Chapter : 75

Yan Yunqing was very sharp. Before this group of children could rush up and crash into me, I took a step back, causing the children to pounce on empty air, even kicking up a cloud of dust as they hit the ground from using too much force.

He didn't care at all that he had fallen. Seeing that his goal was achieved, he scrambled up and got close to Nika, "Nika! Are you alright!"

The other children also gathered around, getting between Nika and me, forming a small human wall. They tightly protected Nika behind them, glaring at me in the process.

Yan Yunqing: ...

Yan Yunqing clicked his tongue, got up from the ground, and patted the dust off the hem of his clothes, saying slowly, "Just you guys alone won't be able to stop me, you know?"

Hearing this, the children became even more nervous, their gazes toward Yan Yunqing inevitably filled with hostility.

But Nika, who was surrounded and protected at the back, spoke softly. She tugged at the corner of the clothes of a child standing in front of her, "Barton, I'm fine. I was just having a nightmare, and this big brother saved me."

Barton, whose clothes she was tugging, hesitantly looked back at her face and saw that Nika indeed had tear marks from crying, and her pale lips confirmed that what she said was true.

When the other children heard Nika say this, they all turned their heads and looked at Nika with concern: "Nika, why were you having a nightmare again? Did some dirty thing appear here just now?"

Among them, that Rocco, the little boy who had just rushed over to knock me away, and also the one who had tried to steal my money pouch before, grabbed Nika's hand, "Are you feeling better now? I'll take you to see Mr. Paul right now!"

As he spoke, he wanted to reach out and pick Nika up, but they were about the same size. With Rocco's small frame, it would be a difficult task to carry Nika and run.

Before Rocco could act, Nika pressed down on his hand and shook her head, whispering, "Rocco, I'm really fine. That big brother gave me a healing potion, and then I could breathe."

Rocco was half-believing, half-doubting, "Really? Don't worry about the money, at worst I'll just go and st—"

Before the word could be spoken, Rocco's mouth was covered by Nika's hand. She shook her head gently, her eyes signaling that there was an outsider present.

Rocco understood Nika's meaning and shut his mouth resentfully, but his eyes expressed all the words he hadn't finished saying.

Nika felt a warmth in her heart. The feeling of being cared for by her companions was wonderful, but she also felt a sense of disgust for her useless self. It had been like this ever since she was little.

From the time she was picked up from the ruins by the older children, Nika's health had been very poor. When she was even younger, she could only passively accept the food the other children saved for her.

Even after eating so much food, she still couldn't escape the torment of illness. She would get sick from time to time, and the other children would have to find ways to get more money to send her to Mr. Paul for treatment.

Nika really tried hard to live, to not let down the efforts of the other children. She also wanted to do something for everyone. She had finally grown up a little and gained the [Observation] ability, which allowed her to give advice to the other children.

But then she was suddenly seized by a demon's nightmare and would fall ill from time to time, causing them to spend even more money to see Mr. Paul for treatment.

Every time she dragged everyone down, Nika would have a thought: If I weren't here, would these children have a better life?

Yan Yunqing quietly watched these little cubs lick each other's wounds and smiled silently.

They were quite cute.

But now, I didn't have time to play with these children anymore.

Yan Yunqing looked up at the sky, feeling that he should find a comfortable inn now, take a hot bath, and then sleep soundly to fully recover his energy and prepare for his assessment.

He clapped his hands, attracting the attention of all the children. The children, who were still concerned about their companion, all froze when they saw Yan Yunqing, their faces showing resentful expressions.

There was nothing they could do. They had previously treated this person as prey, intending to steal his belongings, yet their companion Nika had been saved by this person without holding any grudges.

This made the children, who had rarely experienced kindness, feel a little embarrassed... or rather, ashamed.

Yan Yunqing's gaze swept over these children, and he found that most of them had slightly evasive eyes, clearly not thick-skinned enough yet. But Rocco, who had made a move on me before, looked up and met my gaze without any avoidance.

Within that small body, it was as if infinite power was contained.

Yan Yunqing found it very interesting. He cleared his throat, "Now, can you tell me what you wanted to do by following me all this time?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the already embarrassed children became even more ashamed, each wishing they could bury their heads in their chests.

Only Rocco dared to meet his gaze at this moment. He answered very calmly, "Who said we were following you? We were just passing by."

Yan Yunqing: ?

Yan Yunqing couldn't help but laugh. This kid was a bit like him. This posture of telling lies with a straight face was exactly the same.

"Passing by? Following behind me without leaving my side, and shouting that the golden nugget ran away when you found I was gone, is that the kind of passing by?"

Yan Yunqing pointed out the words of the child who had first shouted "golden nugget." The pointed-out child's ears turned red with shame, feeling ashamed of his own recklessness.

"S-Sorry..." Before that child could finish, he was pushed by Rocco, who took a step forward and stood in front of everyone.

"Yes, that's right, we were following you." Rocco changed his tune without changing his expression. "You tripped me before, and I was angry, so I called my companions to follow you and teach you a lesson."

He held his chin up, looking very Defiant , but if one observed closely, one could see his fists, hanging by his sides, trembling slightly.

Like a little panda bluffing, it was strangely cute when such a tiny thing tried to threaten someone.

"Teach me a lesson." Yan Yunqing was very helpless. "Just with you guys? Kid, sometimes you have to face the gap between yourselves and adults."

He took two steps forward, and Rocco took two steps back, his eyes fixed on my every move.

Yan Yunqing paid him no mind, quickly bypassed him, and walked to Nika's side. He crouched down in front of her and gently brushed away the fringe on Nika's forehead, which was wet with sweat.

After observing Nika's complexion and seeing it gradually turn rosy, her health bar rising, and the [Weakness] debuff disappearing, I was relieved.

Yan Yunqing took out a handful of Small Red Potions from his backpack and stuffed them all into Nika's arms. "These are for you, consider it compensation for accidentally scaring you today.

You should know how to use them. If you experience that state again, or if you get injured or something else, you can give them a try."

Small Red Potions were the only recovery potions I could make. They were basically the universal recovery potions in the game.

The ingredients were simple and not difficult to make. Yan Yunqing had several stacks in his backpack, leftovers from the assassination of Feu. I didn't use them much usually, so it was nothing to give some to this little girl.

Nika stared blankly at the small bottles in her arms. Having just been saved by the potion in these small bottles, it was impossible for Nika not to know their effect. In her memory, anything related to healing injuries required a hefty price to buy.

However, this person—this person, even knowing they had ill intentions towards him, still saved her with expensive potions when she fell ill.

Not only did he not mind their previous actions, but he even gave her so many precious potions.

Nika opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. Her eyes reddened slightly as she looked down at the small bottles in her hand.

She knew she should refuse these precious potions at a time like this, but thinking of Jeff, who had been beaten by a mercenary a few days ago and couldn't get out of bed, thinking of his recurring high fever and gradually weakening state these past few days, Nika couldn't bring herself to say no.

Since this potion could heal her, it could definitely heal Jeff too. Nika couldn't go against her heart's desire and return these small bottles.

Finally, her shallow eye sockets could no longer hold the large teardrops, and they rolled down once again.

Nika hugged these small bottles tightly, stood up, and bowed deeply to Yan Yunqing, "Thank you, we will definitely remember your kindness."

After speaking, she pulled her still-confused companions, who were out of the loop, and hurried away, leaving only Yan Yunqing still squatting on the spot.

Yan Yunqing touched his nose, wondering how he had made the little girl cry again. He had wanted to say that since she had a heart condition, she shouldn't run so fast, lest she start gasping for air again.

But by the time he wanted to say it, the figures of the children had completely disappeared from his line of sight.

"Are they rabbits? Running so fast?" Yan Yunqing found it incredible. He felt that even with a sprint, his speed would only be about this fast. But how long are a child's legs, and how long are an adult's?

Shaking his head, Yan Yunqing stood up, looked at the direction of the sun to identify the way he came, and went back the way he came.

I remembered seeing a small inn on the road just now. The exterior decoration was decent, so the facilities inside shouldn't be too bad, right?

***

Yan Yunqing successfully found the small inn he had spotted earlier. Just as he thought, the facilities inside were semi-new, at least still presentable.

As for the price, it was also quite reasonable, six silver coins a night. For Yan Yunqing, this price was just pocket change.

Yan Yunqing decisively booked for three nights and paid eighteen silver coins. As for after three days, he would definitely have figured out this city by then. At that time, he could find a more comfortable inn, or simply stay in Mandiper all night.

After soaking in a hot bath in the wooden tub provided by the inn and washing away the fatigue from days of travel, Yan Yunqing fell onto the bed and slept like a log.

The next day, Yan Yunqing was woken up by his own growling stomach. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

Just as he was about to call out Lilian's name, he remembered that Lilian had long returned to the forest, and he was now alone.

Scratching his slightly messy hair from sleep, Yan Yunqing was helpless.

They say it only takes twenty-one days to form a habit, but for Yan Yunqing, breaking a habit takes more than just twenty-one days.

He had gotten used to having a chattering little elf constantly nagging by his side, talking a lot and eating a lot.

Now that Lilian suddenly left, Yan Yunqing was really not used to it. He would always find himself wondering what Lilian was doing when he was idle.

Pressing his brow, Yan Yunqing got up. His tasks for the day were still heavy. He needed to quickly get a general understanding of the entire Free City and also sneak into Mandiper for a look.

To be honest, Yan Yunqing, who had been a law-abiding citizen on Blue Star for eighteen years, had never seen what a casino looked like, let alone gone in and raked in thirty million.

He hadn't unlocked that skill yet and needed to go in and observe, to see if he could learn from others.

And also to see if there was a chance to become that top 'Midas Touch'. If the chances of completion were slim, there was no need for him to dwell on it. He would just go back and tell Alison the mission failed.

Anyway, Alison had also promised him that regardless of whether the assessment was completed or not, she would tell him a part of the information about the prophecy. It was just a matter of how much.

Things will sort themselves out. If it really didn't work out, he could only take the risk of being killed by his retainer and go ask Theodore about what happened back then.

Of course, that would be when his level was high enough. At the very least, Yan Yunqing would only choose to find Theodore when he had some ability to protect himself.

In short, all choices boiled down to one phrase: Become stronger!

Yan Yunqing stretched, tidied himself up, and left the small inn.

The inn didn't include meals, so Yan Yunqing had to go out to find food. As soon as he went out, he smelled the fragrance of meat buns. Following the scent, Yan Yunqing really did find a shop selling buns.

Confirming once again, at least 80% of the people in this city were descendants of the Demon King's subjects back then. Otherwise, how could people from another world possibly make such authentic meat buns?

Only the Demon King's subjects had once received some guidance from the Demon King, allowing them to make these foods that were extremely suited to the tastes of Huaguo babies.

Yan Yunqing bought a bag of meat buns. While munching on them, he strolled through this City of Freedom, experiencing the 'simple and honest' local customs.

He stood by the roadside, seamlessly blending into the crowd of onlookers, pointing and commenting on the two men fighting in the middle.

"Whoa, what happened to them? They're fighting so fiercely?"

Yan Yunqing nudged the big man next to him with his elbow and conveniently passed over the bag of meat buns, "Bro, want some?"

That posture was as if he wasn't passing meat buns, but a cigarette.

The big man wasn't reserved either. He directly took a meat bun from the bag and stuffed it into his mouth, answering Yan Yunqing's question with a muffled voice:

"Hah, what else could it be? That yellow-haired Ah He stole Taff's wife while Taff was out on a mission. Now Taff is back and caught them in bed."

The big man pointed to the other side. Yan Yunqing followed his finger and saw a woman in a floral dress sitting on a chair, holding a handful of melon seeds, watching the commotion while cracking them—as if she wasn't watching her man and her lover fight.

Yan Yunqing did a tactical lean back: "This Big Socks has quite the mentality! She's not even a bit flustered watching her man and lover fight."

The big man waved his hand: "I can tell you're an outsider. Vena is famous around here. She changes men faster than she changes clothes.

That Taff is just her recent flame. After a while, when she's not interested anymore, she'll kick him out. Who would care if clothes fight with other clothes?"

Yan Yunqing: ...?

Yan Yunqing had dot eyes: Wait, bro? Did you just accidentally say something incredible?

Yan Yunqing silently wiped away the cold sweat dripping from his temple, listening as the big man continued to share intelligence (gossip) with him.

"Don't look at Vena's plain appearance and average strength, her popularity is excellent." The big man clicked his tongue in amazement.

"I heard that many handsome boys, after spending time with Vena, are eager to become Vena's lover. You can't even stop them."

"Last time, a very powerful mercenary group had just finished a mission and wanted to rest in the city for a while.

In the end, I don't know what happened to the captain's own younger brother, but he was clamoring every day to be Vena's mistress—oh, at that time, Vena's husband wasn't Taff yet."

"His captain brother couldn't persuade him no matter what. He even broke his legs, but he could still crawl out to see Vena. You could call it infatuation." The big man clicked his tongue in amazement.

Yan Yunqing silently held his chin to prevent himself from showing that shocked-dead-pig expression. He swallowed and replied dryly, "Wow, this girl is quite something."

"Isn't she! Things like this happen a lot around here. We could chat about it for half a day." The big man said so.

Yan Yunqing silently glanced at the girl in the floral dress a few more times, deeply etching her appearance in his mind. If he met her on the street in the future, he must stay far away.

Just listening to the big man's description, he might not have understood much, but after combining what the big man said and looking at the girl's character panel.

Holy cow, isn't this a succubus?

This other world did have the species of succubus, but they would usually disguise themselves as ordinary people and appear in crowds, not easily revealing their succubus identity.

This was because the nature of succubi was always despised by the world. It was better during times of war when everyone was persecuted and there was no distinction between high and low.

But once peace returned to the world, succubi became something everyone wanted to beat down.

For no other reason than no one was willing to fall madly in love with someone against their own control, and they might even lose their lives because of it.

But from what Yan Yunqing heard this big man say, this succubus girl probably had some sense of proportion. At least she knew not to fleece a single man dry in order not to expose herself.

Changing husbands from time to time and not harming their lives was pretty good.

At least in Yan Yunqing's perception, this type of succubus was already considered friendly.

Of course, just because he thought she was friendly didn't mean he would go up and join in the fun.

As the saying goes, with no love in my heart, my blade is naturally divine.

Yan Yunqing, who had gone through three years of high school where puppy love was crazily cracked down upon, had long since engraved this sentence into his DNA, as if inhaling it like smoke.

Dean of discipline, I never thought about dating!

As if sensing Yan Yunqing's gaze, the succubus in the floral dress, who was cracking melon seeds and watching the commotion, looked in Yan Yunqing's direction. It made Yan Yunqing jump. He quickly lowered his head and quietly slipped out of the crowd.

Aiya, I almost attracted the succubus's attention. I have to be more careful next time.

Yan Yunqing breathed a sigh of relief, but found that the feeling of being watched lingered.

Yan Yunqing: ...?

What's going on?

Yan Yunqing looked left and right and finally noticed a few small figures in his peripheral vision.

...Why is it this group of kids again? Have you gotten addicted to stalking?