Chapter 163: Evil Daughter

As it turned out, Viscount Delaroca hadn’t given up on his rebellious son.

Or perhaps he’d finally remembered the matter.

And so, after more than a month, he had finally sent someone to drag him back.

Of course, the greedy Viscount was a busy man and certainly had no time for it himself.

Thus, he’d dispatched a capable subordinate to apprehend Furen and bring him to justice…

‘What was her name again?’

‘Funina or Furilian?’

Ten-odd minutes later, Lu Wei watched Furen and Gante arguing fiercely in the distance, having more or less figured out what was going on.

He couldn’t quite remember her name.

He only recalled that Furen was terrified of this “Furong King,” who was only three years his senior.

Every time her name came up, he looked absolutely petrified.

‘Seriously, is it that bad?’

‘She’s a noble lady, after all. At worst, she’s probably just a bit spoiled, willful, and arrogant.’

‘She’s probably very pretty, but always puts on a high-and-mighty act, with a catchphrase like “stupid dog” or “plebeian”.’

‘Basically, the “Evil Daughter” archetype from Japanese manga.’

‘But it’s usually just a facade of strength. Once she’s ‘conquered’ by the protagonist, she becomes meek and subservient, obeying his every command.’

‘This, in turn, gives the audience a satisfying sense of conquest from the contrast.’

‘I can’t be one hundred percent sure, but that’s probably what it is.’

‘The reason Furen is so scared of her is probably due to Bloodline suppression.’

Having made his judgment, Lu Wei waited a little longer before he finally couldn’t take it anymore and called out,

“Furen, are you coming back or not?”

“I’m not going back!”

From a short distance away, Furen turned his head, his tone resolute.

“You guys don’t have to worry about me. I’m living here from now on!”

‘From now on?’

‘Does that mean you’re not going back to town until your sister leaves?’

‘Fine, whatever.’

“Alright, Bai Ya and I will get going then. We’ll explain the situation to Clara for you.”

Lu Wei nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave after dropping that line.

His attitude was one of complete indifference.

It might have seemed cold, but there was nothing to be done.

After all, “teammates” were ultimately just a “cooperative relationship,” not a “master-slave” one.

So even though he was Furen’s captain, he had no right to interfere in the latter’s family matters.

Whether Furen ultimately chose to stay or leave, or was forced to leave, Lu Wei could only accept it.

Besides, he had already fleeced Furen for most of the money he’d brought from home…

“Let’s go.”

Turning to Bai Ya, Lu Wei urged, “It’s getting late. If we wait any longer, we won’t make it back before dark.”

“Oh, okay…”

Even though she could finally take a hot bath, Bai Ya suddenly became hesitant, glancing back at Furen with a worried expression.

“That Gante guy won’t do anything too harsh to Furen, will he?”

“Impossible. If he was going to, he would’ve done it already.”

Lu Wei curled his lip, glancing at the Warrior Badge on the man’s chest.

At that moment, Gante hurried over and said with a wry, yet polite, smile,

“You’re Mr. Lu Wei, correct? My apologies, but could I ask a favor of you?”

“What is it?” Lu Wei stopped.

“When you get back to town, could you please go to the Silver Moon Corridor Inn and tell our young miss about the situation here.”

Gante requested helplessly, “Please tell her that Young Master Furen is fine, but he’s refusing to come back for now.”

“That’s simple enough.”

Lu Wei looked puzzled. “But why don’t you go back and report it yourself?”

“Er, I can’t go back yet.”

Gante looked a little awkward. “It’s mainly out of concern for Young Master Furen’s safety.”

…

‘Safety concerns?’

‘More like you’re afraid he’ll run away!’

“Sure, I’ll visit your young miss at the inn when I get back.”

Lu Wei nodded and shot Furen a pitying glance, figuring the boy was doomed this time.

Then, changing the subject, he suddenly asked, “By the way, did you bring any food or supplies with you into the forest?”

“Huh? Supplies?”

Gante was taken aback, then answered honestly, “No, I thought I’d be returning to town today, so I only brought a waterskin.”

“Oh, but you brought your money pouch, right?”

“My money pouch? Yes, I have that with me…”

“Great! As long as you have that, there’s no problem!”

As Gante watched in confusion, Lu Wei’s face suddenly broke into a brilliant smile. He turned and shouted to Anna, who was peering at them from the doorway of the grocery store,

“Anna, get over here!”

“We’ve got a customer!”

…

…

‘Not bad, made another tidy sum.’

Sunlight dappled the forest path, and birds chirped crisply.

Another ten-odd minutes later, Lu Wei, Bai Ya, and Hess were finally on their way back.

Tucking the 2 gold and 3 silver into his money pouch, he glanced back with satisfaction, silently thanking Furen in his heart.

After all, if it weren’t for the boy, Gante would never have shown up here.

Let alone help him break the single-day sales record for the Golden Sword Hu Grocery Store.

A sleeping bag, plus five days’ worth of “lodging” and “meals”… a price of 2 gold and 3 silver seemed perfectly fair in Lu Wei’s eyes.

And Gante had clearly thought so too.

Why else would he have paid so willingly?

‘This just proves there’s nothing wrong with my pricing. My bad reputation is clearly the result of a smear campaign by someone with ulterior motives!’

[Earn one hundred Gold Coins through mutually acknowledged, genuine transactions. (46.22/100)]

‘Great, I’m about to break the 50 mark!’

Watching the progress bar in his mind, Lu Wei walked with a spring in his step, having already put Furen’s troubles out of his mind.

Bai Ya, however, was clearly not as “heartless” as he was. She was still frowning and muttering to herself, worrying about what would become of Furen.

“Furen obviously doesn’t want to go back. Why can’t his father just respect his choice?”

“It’s true he’s a Magic Dullard, but it’s not like there’s no chance… Huh? On second thought, maybe he really isn’t cut out to be an Adventurer.”

“I feel like it would be better for him to go back and inherit the family business. It’s not dangerous, and he could earn more money.”

“But Furen seems to really love adventuring. If he gives up just like this, he’ll definitely have regrets.”

“But that’s just fate. How can a person fight against destiny?”

“It’s just… if he really leaves, I’ll kind of miss him…”

…

‘What are you muttering about over there?’

‘Can you stop arguing with yourself?’

“That’s enough.”

Glancing back at Bai Ya, Lu Wei finally couldn’t help but interrupt, “What’s the use of saying all that?”

“How is it useless?”

Bai Ya didn’t think she was being nosy and retorted indignantly,

“If Furen really doesn’t want to go back, maybe we can help him.”

“How would we help?”

Lu Wei said with a disdainful look, “Beat up his sister?”

“Are you stupid? Of course we can’t do that!”

Bai Ya’s eyes widened, and she looked at him as if he were an idiot.

“Even an idiot would know Furen would never agree to that!”

“Besides, we can’t afford to offend a Lord Viscount!”

“How could you even suggest something like that? You’re so dumb!”

…

???

‘Damn it!’

‘It’s so damn frustrating when you’re being sarcastic, but the other person doesn’t get it and even thinks you’re the stupid one!’

Lu Wei stared at Bai Ya, dumbfounded. After a long moment, he took a deep breath and admitted through gritted teeth,

“Fine, fine, fine. I’m stupid.”

“Exactly. Violence is never the answer.”

Usually, she was the one being lectured by Lu Wei. Now that she finally had a rare chance to turn the tables, Bai Ya lifted her chin smugly and said,

“So, what we should do is have a serious talk with Furen’s sister and let her know what Furen is thinking.”

“Indeed, you’re absolutely right. In that case, I’ll leave that task to you.”

Lu Wei sneered, then suddenly remembered something.

“Right, what was Furen’s sister’s name again?”

“Freya Delaroca,” Bai Ya answered seriously.

“Oh. And here I was, hoping it was Furilian.”

Lu Wei clicked his tongue, slightly disappointed.

“How boring.”