Mr. Zhongli, we can't slack off anymore!

"Take a short rest today and prepare the necessary supplies. Tomorrow morning, we'll venture deep into the desert to conduct our investigation." Seno concluded this brief meeting at Candice's residence with these words.

Afterwards, the swift-moving Grand Disciplinary Officer hurriedly departed, heading deeper into the desert frontier to personally guide and coordinate the joint search team comprised of elite Disciplinary Officers, rigorously selected mercenary members, and local guards from Aru Village.

The room was suddenly left with only the traveler and Elhesen, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward. The two stared at each other, and the traveler was the first to succumb to the gaze of those calm, unwavering yet all-seeing gray-green eyes. He awkwardly looked away and lowered his head, pretending to straighten the dust-covered hem of his clothes.

I really can't be like him, staring at someone for a long time without any psychological burden or righteous indignation...

“It’s getting late, we should head back.” Elhesen was the first to stand up, breaking the silence, his voice as steady as ever.

“Oh, that’s true.” The traveler stood up and turned to Candice, who had been quietly listening and pouring tea for them. “Well then, Candice, thank you for your hospitality and information today. See you tomorrow.”

*

Leaving Aru Village, we stepped back into the still somewhat annoying sandstorm, but the return journey seemed a bit easier than the way there.

Just as the traveler was silently calculating how far they were from the teleportation anchor, Elhesen suddenly spoke up, abruptly changing the subject: "It's still early. Before heading back to Sumeru City, how about we go on a date?"

"Cough cough cough!" The traveler choked on his own saliva, and then opened his mouth slightly in surprise, swallowing a few grains of sand that had taken the opportunity to slip in. He coughed even more violently, and tears welled up in his eyes.

“If you don’t want to go, you can just refuse me.” Elhesen stopped and turned to look at her, sighing softly, seemingly helpless. “Why do you always have to make yourself look so pathetic? It’s as if I would really disregard your wishes and force you to do something.” As he spoke, he raised his hand and patted the traveler’s back with just the right amount of force, not particularly gentle, to help her catch her breath.

"No, no..." The traveler finally stopped coughing, wiped his eyes, and his voice was still a little hoarse: "It's just that you... you always say things like this, suddenly catching me completely off guard."

“Where is it sudden?” Al-Hysen withdrew his hand, looked back at the road ahead, and calmly retorted, “All my actions are based on observability and analysis; everything is traceable. It’s your own attention that is rarely truly and consistently focused on me, which is why you feel ‘sudden’ about the inevitable developments based on logical deduction.”

You're pretty ruthless with yourself, Al-Hysen.

His frank analysis of the fact that he is not getting attention... I'm starting to feel sorry for him.

“…Alright,” the traveler caught her breath, hesitated for a moment, and then compromised, “Is there…something you particularly want to do before returning to the city? I…I can go with you, but let’s make it clear beforehand, this can’t be considered a date!” She emphasized the last point.

“Hold hands.” Elhesen extended his hand almost without hesitation, opening his palm.

"No physical contact!" the traveler immediately added, his face flushing slightly.

“We’ve reached the teleportation anchor point.” Elhesen paused, his tone still calm and even: “Unless you have another way to instantly send me back to Sumeru City, necessary physical contact is the default rule when using the teleportation anchor point for medium to long distance travel.”

"Uh..." The traveler then realized that while the two were walking and talking, they had unknowingly arrived at the teleportation anchor point set up in a hidden place on the outskirts of Aru Village.

*

The eerie blue light faded, and the familiar hustle and bustle of Sumeru City, along with the humid air, enveloped the senses once more. The traveler's feet had barely touched the solid stone path when he spotted Jin Moli standing quietly at a street corner not far from the teleportation point, the hem of her striking red gauze robe swaying gently in the cool evening breeze.

Was she... waiting for me here on purpose?

"Vice Hall Master, you're finally back!" Upon seeing the traveler, Jin Moli immediately rushed forward, a rare hint of anxiety showing on her usually gentle and calm face: "There was a small accident at the construction site today. Mr. Kavi was injured, but he insisted on not receiving treatment. I couldn't persuade him otherwise, so I could only wait here for you to return."

"What?" The traveler's heart tightened. She hadn't expected such a thing to happen just half a day after she left. "Construction accident?! Is it serious? Are there any other casualties?" Her biggest worry was a mass safety incident.

"Fortunately, only Mr. Kavi has been injured so far; the other craftsmen and mercenaries are all safe and sound," Jin Moli replied quickly.

"I have to go to the branch hall right away!" The traveler suddenly became anxious. Kavi was so serious about his work that he was completely absorbed in it, but he was often careless about his own body. "Elhesen, what we were talking about earlier... let's talk about it later!" She hurriedly said this to Elhesen beside her, then grabbed Jin Moli's wrist. Without even having time to ask about the injury in detail, she hurriedly activated the teleportation anchor point again, heading straight for the coordinates closest to the construction site of the Sumeru branch hall.

*

Before the light of the teleportation had completely dissipated in the air, the traveler had already rushed towards the area where construction was in full swing.

His anxious gaze swept across the orderly construction site, and finally, under the shade of a large, lush tree, he spotted Kavi sitting on a bench.

His signature briefcase had been turned into a makeshift table, on which design drawings were spread out. He held a pen in his right hand, intently sketching something, as if the "accident" that Jin Moli had just described had never happened.

"Kavi! How are you!" The traveler ran up to him, his voice trembling with anxiety.

"Lu Ren?" Kavi looked up at the sound of her voice, his red eyes filled with surprise. "Why did you suddenly come here? I thought you weren't coming to the construction site today. Did that guy Elhesen make you angry again?"

His first reaction was actually to be concerned about this.

"I heard there was an accident at the construction site! Are you alright?" The traveler didn't respond to his question, but looked him up and down nervously. His gaze finally settled on his left hand, which was casually resting on his knee. The hand was wrapped tightly in thick, white bandages, looking like a large rice dumpling, and the shape of the fingers was almost invisible.

"An accident?" Kavi followed her gaze and glanced at the busy yet orderly construction site. The workers were working in perfect harmony, various materials were neatly stacked, and the project was progressing normally... How could it look like there had just been an accident? Genuine confusion appeared on his face.

"Is your hand... fractured? How serious is it? Let me see!" The traveler was extremely anxious, carefully lifting his wrist, which was wrapped up like a ball, trying to assess the injury.

"A fracture?" Kavi's confusion deepened. He tried to move his bandaged fingers, and a faint rustling sound came from beneath the bandage.

"Why didn't you go see a doctor? Even if I hadn't come back, you must have scholar friends in the Life Theory School, right? How could you just leave it unattended?" The traveler's tone was reproachful and distressed: "Don't worry about the money! This injury was caused by the construction of the branch hall. I will cover all medical expenses, lost wages, and nutritional expenses! I will compensate you according to the highest standards of Sumeru, no, I will compensate you three times the amount!"

She knew Kavi too well. This guy was as harsh on himself as he was on his enemies, unwilling to give up anything and always bearing everything, but he was incredibly generous and attentive to his friends and the projects he was in charge of.

If I were the one who got hurt today, he would be even more anxious and upset than I am now, and he would feel deeply guilty for not protecting me.

"No need, really no need, it's just a minor injury, it's nothing serious." Kavi shook his head repeatedly, trying to pull his hand back.

"Can I see it with my own eyes?" the traveler said, and before anyone could stop him, he began to carefully untie the overly exaggerated bandages.

“Really, there’s no need to look…” Kavi reached out his right hand to stop the traveler’s actions, but before his fingertips could touch the back of the traveler’s hand, his wrist was firmly grasped by another hand that suddenly reached out and belonged to a woman, stopping his actions.

“Mr. Kavi.” Jin Moli had appeared beside him at some point, her face bearing her usual gentle yet unsettling smile. She spoke softly, “The deputy hall master is just concerned about you. Please don’t touch her. Let her examine you thoroughly so she can feel at ease.”

"Oh... okay, alright." Under Jin Moli's gaze, Kavi obediently lowered his right hand, which had been trying to stop her.

At this moment, the traveler finally removed the last layer of gauze. She took a deep breath, as if preparing to face some terrible wound, and then gently peeled away the final covering—

Kavi's long, beautiful hand with distinct joints was displayed perfectly intact.

The skin was smooth, without a single fresh scratch, let alone any fractures or serious injuries. There was only a tiny, almost invisible red dot on the fingertip, as if it had been pricked by something extremely fine.

“I just… got pricked by a tiny splinter, it’s really nothing,” Kavi quickly explained, sounding a little embarrassed. “But when your assistant saw it, he got very anxious and insisted on bandaging it, saying it was to prevent infection… and then it ended up like that.”

It's true... if I had come back any later, this 'wound' would have been too late to 'treat'—because it would have healed on its own!

The traveler's gaze slowly shifted from Kavi's intact hand to Jin Moli, who stood to the side with an innocent yet concerned expression on her face.

A surge of anger, a mixture of being mocked, having his worries dashed, and then feeling both amused and exasperated, slowly rose within him.

"Jin-Mo-Li-" the traveler called her name slowly and deliberately, each syllable drawn out, his narrowed eyes flashing with a dangerous light.

"Hmm? Deputy Hall Master, what are your orders?" Jin Moli blinked her gentle, watery eyes, seemingly oblivious to the rising anger emanating from the traveler in the air. Her expression was so innocent that it was as if the person who had exaggerated and lured her back in such a hurry was not herself at all.