She seemed about to say more, but immediately realized that Belt and Laila were still sleeping soundly nearby. Belt's snores were even remarkably rhythmic.
Seeing this, He Xi suggested, "Since we're already awake, why don't we take a short walk nearby? We can check on the Spined Boars and... talk about novels?"
He pointed toward the fog-shrouded fields.
Zoya immediately nodded vigorously.
The two of them left the campfire one after the other and slowly strolled around the village entrance, where thick fog hung in the air.
Bruce, meanwhile, lay on the ground and continued catching up on sleep.
Just as Captain Hulk had judged, faint sounds of boars rooting around for food and grunting contentedly came from the distant fields. They had spent the entire night safely in a place with plenty of food, showing no signs of approaching the villagers' houses.
Only after confirming that everything was safe did He Xi resume the conversation. "It looks like... that novel is a horror story?"
Zoya seemed to have completely opened the floodgates. Her manner of speaking remained uniquely hers, but she was clearly much more fluent now.
"A... lonely man. He... lives in the forest."
"He likes... skinning elves and making... beautiful clothes."
"Very... touching."
Touching...?
No matter how he looked at it, how could this plot possibly have anything to do with the word "touching"?
Zoya seemed to realize that she had said too much, or perhaps noticed something odd about He Xi. She hurriedly changed the subject. "What... type do you like?"
He Xi was stumped.
What do I like reading? Battle Through the Heavens? Lord of the Mysteries? Or My House of Horrors? There was no way he could tell her about those.
He began frantically rummaging through the original owner's memories, trying to find the