Cooling Down

"Huff..."

The morning was cold, and the mist in the air came out with each breath like pale smoke.

A morningstar, a hand axe, and two daggers tucked at his waist.

Xia Nan carried a heavy bundle on his back, faintly feeling tired.

But when he thought of how much they might sell for after he returned to town, he secretly rallied himself again.

This trip had earned him far more than farming at home ever could.

Morning light filtered through gaps in the canopy, casting patches of light over the lush green meadow.

His steps mechanical, Xia Nan's thoughts began to wander.

As for the dead Maji, he only felt that the man had not needed to go that far.

Although he had absorbed the eighteen years of memories belonging to this body's previous owner, the one controlling it was a soul from a modern civilized society, one that had truly come from another world.

It was not that Xia Nan was putting on airs. He felt that Maji had not needed to put on that false show of generosity that day. He only needed to state his demands openly and clearly; if there were issues, they could discuss them slowly.

After all, the Bear Goblin had been killed by both of them. Maji's two arrows had respectively triggered the Deflection Force Field's cooldown on the [Dead Line] ring, then pierced the enemy's eye and left it paralyzed.

Only then had Xia Nan gained the chance to use his level-enhanced body to kill it.

Maji's contribution could not be denied.

Under those circumstances, as long as Maji had said so outright, even if he wanted that enchanted ring, Xia Nan could have accepted it, so long as he made up Xia Nan's rightful share.

In his view, if his first adventure had already yielded such gains, then taking on future jobs with an experienced adventurer like Maji should bring in decent profits as well.

Now that he replayed the whole matter from beginning to end, Xia Nan felt that he had made two mistakes:

First, his way of thinking had not yet changed.

Despite having transmigrated into another world, he still subconsciously treated the people and events around him according to the ideas and values of his previous life.

Perhaps he should be more grounded?

The second was that, without a clear understanding of matters related to adventuring, he had simply taken things for granted.

For an old hunter like Maji to take the risk of claiming it all for himself—

It seemed that in this world, or at least among low-level adventurers like them, Magic Items were far more precious than he had imagined.

Time passed, and the thin mist dispersed.

The temperature gradually rose. The dense jungle in his view also became increasingly sparse, and now and then he could see several narrow paths carved out by people.

Smoke curled from cooking fires, and several medieval-style brick houses appeared in Xia Nan's sight.

A clear stream wound through the land. Several women dressed as farm women squatted beside it, washing clothes and laughing from time to time.

Two small children played by the roadside. One held a crude wooden sword, his little face stern and brimming with righteousness; the other bared his teeth and waved his claws, as though playing some kind of monster.

Having spent a long time in Thin Mist Forest, Xia Nan had been away from human habitation for too long. Faced with this scene so full of everyday life, his tightly strung nerves finally eased.

The town housed the only Adventurers Association nearby, so the people living in the area were clearly no strangers to adventurers.

The two children watched Xia Nan, who was walking alone down the country road laden with bags. Though they looked curious, perhaps because their parents had warned them before, they did not approach him. They merely stared at him from afar with wide eyes.

Having only just escaped the dangerous, high-pressure environment of Thin Mist Forest, Xia Nan was somewhat relaxed as well.

Seeing how thin the children were, as if they had been underfed and malnourished for a long time, he took out a piece of jerky, broke it in half, and waved them over.

The moment the two children saw the jerky in Xia Nan's hand, their widened eyes lit up. They immediately trotted over.

Watching the two wolf it down, Xia Nan gently rubbed one of their heads and casually asked,

"What are your names?"

"Moxi." "Fey..."

Xia Nan nodded. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a hurried, worried voice from behind him.

"Sir, sir, I'm sorry!"

When he turned around, he saw a blond woman wearing an apron.

She was probably under thirty, with a full figure, freckles on both cheeks, and two braids hanging over her shoulders. She looked simple and unadorned.

She was likely the children's mother. The moment the blond woman appeared, they both ran to her.

"Didn't I tell you not to talk so much to people like... this gentleman?"

"But Mom, the jerky!"

"Not even if it's jerky—cake wouldn't be allowed either! Be good!"

The deliberately lowered voices drifted through the air, and Xia Nan's excitement at leaving Misty Forest gradually cooled.

Noticing that he was looking at her, the woman hurriedly pulled her two children behind her. Ignoring the sweat on her face from running all the way here, she repeatedly bowed in apology.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm truly sorry."

Xia Nan glanced at the two little boys, who looked as though they had committed some terrible mistake and hid silently behind their mother.

Looking at the woman's tense face and the stiff smile she was forcing out, Xia Nan suddenly lost all interest in speaking.

He waved a hand and turned to leave.

At the same time, inside a house not far from Xia Nan, its doors and windows tightly shut—

"So, big brother, should we make a move?"

A burly man with a somewhat wooden-looking face crouched beneath the windowsill in an extremely awkward posture. Looking every bit the thief, he asked.

"No rush. Watch him a little longer."

The one who answered was a fierce-looking Crewcut Man.

"What are we waiting for? I checked—he's alone!" Wooden Man sounded anxious. "A hammer, an axe... He's definitely carrying plenty of valuables! If we don't move now, someone else might get him first!"

As he spoke, he picked up the pitchfork lying on the floor beside him, as though he were about to shove open the door and rush out at any moment.

What answered him was a slap to the back of his head.

"You know he's covered in weapons, don't you?"

The Crewcut Man reprimanded him in a low voice.

"He came out of Thin Mist Forest alone, walking around so openly, and he doesn't even look badly injured."

"You really think he's an easy mark? You think all the good luck in the world is going to fall into your lap?"

As he spoke, the Crewcut Man became increasingly convinced that he was right.

He pressed close to the wall and peeked through the crack in the window, smugly saying to his henchman beside him,

"Look, what adventurers do we usually see that aren't in groups of three or five?"

"Even if one is alone, they're usually covered in wounds, having barely escaped the forest with their lives."

"How many people have you seen like him, walking right down the middle of the road in broad daylight, carrying so much stuff without worrying about anyone coveting it?"

"Yeah, I haven't seen any." Hearing that, Wooden Man scratched his head.

"Then what do we do next, big brother?"

The Crewcut Man cast another wary glance out the window before drawing his gaze back.

"This kid looks young, but he's probably got some skills. He won't be easy to deal with."

"Forget it this time. We'll wait another two days and see if a suitable target shows up."

"Anyway, we're leaving soon. We'll do one job, grab what we can, and run. So many adventurers die every year. When the time comes, we'll just toss the bodies into the woods. Who would know?"

"Big brother, I'll listen to you!"