Zhang Ruofeng soon realized that staying behind instead of retreating with Xin Mu hadn't been a very wise choice. The biggest reason was the adventurer they'd just encountered. Though Zhang Ruofeng felt he'd done his best, he had seen his share of bloodshed and had still been shaken. Xin Mu had been even more affected, her mind thrown completely off balance as she drifted in a daze.
Zhang Ruofeng knew his response might have seemed too cold-blooded to Xin Mu. But if he didn't suppress his own emotions, she would probably have been even more shaken. Now it seemed he'd made the right choice. Xin Mu was still trembling a little. Facing the fear of death could have a profound effect on people like them, who had grown up safe and sound in a society governed by the rule of law.
"Xin Mu!" Though Zhang Ruofeng was keeping watch, he also knew they needed to regain their composure as soon as possible. But Xin Mu was a girl, after all. She couldn't suppress her fear of death just by lighting a cigarette the way he could. For someone as reserved as Xin Mu, working through those emotions took much longer than it did for a cheerful, outgoing girl.
Just then, a Cave Spider suddenly sprang from the ground beside Xin Mu. Her reactions were much slower than usual. She had only just put her hand on the hilt; she hadn't even drawn her dagger before the spider was right in front of her. With no time to dodge, Xin Mu instinctively shut her eyes.
"Don't close your eyes in a fight. Even if you're hurt, keep your eyes on your opponent." Zhang Ruofeng spotted it just in time and punched the Cave Spider away. Pain flashed across his face for a moment, but he still managed to say gently, "Fearing your enemy will only get you hurt worse." Then he turned and kicked away the Cave Spider that had ambushed him from behind, leaving a huge, fifteen-centimeter gash in his back.
"Ruofeng." Seeing the cold sweat forming on Zhang Ruofeng's forehead, Xin Mu snapped out of it. If she hadn't been so distracted, Zhang Ruofeng wouldn't have been hurt like this.
"Haha, it's fine, it's fine. I've had this kind of wound before. The second time's easier, right?" Zhang Ruofeng pretended not to care about the injury. "Back when I was a punk, I got hurt all the time. It was just part of everyday life." After saying that, he lit a cigarette, forcing down the pain.
Xin Mu hurried to check his wound. It was bleeding heavily, but the skin around it hadn't discolored. In other words, he wasn't showing the signs of poisoning the other adventurer had. She breathed a little easier, then felt her vision begin to blur.
"Hey..." Zhang Ruofeng turned around and saw Xin Mu clutching the hem of her clothes, tears spilling from her eyes. He was at a loss. Moving would tug at the wound in his back, and his clothes were already soaked with blood. He didn't exactly look fit to comfort her.
"Look, I've got a high-grade healing potion, don't I?" Zhang Ruofeng said with difficulty, raising the bottle of bright red potion to reassure her. He opened it and took a gulp. He had lost enough blood to feel weak, but the high-grade potion was truly amazing. A fierce heat spread through his back, accompanied by the itchy pain of the wound healing. When he moved a little, the pain was gone.
"See? I'm fine now." Zhang Ruofeng made a face at the still-crying Xin Mu. Seeing him pull a silly face at her, she slowly stopped crying.
"I used half the bottle..." Zhang Ruofeng looked at the potion bottle in his hand and winced. He couldn't afford something this good right now.
Seeing the pained look on Zhang Ruofeng's face, Xin Mu let out a quiet laugh.
"Haha, as long as you've settled down, that's what matters." Zhang Ruofeng smiled too. "You don't have to be embarrassed about something like this. The first time I made someone's nose bleed, I was scared for ages. I thought the police would come and arrest me."
Xin Mu nodded silently. Zhang Ruofeng then tore off his hemp clothes. They were already covered in blood and in tatters, so he might as well take them off.
"Now that you've gotten yourself together, I've finally stopped shaking too." Xin Mu saw Zhang Ruofeng holding down his arm and realized that he'd been feeling uneasy all along, despite what he'd said. "We should hurry and kill some more monsters. Otherwise, we'll be going hungry tonight—and doing it naked." Zhang Ruofeng spread his hands helplessly. His clothes were ruined again, and now he needed even more money.
"Mm." Xin Mu nodded firmly to show him she was all right, and then the two of them continued exploring the Dungeon.
Before long, they reached the entrance to the fourth floor. They heard what sounded like cursing from below, followed by the sounds of a fierce battle. Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu suspected something serious was happening down there. With their current abilities, they could explore the fourth floor under normal circumstances, but another unexpected incident might put them in danger. They were about to retreat when a figure rushed past them. "Sorry!!" he shouted over his shoulder, then kept running.
"Damn it!" Zhang Ruofeng was a split second too slow to react, but he immediately understood what was happening. It was the same guy who'd gotten him and Xin Mu into their first fight with an elite monster. Zhang Ruofeng tried to chase after him, only to find that the man was absurdly fast. He disappeared around a bend almost at once. Zhang Ruofeng gave chase, but within five seconds the man had vanished into the twisting maze.
"Is that guy part leopard or something?" Zhang Ruofeng stopped helplessly and went back to join Xin Mu. With that unlucky guy around, they had a pretty good idea what was happening below. He seemed to have a knack for attracting elite monsters.
That was the conclusion Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu came to after discussing it. Either elite monsters were more likely to appear wherever he went, or something else was going on. Either way, the guy was a textbook example of terrible luck.
At this point, the two of them didn't dare risk going to the fourth floor. They could only wander around the third floor, and after killing some more Cave Spiders, they estimated it was about time to head back to the surface.
Though people stared at him, Zhang Ruofeng first washed the blood off himself at the public well. Then he and Xin Mu bought a few necessities before returning to their base: the flower shop run by the goddess.
Night fell quietly. After a week of getting used to things, Zhang Ruofeng had expected this to be an uneventful night. He hadn't expected things to turn out otherwise.
The reason was simple: that bottle of high-grade healing potion. Yes, since this was his first time using one, he didn't know what the right dosage was. Perhaps the potion did nothing but good for high-ranking adventurers, but Zhang Ruofeng was only a novice.
Before you continue