What a mess

Having someone feed him his meals... Xia Lun had been living quite comfortably lately.

Since Xia Lun was injured, the group had stopped delving into dungeons and instead took on some escort or guard missions.

Xia Lun found that the gold coins earned from doing these missions over the past few days were surprisingly no less than what they made from dungeon diving.

Of course, only a renowned adventuring party like theirs could achieve this level of income.

However, the actual profits from dungeon diving were still much higher. After all, besides the materials they sold, the treasures obtained from dungeon chests and other precious items were divided privately among the team members. The value of those things could not be measured in mere gold coins.

The carriage traveled leisurely along the road, its wheels crushing gravel and making a monotonous, dull sound.

They were simply traveling from one city to the next, without a specific destination in mind.

"Shall we go to Mulilan City next? There seems to be a dungeon there that's very suitable for us," Moke suddenly suggested to the others, pointing at the map in his hands.

"But that place seems a bit far from here..." Liyana leaned over, rubbing her chin as she glanced at the map.

"The monsters in that dungeon generally aren't strong, but there are a lot of them. I think it fits our playstyle quite well," Moke coughed lightly and explained. "We should be able to make a fortune."

"Oh ho, why are you suddenly so enthusiastic? Let me guess, do you have some ulterior motive?" Liyana suddenly narrowed her eyes at Moke.

Within the team, Liyana was probably the one who understood Moke the best.

"N-no, don't talk nonsense." Moke's gaze wandered a bit.

"Little Rabbit is also there?" Liyana suddenly revealed a wicked smile. "Sneaking around writing and sending letters to someone, did you think I didn't know?"

"Bastard! You stalked me?"

"Hehe! You admitted it! I tricked it out of you, didn't I?" Liyana looked smug, as if she had caught Moke by his pigtails. "You really are going to see Little Rabbit!"

"You bastard Liyana..."

Moke indignantly wanted to step forward and wrestle with Liyana, but was interrupted by a single sentence from Aina.

"Then we will go to Mulilan City."

Liyana and Moke, who were just about to clash, paused slightly.

"Xia Lun, since we don't have a destination for now anyway, can we go to Mulilan City next?"

Coming from Aina's mouth, these words still carried a cold attitude, not sounding like a tone of discussion at all, but rather like an order.

"Of course, no problem." Xia Lun spread his hands. "Since you've all decided, let's go there."

"Ah... thank you." Moke scratched his head, a bit embarrassed.

Xia Lun smiled and shook his head. "What are you thanking me for? We are adventurers, so naturally we are going for the dungeon you mentioned, Moke."

"That's right, we are going to make big money. Don't flatter yourself, Moke... letting you meet Little Rabbit is just a bonus, though it wouldn't hurt if you wanted to show me some gratitude." As soon as Liyana spoke, she gave off a cheeky vibe.

Moke eventually ended up fighting with this jerk anyway.

The two of them tumbled and scuffled in the hay pile at the back of the carriage.

Liyana spat out the straw Moke had stuffed into her mouth with a few ptuis. "I'm done, I'm done fighting!"

Panting, Moke sat back on the side, carefully picking off the hay stuck to his hair and collar.

Xia Lun's slender fingers gently brushed over the slightly yellowed parchment map, seemingly looking for the most suitable route and weighing the pros and cons.

The spacious main road had a longer, more winding distance, and it would take more time to reach Mulilan City; the secluded backroads were shorter, but also more prone to risks, as the outside world was still quite chaotic these days.

Xia Lun looked up and asked for his companions' opinions.

"Of course we take the backroads! What if we arrive late and Moke misses his chance to see Little Rabbit!" Liyana immediately shouted loudly.

"You..." Moke originally wanted to retort, but found that this girl had indeed hit the nail on the head regarding his worries, so he backed down in slight frustration.

However, having the entire team's itinerary decided just for his sake made Moke feel quite guilty.

"Let's take the backroads then," Musen also agreed with a smile. "Getting to the dungeon sooner is a good thing... It's been a while since I stretched my muscles, and my hands are getting a bit itchy."

Liyana cast a sideways glance at Musen, wondering how a cleric like him could say such things.

However, in battle, Musen could indeed be of great help. His formidable physical body could even wrestle with some large monsters.

Xia Lun cracked his horsewhip, and the horses finally had a destination, rushing off in a specific direction.

The backroad certainly lived up to its name.

There were uneven little potholes everywhere, and the bumps gave Liyana a headache.

Aina and Xia Lun sat at the very front, expressionless, their bodies swaying along with the bumpy carriage.

Liyana quieted down for a rare moment, because speaking casually at a time like this made it easy to bite one's tongue.

"Haha, easy prey!"

"Kill all the men, leave the women for the brothers to enjoy!"

A gang of bare-chested, fierce-looking bandits emerged from the bushes on the side.

Aina raised her staff.

With almost no pause, the carriage continued on its way.

"Roar—"

With a loud roar, a starving monster leaped out from the nearby woods, blocking the middle of the road.

Xia Lun drew his longsword.

With almost no pause, the carriage continued on its way.

"Help... help me... I was robbed by bandits, please take me with you..."

A skinny man lay by the roadside, letting out a weak cry for help.

On the carriage, Liyana drew her bow and nocked an arrow.

The long arrow shot out, and was immediately blocked by the man using a dagger hidden under his robes.

"If it were a cute girl, I might have fallen for it, but you are way off the mark!" Liyana said with a smug face. "What kind of idiot would fall for such a simple trick?"

The man began cursing wildly on the spot. Liyana shot a few more arrows at him, but his agility was clearly quite good; he blocked them all and started mocking Liyana continuously.

Aina raised her staff again.

After a brief pause, the carriage continued on its way.

"What a mess," Liyana stood on the carriage with her hands behind her back, looking up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. She then shook her head slightly and sighed, looking as if she were deeply concerned about the state of the world.

"You actually care about these things?" Moke sneered. He didn't think that with this girl's heartless nature, she would care about such matters.

"Why wouldn't I care? This is closely related to me."

"Oh?" Moke raised an eyebrow, surprised that Liyana was so insightful. "How so?"

Liyana kicked the hay by her feet. "It's all your fault, Moke. Messing around with me earlier caused the hay to get everywhere... the carriage is such a mess, I can't even sleep peacefully."

Moke: ...