Chapter 45: The Bathing Photo

When Xuan Xi returned to the Blacksmith Shop, Hellas was cleaning out the furnace ash. 

He used that old iron shovel to scoop the gray-white ash into an iron bucket, moving very slowly, pausing after each scoop. 

After all, he was an old man with a bad back. 

Hearing footsteps, he looked up.

“You’re back?”

“I’m back.” 

Xuan Xi pulled the two money pouches from her pocket, set them on the counter, and opened them. 

Golden coins spilled out with a clatter, piling into a small mountain on the counter. 

Hellas’s movements froze, he stared at the gold coins, his eyes filled with disbelief.

“Did you rob a bank or something?”

“I saved someone, and this was her reward.” 

Xuan Xi gathered the coins together, counted out six hundred, and pushed them aside. 

“This is for you to buy new tools and renovate the shop. I’ll keep the rest for my tuition.”

Hellas leaned the iron shovel against the wall, walked over to the counter, and picked up a single gold coin with his thick fingers, holding it up to his eyes.

“What kind of person did you save that would give you this much money?”

“A wealthy Beast Tribe member who was badly injured. I brought her meals for three days and helped treat her wounds. This is her way of repaying me.” 

Xuan Xi didn’t mention Shen Lingshuang’s name directly, nor did she tell him that the person she saved wasn’t an ordinary beast. 

She didn’t want Hellas to worry about her.

Hellas didn’t press further. 

He set the coin back on the counter, turned around, took a rough iron billet from the shelf, and tossed it into the fire. 

The bellows wheezed as the flames leaped up.

“Alright, we’ll go buy tools together tomorrow,” he said.

Xuan Xi nodded, “Okay.”

Early the next morning, Hellas changed into a clean set of clothes. 

It was an outfit he rarely wore—at least, Xuan Xi rarely saw it. 

He brushed his hair back, revealing an old scar on his forehead from where a spark had once burned him.

Xuan Xi stood at the door watching him. 

She thought he looked much younger today than usual.

“Let’s go.” Hellas locked the door behind them.

The small town’s market wasn’t large—just one main street where tool sellers, furniture makers, and various other vendors all lined the road. 

Xuan Xi linked her arm through Hellas’s, and the two of them walked slowly because Hellas’s legs weren’t good and he couldn’t move fast.

When the owner of the tool shop saw Hellas come in, he set down his work and stood up. 

“Old Hellas, you finally decided to come.” 

His gaze landed on Xuan Xi, and he chuckled,  “What’s this? Bringing your daughter to buy tools?”

“Yeah.” Hellas walked to the counter and pointed at a set of blacksmithing tools displayed inside. 

“This set, made in the northern region. Give me one.”

“Coming right up!”

Xuan Xi followed behind Hellas, watching him pick out tools and haggle with the shopkeeper. 

It had been a long time since Hellas had looked this “young.”

After leaving the tool shop, he took her to the furniture store. 

He picked out a new bed made of rosewood, with simple carvings on the headboard and thick, solid planks. 

Then he chose a table, two chairs, and a cabinet—all rosewood. 

Even without fancy decorations, the prices weren’t exactly cheap, but at least rosewood furniture was sturdy and durable. 

The shopkeeper loaded the furniture onto a handcart, Hellas paid, and pushed the cart back home.

That night, Xuan Xi lay on her new bed. 

The mattress was one Hellas had specially picked for her—thick and soft, so that when she lay down, her whole body sank into it. 

The blanket carried a comforting, reassuring scent. 

She dug the Communication Stone out of her suitcase, and the familiar screen lit up in the darkness. 

Sigrdrífa’s avatar sat quietly in her contact list.

She typed: “My dad got me a new bed today. It’s so soft to lie on.”

Within a few seconds, the Communication Stone vibrated—almost an instant reply: “Mm.”

“It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. Can’t you say more than a couple of words?”

“Nice, the bed is good.” 

Five words—at least four more than before…

Xuan Xi held the Communication Stone up to her face, the screen’s glow illuminating her features. 

“Oh, and these past few days I also saved someone. She’s from the Flood Dragon Clan and gave me a ton of gold coins. That’s how we could afford to replace the tools and furniture.”

“Stay safe. Don’t get scammed. I’ll come visit you when I have time.”

“I know~ But can you really come? It’s almost New Year, you know?”

Sigrdrífa didn’t answer that question. 

Instead, she changed the subject. 

“I heard the Communication Stone Tablet can send photos now. Did you know? It’s a recently updated feature.”

Xuan Xi was taken aback. 

Her Communication Stone Tablet was the newest model Sigrdrífa had bought for her, but she’d never used any function besides chatting. 

She scrolled through the interface and finally found a camera icon. 

Tapping into it, she took a picture of the ceiling—the photo came out pitch black, nothing visible.

“I don’t know how to use it,” she typed.

“Tap the screen once, then tap the round button.”

Xuan Xi followed the instructions. 

She aimed at the moon outside the window and took a shot. 

The photo showed only a blurry halo of light—impossible to tell whether it was the moon or a streetlamp.

“Terrible photo. This feature isn’t good at all.” Xuan Xi complained.

“It’s just that your skills are terrible.”

“Then why don’t you take a good one and show me?”

The Communication Stone went silent. 

Just as Xuan Xi was about to say, “See, you can’t do it either,” the screen lit up, and a photo popped out. 

Xuan Xi tapped on it—and froze the moment she saw it.

In the photo, Sigrdrífa was leaning against the bathroom doorframe. 

Her silver-white hair still dripped water at the tips, droplets running down the strands, flowing along her neck and into the open collar of her bathrobe. 

The robe was only a thin layer, clinging tightly to Sigrdrífa’s body, vaguely revealing the fair skin beneath. 

The top two buttons hung open, leaving her collarbones fully exposed. 

Her bare skin was tinged a soft pink from the steam, and even her usually cold, pale fingertips carried a warm undertone. 

Water vapor blurred the edges of the lens, wrapping her whole figure in a thin mist. 

The parts that shouldn’t be shown were covered, of course, but that feeling of a young girl just stepping out of the bath—her sacred body and lingering warmth—was more alluring than anything else. 

Xuan Xi stared at that sacred photo for a few seconds, and something warm began to trickle from her nose, carrying a faint metallic scent. 

She reached up and touched it—her fingertips came away stained with crimson.

In a panic, she flipped the Communication Stone Tablet face-down against the pillow, the photo now hidden beneath it. 

Xuan Xi lay flat on her back as the blood continued to flow, impossible to stop. 

She wiped with the back of her hand, smearing it everywhere, then frantically rolled over to grab tissues from the nightstand while pulling the blanket up to cover her burning red face.

“Xuan Xi?” A message from Sigrdrífa arrived, making the pillow vibrate again.

Xuan Xi’s brain had already short-circuited. 

She had no idea how to reply.

“Hello? You’re not telling me you got a nosebleed from looking at my photo, are you?”

Xuan Xi pulled the blanket even tighter, burying her face in the pillow, and mumbled, “No I didn’t.”