Lin Gui didn't even look up; he simply gave a casual wave of his hand.
A faint, nearly imperceptible current of air—his 【Wind Guiding】—quietly manifest.
Defying common logic, it forcibly redirected the smoke and aroma.
It channeled them toward the deeper layers of soil within the cave, allowing them to slowly seep through and dissipate.
Theia’s gaze narrowed slightly, her emerald pupils scanning like high-precision instruments.
She carefully observed the reactions of the Low Rank demons not far away.
After a long while, the demons outside continued to wander aimlessly, completely oblivious to the "feast" that was practically right under their noses.
She let out a long, heavy sigh of relief and whispered.
"It looks like... we’re okay."
Elvia also breathed a sigh of relief.
Although she instinctively rejected Theia’s half-demon identity.
She had to admit that the other’s strength and the insight of those eyes were truly extraordinary.
Her judgment carried a lot of weight.
Once their nerves settled, the two women could no longer take their eyes off the bubbling iron pot.
Inside the pot was what Lin Gui called "Braised Pork," prepared according to the style of his "hometown."
It had a lustrous, deep reddish-brown color, and the aroma was outrageously rich.
Theia had seen Lin Gui’s culinary skills before.
Though still enticed by the scent, she was at least somewhat prepared for it.
But Elvia, a princess accustomed to royal delicacies since childhood.
At this moment, her eyes were glazed as she stared fixedly at the trembling, glistening chunks of meat.
Saliva began to pool uncontrollably at the corners of her mouth, and she had to swallow quietly.
Soon, the Braised Pork was finished.
Lin Gui then used the rich sauce to cook some hand-pulled wheat noodles.
Before long, everyone’s bowl was filled to the brim.
The dish was "Braised Pork with Braised Noodles," with thick sauce, tender meat, and noodles that had absorbed every drop of the flavorful broth.
Holding the steaming bowl, Elvia first blew on it cautiously, then tentatively picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth.
The next second, her eyes widened suddenly!
It was a level of sensory impact she had never experienced before!
It melted the moment it hit her tongue, fatty but not greasy, lean but not dry.
The savory and sweet sauce had completely permeated every fiber of the meat, bringing an incomparable sense of satisfaction.
She almost couldn't wait to slurp down a mouthful of noodles.
The fragrance of the wheat mixed with the richness of the meat sauce was simple and direct.
Yet it was so delicious that one almost wanted to swallow their own tongue along with it!
"Mmm...!"
She let out a muffled sound, somewhere between an exclamation and a groan.
Forgetting all about her princessly decorum.
She began to eat in large gulps, sweat even beginning to bead on the tip of her nose.
In contrast, while Theia also ate quickly.
Her movements still maintained a trace of the grace unique to elves.
However, her glowing eyes and the rapidly disappearing food betrayed her own enjoyment.
Elvia finished a large bowl like a whirlwind.
Still unsatisfied, she licked the sauce from the corner of her lips.
Looking at the empty bowl, her gaze was somewhat dazed.
She muttered to herself, her voice filled with disbelief and a deep sense of "betrayal."
"All those royal meals I ate before... compared to this, they were... they were just slop!"
Those palace dishes, meticulously plated with expensive ingredients and complex preparation.
Faced with this seemingly rustic bowl of noodles, they appeared pale, weak, and entirely superficial.
Hearing Elvia’s complaint, Lin Gui replied flatly.
"Slop? The kind of rancid stuff you people eat that could practically kill someone... in my hometown, even pigs wouldn't eat that."
Chefs did exist in this world, but...
Their culinary skills could only be described as barely non-lethal.
Aside from roasted meat being passable, everything else felt like a personal attack on Lin Gui’s taste buds.
There was spoiled meat, tooth-cracking bread, overboiled vegetables, and wine that was barely swallowable.
In all his time living, this was the first time Lin Gui had seen sour grape juice used as a seasoning.
And as for the roasted meat, the bitterness of the coarse salt completely overwhelmed any natural flavor.
Since arriving here, he had tried many "famous" snacks from various city-states.
Outside of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy, Lin Gui had unlocked flavors that could only be described as rock-hard, coarse, rancid, bland, and sickeningly salty...
After finishing a meal that could be considered luxurious considering they were next to a demon nest, Lin Gui brought out sleeping bags and set a simple watch schedule.
"I’ll take the first watch, Theia the second."
He didn't ask Elvia to keep watch, but it wasn't out of a lack of trust.
Her life was in his hands; Lin Gui knew all too well how terrifying the onset of the "Demon's Poisonous Kiss" could be.
He would bet this princess knew even better than he did.
To those who played the game of power, that thing was considered on par with a Demigod.
The reason he didn't let her watch was simply because she didn't have the skills for it.
Theia was a top-tier ranger with plenty of wilderness experience.
Lin Gui’s own perception wasn't bad either; he had rolled along the line of life and death many times.
If they ran into real trouble, he could activate 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】 and hide the entire team.
As for Elvia?
She was a knight meant for frontline combat; her perception was limited. Keeping watch was a delicate job that she simply couldn't handle.
Theia and Elvia crawled into their sleeping bags.
Perhaps because they were exhausted from the day, or perhaps because that bowl of noodles was so filling it induced drowsiness, both of them fell into a deep sleep shortly after.
Elvia even started snoring lightly, losing every bit of her princessly image.
Lin Gui sat by the cave entrance camouflaged with grass.
With his 【Wind Listening】 active, he listened intently to the movements outside.
The sound of the wind, the chirping of insects, and the faint, intermittent howls of demons in the distance were all crystal clear.
The night was long, and the watch was dull.
As if remembering something, he reached into a wooden crate nearby and grabbed a handful of letters.
He briskly broke the wax seal of the first letter.
Privacy?
Please. He was risking his life to deliver these letters through demon territory for a measly seven copper coins.
What was wrong with reading a few to pass the time?
By the sliver of moonlight filtering through the entrance, he began to read.
The first letter was written in crooked, shaky handwriting, but with great effort:
【To Sister Mary, who works at the Royal Capital docks:】
【I am your little brother Andy, who was only five when you left... well, I’m fifteen now.】
【Our parents froze to death a few years ago.】
【I’m currently in Caran working with a caravan; I won’t starve.】
【Sister, it’s been ten years. Are you doing okay?】
【Do you remember the old apple tree by our front door?】
【It bore fruit last year. It was incredibly sour, just like the ones you used to steal back then.】
【Um, I’m just writing to tell you that I’m not dead... and I hope you’re alive, too.】
【Please, you must write back to me. I’ll keep waiting forever.】
Lin Gui’s gaze lingered for a moment on the words "ten years."
He set down the letter and opened a second one. The handwriting was better, but it felt weary.
【Brother, it’s been ten years since we last met.】
【On the day Caran was surrounded by demons, I held the wooden doll you gave me when you left and thought I was definitely going to die.】
【I got lucky and survived.】
【It was the Knight Lords from the Royal Capital who slew the demons.】
【It was unbelievable.】
【But so many unbelievable things have happened lately.】
【The Princess became the City Lord and enacted many policies that benefit the commoners.】
【I can't believe a pariah like me would ever be noticed by a high lord.】
【Caran City has changed so much.】
【But what I’m most grateful for is the unnamed Mage Lord who delivers the mail.】
【Can you believe how much I spent to send this letter?】
【Exactly 7 copper!! Oh heavens, by the Gods, he must be an angel sent from above.】
【To carry our tiny longings across.】
【Even more than sending letters, I want to see you all again and never be separated again.】
【I just fear that after so long, our faces will have changed, and we won't even recognize each other if we meet.】
【Please write back to me. This is the only thing keeping me going anymore.】
The third letter was written with heavy, messy strokes:
【Carl! It’s been ten years! You old bastard, do you still remember Old Jack from Caran City?】
【It feels like just yesterday we were drinking and bragging and chasing girls together!】
【I heard ten years ago you were making it big in the Royal Capital?】
【Sadly, I’m still stuck at this damn blacksmith shop, and my legs aren't what they used to be.】
【This hellish world... I just suddenly missed the old days.】
【When can we have another drink together? Just one!】
The fourth letter was a drawing of three stick figures with writing underneath:
【To Daddy, whom I haven't seen in ten years:】
【Mom said you went to the Royal Capital to earn money when I was five.】
【I’m fifteen this year, and I’m taller than Mom now.】
【Mom got sick last year and misses you very much.】
【When are you coming back? I saved the best piece of malt candy for you.】
Lin Gui read them one by one.
Some of the paper was coarse, others fine.
But inside were ten full years of separation, worry, longing, and that tiny flicker of hope that had never quite gone out.
It was a bond that even an endless swarm of demons could not completely sever.
Ten years.
Long enough for a child to grow into an adult, long enough for black hair to turn white.
Long enough for many things to become blurry, yet this ten-year-old longing hadn't lightened in the slightest.
He didn't say a word, carefully refolding the letters and tucking them back into their envelopes.
His fingers brushed over those words written across a decade.
It was as if he could feel the shaking hands of the writers as they penned them.
Outside the cave, the cries of demons drifted in with the wind.
Inside, Theia and Elvia breathed steadily, safe for now.
Lin Gui set the organized letters aside, his eyes turning back toward the pitch-black night outside.
His 【Wind Listening】 remained active, his ears pricked for any movement.
In his eyes, which usually bore no expression and seemed annoyed by everything.
A trace of something indescribable appeared.
He sat in silence for a while, then reached out and opened the next letter.
Rate on N.U.
