Dear, It's Time to Take Your Medicine!

"Qin Chu..." Ekaterina spoke, and she realized that even her voice seemed to be trembling.

"What is it?"

Qin Chu, who was cultivating, did not open his eyes. Without even lifting his head, he asked in return.

"How has your Starflame Battle Aura cultivated so quickly? You've already reached the second layer, haven't you?" Ekaterina asked.

That was what shocked her most. This rate of improvement was simply too outrageous. Back then, Jello's progress had not even been one-tenth of Qin Chu's. This man truly might be capable of pacifying all Demonic Beasts.

When facing Augustus earlier, Qin Chu had still kept his Starflame Battle Aura suppressed at the first layer. Once he left, he released that restraint.

"You mean this..."

"I don't know what exactly happened either. Maybe it has something to do with last night." Qin Chu finally stopped cultivating and scratched his head. "Yesterday afternoon, I could only sense the elemental power in the air. I had just begun cultivating."

"But... sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up." Qin Chu apologized like a perfect gentleman, as though he were considering Ekaterina's feelings and worrying that mentioning last night again would make her sad.

"In any case, although what happened last night was abrupt, I gained quite a few benefits from it. It seemed that under your guidance, my Starflame Battle Aura directly broke through to the second layer."

After giving that simple answer, Qin Chu ignored her again.

Ekaterina said nothing, half-believing and half-doubting. After all, she did not know whether it truly had the effect of increasing one's strength.

Another stretch of unbearable silence and oppression followed. After a long while, Ekaterina finally could not endure it any longer. She slowly stood, her graceful figure swaying as she walked toward Qin Chu step by step.

Without her armor on this time, he could feel the heat radiating from Ekaterina's body.

Her crimson hair fell along Qin Chu's cheek, tickling him slightly. Ekaterina rested her pointed chin on his shoulder, their temples brushing together. Qin Chu could feel her warm breath.

Ekaterina's soft, alluring voice sounded by his ear:

"Hey, Qin Chu, should we do it again..."

"This isn't because I want to. It's for Skyvault Continent. After all, the stronger you become, the faster you can eliminate the Demonic Beasts, and then you can also..."

She nearly let the words "revive Jello" slip out.

"...allow Skyvault Continent to regain peace sooner."

That was what Ekaterina said. She had already found an excuse for herself in her heart. This was not something she wanted; it was all for the sake of Skyvault Continent, and for reviving Jello as soon as possible.

That was a wonderful excuse, wasn't it?

Ekaterina's dazed eyes failed to see the curve rising at the corner of Qin Chu's lips.

This woman's hope had not yet been utterly crushed. There was still light before her eyes!

Good news, this chapter was five thousand words. Bad news, this might be the only chapter today. In the early hours of the National Day holiday, I received an urgent call from my editor. I've updated too much these past two days, and they told me to hold steady until next Wednesday. No more extra updates. Sigh, the word count is about to exceed the limit!

Many thanks to readers 20200825141243949 and NanayaShiki for the rewards. Thank you for your support.

I Don't Like Wearing Someone Else's Hat

This was not sinking into Desire. It was to make the Hero stronger, for Jello, for all living beings under heaven. That was why she had no choice but to give herself to Qin Chu.

Ekaterina wanted to use this method to preserve her fragile self-respect.

Yet Qin Chu cruelly wanted to make her will collapse completely. At least before him, her self-respect was unnecessary.

The smile gradually faded from his lips as Qin Chu looked toward Ekaterina.

Because Ekaterina was leaning against Qin Chu's shoulder, that movement nearly caused their lips to meet directly.

"Miss Ekaterina, could you move a little farther away from me?"

"You're disrupting my Battle Qi cultivation."

Qin Chu's voice was cold.

Ekaterina's face suddenly turned pale. She had not expected that after going this far, what she received would be Qin Chu's frigid rejection.

She stared at Qin Chu blankly. After slowly releasing his neck, she retreated two steps. Her face was deathly pale, and her body trembled, whether from humiliation or anger, she did not know.

She had taken the initiative to ask for pleasure, only to be coldly rejected.

It was as though her body were nothing but useless trash.

She had utterly lost face.

A burning, stinging pain.

She did not understand why this man, who had just been so gentle and secretly in love with her, had now become so cold. So cold that Ekaterina was afraid, as though he had become an entirely different person.

Qin Chu's expression grew solemn.

"Sorry, perhaps my words were a little too harsh. But if you act like this, you'll only delay the speed of my cultivation..."

"But didn't you say that after last night, you directly broke through to the second layer..." Ekaterina muttered softly. "I... I thought this might help you improve faster."

Qin Chu stood. He walked in front of Ekaterina and hooked a lock of her crimson hair around his finger. "Miss Ekaterina, don't think of your body as so cheap... It's your most precious thing, isn't it?"

His finger followed the strand of hair to Ekaterina's face, gently caressing it as he savored the softness of her cheek.

Then it moved to her fair neck, her seductive collarbone, her slender waist, her long legs... tracing the perfect curves of Ekaterina's body. Yet what came from his mouth was something entirely different:

"And besides, I'm not such a casual man."

His words and actions did not match in the slightest. The movement of his fingers was so profaning and crude that Ekaterina trembled all over.

"What happened before was only an accident. But now that we've both calmed down, I can't accept the woman enjoying herself with me calling another man's name." Qin Chu spoke calmly. "It makes me feel like I'm wearing someone else's hat. You know I don't like that."

Wearing a hat? What did that have to do with hats?

But Ekaterina had no time to think about it. Her pretty face turned incomparably pale in an instant. She thought of Jello again and felt ashamed of her own actions.

Once again, she had humiliated Jello, humiliated Qin Chu, and humiliated herself.

She did not understand why she had become like this. A fierce self-loathing and hatred welled up within her.

"If one day there is no Jello left in your heart at all, then come find me."

"Sorry, I need to go out and get some air."

Leaving those words behind, Qin Chu's fingers withdrew from Ekaterina's body. He turned and left without looking back.

This was called leaving someone hanging.

First, stir the other person up until their heart was in seven pieces and eight fragments, then toss them aside and leave them unattended.

He wanted to completely crush Ekaterina's self-respect, make this woman kneel before him and beg in a lowly manner, obedient as a pet.

Watching Qin Chu's resolute departing figure, Ekaterina could no longer hold herself up and collapsed to the ground.

Sorrow, pain, hatred, disgust, shame, longing—countless emotions surged into her heart in an instant. Crystal-clear tears rolled down Ekaterina's fair cheeks.

Here, she had suffered humiliation unlike anything she had ever experienced in her life.

But what frightened her even more was her own body. It hurt so much. It felt so unbearable...

Her hands tightly hugged her shoulders, and only despair remained on her face... Forget Jello?

No, no. She did not want to, and she absolutely could not forget Jello. He was the only light in her life. If she forgot Jello, then only Eternal Darkness would remain in her life.

Yet no matter how desperately Ekaterina tried, Jello's figure in her mind inevitably grew more and more blurred beyond her control.

Qin Chu's figure, meanwhile, became clearer and clearer.

She seemed to have fallen in love with him. The colder he was toward her, the farther he stayed from her, the more clearly Ekaterina noticed the feelings in her heart.

Love was shifting!

Outside the training grounds, Qin Chu comfortably stretched.

The setting sun fell across his face, warm and pleasant.

A sinister smile flickered across his face. Though it was a pity to leave Ekaterina alone in the training grounds like that, Qin Chu could endure it. He knew what mattered more.

"Miss Maritis, I'm planning to head out. Could you accompany me?" The sinister look had vanished, replaced by a sunshine-like smile as Qin Chu spoke to Maritis.

Maritis had clearly heard about those matters as well. Although the Pope had issued a gag order, gossip was human nature. Those who did not know yearned to find out, while those who did know desperately wanted to spread what they knew.

Maritis looked at Qin Chu with pity. After all, for the dignified Hero to be forcibly dragged into a room by a drunken Goddess of War was absolutely the greatest humiliation. She felt that she should show the Hero some concern at a time like this and help him feel a little better.

"Of course, no problem." Maritis, whose temperament was somewhat similar to Ekaterina's, slapped her chest and laughed. Like a close brother, she hooked an arm around Qin Chu's neck. "Little brother, where are you planning to drink? I'll go with you."

After spending these past days together, they had long become familiar with one another. Qin Chu and Maritis had a rather good relationship, so he would not be angered by her behavior.

But the adjutant beside Maritis turned pale with fright and repeatedly signaled to Maritis with her eyes, hoping her captain would restrain herself a little. How could she be so disrespectful toward Lord Hero?

"Mm... let's go to... Witch's House."

Witch's House was a tavern run by Candice.

Naming it after a Witch instead made people less likely to suspect whether Candice had any connection to Demonic Beasts. After all, those Demonic Beasts lurking within the city should not be so ostentatious.

Besides, the place was filled with strange drinks like Witch's Heart, Witch's Blood, Witch's Hair, Witch's Eyeballs, and the like...

"That should be a tavern in the Commoners' District, right? Why choose that place?" Maritis was rather puzzled. There are taverns in the Nobles' District too. The quality is higher, and the service is better...

"Well, how should I put it? The wine glasses in the Nobles' District are a little too small..."

Ignoring her adjutant's signals entirely, Maritis burst into laughter and patted Qin Chu's back. "I see. Hero little brother, your tastes really suit mine. I don't like those fingertip-sized wine glasses in the Nobles' District either. There's really no flavor to drinking from them."

Big sister, could you stop hitting me? It hurts.

This forthright big sister eagerly dragged Qin Chu along, ready to head to Witch's House and drink until neither of them returned sober.

Although her temperament looked somewhat similar to Ekaterina's.

Qin Chu knew that in their natures, they were two utterly different people.

Maritis truly had no ulterior motives. She merely wanted Skyvault Continent to regain peace. For that goal, she could throw away her life to protect Qin Chu. And now, Maritis only wanted to take Qin Chu out for a hearty drink and help him vent his gloom.

Qin Chu felt deeply sorry for taking advantage of Maritis's kindness.

After all, his true goal was not drinking. He wanted to obtain intelligence from Candice.

Ramon, the seventh prince of Nag, the Eternal Monarch, should have begun moving as well.

Benson was very strong, but he was still no match for Ramon. Besides, Benson was alone, while Ramon had a whole group of lackeys around him.

However, with Benson's extremely powerful defense-focused abilities, holding out for a while would not be a problem. Once Benson realized something was wrong, he would definitely seek support from Rosweisse. Though Benson was not a mage, he carried quite a few magic scrolls on him.

Rather, for some powerful experts with ample wealth, it was common to store a certain number of magic scrolls on themselves, such as message scrolls for conveying information, Water Healing for treating injuries, and so on, just in case.

He needed to find a way to follow them and seize Benson's authority. The authority of Pseudo-Absolute Defense was still quite tempting to Qin Chu.

There will be another update at noon. After Wednesday, the daily updates will begin increasing. I hope everyone will continue to support me. Many thanks to AugustGugugu and reader 20220729184751167 for the fifteen hundred-point rewards, and thanks to Mouse Beyond the Forest, Ronin Linen Clothes Ming i, and reader 20220227111539457 for their rewards. Thank you for your support!

At the End of the Void, There Are Enemies!

Imperial City, Commoners' District.

Witch's House Tavern.

Qin Chu frowned as he watched a large number of guards drive the drinkers out from inside.

"Um, everyone, it's livelier when we drink together," Qin Chu tried to persuade them.

"Lord Hero, these commoners are not qualified to drink with you. Please be mindful of your status," the adjutant said respectfully to Qin Chu.

"Aren't we all people?"

"But people are different from one another."

On Skyvault Continent, this was a deeply rooted belief. Only nobles counted as people, while commoners were not even qualified to be called people, much less qualified to stay under the same roof as nobles.

Knights barely counted as part of the nobility as well.

They were the lowest class among nobles. They endured the oppression of other nobles, then vented the pressure they suffered upon the commoners, using that to display their own existence and status.

Dark-skinned commoners dressed in coarse linen were driven from the tavern. They seemed accustomed to such things and showed no resistance. Only a very small number muttered curses under their breath.

They did not curse the Hero. After all, Lord Hero had just tried to stop the soldiers. It was purely these soldiers throwing their weight around because they had powerful backing.

The tavern was cleared spotlessly clean. Knights spread out around Witch's House, forbidding anyone from approaching.

Behind the bar, Candice's purple hair seemed even more lustrous. Qin Chu could sense that Candice's strength had increased slightly.

Candice's slightly suspicious gaze swept over Qin Chu. This was the Hero. What was he doing at her tavern?