Soft, Very Comfortable

The next day.

When Luo Ze vaguely woke from his sleep, he felt weak all over. His stomach hurt a little, probably because Kashal had punched him several times yesterday. It had not healed yet.

Yet amid the aches covering his body, he also felt a strange sensation. Something soft seemed to be moving across his upper body, soft and comfortable.

Luo Ze grabbed that soft thing with one hand and gave it a slight squeeze, immediately finding it hard to let go. He slowly sat up and opened his eyes, only to freeze.

It turned out that what Luo Ze had grabbed was the little girl's tender hand. He had not expected her skin to be so soft; it had felt so comfortable that he had thought he was touching cotton.

"Ellie, you're better?"

Luo Ze asked in pleasant surprise.

Ellie looked much more energetic today. Though she was still filthy, her eyes were lively, and she appeared to have recovered.

"..."

Ellie timidly pulled her hand back. Her blue eyes were beautiful, but she cautiously studied Luo Ze without answering.

Ellie did not know why Luo Ze knew her name, but she vaguely remembered that he had saved her when the fish-men captured her yesterday. And late last night, it seemed that Luo Ze had held her as they slept through the entire night.

She did not see the same disgust on Luo Ze's face that the villagers of Boke Village showed her. Instead, his face was filled with concern.

So, at that instant, Ellie gave Luo Ze a label in her heart.

This big brother must be a good person. He was very gentle too, much gentler than those villagers.

Of course, this was only a thought in Ellie's heart. No one else knew about it.

If she had said it aloud, those villagers would probably have choked to death on a mouthful of water.

A scoundrel as utterly wicked as Luo Ze could actually be considered a good person?

"Mhm, your fever's gone. Come on, let's go back to the ship."

Luo Ze gently touched Ellie's forehead and found that her temperature had returned to normal, which reassured him greatly. He picked Ellie up in his arms and stood.

Then, he said to Ellie, "A ship?" Ellie still answered timidly.

Although Luo Ze gave her a very warm and friendly feeling, Ellie had suffered a miserable childhood. She was only four and a half years old, yet she had endured hardships that many adults had never experienced.

Moreover, she had always been alone and helpless. In Boke Village, she had suffered the villagers' disgust and bullying. As a result, she was rather introverted and insecure, and also very timid.

Fortunately, Luo Ze made her feel warm. Otherwise, the little girl might have run away long ago.

"That's right, we're going to the ship. There are lots of good things on board. Big brother will take you to brush your teeth, wash your face, take a bath, and then we'll have the robot make us something delicious."

Luo Ze patted Ellie on the head and smiled.

The system had already given Luo Ze a highly detailed profile on Ellie yesterday, so he understood her very well.

Ellie had suffered too much and was wary of everyone. The fact that she had not shown any resistance toward him was already a very good start.

"Okay..."

At the mention of delicious food, Ellie's eyes suddenly lit up. Her stomach was a little hungry. She remembered that the last time she had eaten was yesterday morning, and what she ate had been something even a stray cat did not want.

"Let's go, let's go."

Luo Ze laughed.

Sure enough, children had no resistance to delicious food. Earlier, he had thought he would have to trick Ellie onto the ship—ptui!

He had thought it would take some effort to bring Ellie aboard, but he had not expected the little girl to have so little resistance toward him. Things were going quite smoothly.

However, Luo Ze had not realized something.

If he had not saved Ellie yesterday, and if he had not held Ellie while sleeping with her all night, allowing her to see him first thing when she woke up, the little girl would definitely have been on guard against him.

Luo Ze quickly led Ellie out the door.

The place where Luo Ze and Kashal had fought yesterday was still stained bright red, and there was even a faint smell of blood in the air.

Fortunately, the corpses had disappeared. Luo Ze guessed that the villagers had dealt with them. Otherwise, after enough time passed, the stench of rotting corpses would have been terrifying.

Luo Ze suddenly turned to glance at Ellie.

He did not feel anything about such a bloody scene, but Ellie was only a child. She should have felt uncomfortable in a place covered in blood and reeking of it.

Yet, to his surprise, Ellie's gaze was calm. Though she was somewhat repulsed by the smell, she did not react excessively.

Luo Ze suddenly seemed to understand something.

Ellie had likely lived all this time in Boke Village, which was ruled by fish-men, and had often seen fish-men slaughter humans. So while scenes like this still made her uncomfortable, perhaps she had long since become numb to them.

Luo Ze sighed inwardly.

He unconsciously quickened his pace, wanting only to get Ellie onto the ship as soon as possible.

"Luo Ze, you're up? How are your injuries?"

However, Luo Ze had barely taken a few steps when he noticed Monya and a large group of villagers walking toward him.

The villagers wore broad smiles. Regaining their freedom seemed to have put them in a very good mood.

When the villagers saw Luo Ze, they all respectfully greeted him.

"Mr. Luo Ze."

Luo Ze gave a slight nod and quickly passed by them.

He had no real connection with these villagers. He had killed Kashal to fulfill his deal with the old craftsman. He had killed the other fishmen because Ake had saved Ellie. So there was nothing particularly good between him and the villagers.

The villagers smiled awkwardly, but they were not overly eager to welcome Luo Ze either.

Although Luo Ze could be considered their benefactor, he was also a complete madman. If Luo Ze gave them an order, they would naturally obey it. But if there was nothing to do, they wished they could stay as far away from him as possible.

After all, he was simply too dangerous.

"Oh, right, Viper. The Ghost Sword will set sail at noon. Are you going back to Dog Town?"

Luo Ze suddenly asked.

He had a good impression of Monya and the old craftsman. If Monya planned to return, he did not mind giving her a lift.

"No. Things here have only just ended, and there's still a lot to help with in the village."

Monya shook her head. Although Kashal and the other fishmen had been wiped out by Luo Ze, they had left behind many things.

For instance, the palace where the fishmen had lived, as well as the villagers' houses—everything needed to be rebuilt.

Besides, although she was grateful to Luo Ze, because of his personality, Monya was not particularly willing to stay around him.

Luo Ze had always given Monya only one impression.

Dangerous.