Dan Heng: Welt Asked Me to Pass You a Message. (Part 2)

Seele's eyes lit up. "I guarantee it's spotless inside. It'd be no problem at all to give the wanderers whose homes were swallowed by the Fragmentum a new place to live."

"Wanderers?"

The Stellaron Spirit, who had been squatting around waiting for Fang Jie, looked like a curious baby. No, she simply was one.

"They're a bunch of homeless people. Most of them are fairly honest, but when there are enough people, some troublemaking scum is bound to slip in. The result is that the wanderers fight the miners every other day, and they often steal supplies from the mining folk—that's still just minor trouble."

There was no need to mention the major incidents. She did not want to talk about them.

"Thankfully, things have improved a lot these past two days. Come to think of it, even the weather feels much warmer today."

Natasha smiled gently.

"Tomorrow will be warmer too."

Fang Jie did not mind continuously clearing out the Fragmentum, snow, and getting some practice in before the Stellaron was sealed by the Stellaron Spirit.

He had no interest in exploring or pioneering anything in the Underworld. He could just handle the fighting and killing.

Preparing the Anti-Rin Victory Equation was enough to keep him busy anyway.

Seele also spoke with a sigh. "That would be great, but I can't accompany you tomorrow. The mining district is the lifeline of the underground. We have to ensure the supply of geomarrow so we can receive the supplies allocated from above through the transport line."

She was being somewhat insincere. She probably did not want to appear weak. Earlier, she had charged in to make Fang Jie "stop," and had been caught up in the aftermath badly enough to become dehydrated. She needed proper rest and some easier work.

Looking this weak, she would not even be able to resist if he tossed her around like she was not human...

Otherwise, she probably would have wanted to keep following him to do great things.

"You came looking for me too, didn't you?"

Seele looked at the other outsider, her tone unusually friendly. "If it's related to Underworld Fire, Chief Oleg has taken Underworld Fire into the mining district and left the town's security to me. I'm heading over to support them... You can come along tomorrow."

A-Xing's eyes brightened. Dan Heng and March 7th had not even met the person yet, while she, the great Trailblazer, had already successfully completed the mission!

"Sure, sure."

The little raccoon nodded.

"Why does she seem a little..."

Combined with her habit of writing on her face and her strange behavior all along the way, Seele was not quite sure. She glanced at the person on A-Xing's back, Bronya, who was still asleep. "Before that, we need to deal with this one too. She's a Silvermane Guard, right?"

"Probably."

A-Xing was not certain.

Take Gepard, for example. Who knew whether he still counted as a Silvermane Guard?

Midlife crisis. Lost his official position. Tragic.

"Then she is. There aren't many things I haven't seen underground, but I never thought I'd get to see a 'young lady' from above. She's the one Fang Jie mentioned... Where did you go?"

He was already gone.

"Shh."

Natasha shook her head at Seele. She had finally taken Bronya and placed her in a chair. "Don't disturb him yet."

Because Fang Jie had been dragged away by Rin.

"What are you doing?"

Fang Jie was not afraid of her. Even the farthest place he had gone today had been affected by the corrosive Fragmentum... Damn it!

Fang Jie was not afraid of her and followed along with his head held high.

Dragged away? That was slander.

Rin looked irritated and uneasy, not because Fang Jie had been attacking her rear today. She quietly reminded him, "Hey, she's about to wake up."

"My name isn't 'hey.'"

Fang Jie was extremely firm. "Call me Fang Heart Arsonist."

Rin could not be bothered with him. She had troubles of her own.

Hearing the good news, Fang Jie had to admit that Doctor Natasha really had miraculous hands.

"You mean Yae Sakura woke up? That's great. Did you slap her so she'd remember that you're the one who..."

"Shut up."

Rin led him toward the ward. The Shrine Maiden sleeping on the hospital bed had finally awakened, staring blankly at Fang Jie as he entered...

And at Rin, who stood protectively in front of him.

Her little face was full of unwillingness to face reality.

"Ask him whatever you want to know."

Rin's tone was cold.

"It is you, sir. May I ask... where am I?"

Yae Sakura recognized Fang Jie as well. In her memories, they had been fighting to the death not long ago. Unable to resist the demon fox, she had aided the tiger in its evil and forced him to use that strange technique, "Changing Heaven and Earth." In the end, she had fallen into the snow.

When she woke up again, the demon fox... was gone.

Yae Sakura could no longer sense Rin's presence, and she seemed to have become human again. It should have been something to celebrate, yet she felt strangely lost.

There was also a... delicate, beautiful child in the ward.

But the child did not seem to like talking. She ignored Yae Sakura, her face full of impatience, and Yae Sakura had no idea why she was here either.

Thankfully, Fang Jie had come. Yae Sakura had far too many questions.

"One thing at a time. We have plenty of time to talk."

Fang Jie was not as unrestrained now. Familiar with the gesture, he pulled out a can of tree sap and handed it to her. "You should drink something after waking up."

"Thank you."

Yae Sakura held it with both hands. Ignoring whether it was appropriate to give alcohol to a patient, she did not rush to drink it. She cared more about other matters and watched him with expectant eyes, waiting for an explanation.

"This is Belobog, the Underworld, Natasha's clinic. Natasha is a kind and beautiful doctor. She's the one who cured you."

Rin had no objections to what Fang Jie said. She no longer wanted anything to do with this woman.

Fang Jie turned to look at that deliberately cold face and suddenly smiled. "Just kidding. Rin saved you."

"You...!!"

Rin flew into a rage, baring her teeth and claws as she bit his shoulder.

She had done what Seele wanted to do.

What steel-reinforced bones, what biological force field, what indestructible metal Stormbringer could not break—his shoulder immediately sent him intense pain. Or rather, pain information was injected into him.

The galaxy lacked no such "pain," where even a stone crushed into atoms would have every atom howl in agony. It was quite abstract.

Thankfully, Rin was not like that.

She was merely an idiot who had exposed herself.

Watching this scene, Yae Sakura was only a village girl, not a fool. When she was not deceiving herself, she was remarkably perceptive, just as Rin was actually quite clever. She immediately confirmed what she had suspected about the person before her.

The demon fox... Rin, in human form.

"So she is Rin, the... person you wished to save, sir."

Yae Sakura naturally remembered that moment. She had told Fang Jie not to worry about her and to kill the demon fox together with her.

Fang Jie's response had been: I'm letting her go. You're just collateral.

They were not enemies.

"It seems you succeeded, sir."

Yae Sakura watched Rin, who had committed no evil act beyond being cold. Was she really such a small child? Was this her original form?

Why did she...

Look so much alike?

Feeling the ears she herself now had, Yae Sakura was not sure whether she had truly turned back into a human. Humans did not have ears like these, did they?

"For now, let's call it a success. Rin was always a good child—gentle, kind, considerate..."

Sir, she bit you until you bled.

It was nothing. Fang Jie did not even furrow his brow as he grabbed Rin by one ear.

Then he bit her too!

"Ahh~"

Rin was far more unable to take a loss. She shoved Fang Jie away and hurriedly rescued her precious ear, her face furious. "You bastard!"

"Just like how I'm gentle, kind, and considerate. I mean, originally."

Fang Jie calmly ignored Rin. An awakened Yae Sakura could become an even stronger cornerstone of peace, so Rin would not attack.

Besides, what was the point of attacking? Could you really fight that well? To make it in the world, you needed influence and backing.

He continued explaining the current situation to Yae Sakura. "It's a long story. If Rin is willing to tell you, let her explain it. But what I can tell you is this—"

Fang Jie had long considered how he should face the awakened Yae Sakura. In the end, he decided to tell her the current situation and respect her own choice:

"Welcome to the new world, Miss Yae Sakura."

Applause.

The Stellaron Spirit clapped enthusiastically, staring curiously at the pretty older sister.

She even wanted to touch Rin...

Fang Jie could not help grinning. He scared the child into taking a step back and raising both hands... Not in surrender, but to block. Crossing them before her chest could defend against every enemy.

Punch punch punch punch punch—

—Block block block block block.

Afterimages crossed in the air, their great battle erasing the universe.

"Who is this lady?"

Yae Sakura did not know A-Xing, but she sensed a brilliant vitality from her, something warm and familiar.

"My name is A-Xing. You can call me A-Xing too. All my friends do."

A-Xing loved making friends most of all. While beating up Fang Jie, she had even forgotten about Bronya, leaving her to the "ruthless and sharp-tongued" Seele. Seele had surely thrown her out of the clinic by now, right?

She proudly introduced herself. That aura... In any case, Yae Sakura was somewhat dazed.

"Lady A-Xing, greetings. I am Yae Sakura, merely a... Shrine Maiden."

Then silence fell. She did not know what else to say.

It felt like waking from a dream. Everything had changed, and only a few familiar sights and familiar people could still make her care a little more. Other than that...

You are not her.

Even if your temperament is similar, you are not even white-haired.

"Alright, hurry back and sleep. March 7th and Dan Heng are waiting for you."

Seeing the awkwardness—mainly because he seemed about to lose the fight—Fang Jie hurriedly used an adult's despicable tactic. He seemed to stop and urged A-Xing to get back on track. Go find your Stellaron. Do not randomly open side quests.

A-Xing believed him and remembered her companions.

There was an opening!

Fang Jie reached out—

A sneak attack!

"Don't touch my head!"

The Stellaron Spirit hurriedly slapped away that claw.

Because of her exceptional height, A-Xing had never had her head patted before. March 7th did not like jumping up either... Wait, it seemed no one liked jumping.

She automatically ignored the hopping around she had learned from Fang Jie, suddenly wearing an expression as though she had discovered the truth of the world.