Ominous Signs Before the Incident

In the time that followed, Zhang Ruofeng realized that he and Xin Mu staying behind instead of retreating had been an unwise choice. The biggest reason was the adventurers from just moments ago; although Zhang Ruofeng felt he had done his best, he had seen his fair share of bloodshed in the past and was still shaken, while Xin Mu's state of mind had been completely shattered, leaving her in a dazed, drifting state.

Although Zhang Ruofeng realized his cold approach might have made Xin Mu feel he was heartless, he knew that if he hadn't suppressed his own emotions, Xin Mu would likely have been even more rattled. As it stood, his choice seemed correct. Xin Mu was still trembling; for those like them, raised in a society governed by law and peace, the raw terror of facing death left a profound impact.

"Xin Mu!" Although Zhang Ruofeng was responsible for keeping watch, he knew they both needed to recover their composure as quickly as possible. But Xin Mu was a girl, after all; she couldn't just suppress the fear of death by lighting a cigarette like Zhang Ruofeng could. For someone as introverted as Xin Mu, processing such emotions was much slower than it would be for a more cheerful girl.

Just then, a Cave Spider suddenly lunged from the ground beside Xin Mu. Her reaction was naturally much slower; her hand had only just reached the hilt of her blade, and before she could even draw her dagger, the Cave Spider was already upon her. Seeing that it was too late to dodge, Xin Mu instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.

"Don't close your eyes in battle. Even if you're injured, keep your gaze locked on your opponent." Zhang Ruofeng had luckily spotted it in time and punched the Cave Spider away. He winced in pain for a split second, but still said softly, "Fearing the enemy will only cause you more harm." He then turned and kicked away another Cave Spider that had ambushed his back, leaving a fifteen-centimeter-long gash across his skin.

"Ruofeng!" Xin Mu saw the cold sweat on Zhang Ruofeng's forehead and snapped back to reality. If not for her distraction, Zhang Ruofeng would never have suffered such an injury.

"Haha, it's nothing, nothing. I've had this kind of wound before—practice makes perfect, right?" Zhang Ruofeng pretended not to care about the wound. "Back when I was a street thug, I got hurt every day. This kind of thing was just a daily routine." He finished by lighting a cigarette, forcing himself to suppress the pain.

Xin Mu hurried to examine his wound. Aside from heavy bleeding, there was no discoloration around the edges, meaning he hadn't been poisoned like the other adventurers. She let out a sigh of relief, only to feel her own vision begin to blur.

"This..." Zhang Ruofeng turned back to see Xin Mu clutching her own hem, tears rolling down her cheeks. He was momentarily at a loss. He wanted to move, but the wound on his back pulled painfully, and his clothes were already soaked in blood; he wasn't exactly in a state to comfort her.

"Look, don't I have this high-grade healing potion?" Zhang Ruofeng struggled to lift the bottle containing the bright red liquid, trying to reassure her. He opened it and took a gulp. The massive blood loss had left him feeling weak, but the high-grade potion was truly miraculous. He felt a fierce, burning sensation behind him, followed by the itch of the wound knitting itself shut. He moved slightly, and the pain vanished.

"See? I'm fine now, aren't I?" Zhang Ruofeng said to the still-weeping Xin Mu. When she saw him make a funny face at her, she slowly stopped crying.

"Used up half the bottle, though," Zhang Ruofeng muttered, looking at the vial in his hand, feeling a pang of regret. He couldn't afford such good stuff yet.

Seeing the pained expression on his face, Xin Mu couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"Haha, as long as your head is back in the game, that's all that matters." Zhang Ruofeng smiled too. "Actually, you don't have to feel embarrassed. The first time I made someone's nose bleed, I was terrified for ages, afraid the police would come and arrest me."

Xin Mu nodded silently. Zhang Ruofeng tore his linen shirt off; it was soaked in blood and tattered, and wearing it was worse than being shirtless.

"Since you've recovered your state of mind, I can finally stop my hands from shaking," Xin Mu said, watching Zhang Ruofeng hold his own arm, realizing that he had been just as uneasy as she was. "We need to hurry and kill more monsters, or we'll be naked and starving by tonight." Zhang Ruofeng shrugged helplessly; his clothes were ruined, and now he needed even more money.

"Mm." Xin Mu nodded firmly, signaling to Zhang Ruofeng that she was fine, and the two continued their exploration of the Dungeon.

They reached the entrance to the fourth floor before long, but heard sounds of cursing followed by intense combat. Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu figured something major must have happened below. With their current abilities, exploring the fourth floor was fine under normal circumstances, but another accident could be dangerous. They prepared to retreat, only to see a shadow sprint past them, shouting back, "Sorry!!" before disappearing.

"What the!" Zhang Ruofeng's reaction was a beat slow, but he knew exactly what had happened. The same person who had forced him and Xin Mu to challenge an elite monster on their first day had appeared again. Zhang Ruofeng wanted to give chase, but the guy was impossibly fast; he vanished around a corner almost instantly. Zhang Ruofeng tried to follow, but within five seconds, the stranger had disappeared into the complex maze.

"Is this guy part leopard?" Zhang Ruofeng stopped, sighing, and turned back to regroup with Xin Mu. With that unlucky guy around, they both knew what had happened below—he clearly had a knack for attracting elite monsters.

That was the conclusion they reached: either he was a magnet for elite monsters, or he was simply a textbook case of "Luck E."

With things as they were, neither dared to risk the fourth floor, so they wandered the third floor instead. After killing a few more Cave Spiders, they figured the time was right and began their slow return to the surface.

Even though they drew stares, Zhang Ruofeng washed the blood off at a public well first, then went with Xin Mu to buy some necessities before returning to their base—the flower shop run by the Goddess.

Night fell quietly. After a week of adjustment, this should have been just another unremarkable night for Zhang Ruofeng, but he hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

The main reason, in fact, was that bottle of high-grade healing potion. Yes, having used a high-grade potion for the first time, he didn't know the proper dosage. Perhaps for high-level adventurers, the potion had no side effects, but Zhang Ruofeng was still just a novice.

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