Zeus Familia Returns

"What?" Zhang Ruofeng had only just processed this when the soreness in his muscles forced him to settle back down. Perman looked to be only eleven or twelve years old, yet she already had a daughter, and judging by her tone, her daughter was old enough to be independent.

"Is it really that surprising that I have a daughter?" Perman rolled her eyes at Zhang Ruofeng. "My daughter is already fourteen this year. I don't feel at ease leaving her in the countryside, but it isn't safe for her to be by my side either—after all, I've made quite a few enemies." Perman's gaze softened, but then she immediately looked vexed.

"If I hadn't made so many enemies in my youth, do you think our Familia would be running a shop in that corner of the shopping district?" Zhang Ruofeng thought about it and realized she had a point. It didn't make sense for someone capable of crafting a super-potent potion like Dragon Blood to be working as a mere shopkeeper.

"The woman who once played me for a fool managed to reach Lv.4 while I was away. Her Familia is now significantly stronger than our Medicine God Familia, so I cannot easily step into the Dungeon. As long as I'm not there, she won't target the other members, but my daughter is a different story. Besides, there was more than one woman back then who harbored jealousy toward me. Rather than having her suffer by my side, I'd feel more at ease if she were with you. I trust the character of someone who can endure the erosion of Dragon Blood." Perman's eyes sparkled again as she finished.

"You think I'm a monk, don't you..." Zhang Ruofeng spread his hands helplessly.

"As long as I don't have too much contact with her, no one will realize we are mother and daughter, and joining the Flower Goddess Familia gives me a reason to see her often." Perman explained her dilemma, and Zhang Ruofeng found he couldn't argue.

"Your Familia doesn't have a captain yet. If you can successfully break through to the next level, you will surely be the captain. When that time comes, I entrust my daughter to your care." Perman bowed slightly as she finished, a look of seriousness on her face that Zhang Ruofeng had never seen before.

"Well, I'm not sure if you're doing me a favor or playing a trick on me, but I will do my absolute best." Zhang Ruofeng replied solemnly. "However, you must first obtain the consent of my Main God."

"Pfft." Perman laughed out loud. "If someone with your intense, serious personality were to become a lecher, you'd probably be incredibly difficult to deal with, haha..."

"That's all your fault!" Zhang Ruofeng pretended to glare, but after being easily ignored by Perman, he could only lie limply in the bathtub.

"Well, it will take her a few months to get to Orario, so there's no need to rush. Focus on improving your own strength first; only then can I feel safe handing my daughter over to you." Perman said this in a relaxed manner, and without waiting for Zhang Ruofeng to respond, she turned to join the other women. Zhang Ruofeng lay weakly in the bathtub until he drifted into a groggy sleep.

When Zhang Ruofeng woke up again, the sunlight outside had become blindingly bright; it was likely midday. He tried to get up, struggling several times before finally crawling out of the bathtub. The moment his feet touched the floor, they began to tremble violently. It felt as if someone had shocked his soles with high-voltage electricity—it was both painful and itchy, and utterly unbearable.

"Ruofeng, you're awake?" Xin Mu saw the soaking-wet Zhang Ruofeng trying to dry himself and wanted to come over to help.

"I'll do it myself." Zhang Ruofeng didn't dare let a woman help him with this. After persuading Xin Mu to leave, he began to take off his pants to wring them out. This simple task alone made cold sweat stream down his face from the pain.

Still, Zhang Ruofeng gritted his teeth, dried his entire body, and put his pants back on. He picked up his washed shirt, put it on, and began to limp out of the bathroom.

"It seems your muscle strain has reached its peak." Seeing Zhang Ruofeng come downstairs, the Main God stopped her work and turned to him. "Perman used up your body's self-repair capabilities. At this stage, even healing potions won't eliminate the pain, so you'll just have to adapt."

Zhang Ruofeng gave a bitter smile and slowly sat down on a chair in the corner. Thinking back to the agony of last night, his current muscle strain felt like a blessing. Wait, lunch... A serious problem immediately occurred to him. He was currently immobile, and as far as he knew, Xin Mu couldn't cook. If he let Fura cook, his physical condition would likely worsen. At the thought of this, Zhang Ruofeng's expression twisted.

"I know what you're thinking!!" Fura, seeing his worried expression, said unhappily, "Today's lunch is the same biscuits you ate when you went into the Dungeon." She pulled out the lunch Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu had eaten in the Dungeon—a cheap, mediocre-tasting, large biscuit.

"Recover as quickly as you can. If it weren't for the fact that they're easy to carry in the Dungeon, I wouldn't want to eat these either." Xin Mu came to Zhang Ruofeng's side and handed him a cigarette. "I've made an exception for you to smoke indoors today. The Main God and I discussed it, and we can open a window in this corner, so you won't have to keep running outside."

"Our Familia is still too small. If any of you get hurt, it has a huge impact on our daily lives." Fura sighed. If any of her original seven Familia members were still alive, the three of them wouldn't have to struggle so much.

"Hey, hey, did you hear?" An adventurer rushed into Fura Flower Shop, grabbed his companion who was picking out flowers, whispered something, and then the two of them rushed out the door in a hurry.

"What happened?" Zhang Ruofeng frowned slightly. Things seemed to be getting strange, and he couldn't imagine what would pique an adventurer's interest to such a degree. The two of them had looked very urgent.

"Ah, if I'm not mistaken, today is the day the Zeus Familia returns. Two days ago, other gods mentioned that their adventurers saw the Zeus Familia's first-class adventurer, Wind-Chasing Leg, on the 18th floor. It seems the main force was running low on supplies. Regardless, since Wind-Chasing Leg has already reached the middle floors, the Zeus Familia should have returned by now." The Main God explained to Zhang Ruofeng, as he and Xin Mu were still not very familiar with the adventurers of this world. "It's normal that you don't know much about them. The Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia have always wanted to explore the deeper levels of the Dungeon. Although I don't know the results, they were out on an expedition for a full three months, so they should have gained something."

"They stayed in the Dungeon for three months?" Zhang Ruofeng was stunned. In that dim place, lacking human food and under constant high-pressure conditions, being able to stay for three months required immense mental strength.

"After all, the Zeus Familia is the sharpest spear in this world. They have nine first-class adventurers and over twenty who are only slightly less skilled. They are the strongest Familia. Over the last thousand years, the Zeus Familia has produced several great heroes. Although they haven't fulfilled the ultimate wish of all adventurers, they are still celebrated by many." Fura had been in the Lower World for nearly twenty years. While twenty years was nothing to a god, her knowledge of Orario was far beyond what Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu could observe in a few days.

"Hmm, it seems I need to learn more, or I won't be able to handle being tricked again by someone with a dark history like Perman." Zhang Ruofeng felt his stomach ache as he thought of his new skill. The worst side effect of this skill was the sharp drop in his immunity to women. Although there were no specific numbers, Zhang Ruofeng was certain he could no longer remain as calm as a still lake.

"Sigh!" Zhang Ruofeng smoked his cigarette in silence, feeling truly melancholy.