Anyway, that old man can only glare at me when Ah Xiu isn't watching. He doesn't dare to say anything too harsh in front of me, so I'll just pretend I didn't see him. After some time, when the old chap realizes things aren't quite as he thought, he'll naturally figure it out.

This kind of situation is best left for the other party to observe and discover for himself, providing his own explanation for true belief... At least, it's much better than Gu Mo stepping in and making things more complicated with his explanations.

At the same time, he had a bold thought in his mind: if the old man is really so blind and continues to be stubborn, then I'll... I'll...

He didn't know what he would do, shook his head vigorously to clear his mind of distractions, stretched lazily, and looked around, ready to get some good rest. Ever since leaving Thirteen Sakura Village the day before yesterday, his schedule had shifted from extremely regular to very irregular.

But it was mainly because, during these two days of travel, he managed to figure out why he couldn't wake up every day and came up with a temporary solution: a method to allocate his online time.

That is to proactively sleep—he discovered that as long as he sleeps enough, he can distribute his active online hours to other periods instead of being forcibly fixed from midnight to 8 AM... The only difficulty is that he must actually be asleep for it to be effective.

During the past two days on the road, whenever he had a moment, Gu Mo closed his eyes to rest, forcing himself to sleep whenever possible.

That's why he's able to stay active even at this time today.

Having prepared a clean blanket, he lay down, closed his eyes, and decided to just let things be without overthinking. Even if he was being targeted by the old man, understanding the situation was enough; after all, the old guy could only stare in frustration.

Fuma of Mino? A lord over a city or a nation? So what?

Not to mention that Gu Mo was familiar with him and had enough confidence, but also his perception of this world, which, due to his past gaming impressions, tilted towards viewing it as a "dungeon." Even if he didn't consciously feel superior, as a player, he inevitably held a psychological advantage over the indigenous people.

Just an NPC, unless it's his wife, then it doesn't make any difference from other NPCs...

That's how it is.

......

"It's really nice..."

In another guest room, Fujikichiro looked at the luxurious and exquisite room, feeling dazzled. He took a deep breath, finding the air itself had a mesmerizing faint fragrance. It was no illusion, as a censer in the corner of the room was lit, emitting a light, aromatic smoke.

The fragrance was sweet and serene, pure and elegant, refreshing, with the effect of calming the mind.

This is the lifestyle of the upper class, something he had only heard of before but could not afford to imagine until today, when he benefited from Miss Ah Xiu's influence...

Feeling the class difference so tangibly, Fujikichiro didn't feel discouraged but instead quietly resolved to seize this opportunity and make a name for himself.

But just as he clenched his fists in determination, the room door abruptly opened. Turning instinctively, like a reflexive Monkey, he found himself stammering in shock, his voice trembling: "Lo-Lord Dou San!!"

His face turned instantly pale, lips losing color. Why did Lord Dao San suddenly appear in his room with such a displeased, stern expression—was it because he finally remembered the past incident and came to silence him?

"Monkey! I have some questions for you. Where did you meet Ah Xiu? Tell me truthfully."

Saito Dosan entered the room, getting straight to the point.

It wasn't out of suspicion but because it wasn't appropriate to ask in front of Ah Xiu earlier. Now that everyone had returned to their rooms to rest, he couldn't help but seek out Fujikichiro to understand better the kind of life his daughter had led over the years.

"Huh?"

The nearly kneeling and begging-for-sparing Fujikichiro froze, his mouth agape, momentarily unable to process.

Not here to silence him?

"What do you mean, 'huh'? Speak now!" Saito Dosan reprimanded, glaring with an imposing presence, reiterating his command.

"Oh, oh, alright, alright, it's like this, Lord Dao San..." With emotions like a rollercoaster tonight, Fujikichiro began to speak, with a touch of trembling fear. He forced himself to calm down, quickly organizing his thoughts while speaking.

"Following your orders, I have been traveling around to collect Spirit Stones and went to a somewhat remote place half a month ago..."

As he narrated, Saito Dosan listened silently, finally understanding how his daughter had been living all these years. If the information Monkey gathered was accurate, and stories of Demon Exterminators had circulated among the villages for a long time, then Ah Xiu probably started fending for herself, making a living by hunting demons from an early age.

If that's the case, then Miyoshino... that woman likely met with misfortune not long after leaving him, with only a naive Ah Xiu surviving on her own.

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