Welcome Back

Chapter 28 · Welcome Back

"Sir, I've already told you everything you wanted to know. Please let me and all the villagers go. I promise I won't reveal anything about you to the Adventurer's Guild."

Kenny looked at Lu Minghao, who was sitting at the table in front of him and deep in thought. After taking several deep breaths to summon his courage, he spoke cautiously in an almost pleading tone. For someone as weak as him, along with the villagers, whether they could survive depended on whether the slime before them would keep its promise.

As for revenge, that thought had never even crossed Kenny's mind. As a former adventurer, he knew that the intelligence of high-level monsters was in no way inferior to that of humans. In fact, it was even greater.

As a weakling, Kenny clearly knew what he had to do to survive. That was the wisdom of the weak.

"."

Silence. Complete silence.

Lu Minghao turned around and looked at Kenny, who was bowing before him and begging for mercy. In the oppressive silence, beads of sweat as large as peas rolled down Kenny's forehead like raindrops, and the clothes on his back had been soaked through at some point.

"I'll honor my previous promise. But you should understand what you need to do. Also, you should thank Sally!"

Several minutes later, Lu Minghao's slightly cold voice broke the silence. After obtaining the information he needed, he had indeed considered slaughtering the entire village. But then he thought of the little girl who had cried as she hugged him that morning, and the bright smile she had worn when cheerfully saying goodbye to him before leaving.

In the end, Lu Minghao chose to give the village a chance. After all, no matter what, this was once Sally's home. Her father and Grandma Oran lived here.

"Thank you, sir!"

After hearing Lu Minghao's words, Kenny collapsed onto the floor as if all his strength had left him. The relief of surviving a brush with death filled his face as he hurriedly expressed his thanks.

"All right. I should leave."

The next moment, Lu Minghao sank into the shadows with the books beside him and disappeared from the room, leaving only Kenny sitting blankly on the floor.

"Thank Sally."

More than ten minutes later, Kenny finally felt that some of his strength had returned. He stood up and stared blankly at the distant Forest outside the window, remembering the little girl who had once been driven out of the village with his tacit approval.

During this period, Kenny had also received reports from the villagers stationed in the watchtower. They all said that Sally had rescued slimes that entered the village's territory.

However, the guilt he had always felt toward Sally, Grandma Oran, and Sally's father had caused Kenny to silently permit Sally's actions. After all, even the children in the village could easily kill mere slimes.

"I never thought Sally would be the one to save us in the end."

After several seconds of silence, Kenny, his face filled with remorse, bowed toward the Forest. His burly figure seemed to have grown thinner. After silently tidying up the things Lu Minghao had scattered around the room, he sat in a chair and quietly stared at the long sword he had thrown away earlier.

A scene kept flashing through his mind. Beneath the blazing sun, a young boy wielded a long sword and swung it again and again. Even after he was drenched in sweat and his body began to sway, he still clenched his teeth and persevered. In the end, that boy left the village and became an adventurer. Then, many years later, when news of him arrived again—

That boy had already died, leaving behind a half-human, half-ghost child whom Grandma Oran, who had once raised the boy, brought back with her.

Meanwhile, deep in the jungle, inside the wooden cabin.

Lu Minghao watched as his Number Three clone emerged from the shadows, silently spat out two pieces of cured meat and a book, then turned around and melted back into the shadows before disappearing.

"I hope you won't disappoint me after I went to such lengths to show mercy this once."

Watching Number Three disappear, Lu Minghao raised his head and looked toward the village as he muttered to himself. He had spared those villagers because of Sally, but he would never lower his guard merely because Village Chief Kenny had given him his assurance.

Having once been human, Lu Minghao clearly knew what humans were capable of doing to survive. He also knew how untrustworthy human oaths could be.

"Come to think of it, shouldn't Sally be coming back soon?"

Looking at the village not far outside the window, Lu Minghao noticed that the sun had risen high into the sky. It was nearly noon, and quite some time had passed since Sally left that morning. She should be returning soon.

Meanwhile, Sally, whom Lu Minghao had been thinking about, was lying at the top of a huge tree. She stretched out her little hand with all her strength. A yellow-green fruit hung ahead of her. That was Sally's target.

Although her little face was covered in sweat and the skin on her arm had been scratched open, Sally still wore a smile. She was already looking forward to returning and being welcomed home by the slime waiting for her.

"Got it!"

The next moment, Sally yanked hard with her little hand and successfully plucked the yellow-green fruit. But she had pulled with too much force, losing her balance and falling straight from the tree. Even so, she protected the fruit she had worked so hard to pick, holding it tightly in her arms.

Crack!

Smack!

With the sound of something heavy hitting the ground, Sally climbed up from the branches she had snapped beneath herself. Although the wounds on her body burned with pain, she paid them no attention. She hurriedly took the fruit from her arms, and when she saw that it was undamaged, a happy smile spread across her little face.

"This should be enough food for two people now."

As she spoke, Sally struggled to her feet and limped toward the base of a large tree nearby. A battered wooden basket there was already filled with all kinds of wild fruits. Several plump bugs hid among the leaves atop the fruit. This was the food Sally had spent the entire morning gathering.

"Let's go home!"

Sally happily put the fruit in her hands into the basket and limped toward the wooden cabin. As for the wounds on her body, she had long since grown used to them. Ever since she was little, whether scavenging for food in the trash heaps of town, fighting stray dogs over scraps, or picking wild fruit outside the city, Sally had suffered all kinds of injuries.

Sally's body had long since grown accustomed to being hurt.

"I'm back!"

As soon as she emerged from the Forest and saw the wooden cabin in the distance, Sally happily waved her arms and shouted. Even her normally limping pace quickened considerably.

"Welcome back, Sally."

Inside the wooden cabin, Lu Minghao watched Sally open the wooden door and enter. When he noticed that she was covered in wounds and limping as she walked, yet still maintained her smile, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

"Mhm, Sally's back, Slime!"

At the doorway, Sally froze when she heard Lu Minghao's voice. Then the smile on her face grew even brighter. After setting down the wooden basket, she gently picked up Lu Minghao, buried her face in his body, and spoke softly.

Daida is once again asking for recommendation tickets, investments, and collections, hahaha!

Also, here's a recommendation for a book: Elves in Progress. Friends who like elf stories can go check it out.