A Person in the League, But It's the Taiwan Server System

Chapter 26: Gratitude!

The Corrupting Potion provided Ahri with both "mana" and "health." The twelve-second recovery effect left her feeling refreshed from head to toe, and she even cast aside the grievances she had just suffered.

"Delicious. This Concubine is very satisfied." She patted her newly filled stomach, licked her alluring lips, and swept the remaining two drops of liquid into her mouth.

"Glad you're satisfied." Chen Ce took the bottle back from the fox-girl; it was truly empty now. "Then hurry along. I have things to attend to."

"Eh~~~ You're so heartless~~~" Having eaten and drunk her fill, Ahri reverted to her previous coquettish demeanor, no longer appearing afraid of him.

"Heartless? We never had any bond to begin with." Chen Ce waved his hand again, making a "shoo-shoo" sound with his mouth, much like someone chasing away a stray cat.

"Eh~~~ How could you~~~~" Ahri dragged out the end of her sentence, her amber eyes fixed firmly on the sapphire pendant around his neck.

Chen Ce knew exactly what she was thinking and promptly took the Tear of the Goddess off, stuffing it into his pocket.

"Don't even think about this, and don't go hatching any little schemes, or else... I'll 'rua' your tails."

"Ugh..." At the mention of her tails, Ahri felt a surge of fear. She quickly gathered the nine massive tails—which could have served as a blanket—into a ball and tucked them behind her. "This Concubine wasn't eyeing your treasure..."

"Then get going."

"No... not leaving..."

"Are you trying to latch onto me now?"

"This Concubine still wants to drink that stuff..."

"Didn't you drink it all?"

"Make some more for this Concubine..."

"...You really are thick-skinned."

"This Concubine... this Concubine isn't drinking it for free..." Ahri puffed out her cheeks in defiance. "This Concubine can trade fairly with you... just like in the marketplace."

Truth be told, she felt nothing for Chen Ce, a chance acquaintance, and had no desire to cling to him, but... the allure of that potion was simply too strong.

At this point in time, her abilities were limited. She had never tasted the life essence of someone with such extraordinary power, and the life essence of ordinary people was like tasteless, flavorless chicken ribs compared to the Corrupting Potion.

Moreover... she was still secretly coveting Chen Ce's Tear of the Goddess.

She also wanted to sample Chen Ce's life essence—she could sense that his essence was fuller and more delicious than that of an average person.

Therefore, even if she felt nothing for him, she had to find a way to stick by his side.

"Pretty please~~~"

"Stop, don't try to charm me." Chen Ce instinctively took a half-step back, fearing she might secretly unleash her charm magic on him again. "If you're talking about a fair trade, what do you have to offer?"

"Ugh... this." Ahri controlled one of her large tails, extending it from behind her to the front. "You wanted to study this Concubine's tails, didn't you... Give this Concubine a bottle of that potion, and you can touch them once..."

"That... sorry, I don't feel like studying them anymore."

"Eh...?"

"Looks like you have nothing to trade with. You should go." Chen Ce resumed his cat-shooing gesture.

In truth, if it were any other time, he wouldn't mind spending time grinding her interaction level to get some treasure chests, but he really didn't have the time now.

"Wait, wait, wait..." Ahri was pushed out of the room, and the door was about to close.

In this moment, deciding between a single meal or a lifetime of them, she finally played her trump card—well, perhaps it didn't quite count as a trump card:

"This Concubine... this Concubine will work for you...! You can have this Concubine do anything...!"

Thud! Ahri used her slender body to firmly wedge the door that was about to shut.

She even used her tails.

Like a giant spider.

"From now on, you can order this Concubine to do anything! Laundry, sweeping, cooking... anything! This Concubine only asks to drink that potion every day!"

There was no response from inside the room.

After waiting a while, Ahri anxiously pressed her eye against the crack in the door.

Just then, Chen Ce walked out with his cloth bag on his back.

"You can really do anything?"

"Yes!" For the sake of constant meals, Ahri agreed without a second thought.

Hearing this, Chen Ce began to size her up with a scrutinizing gaze—from head to toe, from her exposed snow-white skin to her gorgeous, distinctly Ionian-style bodice and short skirt.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

Ahri suddenly felt a bit scared. "You... what are you thinking... let's get this straight... this Concubine is only helping you work, I won't do that kind of thing... this Concubine sells her skills, not her body..."

"Hmm..." Chen Ce nodded thoughtfully.

Then, he reached his wicked hand toward her...

"Fine. From now on, you're my manual laborer. The base salary is one hundred milliliters of potion per day. Your performance bonus depends on how much labor you do for me within the day. If I need you to fight or use magic, that'll be calculated as a separate bonus."

"O-okay!" Ahri looked a bit burdened carrying her luggage, but there wasn't a hint of displeasure on her face.

On the contrary, she was so grateful she was practically moved to tears, beyond words.

If this was just about carrying luggage, wouldn't it be a hundred times easier than hunting outside on her own?

Though the luggage was heavy, at least there was no mortal danger, and she wouldn't run into someone as fierce and menacing as... Chen Ce.

More importantly, she couldn't always catch prey when hunting, meaning she lived hand-to-mouth; when her luck was bad, she might go hungry for days on end—just like the days before she met Chen Ce, when she came back empty-handed and had to starve.

But following Chen Ce was different.

Although it was a bit physically tiring, she didn't have to use her brain, and she was guaranteed a full meal every single day.

And, and, and, and, that potion was much more delicious than ordinary life essences!

How was this manual labor? This was practically paradise!

"Heave... ho..." The little fox girl walked unsteadily under the large bundle, her misery revealing a hint of cuteness.

It was just a shame she didn't know that Chen Ce's Corrupting Potion was actually obtained from "her own body"...

Of course, she would likely never know about this.

Chen Ce checked the map while walking, showing not a shred of "pity" for the fox girl.

Weren't laborers... just meant to be exploited?

She should be thanking him.

[Hero [Ahri] Gratitude +10, current interaction level 10]

Listening to the system notification, Chen Ce felt even more at ease with his empty hands and unburdened shoulders.

Taking another look at the marks on the map, his mood improved even further.

"About... two days. Two more days of travel and we should arrive."

"Arrive where?" Ahri asked subconsciously from the side.

"To a place where we can witness two brothers turning on each other."

"Oh... are you going to watch a show? That sounds a bit wicked... but This Concubine quite likes watching shows." Ahri shifted the bundle on her shoulders. "Take This Concubine with you, This Concubine wants to watch too!"

"Watch your fox head." Chen Ce flicked the fox girl's forehead with the air of a boss, causing her to immediately puff out her cheeks in grievance.

"I'm going to save someone—before they kill each other."

Chapter 27: Follow the wind, but keep watch behind you

The rain had stopped, but puddles still remained on the uneven stone path.

The fleeing swordsman saw his blood-stained face and the wound on his abdomen reflected in the calm water.

The wound had already scabbed over, the blood no longer flowing, and the terrifying stains had long been washed away by the rain that had just cleared. He couldn't smell the metallic scent of blood, yet he could still hear the heart-wrenching wails and curses.

He didn't want this, he truly didn't...

Fleeing all the way from the village to here, he didn't even know the name of the land beneath his feet; he only knew that this strange soil had also been stained with the blood he knew so well.

He was tired. Both in body and in spirit.

He sighed softly and lay back.

Beneath him was the cold rainwater; before him was the sky gradually clearing.

The long sword in his arms remained sharp, its slight curve reflecting the drifting white clouds.

He gradually closed his eyes, the hilt not yet sheathed slowly sliding from his palm.

But just as the hilt was about to slip away, he gripped it tightly once more.

The next moment, a flash of steel cut through the air, accompanied by the roar of another swordsman.

"Yasuo! Surrender! Or—die!"

The reclining swordsman still didn't open his eyes, merely turning his wrist slightly.

The sharp blade sliced through the air, severed the falling raindrops, and finally struck the other's sword.

Clang—! A crisp metallic collision rang out, and the sword in the opponent's hand snapped.

He still didn't open his eyes—not out of contempt, but out of fear.

He no longer dared to look into the eyes of his former friend... that angry gaze, the deep-seated doubt and confusion buried within those eyes... those were the blades that truly wounded him.

"Leave, Yone." Yasuo called the opponent's name accurately—even though he hadn't seen him at all. He had sensed it from those familiar techniques. "You are no match for me... even if I have lost my honor."

"Honor? You still have the face to mention honor?!" The swordsman called Yone grew even more furious, and another intact sword descended rapidly, as dense as that terrible rainstorm.

"Is your arrogance and pride innate? Did Elder Yasuo not teach you what humility was all these years! Why... why did you lay your hands on the Elder!!"

This sentence once again pierced Yasuo deeply.

Yes, "humility."

He had never learned what humility was... If he had been humble enough, he wouldn't have tried to prove himself by killing the enemy that day, leaving the Elder behind.

Even now, he would subconsciously blurt out arrogant and prideful words like "You are no match for me."

He had always failed that lesson on humility...

"I'm sorry, Yone..." Yasuo applied a little force to his legs, his body springing up from the ground, and the blade in his hand once again parried the opponent's attack. "But... the Elder did not die by my hand. You should go back..."

"If you are innocent, then come back to the village with me to face judgment!"

"I must find the true killer before that... I have to uncover the truth, Yone."

"Even now, you still dare to make excuses!"

Yone lunged forward, swinging his longsword at an incredibly tricky angle.

Regrettably... his swordsmanship still appeared far too immature in front of Yasuo.

Clang! Another crisp sound rang out.

Yasuo had severed his opponent's blade once again.

Yone practiced the dual-blade style, but both swords he had brought were now broken.

"Yasuo—!" He roared, brandishing the two broken blades in a desperate attempt to trade his life for a strike.

Yet Yasuo had no heart for this battle—if this were a training session from the past, he would have surely struck the other man hard with a wooden sword and said with a smile, "You're still too green; go practice for a few more years."

But this was not a training session, and they were not holding wooden swords.

Yone truly wanted to kill him.

He sighed inwardly once more—he could no longer remember how many times he had sighed.

"Forgive me, Yone..."

In the blink of an eye, Yasuo knocked the broken blades from his opponent's hands and struck his legs heavily with the blunt edge of his sword.

A wave of intense pain surged through him; Yone's legs gave out instantly, and his entire body collapsed to the ground.

Yasuo fled once again... burdened by infamy and shame.