Chapter 7 : Hmm, is it possible to reconcile?

“We’ve got him, boss!”

“It looks like a woman!”

“Nonsense, why would the boss need to capture a male?”

“Exactly, it would be better to just kill them on the spot.”

“Yeah, that seems to be true.”

“I knew keeping this woman around would be useful. Heh heh, hahahahaha—”

Five men, of varying heights and builds but all dressed in the same style of thugs and hooligans, and estimated to be around middle age, quickly approached Qianyu.

Her short hair, slicked back and filthy with dirt and grime, was casually combed to one side. Strips of cloth torn from her clothes were tied around her forehead or neck as headscarves. She wore tattered, scratched clothing, and dark, cracked skin was visible through the torn fibers.

Is it a stereotype or environmental influence? The above description of their appearance applies to any of these five individuals. More than their clothing and appearance, their malnourished, gaunt, and sharply defined faces are far more difficult to identify.

It’s like staring intently at someone’s face, then looking away for a few seconds and forgetting what they look like. There are no memorable features.

Several of them wore silver and gold jewelry, which, without a doubt, had been stolen from passing travelers and vendors. This thirst for money suggests they had committed numerous heinous crimes. These jewels, ironically, served as symbols of their crimes, worn on their bodies.

“Tsk, upon closer inspection, this woman doesn’t seem to have much money.”

“They were dressed even more miserably than us. They looked like they were refugees.”

“Forget about money. Why do you look so sickly? Could you have an infectious disease?”

“Hey! It’s better to stay away, boss. I don’t want to end up like her.”

“Hey, little girl. Are you still alive?”

“——”

Faced with the aggressive greeting, Qianyu neither responded nor resisted. She simply kept her head down, motionless.

Aside from the fact that it was unnecessary, she was actually more powerless. It was unlikely that she could break free from the binding magic in front of everyone by her own strength alone.

The task entrusted to us here is now complete.

“Uh, deaf?”

“I’m asking you a question, didn’t you hear me?!”

To verify his guess, one of the thugs walked up to Qianyu and kicked her hard.

However, before he could even touch Qianyu, his feet were blocked by a nearly transparent, glass-like barrier. It was a barrier created by binding magic—

The impact of the kicks still caused violent shaking. Qianyu felt as if she were on a swaying log bridge; if she didn’t concentrate and maintain her balance in time, she would probably stumble and fall soon.

“Enough. Get out of my way, all of you. Let me handle this.”

As soon as the slightly hoarse, somewhat slurred voice finished speaking, the four thugs at the front hurriedly made way for each other and moved to the sides.

Then, stepping out from the center was a burly man with a large head and ears. Compared to the other four, he was incredibly greasy, and his jewelry was almost overflowing.

(In a game, it would at least be a mini-boss.)

Qianyu, silently criticizing him internally, had been paying attention to this person from the very beginning. Of course, she wasn’t referring to any strange or unusual fetish. Rather, it was because his right hand, covered in wrinkles and fat, was wrapped in several layers of iron chains, the other end of which was attached to a young girl.

Qianyu’s refugee attire was a superficial disguise; what lay before her was a deep-seated, bone-deep suffering. Bruises and septicemia were visible everywhere on her nearly sickly, bloodless skin, and through a layer as thin as a cicada’s wing, the muscles and tendons beneath were clearly visible.

The numerous, shocking wounds resembled blood-red thorns crawling across her bare, withered limbs. Her hair was haphazardly knotted, glued together in black clumps, fixed to her head. Her features were expressionless, her eyes blank, like those of a blind woman.

What she was wearing couldn’t really be called clothes; it was more like a pile of scrap fabric covered in mud and grime, completely covering her except for her limbs and face.

The metal collar around her neck, which was at least as thick as an adult man’s thigh, was probably more valuable than all of her clothes combined.

“Hey, break the spell for me.”

The man, whom Qianyu would tentatively call “fat pig,” vigorously shook the clanging iron chain in his hand, urging the girl beside him, whose body was swaying from the whipping, to hurry up.

“——”

“Hurry up! This is called playing the long game. Don’t think I’m holding back from targeting you for no reason!”

Seeing that the other party remained unmoved, the impatient fat pig punched the girl in the head. He was practically a violent maniac.

“Goo-ooh”.

The fist, accompanied by a painful groan, contorted the girl’s expression. Forced to act, she raised her right hand to dispel the binding magic cast on Qianyu. The transparent barrier gradually cracked and disappeared.

Having regained her personal freedom, Qianyu is now completely exposed to danger.

“You should have listened to me from the beginning! You never learn your lesson, huh!”

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, the fat pig still had no intention of letting her go—he continued to tighten the iron chain wrapped around her hands, and the collar on the other side also tightened and got stuck tightly around her neck.

“——”

The girl’s face turned ashen from suffocation, and she stuck out her tongue in an attempt to get some air. Her thin chest suddenly contracted, and her hands instinctively gripped the collar, trying to break free.

Just as the fat pig was about to hang the girl alive to torture her…

“Stop, stop!?”

Unable to bear watching any longer, and fearing the girl might lose her precious life, Qianyu, who had unconsciously forgotten her mission, quickly shouted to stop them.

“Forehead.”

Because of the excessive force, the hood on his head fell off, revealing his true face, which had not been embellished at all.

That is definitely not the spirit and state of mind that refugees possess.

Complete disguise magic requires more time and preparation, and the latter is clearly more suitable for the current situation than quick disguise by changing clothes.

Of course, this is on the premise that it will not be exposed.

“You rascal.”

“Who sent you?!”

Upon seeing Qianyu’s face, the thugs quickly realized something was wrong and drew short knives and long clubs from their pockets, pointing them menacingly at her. It was too late to try and deceive them.

“I actually got lost in this area—you probably won’t believe me.”

“Nonsense, who would wander into the mountains if they got lost?”

Do you think we’re fools?!

“Shut up, all of you! Get rid of her now, before her companions arrive—”

“Yes, yes!”

“Grab her!”

Fat Pig shouted, bringing the panicked thugs back to their senses. Realizing that their most important goal was to silence Qianyu, they pounced on her like wolves.

One against five is not an unusual story in another world. But for Qianyu, who is powerless to even kill a chicken, it’s really a stretch…

“Go to hell!”

Seeing that a single blow would knock her unconscious, and that a club at least half a meter thick was about to smash into her head, all Qianyu could do was cover her head with her hands and immediately crouch down.

Waiting for death and the endless darkness to arrive.