“Still spacing out?”
Returning to Sara’s side, Li Xian smiled as he saw her dazed expression, just as he expected.
He instinctively reached out to pat the girl’s head, but his hand was suddenly caught tightly by her, surprising him.
The next moment, her soft body crashed into his chest, completely stripping away the calm and teasing tone he had just moments ago.
Caught off guard, he stood there awkwardly as the girl hugged his waist tightly.
“Hey, Sara, what are you—”
His words came to an abrupt halt when he felt her trembling and the damp spot slowly spreading against his chest.
“What’s wrong?”
Li Xian was confused, unaware of the pain and pressure Sara had been carrying.
Still, he gently wrapped his previously unsure arms around her, patting her back in comfort.
Sara choked on her sobs.
She couldn’t speak clearly through the tears, but the overwhelming sense of sorrow and helplessness in her voice was impossible to miss.
She was still just a child—someone who had grown up under the protection of her parents.
The suffering, the loneliness, the fear over the past few days had been building up inside her.
All that frustration, that yearning for someone to lean on, had finally reached its limit.
“There, there… don’t cry. We’re still in the forest, you know.”
Li Xian looked down at her helplessly.
Her beautiful, pale pink hair now looked messy and dirty—clearly showing she had been through a lot.
Sara eventually calmed down, slowly pulling her head away from his chest.
Her face flushed red, and she looked awkward and embarrassed.
“Thank you, Mr. Li Xian.” She gave him a deep bow.
If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have just faced trolls and beasts—she would’ve already been captured and tortured by that scar-faced man, left wishing for death that wouldn’t come.
“It’s nothing,” Li Xian said with a smile.
“You hired me, after all. If I take your money, then of course I’ll protect you.”
His words made Sara freeze in embarrassment.
Her face, still lowered, was now filled with awkwardness and guilt.
“Come on, it’s getting late. We need to find a place to settle down before nightfall.”
Li Xian glanced at the sky and turned to the girl beside him.
Sara followed him like a machine, as if wanting to say something but never managing to.
Unfortunately, Li Xian was too focused on finding a good camping spot to notice anything odd.
***
After walking for a while, they finally found a relatively flat patch of ground.
Li Xian cleared away the messy grass a bit and said, “This Northern Wasteland Forest isn’t something you can just walk through in a day. No choice—we’ll have to make do with this spot for tonight.”
“Okay…” Sara’s voice was flat and dull.
She was clearly still preoccupied.
This time, Li Xian noticed.
But since Sara wasn’t saying anything, she probably didn’t want him to know just yet.
He had just managed to gain a bit of favor with her after saving her—no way he was going to mess that up now.
He needed to hang on to this rich girl’s thigh for dear life.
Once Sara was settled in, he casually chopped down a short tree.
With just a few swings, he turned it into firewood.
Then, with a flick of his finger, a small flame appeared and lit the pile.
Soon, a warm campfire was crackling beside them.
After chopping down three more trees, Li Xian arranged the trunks into a triangular frame, wrapping them with vines and leaves to create a simple tent.
The forest grass was thick and lush, serving as a natural carpet.
Sleeping on it wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it wasn’t all that bad either.
As for dinner, after wandering around for quite a while, he finally caught an unlucky high-tier magical beast.
It was swiftly taken down by Li Xian in just a few moves.
After processing the carcass, he set it up over the fire to roast.
By the time everything was done, night had completely fallen.
Sara sat quietly inside the dim tent, watching Li Xian roasting the beast.
The more she looked at him, the heavier her heart felt.
Li Xian had already saved her twice, yet she was still lying to him.
That guilt was eating her up inside…
“Sara, the food’s just about ready,” Li Xian called out as he turned toward her.
Sara froze, then bit her lip, stood up, and walked over to him.
Instead of taking the roasted beast leg he offered, she lowered her head and bowed deeply.
“Now what?” Li Xian placed the beast leg back on the makeshift grill and looked at her helplessly.
“Didn’t I already tell you there’s no need to thank me?”
“Li Xian… I’m sorry!”
“Huh?” Li Xian was completely caught off guard.
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry…” Sara began crying, shaking her head, her face full of guilt.
“Don’t be like this. Hey, don’t cry. Just tell me what’s going on, okay?” Li Xian rubbed his forehead, clearly exasperated.
‘This girl is such a crybaby…’
“Mm.”
After a few rounds of comforting, Sara finally agreed to sit down and talk properly.
“Li Xian… actually, the thing is…”
Sara began telling him everything that had happened over the past few days—everything she had experienced, all the hardships she’d faced.
“I see…” As Li Xian listened, his expression grew more and more sympathetic.
It wasn’t hard to imagine how tough it must have been for a child who suddenly lost her parents to survive in such a dangerous world, let alone while being hunted by enemies…
“And so…” Sara finally got to the real reason, “this quest… I only posted it because I was desperate. I didn’t have any other choice…”
“Wait… wait, what?” Li Xian’s face started to twist into something unreadable.
“Are you saying…”
“I’m sorry, Li Xian… I—I actually don’t have any money,” Sara said, hanging her head even lower, her shoulders shrinking.
“You don’t have any money?” Li Xian’s eyes went blank.
“What… what do you mean you don’t have money?”
“I mean…” Sara curled her shoulders even more, looking pitiful and scared.
“I mean I can’t pay you for this quest…”
CRACK!
A sound like something shattering echoed through the night.
That was the sound of Li Xian’s heart breaking.
“She’s not a rich heiress? She’s a fake rich girl? I got scammed? I did all this for free?”
Even the legendary Ice Swordmaster, who had slain legends with a single strike, couldn’t bear this kind of emotional whiplash.
His spirit completely collapsed.
His plan to cling to a wealthy backer and never work hard again, to coast through life in luxury—
Gone. All gone.
The dream of earning ten thousand gold coins, or marrying a rich wife and living like a salted fish forever…
It all crumbled into nothing but bubbles.