Chapter 65

"They didn't change their route."

Lowering his head, the man in black carefully examined the marks on the ground, and after a while, he spoke.

"Everything is going smoothly."

"How can it be too smooth?"

The other man in black standing beside him was clearly more cautious. They were all dressed the same, wearing the same cloaks, and even their faces were covered, leaving only their eyes visible. Their voices were equally muffled, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female.

"According to the master's information, this young man shouldn't be the kind of person who is careless. How could he not be alert at all?"

"That's not surprising. After all, he has a woman with him, and she's a beautiful one."

The other man in black said in a low voice, which also caused the other three men in black to laugh coldly. They, of course, knew what he meant, but after a moment of joking, they quickly stopped laughing and began to whisper to each other.

"Continue according to the plan. According to the master's instructions, we will act when they go deeper into the forest. Remember, be quick and clean. You know what to do."

"What about the woman?"

"If possible, bring her back. Whether by knocking her out or drugging her, it doesn't matter. The master only needs her body. As for the rest... you decide. But remember to be on high alert. Mages are very troublesome. If we fail, we must kill her immediately and not let her escape!"

The men in black all nodded in understanding. They knew how powerful and troublesome mages could be. With their unpredictable methods, if a mage decided to run away without any regard for their dignity, almost no one could stop them.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, one of the men in black suddenly raised his head, looking around cautiously. He then made a gesture to his companions, drew a dagger from his waist, and slowly approached the nearby bushes. Seeing his actions, the others immediately tensed up, drawing their weapons and getting into a battle stance. The man in black reached the edge of the bushes and, holding his dagger, stabbed downward!

"Rustle!!"

The bushes shook, and a startled squirrel darted out, climbing up a nearby tree in panic. It turned its head to curiously look at the humans before disappearing into the dense foliage.

The men in black finally relaxed, not saying anything more but exchanging glances before disappearing into the bushes.

At that moment, Marin, standing in the ravine, had a pale face.

"This is so infuriating!"

She stomped her foot in anger, her small fists clenched tightly.

"These guys, these guys are utterly disrespectful. When I meet them, I will make them pay!"

Reciprocity is a virtue, but being followed was not Rod's style. Since he was being followed, he naturally had to find a way to counter-track. After arriving at the Rock of Sighs, Rod did not immediately search for the hidden treasure but had Marin try to counter-spy on them. This was partly to understand their true nature and partly to teach the young lady a lesson, making her realize that things were not as simple as she thought.

At first, Marin did not take these spies seriously. Although she came from a noble family, she mostly dealt with the bright side of life and knew little about the dark world. In her mind, these spies were like thieves and pickpockets, sneaky and untrustworthy. When Rod asked her to monitor the seemingly empty bushes, Marin even complained about why he was making trouble for no reason.

However, when she saw several figures suddenly appear in the bushes that were previously empty, Marin's face turned pale, and she could not say a word. Although she was proud, she was not foolish. Mages, in particular, feared being ambushed from behind. In battle, it was not a big deal because mages had comprehensive protection. But mages could not be on high alert 24/7; that would be inhuman. When you walked through a bush without any guard, and a dagger suddenly stabbed you from behind, the feeling was terrifying. After witnessing the terrifying nature of these spies, Marin finally put aside her initial contempt and began to take these "rats" seriously.

Noticing Marin's reaction, Rod nodded in satisfaction. From the test, he had already gauged the strength gap between them. In terms of absolute level, the advanced spies were naturally higher than Rod, but fortunately, their reconnaissance methods and stealth techniques were the same as what Rod remembered, making it easy for him to find them. This gave Rod more confidence in eliminating these rats. On the surface, they were very passive, and being followed was not a pleasant experience. However, in a way, they were in control because the spies had to find them before they could attack, giving Rod the advantage in choosing the location.

Moreover, Rod discovered something very interesting.

"Quite a cute familiar."

Looking at the squirrel climbing up Marin's hand, Rod said, not sure if he was complimenting or mocking.

"To be honest, I thought a mage's familiar would be more unique."

"More unique?"

While petting the squirrel that climbed onto her shoulder, Marin glared at Rod.

"Do you think a mage's familiar would be as strange and chaotic as your weird summoned creatures? This child is my precious treasure. I wouldn't have brought it if we weren't going on a long journey."

The poor summoned spirits were really getting the blame for no reason... But...

Looking at the small animal standing on Marin's shoulder, using its tiny paws to nibble on a nut, Rod just shook his head and said nothing more—there was nothing more he could say.

To many women, cuteness is justice. Rod had learned this when leading players. Often, female players chose their pets based on their appearance, cuteness, and charm, regardless of their impact, talents, benefits, or combat power. It seemed that in any world, women shared a common language on this point.

"Let's go."

In the desolate ravine, thorny bushes grew everywhere, and the wind howled through them, stirring up dust.

"Is there really treasure here, Mr. Rod?"

Marin shielded her face from the dusty wind, complaining.

"How could there be treasure in such a desolate place?"

"Because no one is here, that's why there's treasure, Miss Marin."

Rod walked in the shadows, carefully observing his surroundings as he moved forward.

"Do you know why this place is called the Rock of Sighs?"

Hearing Rod's question, Marin shook her head. She was not a native of Deepstone City, so she had no way of knowing.

"This area used to be the base of a group of bandits. At that time, there was no Deepstone City, and the mines were controlled by wealthy merchants who exploited the miners, not giving them pay or food. The bandits attacked these people, killed the oppressors, and returned the stolen goods to those who deserved them."

Hearing this, Marin pursed her lips. As a noble, she despised the wealthy who mistreated others, but in her view, they were still part of the nobility. It was more appropriate for the nobility to deal with them. Whether for any reason, it was not something that would make her happy for commoners, or even bandits, to take action against the nobility.

Noticing Marin's reaction, Rod did not say much. After coming to this world and interacting with the people here, Rod realized that they were different from his time. In a world where everyone was equal, such a story would be cheered, representing justice against evil and the weak against the strong. People loved such stories, but in this world, it was not entirely the same.

Marin might not oppose the righteousness of the story, but she would not find it beautiful because of their different positions and perspectives. As a noble, she was educated to maintain the dignity of the nobility, so she instinctively had a slight aversion to such stories. For the common people, they did not care if the hero was a bandit or a thief; anyone who helped them was a hero. For someone like Marin, she would prefer a knight or a noble as the hero, or even a commoner who rose up, but a bandit—this was like having a handsome groom and an ugly bride at a wedding, making people feel uncomfortable.

But Rod did not intend to correct Marin's thoughts. He had no interest in changing the young lady's values. He just recalled the description of the task and continued.

"Their reputation grew among the people, and they also aroused the jealousy of the wealthy merchants and mine owners. Eventually, they attacked the largest mine in the area and faced retaliation. The merchants and the army joined forces to surround these bandits here. Despite being outnumbered, the bandits did not give up. They raised their weapons and faced the soldiers without hesitation. In the end, they died here, and the people they had helped came at night, after the soldiers left, to mourn and set up tombstones for their heroes. That's why this place is called the Rock of Sighs."

"What a beautiful story. What happened to those people afterward?"

"I don't know."

Rod shook his head. The task description only mentioned the situation here and did not provide a continuation.

"Indeed, a beautiful story."

Marin shook her head, her tone complex and hesitant.

"But, Mr. Rod, according to your story, they were just bandits. How could a group of bandits leave behind any treasure?"

"That's different, Miss Marin. I have a question for you. Why is the Seneia family so powerful? Is it just because of their reputation?"

"Of course not."

Marin's tone became somewhat stiff, clearly not liking the analogy.

"Our Seneia family is not a decaying relic of past glory. Hmm, if I must say, it's more like... Lise's..."

At that point, Marin suddenly covered her mouth and nervously glanced at Rod. Seeing no reaction from him, she breathed a sigh of relief. But at the same time, the young lady inwardly shook her head.

Lise, you should confess to Mr. Rod soon. Otherwise, not only will you have to be careful, but I will also have to be on guard all the time—this is not a pleasant feeling.

"These bandits are the same."

Rod did not pay attention to Marin's words, either not hearing them or pretending not to.

"They could achieve this not just because of the people's support. Most people are not willing to risk their lives to become bandits. Since these people could become so powerful, they must have had some support. We can investigate this and might find something unexpected."

This was partly Rod's speculation, but it was not entirely baseless. In the game, many hidden quests were derived from rumors, legends, and stories. Players were very sensitive to such information because they knew it was a game, and in a game, there were fewer variables than in the real world. Every word and phrase in the game could be the start of a secret quest. Otherwise, why would you waste so much time creating data just to fool players?

In the game, the Rock of Sighs quest was triggered by a player who, after hearing a bard's song in a tavern, decided to go on an adventure, eventually completing the quest and receiving a reward.

Marin, of course, did not know this, so her eyes now held more surprise and curiosity. The more she thought about how Rod could deduce so much from a story, the more she found him unfathomable. It seemed there was nothing in this world that could stump him.

What kind of person is he?

At that moment, Marin became even more interested.

"Here it is."

At that moment, Rod stopped in front of a cave, carefully examined the dark entrance, and then walked in. Marin hesitated for a moment, then lifted her skirt and followed.

The torchlight flickered, illuminating the dark, gloomy cave. The only sound in the silent, empty space was the clear echo of their footsteps. Cold underground water dripped from the walls, creating a crisp sound. At first glance, it was just an ordinary underground cave, seemingly no different from any other.

Rod held the torch in one hand and cautiously moved forward. But before he had gone far, Marin suddenly let out a soft cry.

"Ah!"

"What's wrong?"

Rod turned curiously to look at the young lady, who looked embarrassed and a bit scared.

"I, I felt someone touching me."

"Touching you?"

Before turning around, Rod had thought of several possible answers, but he did not expect the most unreliable one. He raised the torch and swung it behind Marin.

The dark passage was empty.

"No one is there."

"Maybe, maybe I was wrong?"

Marin naturally saw the situation behind her, her face slightly red, and she did not say anything more. Rod did not pay much attention, and they continued forward. But after a few more steps, Marin's cry rang out again.

"Ah!"

"Huh?"

Rod turned again, but there was still no one behind her. This time, Marin's face was pale, and her body was trembling as if she had seen a ghost.

"No, no, something... I don't know, but it's touching my body... it's, it's... behind me... Rod, help me, what, what is it...?"

Before Marin could finish, Rod, using the torchlight, saw a furry object slowly reaching toward the young lady's neck...

"Don't move!"

A red flash.

The sharp sword flew past the young lady's collar, easily pinning the strange object to the wall. At that moment, they saw the true form of the object.

It was a spider, as large as a human hand!

The spider, impaled by the sword, was desperately writhing, its yellowish-brown blood splattering from the wound. Its furry legs waved in the air, and its mouth opened and closed, spewing white web threads.

It was truly disgusting.

Although he had encountered more disgusting things in the game, Rod's face still changed. He quickly tightened his grip on the sword, and with a few sword strikes, the furry spider was reduced to pieces, lifeless.

"Phew..."

Shaking off the disgusting liquid from the sword, Rod finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Miss Marin, are you hurt? Do you feel...?"

Rod's words were cut off because, at that moment, a soft, feminine body suddenly threw itself into his arms, blocking any further words.

"......"

"Sniff... sniff..."

Marin, who was tightly hugging Rod, buried her head in his chest. Although her face was not visible, the muffled sobs let him know—was the young lady crying?

Rod frowned, extending his left hand to gently pat her shoulder.

But the young lady did not react, her soft body still tightly pressed against Rod. It had to be said, those two soft mounds were indeed very tempting...

"Miss Marin? It's over now."

"Sniff... sniff... Is, is that thing dead? Is there no terrifying monster behind me, Mr. Rod? Please, check if that terrifying thing left anything on my back."

"There's nothing, Miss Marin."

Using the torchlight, Rod carefully examined Marin's back. Her clean and tidy robe showed no signs of anything. Hearing this, Marin finally lifted her head, quickly wiping her eyes, and gave Rod a somewhat embarrassed smile. But soon, Marin seemed to have a new idea.

"I, I need to leave for a moment, I'll be right back, okay?"

"Of course, be careful."

Looking at the soft, unusually different young lady, Rod could not figure out what she was up to. He watched as Marin hurriedly walked to the other side of the corner, fumbling around, and then a flash of light. When Marin returned, she looked refreshed.

But it seemed not only her expression had changed, but also her expensive robe... How did it change?

"Miss Marin?"

"Ah? No, it's fine. I'm very sorry for making a fool of myself, Mr. Rod. I was just startled and lost my composure... It's fine now, let's continue."

"Of course, but I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"Are you... afraid of spiders?"

"Hehehehehe..."

Hearing Rod's question, Marin laughed loudly, covering her mouth.

"What you said is so funny, Mr. Rod. How could a lady like me be afraid of those furry, black, and coarse things? That's absolutely impossible. I was just startled and lost my composure. Such things could never scare me, no, those useless things that just wave their stinky claws to scare people, I'm not afraid of them at all!"

It seems she really is afraid...

PS: A 6,000-word chapter, equivalent to two previous ones... Well, let's consider it as two chapters. Today, I went out with my family to discuss the furniture for the new house. After laying the wallpaper, the next step is the lights, and then various pieces of furniture