him, but—
Why would Liz and the others be attacked?
“Lu Mao?” Misha noticed his expression flicker for a split second and asked with concern.
“It's nothing. I just remembered I have some business to take care of.”
He stood up from the chair and nodded to Liz: “Get some good rest.”
Liz gave a soft murmur of assent, her finger resting on Misha's hand curling slightly in farewell.
Lu Mao pushed open the door and stepped out, leaning against the corridor wall as he replayed the quests in his mind.
If it were just the first quest, that would be fine. He had originally planned to stay at the inn for a night before taking refuge at the tavern owner's place; surviving for five days shouldn't be too difficult.
But now, he suspected those cultists might make their move tonight. The inn was no longer safe.
As for the second quest... if he actually went along to escort them, he would highly likely drag Misha and the others into an even greater vortex of crisis.
Yet they had only just found a glimmer of hope. If he went and told them they were being targeted now, it would accomplish nothing but cause panic.
Lu Mao really couldn't think of a good solution. He ruffled his hair into a messy nest and let out a long sigh.
His goddamn otherworld life was a complete mess.
Rate on N.U.
