The first time his cover was blown came much sooner than He Xi had expected.
But he had only used an alias to deal with the infiltrator who had appeared in Plint.
That person should have nothing to do with Zoya.
And Zoya hadn't even asked why he had called himself Galen.
After He Xi simply explained that his real name was "He Xi," she silently memorized it, then lowered her head and began practicing the new pronunciation: "He... Xi... He... Xi... Welcome home."
Watching her look so focused and a little absent-minded, He Xi couldn't help laughing.
He shook his head, stopped letting his imagination run wild, and asked instead, "Have the captain and the others finished processing the Spined Boars' materials?"
"They have."
Zoya reached over to the bulging backpack beside the bed, pulled out two heavy little leather pouches, and handed them to He Xi.
He Xi took the pouches and opened them to count the coins carefully.
He found that both contained exactly the same amount: 154 gleaming Silver Scales each.
Together, that was equivalent to 3.5 Gold Shields.
Could those materials really sell for that much? Multiplied by the five members of the party, wouldn't the total come to nearly 18 Gold Shields?
Only then did he realize what was going on and hand one of the pouches back.
"I counted yours. 154 Silver Scales. Put them away."
"For you." Zoya didn't take it.
He Xi was confused.
"That's your share. Why are you giving it to me?"
"For you, He Xi." Zoya looked at him, her little expression utterly serious. "Bruce said it doesn't need to carry money. Its Mistress will pay."
Bruce nearly lost his temper again. "Woof! I'm her pet! Not yours!"
He Xi tried to make sense of what Zoya meant.