The wretch's fingers twisted tight at once, and she gritted her teeth. "I— what did I say?"
Xia Ya thought it over. "You said, 'Adeline will be scared, don't leave Adeline behind'... heh heh. Hey, who exactly is Adeline? You call her name in your sleep — she has to be your sweetheart, right?"
The wretch's heart had nearly jumped right out of her chest; at those words she let out a long breath and, face burning red, shot the bumpkin a glare.
She really had dreamed last night — but what she dreamed left her blushing even after she woke: in the dream, this bumpkin had heartlessly abandoned her in the empty wilderness, with Corpse-Eaters all around, and she had shamefully clung to his clothes and begged, "Don't leave Adeline behind, Adeline will be scared..."
Needless to say, Adeline was of course the wretch's own given name.
"Huh? Your face is red as a monkey's backside! So I guessed right? This Adeline really is your sweetheart?" Xia Ya promptly began shouting in protest: "That's so unfair! An ugly freak like you has a woman, when yours truly, Xia Ya, is this handsome and dashing and is still a virgin!"
The wretch — or rather, Adeline — heard the word "virgin," and the blush that had just faded came flooding right back.
But Xia Ya leaned in with a wicked grin and nudged her with his arm. "Hey, tell me, are you a male virgin? I bet you're not! Heh heh, calling her name so sweetly in your dreams! Well? Are you a male virgin or not?"
Badgered until she had no way out, Adeline gave him an exasperated glare and snapped, "No!!"
"Really, no?" Xia Ya's eyes went wide, his face full of envy.
The wretch nearly spat blood in her fury...
You poor bumpkin! You stupid bumpkin! Of course I'm not a male virgin! I'm a female virgin — that's the whole point...
"All right, enough questions!"
The wretch had finally reached her limit.
After they set out that morning, Xia Ya had been like a monkey scratching at its ears and cheeks the whole way, forever sidling up to her with a furtive look, snickering and pestering her with questions, until at last he had the gall to discuss the ways of men and women with her outright.
"Hey, wretch, what's it actually like, you know, that business between a man and a woman?" The eager look on Xia Ya's face left the wretch both angry and amused.
"Fine!" The wretch — Adeline — sighed and thought for a moment. "You've got it wrong. Last night I dreamed about my little sister. Adeline is a distant younger cousin of mine. That's all. She's not my... my... sweetheart."
At that Xia Ya was disappointed, but he soon cheered up and laughed. "That makes sense! Wretch, ugly as you are, I don't suppose any girl would ever take a liking to you! Haha, but never mind. The old man taught me that the thing that matters most in a man is skill — looks are heaven-given. You may be a bit of a dead loss in the skill department right now, but you can work at it slowly."
But a little later, curiosity got the better of Xia Ya again. "That cousin of yours... Adeline, right. Is she pretty? Hey, we've been together for days now, and I saved your life, remember. Look at yours truly here — talent and martial skill both first-rate. So how about..."
Here Xia Ya looked her over twice, then shook his head and sighed. "Uhh... forget it. Judging by your face, your cousin can't be much to look at either. Sigh, I said so, didn't I? Adeline — what an ugly name."
The wretch would not stand for that!
"What nonsense are you talking! Adeline is Old Byzantium noble tongue! It means noble and beautiful! If you don't understand it, bumpkin, keep your mouth shut!!"
Infuriating!
That she was in fact striking and beautiful, yet was taken for an ugly freak by this fellow, was humiliating enough! And now he had to go and run down her name too!!
Still, thanks to this bumpkin's interruptions, the shadow that had been pressing on the wretch's heart had lifted quite a bit.
And the day's march went smoothly enough, with no danger. Those people the wretch had been dreading never appeared.
Only, by evening, they ran into a problem.
The food was gone.
The food Xia Ya had been carrying was some wolf meat from the bloodthirsty mad wolf he had killed earlier. But because they were on the move, he couldn't haul the whole wolf along; he had only cut a few big chunks and packed them in his bundle, enough for two people for several days.
But now? There were a dozen-odd goblins in the party, and that little bit of food was nowhere near enough to go around.
It wasn't that Xia Ya was merciful; it was simply that if the goblins didn't eat their fill, they had no strength at all to walk. By the afternoon some of them could no longer move their legs, and no amount of stamping and cursing from Mr. Consort made any difference — in fact, Mr. Consort himself was so hungry his eyes were swimming.
"Looks like we'll have to get some food. Find a way to bag some game." Xia Ya's eyes roved over Mr. Consort and the other goblins, and that look made the wretch silently pray for the poor things... The bumpkin might look like a crude brute, but what he did was truly wicked and low. Once he set his sights on them, these goblins were bound to come to no good end.
Sure enough...
Xia Ya's method was: hunting!
Wilderness it might be, but wilderness didn't mean no food!
First he kicked a goblin warrior out of the line; ignoring its shrieking, he took up his axe and drew a few shallow cuts on the arms and thighs of the unlucky fellow who had drawn the short straw.
Blood came flowing out at once, and the goblin, seeing itself bleed, began screaming its head off.
"What's all the noise! Bag some game and you get an extra piece of meat!" One slap from Xia Ya sent half the teeth in its mouth flying.
Then he took out a rope, bound the fellow's legs, and dumped it on the open ground. Holding the long end of the rope himself, he and the rest of the party withdrew several dozen meters... and hid behind a big boulder.
The poor goblin bled and screamed, its cries carrying far into the distance.
The other goblins felt not a scrap of pity; hidden behind the rock, they watched with great glee. Sure enough... nothing cheers a goblin like another goblin's misfortune.
After the time it takes to eat a meal, the goblin staked out as bait gradually lost even the strength to cry out, and still not a single wolf hair had been seen anywhere nearby.
"May the gods bless us and let the smell of its blood draw in a few wolves." Xia Ya made a prayer with great piety.
"You bastard, the gods would never bless such a cruel, absurd business!" The wretch couldn't stomach the bumpkin's brutality.
Xia Ya shot her a glare and said coldly, "You'd better pray too, because if this goblin doesn't draw any wolves, maybe it's because the wolves find goblin blood too stinking... and in that case, I'll just have to..."
As he spoke, his eyes swept over the wretch, and she went white with fright.
"You— if you dare throw me out there as bait, I swear I'll fight you to the death!" the wretch shrieked in despair, backing away.
"..." Xia Ya looked at her, then suddenly grinned. "Relax. I'm saving you for the dragon. I wouldn't use you up now."
Pausing, Xia Ya's tone turned helpless. "What I mean is, if we can't lure in any game... well, we can't exactly starve to death, can we? If we don't get a wolf, then tonight we'll just have to roast this goblin and eat it. Hey, I bet you've never had roast goblin. Neither have I. Heh heh!"
And he gave the wretch a very malicious look.
The wretch was terrified! Her face changed drastically, her hands and legs went weak, and she bent over and threw up violently, remembering the morning's scene of goblins bathing in the river with filthy water running everywhere — which only made her vomit all the more merrily.
"Haha!" Xia Ya laughed twice, went over and hauled her up, looking at her with disdain. "You actually believe it? Hey, goblin meat — you'd really eat that? I wouldn't dare!"
He sat the wretch down on the ground and was about to say something when suddenly Xia Ya's expression changed abruptly!
He flung himself flat on the ground at once, pressed his ear tight to the earth, and listened for a while with narrowed eyes. When he raised his head, his face was more grave than she had ever seen it; he swiftly snatched up his battle-axe and took his shield in the other hand!
"Hoofbeats — from two directions, a lot of them! Could be those bastards!!"
The moment Xia Ya's voice died away, the wretch's face turned pale as paper, and she was so frightened her lips trembled.