Chapter 131: Pepero’s Threat

"Quxi?"

Vier murmured the name faintly. It was just as he had suspected. Although this magical beast had not gone extinct despite the passage of time, trivial factors had caused a slight shift in people's perception and naming of it. At the very least, in Vier's memories from the previous era, this creature was not called Quxi.

To confirm that the "Quxi" Rodin spoke of was indeed the creature he was looking for, Vier meticulously inquired about its morphological characteristics and behavioral patterns. Rodin answered each question with great seriousness, and in the end, Vier reached the conclusion: the Quxi described by Rodin was indeed the magical beast he sought.

Seeing Vier's satisfied expression, a look of unnaturalness flickered across Rodin's face. He hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking, "Um, Vier, why are you looking for that thing? You should know that there is nothing valuable about a Quxi."

"Oh?"

Vier was slightly stunned, but he immediately understood Rodin's meaning. In the eyes of ordinary people, the Quxi was indeed worthless. It lacked the comfortable, precious fur that aristocrats favored, nor did it possess a magic core that could be used as a luxury ornament. Even if one were to consider the meat, which is the only other utility of a magical beast, the Quxi was merely a soft, slug-like, mucus-covered, disgusting creature that provided no edible flesh whatsoever. It was, quite thoroughly, considered the most worthless of all magical beasts.

However, those were merely the thoughts of commoners. In Vier's consciousness, the Quxi was far from a useless creature. On the contrary, the value it possessed exceeded everyone's imagination. In the bygone era of magical splendor, the Quxi was recognized by all mages as an incredibly rare treasure.

Its value was even comparable to mithril.

"Hehe, I just need it for some small experiments. As you can see, I am a mage. You know, a mage's experiments always involve some rather peculiar ingredients."

Vier smiled faintly. His light, knowing explanation successfully diverted Peipero's attention away from the Quxi and back toward him.

"You're actually a mage!?"

Peipero widened her eyes, her face filled with astonishment. Even though her skin was covered in thick grime, it could not hide her beautiful features, especially her wild and fiery physique—it was no wonder Gare had gone so mad upon seeing her.

"What, do I not look like one?"

Vier spread his arms and glanced at Peipero. To his surprise, the young woman gave a harsh huff and gritted her teeth, saying, "Of course you do! That look on your face is exactly what a mage looks like!"

Vier naturally understood that Peipero was mocking him. After all, according to the prevailing mindset of this era, the title of "mage" did not carry a positive reputation.

*Did I offend her somewhere?* Vier wondered to himself. Nearby, Rodin noticed the provocative, triumphant glimmer in Peipero's eyes and realized that this "great lady" had somehow locked horns with Vier. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, but he didn't have time to wipe it away. He stepped between them and asked, "Well, Vier, you don't seem very familiar with the Quxi... Let's leave this place first. It wouldn't be good to run into more Rotting Wolves here, especially since Rosti's condition is still uncertain. Let's head back. Oh, right, Vier, I'll explain it to you on the way!"

Rodin deserved his position as second-in-command of the Moon-Slaughter Mercenary Group. He possessed an acute grasp of people's thoughts. By leaving the matter of the Quxi vague, he successfully captured Vier's attention. As for Peipero, using the remnants of the Rotting Wolves to distract her was the perfect strategy. Not only would this allow the group to leave an unsafe area, but more importantly, it would temporarily keep the volatile Lady Peipero in check.

"Fine, I have no problem with that!"

Vier nodded and glanced at Peipero. Peipero sneered, then replied in a soft, melodic voice, "Well, I don't have a problem either!"

At that single sentence, Rodin's back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.

Based on his knowledge of Peipero, when she used that tone, it meant she was preparing to torment some unfortunate soul. Given the current situation, that unfortunate soul was clearly Vier. Relying on experience, he knew he could never stop Peipero once she had decided on a course of action—especially since she hadn't even struck yet. Rodin sighed inwardly, hoisted the unconscious Rosti onto his shoulder, and shot a meaningful look at Peipero.

The look meant: *Don't go too far!*

But as usual, Peipero ignored him. Her eyes remained locked on Vier, not moving an inch for a long time.

"Let's go!"

Rodin turned his head and sighed again. For some unknown reason, as his gaze lingered on Vier, a strange, indescribable feeling arose in his heart... This time, Peipero might be the one to suffer a setback.

...

Because both Rodin and Peipero were injured, and the group had no transport, their pace became significantly slower. Coupled with the need to evade the remaining Rotting Wolves, they spent two full days carefully navigating the forest. In the past, two days would have been enough to clear the woods entirely, but now, they had only covered half the distance. At this rate, it would take at least another day and a half to get out.

"I'm truly sorry. In our current state, running into the remaining Rotting Wolves would be very troublesome, so we had to take this long detour..."

Rodin offered an apologetic smile to Vier. Vier didn't mind and simply waved his hand without speaking. Truth be told, he was exhausted. Two days of continuous travel, combined with healing Rosti, had left him feeling quite drained in terms of both stamina and mana—not a good thing for a physically frail mage. However, one thing intrigued him: the excessive consumption of light and water-attributed mana during these two days of intense healing had caused a series of subtle fluctuations in his sea of consciousness... It seemed he was on the verge of a breakthrough.

During these two days, Rodin had tried more than once to explain the matter of the Quxi to Vier, but every time he reached a crucial point, Peipero would "timely" jump in to cause trouble, denying him any chance to speak. Once, Rodin was so frustrated by her interference that he nearly lost his temper, but the young lady didn't care at all. Instead, she leaned into his ear and threatened in an extremely sultry tone, "If you say one more word to him, I guarantee you won't be able to be with a woman for the rest of your life. I guarantee it!"