Hello, Arknights

"We have sent the people there. Victoria's army has deployed personnel in the area ahead, so we won't send them there." The silver-faced man decisively put Ling Dengxian and Ye Ban in a pile and said goodbye.

"You are really rigorous." Xue Ya said coldly. The two of them did not get angry and turned around and left decisively.

"It's okay, it's okay. I feel like I've recovered some strength. Let me carry Yeban..." Ling Dengxian clenched his hands to cover up the trembling of his fingertips.

"I'd better walk the last section of the way. Just support me." Ye Ban knew the current status of this guy's stamina bar very well. It would be unreasonable for this guy to still swing the city-breaking spear in his backpack.

“…It’s not impossible.” Ling Dengxian had no choice but to say this and reached out to help Ye Ban up.

The two men shook their shoulders at the same time, which made Xueya Xiaogu feel helpless. Xiaogu looked at the land and said, "It's not far from here to the post station. How about taking a rest?"

"I still have things to do..." Xue Ya sighed. She glanced at Ling Dengxian and Ye Ban again, and then continued, "How about this, I'll send her to the post station first, and you two can rest here for a while. I'll be back soon."

"Okay... I have no objection." Ling Dengxian and Ye Ban both nodded, supporting each other and sitting down carefully.

"Be careful." Xueya, holding the small drum, quickly disappeared around the corner of the mountain road. The long-nosed beasts in the middle of the night also lay down and whimpered to rest. They were also exhausted.

"..." Ling Dengxian and Ye Ban looked at each other and suddenly felt a little unbelievable. Too many things happened in this day. Several life-and-death moments quickly shortened the psychological distance between the two. Of course, it was also true that the physical distance was forced to be shortened a lot, but the problem was that it happened too fast, which led to the two of them being very embarrassed now that everything was fine.

"Before, that white flame... was it your Originium skill?" Ye Ban spoke up to break the awkward situation.

"Ah? That, right?" Ling Dengxian was unsure. His body had been giving strange signs before, and Xiaoxie hadn't given any explanation. This time, he helped a lot in this critical moment... Eh? Why didn't Xiaoxie say anything for so long?

"Don't worry, I'm still here - yawn - I'll be fine after a nap." Xiaoxie's voice came in response.

But now Ling Dengxian still had to talk to Yeban, and he only had time to say "Oh" in his heart as a response.

"Should? Don't you know it yourself?" Ye Ban said in surprise.

"It's embarrassing, but I really don't know." Ling Dengxian scratched his head, and his expression suddenly became interesting because of the pain under his ribs.

"It's the first time I awakened the Originium technique... Interesting. It helped a lot in that situation." Yeban smiled, bright and charming.

"Why did Miss Yeban become a bounty hunter?" Ling Dengxian asked according to her mood.

"For a living. Even though I look like this, I owe a huge debt." Ye Ban said calmly.

"Why do I feel like you're still quite..." Ling Dengxian saw the bitterness in her smile and took back the last few words.

"It's such a huge sum of money... I feel like I'll never be able to pay it back in my lifetime." Ye Ban raised his head and sighed, "I've been in this business for several years, and paying it back is just a drop in the bucket."

Ling Dengxian was just a high school student before he traveled through time. Without any pocket money, it was difficult for him to empathize deeply with the bitterness of the midnight.

"Don't you have any companions?" Ling Dengxian couldn't help but ask.

Ye Ban's eyes instantly fell on his trained animals, as if he was looking at someone's shadow. He stared at them blankly for a long while. Just when Ling Dengxian was wondering if he had asked the wrong question and should apologize, Ye Ban said slowly:

"Had."

"Then let's change the subject... Are you from Yan? You speak Yan dialect so well." Ling Dengxian quickly climbed out of the area he was not good at.

"This? I'm not." Yeban shook his head. "I've been on missions near Yan Country for many years. Last year, I met a noble man. Due to some misunderstandings, I accidentally kidnapped him. Since then, I have the code name 'Yeban'. I'm from RemBit."

"You used to be a bandit." Ling Dengxian held back this sentence for a long time.

Ye Ban's face darkened: "Just that one time! I haven't done anything so stupid since then."

"So what are your plans after this mission?" Ling Dengxian quickly changed the subject.

"...I don't know. I'll probably go back to the Yan Kingdom. I originally thought that if I could get the bounty, I could take a break for a while, but now it seems that's out of the question."

Ling Dengxian's gaze naturally fell on Yeban's legs, and the slightly reflective Originium crystals made him stop his gaze.

"Don't look at it, but it's good to take it as a warning. Don't get infected with mineral disease, it hurts." Ye Ban retracted his legs, and the Originium crystal on the outside of his thigh flashed a gleam. Ling Dengxian felt it was awe-inspiring.

The long-nosed sleeping beasts came over with a hum, and sat quietly beside the two of them, using their body heat to warm them without making a sound.

"The little guys seem to like you very much." Ye Ban reached out and touched the heads of the little animals. Ling Dengxian also reached out and touched it carefully. The touch felt very good.

"It's a little smoother than I thought..."

"Hey, your name is Ling Dengxian, right?" Ye Ban looked away.

"Ah? It seems you have forgotten my name..." Ling Dengxian's mouth twitched.

"It's a strange name, not easy to remember." Ye Ban didn't comment, but after thinking about it, he looked up and said, "You saved me this time, twice. I owe you a big favor."

"It's nothing, right? After all, there's a high probability that we'll meet each other in the future..." Ling Dengxian suddenly had a good idea.

"midnight."

"What's that expression on your face?" Yeban expressed that he had a bad feeling.

"If you want to go back to Yan Country, can you take me with you?"

"No." Ye Ban refused decisively.

"Why?" Ling Dengxian was a little surprised.

"If I go back, I can either take a convoy or walk through the wilderness by myself. I can't afford the fare for two people if I take a convoy, and if I walk through the wilderness... it will be too dangerous for you." Ye Ban could see that Ling Dengxian had no experience in wilderness survival, and survival in the wilderness was no joke.

"Then don't you still owe me a favor?" Ling Dengxian muttered to himself and didn't want to continue the topic.

"...Come closer." Yeban sighed and motioned him to move his face closer.

"What are you doing?" Ling Dengxian was very cautious and felt something was wrong.

"Just come closer." Ling Dengxian looked at Ye Ban's eyes which contained a hidden smile and moved his face closer with half belief and half doubt.

"Then close your eyes." Ling Dengxian looked at her in a daze: This is the kind of thing you said in the legend?

"Hurry up, people will be back soon." Yeban urged.

Ling Dengxian closed his eyes with some excitement, and the next second he felt his face wet. The soft touch made his heart skip a beat, and he couldn't help but open his eyes.

Then he saw the long-nosed sleeper beast looking at him innocently.

"..."

"Huh? You opened your eyes so soon? I was thinking I could get away with it." Ye Ban put down the little beast in his hand in surprise, and Ling Dengxian just remained silent.

"Let's not talk about favors."

"Xiao Xian?" The voice of the Vaifan girl came from behind. The two turned around and saw the wounded Fengpi and her teammates appear on the mountain road. The orange-red figure was cheered up and waved at him.

But from the look in the eyes of the blond Rupert behind the bagpipe, Ling Dengxian felt something was wrong.