Chapter 31: She Really Is a Wonderful Person!
“Nether Hounds, Hongxu, go.”
“Got it!”
BOOM!
With one kick, the huge boulder blocking the way burst apart, and Hongxu strode right out in front of those Nether Hounds.
The several dozen Nether Hounds were all stunned.
No... what exactly are you supposed to be?
In the next second, Hongxu gave them the answer.
“Die for me!”
Her double-bladed axe came crashing down with a terrifying howl. The Nether Hound at the very front had no time to react at all and was instantly smashed into a puddle of gore.
The rest of the Nether Hounds reacted quickly as well, immediately scattering and spreading into a hunting formation.
Standing at the very front, Hongxu did not have a trace of fear in her eyes.
Hidden in the darkness, Chenxi held his breath. Bang!
A muffled shot rang out, and one of the Nether Hounds exploded at the waist.
“Blessing.”
A milky white halo flashed across Hongxu’s body.
The expression beneath Hongxu’s helmet turned even more excited. “This feeling is amazing!”
...
The wooden door was pushed open, and a thick smell of blood drifted inside.
Chenxi, Hongxu, and Lina entered one after another, setting their heavy backpacks and weapons down on the floor with dull thuds.
“We’re back!”
Hongxu shouted loudly. Only in front of Chenxi, and people she more or less trusted, would she let that noisy, energetic side of herself show without restraint.
Leaning on a crutch, Liya came out from the small kitchen in the back room carrying a steaming basin of stew.
Half a month had passed, and the changes were obvious to the naked eye.
Her once sallow, hollow cheeks had filled out somewhat, though she was still pale.
The problems with her body were rather troublesome.
It was not merely a matter of malnutrition.
She was actually very pretty. The lines of her cheeks were soft, her nose straight, and her eyes a clear gray.
At that moment, because of the work and the rising heat, her cheeks were faintly flushed.
Objectively speaking, in terms of looks alone, Liya now even vaguely surpassed her younger sister Lina’s cold beauty.
Before Chenxi had transmigrated, a beauty like Lina would already have been a once-in-ten-thousand-years rare girl.
Her golden hair was simply tied up and draped in front of one shoulder. It was exactly that kind of hairstyle...
Ma’am, your hairstyle is very dangerous!
Yes, that kind of hairstyle.
Emm, what a strange description.
“It smells so good! What are we eating today?”
Chenxi caught Hongxu just as she was about to charge straight over to the food.
Liya was wearing a clean coarse-cloth apron, and her steps were much steadier than before. The moment she saw them, a gentle smile bloomed across her face.
“You’ve worked hard.
It is only some ordinary stew and bread, and some fresh beans I saw at the market this morning.
Go wash up a little, and then we can have dinner.”
Chenxi looked at Liya and frowned slightly. “Liya, didn’t I tell you to rest more?
I can handle things like cooking.”
As he spoke, Chenxi set aside the gold coins they had earned today. With Lina and Hongxu now in the team, he had also started reaching the eighth floor of the Dungeon.
How should he put it?
Their income had doubled, but the difficulty still felt manageable.
Very stable.
Liya set down the basin of stew, wiped her hands on her apron, and turned to Chenxi.
Her gaze was unusually earnest, and the burning emotion inside it was almost more than Chenxi could endure.
“Mr. Chenxi,” she said softly, yet her voice carried burning sincerity, “I am grateful to you, truly grateful to you.
I want to do something for you.
I know I cannot do heavy work, but I really can cook, tend the fire, and clean the house.
You and Hongxu saved Lina’s life and mine, gave us a place to live, and gave us hope... These household chores are the only thing I can do to help.
Lina told me.
What she did was...”
“All right, some things do not need to be said.”
Chenxi interrupted Liya. “Some things should be left in the past. If you dwell on everything too much, you cannot survive. Some things can be forgiven.
Some cannot.
First, it was not her true intention.
Second, for the sake of what she wanted to protect, she was willing to cast aside her bottom line.
If she were standing against me, that would be bad.
But now, she belongs to me, and that is good.”
Off to the side, Lina lowered her head shyly.
The captain said... said that I belong to him. Could it be...
No, no, no. Lina, you are already very happy right now!
You cannot ask for even more than this!
“But...”
Chenxi did not react much. His face still wore that same expressionless look.
He walked to the washbasin, scooped up a ladle of water, and washed his hands.
First wash his hands, then take off his gear, take a bath, and eat.
“I already said it. There is no need.”
He flicked the water droplets from his hands, his tone calm. To him, this was just an ordinary fair exchange.
“Lina is the team’s healer. She does what she is supposed to do, and that is very important to the team. That is enough.
You do not owe me anything. You live here, help out with a few things, and make things easier for each other. That is all.”
“That is not true!”
This time, it was the younger sister who spoke.
Lina looked at Chenxi with visible agitation. “What I do for Captain is not even one tenth of what Captain has done for me... No! It is not even one hundredth of what Captain has done for me!”
“It is not that exaggerated...”
“I am already being conservative! I am truly, truly, truly grateful to Captain!”
Chenxi looked at Lina, whose little face had flushed red with emotion.
Did she really need to get that worked up?
Hongxu had just secretly picked up a piece of bread and was about to bite into it when she froze at those words.
Her always lively eyes moved back and forth several times between Liya’s face, Chenxi’s face, and Lina’s lowered, silent face, before finally locking onto Chenxi.
There was a faint trace of... vigilance in her eyes?
With bread hanging from her mouth, she mumbled under her breath, her words indistinct, “Huh? One hundredth? Wait... why does that sound so...”
For some reason, alarm bells began ringing in her heart.
No, wait!
This conversation sounds off, does it not?
And Lina... It is only natural for her to do things for the boss!
Why does it sound like the boss saved both their lives or something?
Although... I guess he kind of did...
But why do the two of you look like you are about to devote yourselves to him in return?!
...
Hongxu and Lina went to bathe, while Chenxi sat in the courtyard waiting.
He held a cloth in his hand and maintained his weapon.
Leaning on her crutch, Liya came over to Chenxi’s side.
“Mr. Chenxi.”
Liya’s voice sounded again, and Chenxi’s body stiffened when he heard it. He had never imagined that a voice could be this gentle.
“I know you do not like hearing thanks.
But I still have to say it, not as gratitude, but... as a fact.
You changed everything for Lina and me.
Lina now has a goal. She can fight with dignity, instead of... living as she used to, just for a mouthful of food.
And I...”
She looked at her own hands. “I can feel that I am alive again. I am no longer entirely a burden.
Every bit of this, every single part of it, was given by you.”
Chenxi did not stop wiping down the gun barrel. He only lifted his eyes and glanced at Liya once.
In the very next moment, he immediately looked away again.
On the surface, he was perfectly calm, but inside, he was panicking like mad.
What is with that look?!
If you all keep looking at me like that, I am going to break out in goosebumps!
After several seconds of silence, he finally said flatly, “It is good enough that you are alive.
And also, you are not a burden.”
If, before, he had only been keeping her alive because he wanted the reward...
Then now: She really is a wonderful person. I am going to keep taking care of her!
...
Old Jack swallowed hard as he looked at the girl in front of him, then looked at the commission again.
“Two hundred gold coins. Are you certain?”
“Of course. I am counting on you.”
The girl wore an almost perfect smile.