Aren't You Afraid of Retaliation?

The spring sky was clear, cloudless for miles.

Lying on the grain wagon, Pei Renli found a spot and stretched out. The sacks stuffed full of grain were certainly no bed, but lying atop grain that was neither too soft nor too hard, every slight movement felt like a pair of hands gently massaging his back. He could not help narrowing his eyes in comfort.

The matter of chasing into the sewers had become yesterday's affair—or, more precisely, something that had happened a few hours ago.

They had been fortunate not to get lost again. They left the underground passages without incident, crossed the Lower District, and prepared to enter Curtain Star City.

—Only to be stopped by the guards.

Kaya's shoulder was in bad shape. Even she could not tell whether the bone had shattered or merely cracked. Eve's left hand, on the other hand, was undeniably fractured; she could not raise it at all and could only tear off a strip of cloth to make a sling. Koura had been struck in the leg by a warhammer and was certain her bone had cracked as well. The three of them had to support one another just to walk, a truly pitiful sight.

Looking at it that way, Pei Renli had suffered the lightest injuries, though his head still felt dizzy and unwell. Most likely, he had a mild concussion.

A group of wounded people like this was conspicuous enough, not to mention that Pei Renli was carrying that suspected young lady hostage on his back.

In the sewers, she had still been able to hold onto Pei Renli and move along in front of him. Once they got out, perhaps because she finally felt safer, the sudden relaxation made her collapse completely to the ground. Pei Renli, being the least injured, had no choice but to carry her.

And let them not forget that she had no idea how long she had gone without bathing. Her clothes were covered in thick grease that gave off a strong sour stench, along with traces that looked like vomit.

During the fight, they had crawled and rolled around, getting covered in fire oil with its harsh, choking odor. And the place they had gone was the sewer, whose smell was no less striking...

With a group so fragrant and miserable, it was no wonder the guards stopped them.

That was not much of a problem, though. The suspected young lady hostage pulled a badge from her pocket, one so worn it had nearly developed a patina. At the sight of it, the guard looked as though his ancestors had appeared before him. He ushered them into the guardhouse as if welcoming his own father, then hurriedly sent for a doctor.

That description might have been a bit exaggerated, but it was true that they had been so respectful it could practically be called filial devotion.

Not long after, the sheriff of the Middle District arrived in a panic, still wearing his sleeping robes, and asked what had happened. His tone was exceedingly tactful, and even his voice was soft and quiet, as if he feared speaking too loudly would seem insufficiently respectful.

Before they had exchanged more than a few words, the sheriff of the Upper District arrived as well...

Once they understood what had happened, a doctor came to tend to their injuries. Pei Renli and the other three then returned to the inn. After resting for a few hours, they went to the city gates at first light and asked around one by one. In the end, they found a merchant caravan that would pass through Naspar and was willing to take them along.

That was the brief version of events. Naturally, plenty of details had been left out.

But Pei Renli could not be bothered to think any further about it. Every day, he had to face high-intensity training and brain-melting, life-draining study sessions. Then he had failed to get a good night's sleep last night. Staring at the azure sky that seemed deep enough to draw one in, Pei Renli's eyelids were visibly fighting each other.

There was still some distance before they reached Naspar. Catching up on sleep now did not seem like a bad idea.

With that thought, he had just closed his eyes when the light suddenly dimmed.

Reluctantly opening them, he saw Eve crouching beside him, still staring at him expressionlessly. It was as if, had Pei Renli not opened his eyes, she intended to stare at him for the whole journey.

Come to think of it, if he had not once seen some slight changes in Eve's expression, Pei Renli might have believed she truly had a stone face.

The pain of a fractured bone was enough to make even the roughest old man bare his teeth, yet Eve still showed nothing on her face. At most, cold sweat beaded from the pain.

Lately, the time her expression had changed most noticeably was when she saw Pei Renli dressed as a woman. Perhaps the shock of his women's clothing had hit her harder than a broken bone...

"When did you learn Force Fist?"

"Have you been holding that question in all night?"

Eve nodded. If she had not been so busy last night, she would have asked him long ago.

"You seem never to have discussed the spell details of Force Fist with me."

"Because I never intended to practice it."

The casting method of rune magic was much like typing with phonetics, to use a vivid analogy. The more runes one knew, the more spells one could piece together.

So whenever Pei Renli learned a spell, he would first memorize its runes whenever he encountered it, useful or not. Only afterward would he examine the spell materials concerning its effects, principles, and so on.

If the spell seemed practical, he would copy the key points into his spellbook. If it was both practical and something he particularly lacked, he would go practice it at the spell testing grounds. He would discuss the problems he encountered during practice with Eve, gradually mastering the spell completely.

Force Fist was the sort whose runes he had just memorized, but which he had not intended to learn or practice.

Force Fist was an E-rank spell, the same rank as Cat's Grace and Bull's Strength. But it was a melee spell—in other words, one that only took effect if a weapon or hand touched the target.

For Pei Renli, who still needed to cast through runes, melee spells held little practical value.

Just think about it: to fight with such a spell, he would need one hand to rapidly weave runes while also touching the target at the exact moment the runes were completed. The timing requirements were strict, and in close combat he had no confidence in it at all. The margin for error was far too small.

Thus, although melee spells were much more powerful than ranged spells of the same rank, Electric Claw was still the only one Pei Renli could currently activate instantly, and he had no plans to delve deeper into any others.

Even when casting through rune magic, merely memorizing the runes was not enough to use magic flawlessly. Repeated practice was still necessary to ensure the success rate, and the more advanced the spell, the more that held true.

It was like the difference between learning something and mastering it—and mastery was entirely different from true proficiency.

Back then, he had been driven like a duck onto a perch. If Eve's Steel Restraint and the other two had not fought desperately to buy him a little time, Pei Renli would never have had the chance to use Force Fist.

And with a spell he had never practiced, whether he could cast it successfully was also largely a matter of luck. Failing once out of three attempts would not have been strange. If asked to try it on the spot now, he probably would not do so smoothly either. All he could say was that he had burst forth with hidden potential at the time.

Still, Force Fist truly was powerful. After this experience, Pei Renli felt that melee spells might be worth learning after all. But he definitely could not cast them through rune magic. Once the pressure on him eased in the future, he would properly study them using the spell model construction method.

Having finally answered the question that had troubled Eve all night, she left in satisfaction. Pei Renli was finally able to close his eyes again.

But perhaps the world simply refused to let him sleep. Eve had barely left when someone else came over and sat beside him. Unlike Eve, who had merely stared at him obediently, this person tugged at Pei Renli's cloak.

"Hey, hey, aren't you really worried at all that they'll retaliate?"

Looking up, he saw Koura.

Rubbing his temples, he said, "Aren't you just as unworried?"

"Who said that? I'm plenty worried."

Anyone could tell that was complete nonsense...

Come to think of it, there were many unclear points in this whole affair, and the waters ran deep indeed.

Originally, their task had merely been to catch some scumbag loitering around the streets. Catch him, hand him over, and that would be the end of it. But by digging too deeply, they seemed to have accidentally stumbled upon a huge secret.

When Sheriff Chatin explained the assignment to them, he probably hadn't expected them to catch the man so quickly. He had been completely unprepared, so when he discovered that Jixiu had been captured, he made a stupid move.

A fire breaking out in the prison was already an extremely unlikely event. On top of that, Jixiu had managed to escape from his cell amid the chaos. One look was enough to tell there had to be something fishy going on.

Anyone who could freely enter and leave the prison and had the ability to pull off something like that had to be at least at the sheriff's level. Ordinary rank-and-file guards had no such influence.

So when Sheriff Chatin appeared in the secret room beneath the sewers, Pei Renli immediately realized that he was in league with whoever was pulling the strings.

Other details also served as evidence: the locked door had made no sound, and Sheriff Chatin had brought no guards with him when he hurried over.

Before coming to this world, Pei Renli certainly would not have cared about such details. But things were different now. Thanks to his successful experience at Horror Castle, Pei Renli now paid special attention to details—so much so that it was almost becoming a habit.

Still, he was a little too green. Bluntly exposing it the moment he noticed something was wrong had been a bad move.

If he had not exposed him, Sheriff Chatin would surely have played dumb and claimed credit for "cracking a human-trafficking ring" and "rescuing a noble young lady."

And it would have been easy enough to keep him from getting his way. They could simply leave the sewers, get somewhere safe, and recount what had happened in full view of everyone.

So he had been somewhat thoughtless about this. He would need to be more cautious in future operations.

"You scattered Orange Paradise across the ground as though it were Orange Elixir just to disgust Sheriff Chatin, but he might have had more Orange Elixir hidden on him. Besides, once we told the guards at the station everything that happened, they would definitely send people into the sewers. They might even rescue Sheriff Chatin."

In a tone that sounded both questioning and concerned, Koura said:

"If he really isn't dead, he and the people behind him probably won't let us off. But you don't seem worried at all."

"Who said I wasn't worried?"

"If you really were worried, you wouldn't be lazily trying to catch up on sleep."

If you noticed, then stop bothering me!

Pei Renli had the distinct feeling Koura was doing it on purpose. Still, he offered no explanation, merely flashing an awkward yet polite smile.

If Sheriff Chatin was still alive, then even if he did not retaliate openly, he would definitely look for an opportunity in the shadows.

But Pei Renli believed he would have no such opportunity.

On the surface, the group had left Sheriff Chatin alone in the sewers and departed. But they should not forget that besides the people in plain sight, Lavna was also hiding in Pei Renli's shadow.

Afterward, Lavna reported that she had flawlessly carried out the Demon King's orders. He had not asked for the specific details, but Pei Renli knew that dead men, naturally, could not seek revenge.

The only issue was the person behind Chatin, as well as the organization that trafficked people in name while actually using living humans to test drugs. The latter was impossible to figure out for now, but the former was probably nothing to worry about either.

The reason was, naturally, that captive who was suspected to be a young noble lady.