You Brought Soap, So How Could You Not Bathe?

When did finding a simple metaphor to explain something count as being gentle? He clearly just thought a normal explanation would be too much trouble...

Still, Zheng Yichen didn't refuse the Gentle Card Katrina gave him. In modern society, things like Good Person Cards and Gentle Cards weren't much use, but in an era without the internet, one that was still relatively backward, they were incredibly effective for winning people over.

Zheng Yichen had plenty of movies saved on his phone, but most of them were action or sci-fi films. He also had some thrillers, horror movies, and comedies, but nothing romantic...

Even so, Katrina was completely captivated. By the time they finished watching a zombie horror film, it had grown completely dark. The girl, who had edged closer and closer to Zheng Yichen, looked at the night sky with a nervous expression. "If you get bitten by one of those walking corpses, do you really turn into one too? That's not what I thought."

"It's just a dramatic effect. In real life... you might get infected, too." Zheng Yichen glanced at the time on his phone. How did I end up watching several movies when I had nothing better to do? Weren't I supposed to go kill monsters and get equipment...? Well, first he had to find out exactly where the Headless Knight was before he could do anything.

There was no rush now.

Zheng Yichen thought about what might happen if a rotting corpse in this world bit someone. Most likely, they wouldn't immediately turn into a zombie. At worst, the victim might survive the bite but die from a severe wound infection, then, after their death and some time had passed, perhaps become a new rotting corpse or a zombie.

He couldn't be sure whether other worlds had zombies.

"Changqing, could you take me home...? I'm a little scared."

She was afraid of walking less than a kilometer? The sun hadn't even fully set yet.

"Let's go." Zheng Yichen picked up his Backpack. He needed to find somewhere to stay, too. The town chief's house? Thinking of how warmly the Town Chief's Wife had treated him earlier, he decided against it. Better to find somewhere else.

Katrina's home was closer than Zheng Yichen had expected. It was less than a kilometer away.

"If you don't have anywhere to stay, you can stay at my house. We have lots of empty rooms."

"Thank you, then." Zheng Yichen had no reason to refuse. Finding somewhere else would be a hassle, and he didn't have any money.

He had some coins on him, but the locals might not accept them. He also had some spices, which probably had some value, though perhaps not as much as he imagined. He had some sugar, too.

He gave Katrina a piece of chocolate.

"The Demon Hunter? Our home would certainly welcome a Demon Hunter. And having one more at the banquet would make things more interesting," said the well-dressed, middle-aged man standing opposite Katrina, agreeing to his daughter's request. "But don't get too close to outsiders."

Fantaso didn't doubt Zheng Yichen's claim that he was a Demon Hunter. For one thing, Zheng Yichen carried a weapon that looked like a firearm, and for another, he was strong. If a skinny, frail person claimed to be a Demon Hunter, no one would believe him without seeing him prove his strength.

Several murders had already taken place in the town. Having a strong Demon Hunter stay with them was a good thing. If he could solve the murders for good, Fantaso wouldn't mind paying him a sum of money as the town chief had requested.

"This is your room." After getting her father's permission, Katrina immediately went to Zheng Yichen and showed him the room they had prepared. It wasn't particularly luxurious, and it was nowhere near as nice as Zheng Yichen's home in Longcheng.

But the comparison had to take the difference in eras into account. Compared with the homes of other townspeople, this room was already quite good. At least the bedding was clean, and the windows were intact and kept out the wind.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Zheng Yichen put his Backpack on the bed. Under Katrina's curious gaze, he took out quite a few things. The first thing he did was plug his phone into a power bank to charge it.

He didn't open the case holding his laptop. There was no internet here, and he had no real use for it. It was only twelve inches, designed to be as small as possible for portability, and the keyboard was awkward to use. It wasn't even convenient for gaming.

"I'll be right back." Katrina remembered something and hurriedly excused herself from Zheng Yichen. On her way back, she ran into a middle-aged woman and quickly stopped. "Mother..."

"Katrina, your father told you not to get too close to outsiders, didn't he?"

"I-I just wanted to help a little." Under the middle-aged woman's gaze, Katrina lowered her head. The woman before her wasn't her birth mother, but her stepmother.

"I'll tell your father about this. You can explain yourself to him later." The middle-aged woman left after saying that. Katrina hesitated for a moment, then continued toward Zheng Yichen's room.

She knocked on the door.

"It's not locked."

"I brought a needle and thread." Katrina saw Zheng Yichen wearing a tank top and shyly looked away, but couldn't help sneaking another glance or two.

"Thanks." Zheng Yichen wanted to tell her that sewing his damaged Protective Suit with a needle and thread wouldn't do much. To repair it properly with a primitive method, he'd need to find something tough, like animal hide, and sew it over the damaged area.

Simply stitching it up would only make the surface look whole again. Still, he didn't have a reason to refuse her.

"Is there somewhere I can take a bath? I walked a long way earlier, and I'd like to wash up." If there wasn't, he was prepared to sneak out to a nearby river in the middle of the night. Otherwise, he'd have no excuse for bringing soap with him.

"There is. I'll take you there. Do you need a change of clothes? I..." When she saw Zheng Yichen take a change of clothes out of his Backpack, she swallowed the rest of her words. She'd wanted to see what he looked like wearing their clothes.

Zheng Yichen's modern clothes were very different from the British-style clothes here. Though people hadn't found him unpleasant to look at while he wore them, he still seemed out of place.

But since Zheng Yichen had already taken out a change of clothes, she didn't say anything. Her house had a bathroom. As a modern person, Zheng Yichen couldn't quite comment on its amenities, but after taking a bath, he felt wonderfully refreshed.

When he returned to his room, Katrina was still there. Guys didn't take long to bathe: wash your hair, scrub off the grime, lather up with soap, rinse it off, and you were done. It took less than half an hour, unless you watched videos while bathing.

Seeing Zheng Yichen with wet hair and the "guy who's just bathed" buff, Katrina quickly stood up and hurried out. "I've finished mending your clothes. See you tomorrow."