"As for clothes, it doesn't matter whether we put them on sooner or later. No one else can see us anyway.
"Even if you see us, my lord, it's no big deal.
"Don't you agree, Tang Ruan?"
Tang Ruan hadn't expected Gu Qing to suddenly ask her.
She stammered, "Oh, um, yes. It's no big deal if his lordship sees us."
She blushed and lowered her head as she spoke.
Seeing how shy she was, Gu Qing couldn't help bursting into laughter.
But suddenly, her expression changed.
She abruptly moved closer to Zhao Chi.
"My lord! Why is there blood on you? Are you hurt? Let me heal you!"
Zhao Chi looked down and saw some bloodstains on the waistband of his pants.
But it was all goblin blood.
Zhao Chi briefly explained.
"Oh, you scared me to death! I'm glad you're all right."
Gu Qing patted her impressively full chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
Her curves rippled and bounced.
Zhao Chi asked, "Gu Qing, can you cook rice? Tang Ruan and I are going to bury those three goblins."
Gu Qing chuckled. "My lord, how could I not know how to cook plain rice? You underestimate me. We don't have many supplies right now, but once we have enough, I'll show you my cooking skills. I'll make delicious food for you every day."
Zhao Chi smiled. "Sounds good. I'm in for a treat, then."
After saying that, Zhao Chi suddenly realized something was off.
He hadn't seen a cooking skill among Gu Qing's attributes.
Without a cooking skill, how good could she be?
Zhao Chi asked, "Gu Qing, do you... have much experience cooking?"
Gu Qing was perfectly frank. "None at all."
"Uh... then why...?"
Gu Qing smiled. "That's why we need to wait until we have enough supplies. I'll practice hard. I have to become your personal chef so I can make sure your meals are safe."
Make sure my meals are safe?
Was her loyalty really only five points?
Zhao Chi felt rather pleased. "All right, I'll leave it to you in the future. You can handle today's rice, though, right?"
Gu Qing smiled too. "Rice really won't be a problem, so don't worry. But I think we'd be better off making rice porridge. We don't have any dishes to go with rice, after all. What do you think, Tang Ruan?"
Tang Ruan nodded. "Yes, porridge would be more suitable. But if his lordship wants rice, I'll have rice too."
Zhao Chi smiled and waved a hand. "I'm fine with anything. Let's have porridge."
Gu Qing said, "We have just enough water for porridge. How about having Tang Ruan cook it while I go with you to bury the bodies?"
Tang Ruan said, "My lord, I can cook porridge too. Gu Qing is very capable. You'll definitely be safer with her accompanying you."
Gu Qing gave Tang Ruan a friendly look.
Zhao Chi shook his head. "Gu Qing, you're our strongest fighter, so you should stay here. If any enemies attack, we'll need you to hold them off."
Gu Qing nodded. "Understood. Please be careful, my lord. If you get hurt, come to me, and I'll heal you immediately."
"All right." Zhao Chi nodded. "Tang Ruan, grab the shovel. Let's go."
It was summer.
If they didn't deal with the bodies quickly, they would soon rot and stink.
They would also attract swarms of insects and might even cause disease.
They could attract other wild beasts too.
Burying them as soon as possible was the best choice.
Soon, the two returned to the battle site.
The three goblins lay motionless.
They immediately began digging.
Although Tang Ruan really did look like a delicate girl, she had five points of strength.
She was on par with Zhao Chi.
They were in the same strength bracket.
There might have been slight differences, but overall, they weren't far apart.
And since Tang Ruan was making a deliberate effort to dig hard, she dug even faster than Zhao Chi.
Before long, they had hastily buried the three goblins.
When they returned to the Lord's House, Gu Qing and the female villagers had all put on tiny shorts.
Gu Qing said to Tang Ruan, "Here, these are yours. Put them on."
"Okay. Thank you, Sister Gu."
"You're welcome!"
As she spoke, Gu Qing took the shovel from Zhao Chi and put it away.
Then she brought over two bamboo cups filled with hot water.
She handed one to Tang Ruan and offered the other to Zhao Chi.
"Have a drink, my lord. It boiled just a little while ago, so it's still a bit hot, but you can drink it."
Zhao Chi asked curiously, "Where did the bamboo cups come from?"
Gu Qing pointed ahead. "Right there, see? Cut the bamboo at the joints into individual sections, and you have bamboo cups. All natural."
Zhao Chi nodded. "You really are capable. Every time I come back, there's something new."
Gu Qing smiled. "Now do you believe I can develop good cooking skills?"
Zhao Chi couldn't help nodding. "I do. I'm looking forward to it."
Gu Qing said happily, "Hehe, good. Just wait a little longer, and the porridge will be ready."
The aroma of rice porridge was already drifting out of the Lord's House.
It mingled with the acrid smell of burning firewood.
Just then, a system notification appeared.
[New friend request received]
He opened it and saw that it was from Yang Xiong.
Yang Xiong was listed in his System Contacts.
The two could call each other at any time.
But their territories hadn't established a friendship yet.
Once they did, the two could trade, help each other in battle, and so on.
Of course, trade between lords was also taxed.
As for helping each other in battle, they probably wouldn't need that in the early stages.
The nearby factions and wild monsters weren't strong early on.
If a lord needed help even at this stage, he was hardly fit for the role.
Unless he encountered trolls or some other powerful faction.
Chapter 16: Class Group
Zhao Chi accepted Yang Xiong's friend request.
Yang Xiong immediately made a voice call through the system.
[Hey, Zhao Chi, how are things on your end?]
Zhao Chi replied:
[Pretty good. How about you?]
[Hehe, I'm doing fine too. Orcs really are great, just as strong as I imagined. The only downside is that I got three female orcs today and only two male orcs. Hopefully, I'll get more male orcs tomorrow.]
[Is your Orc Hero male or female?]
[Male, of course. He's tall and muscular. His pecs are practically two huge watermelons!]
Huge watermelons...
That comparison...
Zhao Chi couldn't help looking at Gu Qing.
It was a very apt comparison.
She had two small watermelons too.
They were heavy, yet didn't sag.
Beside her, Tang Ruan had two tiny watermelons.
Why am I staring now?
Zhao Chi drew his gaze away and said, [Sounds impressive.]
Yang Xiong's voice was full of pride. [Of course! One swing of his club flattened a bandit outright.]
[You've already started clearing the area around your territory?]
Before you continue