Chapter 99: Inside the Carriage

In the Knight Kingdom, three out of the four seasons were rainy. It was currently spring, and the temperature had just begun to warm up, ushering in a time of frequent rain.

A small covered carriage had stopped by the edge of a fallow field, next to a waterlogged country road. As a passerby walked past the carriage, he heard faint female moans coming from inside. Surprised by the boldness of whoever was inside, he stopped and leaned closer to eavesdrop, his mind wandering with various fantasies.

“Pa!”

At the sharp slap, a man’s painful groan echoed from inside the carriage, followed immediately by a woman’s angry shout.

“Get out of here!”

The passerby’s romantic daydream was shattered by the sudden loud scolding. To avoid being caught eavesdropping and getting into trouble, he quickly stepped away from the carriage and turned back onto the road, pretending to hurry along with his head down.

Inside the carriage, Lu Qiuchen’s face flushed with embarrassment and her eyes blazing with anger. She lifted the curtain and shoved a shirtless Zhang Cheng, who bore a bright red handprint on his chest, out of the compartment. Then she turned back and threw the clothes inside out of the carriage.

“Bastard! Hurry up and drive!”

Zhang Cheng realized he had pushed his luck too far this time and had clearly angered Lu Qiuchen. He obediently put on his clothes with a grimace and squeezed into the cramped driver’s compartment. Pulling up his skill menu, he issued a mount command. The horse, which had been grazing, stopped and then took the carriage back onto the narrow country road, slowly moving forward.

“That bastard! He’s getting more and more brazen these days!”

Since Lai had brought them into the Eternal World, Lu Qiuchen felt their relationship had been gradually going off course.

The first change she noticed was how Zhang Cheng addressed her. He used to call her “kid,” but now he called her “Qiuchen.” This felt strange to her at first, but after glancing down at her current body, she could accept it. After all, a curvaceous woman being called “kid” would not only sound awkward to others but would also remind her of the self she had once been on Earth. So, despite her reservations, she reluctantly accepted Zhang Cheng’s new way of addressing her.

But what happened afterward left her uncertain.

Right after they regained consciousness, Zhang Cheng had suddenly lunged at her, as if to confirm she was truly there, his hands roaming from her face down to her thighs.

When Zhang Cheng’s careless hands touched her chest, Lu Qiuchen was already annoyed, but seeing the excitement and joy in his eyes, she assumed it was accidental and held back. Only when his hands reached her dragon horns did she stop him.

However, over the next two days, she noticed a drastic change in Zhang Cheng’s attitude toward her in the Eternal World. He was far more attentive than before, which made her start suspecting ulterior motives—maybe he was just taking advantage of the situation to grope her.

Recalling that moment, after his initial excitement, Zhang Cheng had hugged her and cried. Lu Qiuchen was stunned but eventually relaxed and gently comforted him. Once he calmed down, she found her clothes soaked with his tears, and his head resting softly against her ample chest. Zhang Cheng wiped his tears and gave an embarrassed smile before they parted.

The atmosphere grew silent, and Zhang Cheng first asked about Lu Qiuchen’s experiences over the years. She didn’t want to appear too weak in front of her friend, so she only gave a rough account of her time since entering the Eternal World, leaving out her inner turmoil.

At the end, Lu Qiuchen described in detail how she met Lai and explained the appearance and effects of the Celestial Shard to help him understand their future mission.

When she asked Zhang Cheng about his recent situation, he hesitated, gave a few vague replies, and quickly changed the subject by asking about her parents’ current status, mentioning it only briefly before moving on.

After settling their emotions, they began discussing their next steps. Lu Qiuchen suggested they first find Lai and retrieve the Celestial Shard from him before planning anything else. Zhang Cheng, though now aware of the shard, was still unfamiliar with the Eternal World and nodded obediently, deferring to Lu Qiuchen’s arrangements.

In terms of strength, Lai had carefully preserved Zhang Cheng’s game power and skills, even replicating his in-game equipment. Zhang Cheng had already reached the Saint Rank. Although his combat experience from the game was relatively weak compared to reality, he was at least capable of self-defense against other Saint Rank adventurers.

More importantly, Zhang Cheng wasn’t just relying on his own strength—he had a super power by his side: a legendary-level dragon.

But the search for the Celestial Shards involved forces from royal families or large factions within each race, each with multiple legendary-level experts. Lu Qiuchen was not satisfied with Zhang Cheng’s current strength and began to strictly train him as they made their way to the Knight Kingdom.

Although they had signed a combat partner contract, Zhang Cheng hadn’t reached epic rank yet and couldn’t transfer to the Dragon Knight class. Without the powerful talents of a Dragon Knight, he was hardly able to assist Lu Qiuchen in battle.

This frustrated Lu Qiuchen. When she had signed the contract, she saw it was a combat partner contract and assumed it was an agreement between equals. But after asking Zhang Cheng, she learned that this combat partner was just a nicer way of saying servant contract.

In the game, combat partners had to obey the player’s commands. Even if they sometimes threw tantrums, at worst they could refuse work but not openly rebel. It was basically a hybrid of mounts and pets in an old turn-based game.

No wonder the game’s bipedal wyvern had no hesitation canceling the contract, while she voluntarily took its place as this substitute Dragon Knight’s dragon mount.

Though she grumbled inwardly, seeing Zhang Cheng risking his life to come to the Eternal World with her made Lu Qiuchen trust him deeply. But even if Zhang Cheng was now her closest person in this world, the feeling of being controlled still made her uneasy—everyone craved freedom.

“We’re already in the Eternal World, and my game system has disappeared. It should be okay to cancel the contract now, right?”

When she asked Zhang Cheng this, she got an answer that crushed her hopes.

“It should be possible, but I don’t see an option for canceling the contract in the menu… Let me ask Lai.”

Lai replied that because they had signed the contract with him as a whole, and until they collected all the Eternal Shards and completed his commission, they remained a single entity and couldn’t cancel the contract.

Zhang Cheng answered Lu Qiuchen’s question, aware of her worries. With a complex expression of hurt and apology, he earnestly promised her: “Aren’t we good brothers? Don’t you trust me now? I promise that when I transfer to Dragon Knight later, I will never use commands to force you to do anything you don’t want.”

Lu Qiuchen realized her blunt question implied distrust and felt guilty. She quickly explained, “I’m sorry, I’m not doubting you. You’ve done so much for me, of course I trust you. It’s just that sometimes my heart can’t help but panic…”

After apologizing, she sighed inwardly. Being controlled by a close brother was better than by Beta.

She still had to fulfill the contract with Lai! The pace of collecting the Celestial Shards had to speed up.

‘Wait, didn’t I see a hint of relief and excitement in his expression earlier? Maybe I imagined it.’

Thinking of Zhang Cheng’s efforts to save her and the hurt expression just now, Lu Qiuchen decided to dispel her doubts.

Zhang Cheng understood Lu Qiuchen’s concerns and was considerate of her feelings. He didn’t indulge his Dragon Knight cravings by riding the dragon early. Citing the need for sufficient rest after training and that outdoor lessons were no substitute for the carriage, he prepared to rent a carriage and travel slowly toward the Knight Kingdom.

Lu Qiuchen felt lost, unsure how to handle their new relationship. Considering they needed time to adapt to their dynamic, she nodded and agreed.

During the next two days on the road, Lu Qiuchen sifted through the sparse combat techniques suitable for humanoids in her memory inheritance, teaching Zhang Cheng about the various knowledge and secrets of the Eternal World, hoping he could quickly adapt.

After expending almost all the theoretical knowledge stored within her, today they began practical combat training.

But it was also today that Lu Qiuchen finally sensed something off—her good brother became even more shameless during their rest time after training, constantly sneaking glances at her!

Dragons had extremely sharp vision. Even during their lectures sitting across from each other in the carriage, she noticed Zhang Cheng often looking at her face, chest, and calves.

But thinking that two singles spending their lives together was normal, she silently endured it. After all, Lu Qiuchen was confident in her current appearance. If Zhang Cheng didn’t appreciate her, that would be the real surprise.

Still, out of respect for male hormones, she changed her clothing from a form-fitting dress to a looser skirt.

Even so, after today’s training, she could feel the gazes growing hotter, and Zhang Cheng made a new request.

“Maybe because this body is unfamiliar, my muscles feel really sore after activity. There aren’t any fantasy novel-style ointments or medicinal baths here, so… could you help me with a massage?”

Zhang Cheng asked Lu Qiuchen with hopeful eyes.

She looked at Zhang Cheng inside the carriage and saw he was shirtless, his well-toned body glistening with sweat from recent exertion. His pale skin revealed perfectly sculpted pectorals and abs that firmly caught Lu Qiuchen’s gaze.

‘Damn it, why did I choose to be female this time… I want a body like that too! If I could go back, I’d slap my past self twice and tell her to pick a handsome guy. Then I could have a harem here!’

Zhang Cheng was very proud of his physique. Although his Earth self also exercised regularly, the difference with this strong body was huge. Seeing Lu Qiuchen’s admiring look, he proudly puffed out his chest.

Lu Qiuchen felt helpless toward Zhang Cheng’s childish pride. She understood her friend’s desire to show off but also felt a faint nervousness. She sensed Zhang Cheng might have other intentions—after all, in the animal kingdom, displaying one’s strong physique was the most basic form of courtship.

She attributed Zhang Cheng’s behavior to a natural hormonal response to a beautiful opposite sex and didn’t want to overthink it, but remained alert.

‘Things are different now. I have to pay more attention to the physiological differences between us!’

Though she wanted to touch his muscles to feel their texture, considering their different genders and not wanting to cause misunderstanding, she ultimately refrained. Instead, she cast a water magic spell—Vitality Water—to wash away Zhang Cheng’s sweat and fatigue.

After the spell, Lu Qiuchen closed her eyes, thinking “Out of sight, out of mind.” But curiosity got the better of her, and she quietly extended her mental power to sense Zhang Cheng’s reaction. She noticed he had put on his undergarments and outer clothes and stepped out of the carriage. A little later, the carriage began moving again, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Looks like Zhang Cheng had no other intentions after all. I just misunderstood him.’

Zhang Cheng’s behavior gave Lu Qiuchen a strong sense of security.

In this world, she was no longer alone. Feeling safe, Lu Qiuchen leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

She slept soundly, but her good mood lasted only until she woke and discovered her outer robe had been undone. A mischievous finger was gently poking the exposed skin at her waist.

Lu Qiuchen’s heart leapt. She had been touched while sleeping without noticing! Unless the other party was much stronger than her, this shouldn’t be possible!

Opening her eyes, she saw it was her good brother Zhang Cheng, who looked intensely focused and hadn’t even noticed she was awake.

Relieved it was Zhang Cheng, she relaxed but was a little embarrassed and curious about what he was doing. She closed her eyes again and mentally scanned the area around him, noticing he was poking her waist while also touching his own abs.

Feeling the finger repeatedly pressing a small patch of skin, Lu Qiuchen stifled the ticklish sensation and waited, then heard Zhang Cheng muttering softly.

“So this is a woman’s body… It really is soft. Totally different from male muscles.”

He was inspecting that! It dawned on Lu Qiuchen that, like herself, Zhang Cheng had never even held a girl’s hand on Earth.

Hearing his muttering, she couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

But thinking more carefully, it was even sadder… With Zhang Cheng’s current strength, appearance, and physique, he could easily find countless opportunities in the salons frequented by noblewomen of the Laitechino Empire, even have a beautiful encounter with a young noble lady. But her little brother was gone forever…

Startled by Lu Qiuchen’s laugh, Zhang Cheng quickly withdrew his hand. Seeing her sitting up and scratching her head awkwardly, he said, “Qiuchen… good morning?”

Snapping out of her momentary sadness, Lu Qiuchen suddenly thought of a way to tease him. She didn’t answer but slightly lifted her top with her left hand and pulled Zhang Cheng’s retracted hand back with her right. She placed his hand over her lower abdomen, separated by the innermost robe layer, and smiled sweetly at his shocked expression.

“Want to feel how soft it is here?”

Zhang Cheng reflexively pinched, and Lu Qiuchen, unprepared for the sudden attack, muffled a grunt and glared fiercely.

Startled by her glare, Zhang Cheng panicked and instinctively tried to grab something. His hand squeezed a few more times, and the pressure felt so pleasant that Lu Qiuchen couldn’t help but moan softly.

That was the scene from before when Lu Qiuchen had kicked Zhang Cheng out of the carriage.

This time, she hadn’t successfully pranked him, but Zhang Cheng’s “massage” left her itching for more.

Recalling Zhang Cheng’s intense gaze and what seemed like an accidental act earlier, Lu Qiuchen suddenly realized something.

‘I’m living in his XP now. Were all those acts deliberate? Is Zhang Cheng secretly craving my body? No way! He knows this body holds a man’s soul, and we were best friends. There are so many beautiful women in this world. He wouldn’t be desperate enough to make a move on me, right?’

‘Whatever he thinks, this can’t continue! He’s already blatantly staring at my chest after only a few days! Better keep some distance from Zhang Cheng and break this strange dynamic!’

As she was contemplating how to give the guy outside a warning and end any improper thoughts, the carriage curtain was lifted again. Zhang Cheng appeared with a bright smile on his face.

“Qiuchen, my Horsemanship Mastery skill just hit max level. Now I don’t have to pay constant attention to the horse; it can drive itself. Can I sit back in the carriage for a while?”

Lu Qiuchen ignored him with a cold look, her gaze drifting past Zhang Cheng toward the scenery outside. The horses had nearly reached their destination—the small village where she had left Tiya.

Adjusting her attire, Lu Qiuchen nodded coldly at Zhang Cheng.

Seeing the joy on his face as he entered the carriage, she concealed her draconic features, snorted, and stepped out of the compartment. She swapped places with Zhang Cheng and sat in the cramped driver’s seat.

She had already confirmed the time with Zhang Cheng. About a week had passed since she left Lai in that small village.