“Okay, it's all over now, I'm leaving.” Xi Xiao Tian said.

“You tricked Frost Memories, they'll take revenge on you, right? Why don't you come with me for now?” Gu Fei said.

“You don't need to worry about that. I have my own ways,” Xi Xiao Tian smiled and turned to leave.

Gu Fei stood there, stunned for a long time.

“There will still be times when you hate me,” the words kept repeating in his ears. He could vaguely understand what she meant: Although she helped Gu Fei, Xi Xiao Tian was still a con artist. If Gu Fei despised the actions of a con artist, he would eventually hate her.

Come to think of it, he really was being unfair! When Xi Xiao Tian tricked Frost Memories from Sword Demon, he was indignant. Now that she tricked Frost Memories back from someone else, he was so excited and thrilled. Xi Xiao Tian had made it very clear: because Sword Demon was Gu Fei's friend, she returned Frost Memories. In other words, if this were another player's superb equipment, forget about it, it would belong to her, Xi Xiao Tian, from then on.

If that were the case, what should he do? Gu Fei was at a loss.

As he pondered, a message came through the mercenary channel: “How are things going for everyone?” Han Jia Gong Zi asked.

“Excellent,” Gu Fei replied.

“What do you mean?” Han Jia Gong Zi asked.

“We can wrap things up!” Gu Fei said.

“Ah!!!!” Everyone was surprised.

“See you at Xiao Lei's Tavern,” Gu Fei dropped the message and stopped replying. Such exciting news was best delivered face-to-face; saying it in the channel wouldn't be as fun.

Xiao Lei's Tavern was closer to the West Gate, so Gu Fei was the first to arrive.

“Hi! Xiao Lei!” After rushing around Yueye City, Gu Fei felt a sense of warmth seeing these familiar faces in Yunduan City.

“Long time no see!” Xiao Lei greeted him with a smile. Because this was an online game, some rules were different from reality. For example, people might visit the tavern several times a day, drinking multiple times, which was very different from real life. So, if someone hadn't been seen for a day, it could be considered “long time no see.”

“How's business lately?” It was rare to have a real person as a waiter; other taverns didn't offer such opportunities for banter.

Xiao Lei smiled. “Same as always.”

“Six drinks,” Gu Fei waved his hand and headed toward their usual booth.

“That's taken,” Xiao Lei called out quickly.

“What?” Gu Fei didn't hear clearly and asked as he continued walking. The tavern was noisy, and it was easy to miss what someone said even at a short distance.

Before Xiao Lei could answer, Gu Fei had already lifted the curtain of the booth.

“Oh… what a coincidence!” Seeing the people inside, Gu Fei greeted them helplessly.

It was the girls from Rebirth Purple Crystal.

Lie Lie sat in the middle, her eyes red, as if she had just been crying. Qiyue and Luoluo were on either side, trying to comfort her. Bing Liuli was also there, sitting alone at the other end, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, looking like she wanted to say something but didn't know how to start. As soon as Gu Fei entered, all four of them looked up.

“You guys chat, I'll find another place,” Gu Fei said, wanting to slip away.

“Don't go!” Qiyue stood up.

“Something up?” Gu Fei feigned ignorance.

“Sit down!” Qiyue said.

Bing Liuli moved inward, making room for Gu Fei.

“Thanks!” Gu Fei smiled. This girl was so nice. Then he looked at Lie Lie, who seemed about to cry again at the sight of Gu Fei's sudden appearance. Her face was full of grievances, enough to squeeze out sour juice.

Although Gu Fei's blame for Lie Lie had greatly decreased after retrieving Frost Memories, that didn't stop Gu Fei from disliking this girl. As he sat down, although he wasn't scowling like he had when facing Lie Lie before, he didn't make any effort to comfort her. He put on a smiling face and looked around as if nothing had happened. Even Bing Liuli next to him felt a little awkward and tugged at Gu Fei's sleeve, giving him a look.

This girl had a good heart! Gu Fei thought, but with her fence-sitting, peacemaking personality, lacking a clear stance, she was always the one who suffered the most when caught in the middle of something like this.

In the spirit of rescuing Bing Liuli, Gu Fei spoke up: “Anyone want something to drink?”

Everyone nearly fainted, waiting so long only to hear Gu Fei say that. Qiyue calmed down; it seemed impossible to expect Gu Fei to take the initiative today. This arduous task could only fall on her, the guild leader.

“You two, what's going on? We're all friends here. If there's something, say it clearly. Don't let things get so tense.” Qiyue's words were very objective, not favoring either side. They represented her stance as guild leader, always treating everyone equally.

Luoluo continued, “Lie Lie is a bit impulsive! But I'm sure she didn't have any bad intentions. If she accidentally offended you, Qianli, or delayed anything important for you, I'll apologize on her behalf!” Luoluo's words were much more skillful than Qiyue's, lowering her own position and apologizing first. At the same time, her tone of voice carried a hint of jest, conveying a message beyond the words to Gu Fei: My apology isn't entirely sincere, and shouldn't you also…

Gu Fei suddenly found it amusing. He suddenly realized that Qiyue and Luoluo, this duo, were somewhat similar to the combination of Sword Demon and Han Jia Gong Zi.

In past games, Sword Demon and Han Jia Gong Zi always had Sword Demon as the leader and Han Jia Gong Zi as the assistant. But based on Gu Fei's understanding of the two, although Sword Demon was the guild leader, most of the decisions and plans were probably made by Han Jia Gong Zi. Han Jia Gong Zi, personality-wise, wasn't very well-liked. It was fine for a few acquaintances to form a small group like their current mercenary group, but if he were to form a large guild, it would probably collapse in a few days.

Conversely, Sword Demon was loyal, generous, and didn't fuss over small things. He was clearly suited to be the core of a group of people, a role he had fulfilled well in Yueye City. When it came to leadership, sometimes charisma was more important than intelligence.

Looking at Qiyue and Luoluo, Gu Fei hadn't yet detected the same obvious charisma in Qiyue as he had in Sword Demon. Although this girl often acted as the guild leader, handling matters fairly, the deliberate nature of this pose was too strong, making it difficult to believe she was being genuine. On the other hand, Gu Fei really thought Luoluo was a formidable character, handling matters appropriately, not showing her emotions easily, and always hitting the nail on the head with her words. She was completely capable of being a guild leader herself.

“Qianli, what do you say?” Qiyue asked again after Gu Fei had been silent for a while.

“Oh, it's nothing, I've already forgiven her,” Gu Fei replied casually.

Even Luoluo almost fainted. Her meaningful banter had been easily defused by Gu Fei. But his method of defusing it didn't require any skill; he just needed to shamelessly play dumb.

At this moment, Gu Fei found it amusing again. Wasn't Lie Lie supposed to be impulsive and volatile? Why was she so silent now, letting Qiyue and Luoluo speak up for her? Tsk, a paper tiger, a paper tiger.

“Since that's the case, Qianli, shouldn't you also apologize? For tripping her on the street.” Qiyue was also helpless.

“Sure, she made the first mistake, she apologizes first,” Gu Fei said.

Lie Lie finally exploded: “Didn't I already apologize?”

Her justified look was truly annoying to see! Gu Fei sighed and sneered, “Can you take some responsibility? Was that you apologizing just now? That was Luoluo speaking for you.”

If Gu Fei's tone hadn't been so disdainful and his words so contemptuous, Lie Lie might not have been so persistent. But ultimately, it was her personality that drove her. She was the type who wouldn't shed tears until she saw the coffin. Ignoring Qiyue and Luoluo's attempts to dissuade her, she shouted, “Don't stop me, I have to ask, what did I do wrong? I went to help you! Is that also wrong?”

Gu Fei understood. So Lie Lie wasn't a paper tiger after all, she had just been holding back because of Qiyue and Luoluo's persuasion. But since things had come to this, Gu Fei didn't back down either, saying calmly, “What did you do wrong? Do you know that guy snatched my friend's superb dagger? I finally waited for him to get his hands on it and get close, but you threw him out! Where am I supposed to find that opportunity again?” Gu Fei didn't say this with much force, after all, Frost Memories had already been retrieved, so he was inwardly bluffing.

These words left Lie Lie speechless. She and Qiyue and Luoluo had witnessed Gu Fei snatching Bu Xiao's dagger empty-handed, and they also knew that Gu Fei was quite capable. The opportunity he spoke of was indeed valid.

“I… I didn't know!” Lie Lie's arrogance disappeared, and she began to defend herself with a grievance.

As long as she wasn't so self-righteous and entitled, she was quite cute! Gu Fei thought as he looked at Lie Lie's frightened and aggrieved appearance.

“Qianli, what happened to that dagger now?” Qiyue asked.

“I don't know!” Gu Fei said. He couldn't say that Frost Memories had already been retrieved. Xi Xiao Tian had tricked it back, and he didn't know if Xi Xiao Tian had any other plans, so carelessly revealing it could bring her trouble.

“In that case, I'll compensate your friend for that dagger on Lie Lie's behalf!” Qiyue said.

Everyone was shocked. Current equipment, as long as it was labeled "superb," was worth at least a thousand gold.

Gu Fei finally understood where Qiyue's charisma as guild leader lay. Just as he was about to say something, the curtain of the booth was suddenly lifted again.

“It's you?” The newcomer and Luoluo said together.

Han Jia Gong Zi.

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Yesterday's burst of energy greatly depleted me… I'll update one chapter today! Sweating~