A Few Minutes Earlier—
Inside a
wooden shelter
at the edge of the camp—
Mino worked
quickly and skillfully
, skinning the
small lizards
and
three rats
, removing their entrails, then tying them up with rope and
hanging them over the fire pit to smoke
.
Once she was done, she
rubbed sand between her hands
, scrubbing away the blood.
With
no water
to wash up, this was
the only way to clean her hands
.
She
glanced at the door
, her
blue eyes filled with uncertainty
.
“What’s taking Mu Liang so long? What exactly is he doing?”
It had already been
a while
.
Mino had spent
over an hour
preparing the lizards and rats, but Mu Liang was
still nowhere to be seen
.
Now that she had
nothing to do
, a
small worry crept into her heart
.
Or perhaps… it was
loneliness
making her feel
uneasy
.
“Ugh! Mu Liang is so strong—he’ll be fine!”
She
shook her head
, trying to push away her nerves.
To distract herself, Mino
started making a mental list
of what she needed to pack.
“I need to bring my pillow… and the rabbit-skin blanket.”
“The wooden planks from my bed too—otherwise, I’ll have nothing to sleep on!”
“Oh, and the wooden bowls… and this bucket for carrying water.”
Looking around, she
realized she didn’t want to leave anything behind
.
She even
considered taking the door
!
After all, everything in this shelter was built piece by piece by her sister.
Just then—
“Scratch… scratch… clunk!”
The door
creaked
, then suddenly
swung open
.
A
shadowy figure
squeezed inside.
Mino’s
expression hardened instantly
.
“Who’s there?!”
She
reacted instantly
, drawing the
bone dagger from her waist
and backing up
against the wall
.
“Hisss~~”
A
hissing sound filled the air
.
The
figure shimmered
, and
its outline became clear
The
Three-Colored Lizard
had dropped its
Mimetic Invisibility
.
Mino
stared, stunned
.
“You… You’re Xiao Cai?”
She hesitated for a moment before saying cautiously—
“If you are, nod your head.”
“Hisss~~”
The
lizard ignored her
and
began struggling
, trying to remove the
ropes tied around its belly
.
Mino blinked, then suddenly
realized her mistake
.
“Ugh, I’m so dumb. Who else but Mu Liang would have a lizard deliver supplies?”
Sighing, she
put away her dagger
and stepped forward.
“Here, let me help you.”
The
Three-Colored Lizard stopped moving
, letting her
untie the ropes
and remove the
five rolls of fabric, the wolf pelt, and the bundle of swords and knives
.
Then—without waiting—it
turned and left
, heading out to
fetch another load
.
“Hey, wait! Where’s Mu Liang?”
Mino
called after it
, but the
lizard didn’t even look back
.
Although
its intelligence had improved
after evolving, it was still
only about as smart as a toddler
.
Naturally, it
couldn’t understand her question
.
Mino sighed again,
turning her attention
to the supplies it had brought.
She
ran her fingers over the fabric
, her
blue eyes lighting up
.
“This is high-quality beast wool! So soft!”
She
rubbed the material against her cheek
, amazed.
“But… where did Mu Liang even get all this? Five whole rolls—this could make dozens of outfits!”
Reluctantly setting the fabric aside, she
picked up the wolf pelt
.
It was
so long
that
it towered over her
when she held it up.
“This has to be from a mutant beast.”
Excited, Mino
hugged the fur and rubbed her face against it
before pausing.
“Where did Mu Liang get all this stuff?”
Her
mind started racing
.
“Did he… tell the camp leader about Bloodbeard’s attack? Did the leader give him this as a reward?”
That was
the only explanation
she could come up with.
It made sense… right?
Some time later—
Mino finished
checking the supplies
, then
picked up a sword
from the bundle.
“Only the hunting squad uses weapons like these…”
Her
suspicion deepened
.
Maybe her guess was right after all.
Then—
“Scratch… scratch… clunk!”
The
door creaked open again
.
A
familiar scene unfolded
The
Three-Colored Lizard entered
, this time carrying a
large sack
.
Mino hurried over, helping it
untie the ropes
before watching it
turn and leave again
.
Curious, she
peeked inside the sack
.
Then—
“Huh???”
She
froze.
The entire sack was filled with dried meat.
Mino’s
mind blanked
for a second.
Then,
doubt crept in
.
Would the camp leader really be this generous over just a piece of information?
A chilling thought
hit her like lightning
.
“Mu Liang… wouldn’t have… stolen all this, would he?”
She slowly
looked from the sack of meat…
To the
five rolls of fabric…
To the
swords, knives, and the massive wolf pelt
.
And finally, she remembered—
The
camp leader was a stingy bastard
.
There was no way
he would
willingly give all this away
.
Mino
gulped.
“Mu Liang definitely stole this.”
What Now?
Moving quickly, Mino
tied the sack shut
,
dragged it under her bed
, and
hid it beneath the wooden frame
.
If someone
came searching
, she needed to
make sure nothing looked suspicious
.
“We just need to get through tonight. We’ll leave at first light.”
She
paced back and forth
, thinking aloud.
“Seriously, Mu Liang… Even if we’re leaving, did you really have to steal
this
much?!”
She
tugged at her hair
, flustered.
“Should we move everything onto Xiao Xuanwu’s back now?”
After a moment’s thought—
“Yeah. That’s a good idea. I’ll talk to Mu Liang about it when he gets back.”
Satisfied with her plan, Mino
continued pacing
, trying to figure out
the best way to hide the stolen goods
.
Returning them?
No way.
Mu Liang took them fair and square.
The
idea of giving them back never even crossed her mind.