Ancient Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 18 The Scapegoat

"They actually sent people to stop me! You're not giving me a chance to live, are you? Fine, I'm not going to live anymore, I'll drag you two down with me!"

The burly man roared wildly, brandishing his knife as he charged towards Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong, clearly ready to fight to the death.

Lin Xiu could easily see that this person clearly considered him and Yao Rongrong as accomplices of some enemy.

His mind raced, and he already had a guess.

There must be something wrong with that deserted village; the other companion of this strong man must have met with misfortune.

However, Lin Xiu didn't think much about the specifics.

Now is not the time to overthink things.

This person is now acting like a madman, and seems impossible to communicate with. Lin Xiu immediately asked Yao Rongrong, "Are you going to run away?"

—Since I'm not the one with the highest combat power, I should ask Yao Rongrong first to see what the heroine plans and whether she's confident in dealing with the newcomers.

Yao Rongrong drew her slender sword from her waist and said, "No need."

With a flick of his wrist, he swung the sword at the burly man charging towards him.

The slender sword was flexible yet sharp, making a clattering sound as it was shaken. The woman moved with incredible speed, leaving afterimages as she passed the burly man.

Lin Xiu hid behind the donkey and watched carefully. Although he tried his best to remain calm, he couldn't help but feel nervous for Yao Rongrong.

He saw Yao Rongrong and the man locked in combat, and he felt all the muscles in his body tense up. Yao Rongrong was fighting, and he was putting his strength into it as well.

Fortunately, Yao Rongrong and the man only fought for a short while, dodging and weaving a few times, before the slender sword caught the man off guard and slashed at his hamstring.

The man was the first to be hit. He lost his balance and fell to his knees. Yao Rongrong seized the opportunity to kill him while he was still weak. She slashed upwards with her slender sword and pierced the man's neck.

The man swayed and fell to the ground. Yao Rongrong swiftly pulled the slender sword out of his neck.

Blood gushed from her neck, but Yao Rongrong retreated swiftly and dodged away immediately.

Once the blood had mostly spurted out, Yao Rongrong approached and examined the man's body, seemingly looking for anything she could use.

Lin Xiu led the donkey forward and asked, "How was it?"

Yao Rongrong sighed and said, "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, sir. This man is penniless, unlike you, who is rich and powerful, with a donkey, bedding, a pot, and a spatula."

He didn't have much usable equipment on him, except for this knife.

As she spoke, she kicked the knife that had fallen from the man's hand to Lin Xiu.

"So, you insisted on having me come along because you wanted my donkey, right?"

Lin Xiu chuckled and picked up the knife.

"Mmm~ Mmm~"

The donkey swung its mane and brayed twice. Both its braying and the way its mane swung carried a sense of pride, making it clear to anyone that it was quite smug.

Yao Rongrong giggled, which made the donkey bray happily twice.

Lin Xiu felt that if things continued like this, this donkey brother would probably be completely swayed by Yao Rongrong.

He ignored the donkey and went to examine the knife he had just picked up.

This knife looks good, it's new, the blade is intact, not dull, much better than mine.

Having this knife is not bad. I've already worn out several knives in Mengzhou City, and this is the last one I brought from the city.

Although the knife was still usable, the blade had developed a nick, and Lin Xiu had to sharpen it with a stone every time he used it, making it quite difficult to use.

He had spent a lot of time polishing the shaft of the oxcart before cutting the notch by the cowshed.

Now that I've found a knife, what more could I ask for?

and……

He turned to look at the middle-aged man who had already become a corpse, and in a few steps he walked to the man's feet, bent down, and took off the man's shoes.

These shoes are exceptionally well-made and look quite nice; they're even better than the ones I collected in Mengzhou City.

Of course, there are good shoes in Mengzhou, but most of them are a bit too small.

Lin Xiu couldn't find suitable ones, so when he left Mengzhou City, he took two or three pairs of shoes with him as spares or replacements, but none of them had such good stitching or such thick soles.

And most importantly, the size is right.

Lin Xiu held the shoes up to his own feet and found they fit perfectly.

As for clothes, forget it. I brought enough myself, and bringing more would just be a burden. There's no need to take them off.

"Who says nothing else works? These shoes will do too."

As Lin Xiu spoke, he picked up the shoe.

Yao Rongrong looked disgusted: "You wear other people's smelly shoes? Sir, you really have no taste."

Lin Xiu said, "What kind of world is this where people still care about these things? I don't believe you, heroine, would refuse someone suitable."

Yao Rongrong turned her head away and said, "I don't want to! It's not like I don't have any!"

Lin Xiu said, "You have shoes to wear now, but if you run out of shoes later, I'll see if you want them."

"snort!"

Yao, the female knight, pouted and let out a soft snort.

Lin Xiu added, "Besides, I'm not going to wear them right now. Let's keep going. If we come across any water, I'll wash these shoes properly, let them dry, and keep them for later use."

"I have something to wear now. I'll wear these later when my old shoes wear out."

"Um."

Yao Rongrong nodded, but didn't say anything more.

She glanced at the shoes in Lin Xiu's hand and thought to herself that the storyteller was right.

The journey through life is long, and shoes are bound to wear out; it's essential to have several pairs on hand.

Now that I have Brother Donkey and his donkey cart, I don't need to be so careful with my money anymore. I don't need to think about what to bring or not to bring. In the future, when I pick up shoes, I'll just pick them up, wash them, and put them away, just like he said.

After collecting the body, the two threw it into a pile of weeds so that it wouldn't be noticed at first glance. Thinking that the deserted village was not right and fearing that pursuers might come, they didn't dare to linger there and quickly left to continue their journey.

On the way, Lin Xiu asked, "Heroine, you said you didn't encounter anyone when you entered the village, so what will these two people encounter?"

Yao Rongrong pondered for a moment, then replied, "I don't know."

Lin Xiu turned to look at Yao Rongrong and saw that the female warrior was shaking her head slightly and frowning in deep thought. It seemed that she really couldn't figure it out.

He sorted out his previous thoughts and voiced his guess: "Do you think the people in that village, or those who are entrenched there, might be hiding in the mountains?"

Yao Rongrong's eyes lit up, and she said, "So, they're on the mountain during the day and sneak down into the village at night to rob people?"

Lin Xiu said, "Perhaps that village was a trap they prepared. They deliberately preserved half of the houses so they wouldn't collapse, in order to lure people in and then take advantage of the situation."

Yao Rongrong gasped and said, "Sir is right. In that case, we should thank these two people. It's fortunate that they got into the village first, otherwise we might be the ones who died."