Chapter 176

  Eternal Lament (II)

  Who was Lilia?

  Honestly, even after mingling around for about half an hour, I still got no clue. All I can say is that she's very liked and that she was thought of as dead.

  Instead, though, she came back--with two massive bear carcasses in tow. Like, honestly, if a bear like that appeared on Earth, there'd be 100% people claiming that aliens are invading and using the proto-species of massive bears to do it.

  I exaggerate for effect, but they really were massive--I'd wager that they were each at least two and a half thousand pounds fat, possibly even more than that.

  The crowd dispersed, and though I wanted to too, Zhu dragged me to the side where he and a few others, including the Captain, were chatting away with the newcomer. Our gazes met, and I could see an odd glint flash past her eyes, though the ensuing smile right after made it seem as though she were the friendliest person in the world.

  "A newcomer?"

  "Aye," Captain replied. "Came last night, with his kids. Crossing the mountain, he says."

  "Ooh. A brave one. Or stupid--yet to be determined."

  "The safest bet with me is to go with stupid," I said.

  "And funny. We need some new funny around here; these shitheads know four jokes and have said each of them at least a thousand times by now." I had to admit, she had that gravitas about her, the kind of natural charm that disarmed people. She's what you'd call a 'socialite', but meaning it in a positive way. If I wasn't already absolutely wary of her (and, well, every stranger at this point, to be honest), I, too, would have been swept in her storm. "I'm Lilia, by the way."

  "Lu," we nodded at each other. Though people did shake hands here as a greeting, too, a nod of courtesy was a far more common greeting. "This is my daughter, Lan."

  "Nice to meet you both; sorry to sweep in on your morning and sort of take over," she said. "I didn't think that screeching baby would have run all the way to the barracks to announce I was back. You'd think I was coming from the dead, the way they yap."

  "For all we knew, you were," Zhu said. "What the hell happened, anyway? Why were you so late?"

  "I was huntin' those two, you fat bastard," she said, rolling her eyes. "What? You think huntin' two doraben is easy? I first had to follow them to their lair and make sure they were the only packmates. Then I had to slowly whittle their food supply of natural berries all around their lair and guide them back toward where I set up the traps. That alone took two weeks. Two weeks, by the way, that I spent sleeping wet and pitiful, while you lads were warm and dry!"

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  She wove a spectacular tale, yet I didn't believe it.

  Not a word of it.

  I mean, there probably was a lair, but my gut feeling is telling me she could wrestle both those things with her bear--I mean, bare hands—and come off victorious rather easily.

  "You could've come for us if you saw there was two," Captain said. I don't know; somebody's trying really hard to make it seem the dude's into her. "Not gone alone!"

  "Bah, who's going to feed all you boys if not me? Anyway, stop yapping away and go store those two corpses before the scent of blood invites a few more predators over. If you need a guide over the mountain, let me know; once I've recovered for a couple of days, I'll take you guys over."

  "Hm, thank you." Should I reject it? No, of course not--that'd be the dumbest thing.

  No, wait, the dumbest thing would be actually going through it.

  ... I'm sensing, though, that Long Tao might disagree.

  As we parted ways, Wan Lan's stoically pressed lips finally parted. She was really good at holding it in, honestly, despite her earlier 'outburst'; compared to others, she mostly just stood to the side like an invisible shadow. If she didn't speak or if I didn't mention her, I honestly don't think people would even notice her.

  "I don't like that woman one bit," she growled. "Any time she spoke, I wanted to reach into her mouth and rip out her tongue."

  "..." In fairness, what on the surface is a normal teenage girl is below a rather angry monster. "Why?"

  "You don't sense anything off, Master?"

  "I do, but not to the point of wanting to rip her tongue out just because she's talking."

  "Others will agree with me."

  "Oh, no doubt, no doubt," I chuckled. "But be very careful about how you word things, Wan'er."

  "Hm? Why?"

  "If you say something stupid like, 'There was this woman who tried to seduce or kill Master!' I am beyond certain that at least Dai Xiu and Xi Zhao might try and do something twice as stupid."

  "Oh. Maybe we should let them?"

  "... let's say we do," I said. "What if it turns out that the woman is stronger than them? Or that there's somebody else, like those Shamans, who step in? What if the two of them get hurt--or, worse, die?"

  "..."

  "It's rather easy to condemn people to one fate or another," I said. "But it also costs us nothing to just ignore them. We'll be here for a day or two, max, and then we're back to drab mountains where, within a week, you'll be fighting with others over one inane thing or another."

  "Fine," she relented just as we reached our designated little abode. "I won't say anything. As long as you promise me that you won't leave this place without at least one of us."

  "..." I winced and felt a pang of pain in my chest.

  It did not feel good to be seen this way by the kids, even if they were right. But I did actually have means of defending myself even without them! Not that I was willing to waste those means on something this stupid...

  So, I'm stuck with having a pile of teens as bodyguards.

  Right.

  Terrific.

  "Master, you're back!"

  "Welcome back, Master!"

  "Big dummy Master, you're late!"

  "..."

  There were three greetings and an (invisible) nod of acknowledgement. I choose to believe that, anyway.

  "I'm back," I said.

  "So am I. Did you all forget about me?"

  "If I did, I might have felt better than I do right now."

  "Hah. Looks like someone needs a proper beating, yet again!"

  ... yes, she was seventeen--but Dai Xiu regularly managed to de-age the poor kid by at least a few years, and there they were, ripping at each other yet again.

  "You met someone interesting?" Long Tao voiced from the back, stopping the squabble as everyone turned toward me.

  "No," I fired like a gun. "Just the same old faces we won't ever see again after tomorrow."

  "Hm." he smiled mysteriously before getting up and leaving.

  ... where was he going?

  Hell if I know. I'll just tell myself he's going to find a bush to pee in, because he's feeling rather shy. Yup. Just that and absolutely nothing else.

  ... dammit.