Chapter 24: Edward’s Worries
This time, everyone really scattered, leaving Xu Xiaofeng standing there, feeling quite pleased with herself.
These walking ATMs were all ripe for the picking!
However, she hadn’t been happy for long when a thunderous voice cut through her delightful fantasies.
“Stinky girl, why are you back in the city so late?”
The voice was deep as a thunderclap, exuding an unstoppable aura.
Xu Xiaofeng jumped in shock, slowly turning around to see the person. She then patted her flat chest, letting out a relieved sigh.
“Oh, it’s just Uncle Edward. I thought it was the city lord!”
Edward gave her a sideways glance, his tone flat as a pancake. “What? Have you done something wrong?”
“Of course not! Uncle, you should know me by now; I’ve always been a good girl.” Xu Xiaofeng stepped forward, attempting to take hold of his sleeve.
But Edward sidestepped her. “Oh really? You’re such a good girl that you ran outside the city to watch disaster beasts!”
“Uh… I was just curious! If I’ve never seen it, I wanted to take a look!” Little Loli felt a bit guilty, sneaking a glance at Edward but unable to discern his expression. “I stayed really far away, and in the end, I didn’t see anything.”
“Oh? So you were just standing there for almost three hours?”
“Well… If I said I fell asleep watching, would you believe me?”
Thwack!
Edward lightly whacked her on the forehead. “You talk nonsense!”
“Ow! Be gentle, Uncle!”
Xu Xiaofeng held her head, teary-eyed and looking pitifully at Edward, making him feel slightly uncomfortable.
He finally sighed heavily, ruffling Little Loli’s hair. “Alright, alright, stop pretending. That little whack was just a warning. Don’t do this again; it’s really worrisome.”
“Mm-hmm, I got it!”
The neighbors in the city were really nice to her, but the only problem was they always treated her like a child.
Emmm… even if I appear to be a child, inside I’m an adult! That’s the principle; it can’t get mixed up!
“Since you were watching for so long, you should know what that huge bang at the end was.”
“Ah?”
Edward looked at her skeptically. “Weren’t you there the whole time? Did you really fall asleep?”
That bang was so loud that even the Falling Leaf City five kilometers away could hear it!
“Oh! Right! Suddenly something exploded, and all those outsiders and BO… disaster beasts vanished.”
“So you have no idea what it was?”
“I was hiding way too far away to see anything! If you want to know, I can ask the outsiders for you tomorrow.”
“Sounds good, keep an eye out.” Edward nodded, then suddenly seemed to remember something. “By the way, I heard you were selling those… what were they called? River eggs?”
“Uh…” Xu Xiaofeng shivered, her brain finally entering recovery mode before it crashed. “Oh! Uncle means quail eggs, right?”
She reached into her small bamboo basket and pulled out a quail egg.
“This?”
“Yeah, that’s a quail egg! About the size of a walnut and super tasty!”
Edward rolled his eyes at her. “That’s just a quail egg.”
“Hehe, Uncle, you know! Those outsiders love things with a story. A quail egg sounds boring, so I gave it a fancy name, and the outsiders find it interesting!”
“You, you!” Edward gave her another light pat on the head. “Why are you so crafty with this nonsense?”
But he added, “Though it’s great for dealing with outsiders.”
“Right? Right? Uncle agrees too!”
“They have too many outsiders around. We need to figure something out; it could lead to trouble.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Xu Xiaofeng took a deep breath, feeling that the matter was smoothly swept under the rug.
“Okay, Uncle, it’s getting late. I should go home and sleep.”
Taking the chance, she tried to sneak away, but Edward blocked her path.
“Things in the city are chaotic, and it’s even murkier outside. Don’t leave the city anymore. Also, it’s best not to live alone; come stay at my place.”
“Eh? That… doesn’t seem appropriate. Uncle and Auntie are probably busy, right? I shouldn’t interrupt.”
“What are you talking about? We all agreed, and it’s unsafe for a little kid to live alone. She’s worried about you too. It’s settled!”
“No way!” Xu Xiaofeng firmly refused.
There was no way she was staying at someone else’s house. She still needed to log off; she couldn’t stay online 24/7. If something happened in the game while she logged off, who knew what could happen?
“Why not?” Edward frowned. He didn’t expect the little girl to react so strongly.
Xu Xiaofeng was stumped for a good counter-argument.
If she saw a little loli living alone, she’d do everything to take her home. It’s a sentiment many would share, right?
Don’t get the wrong idea; I really just care about her safety, nothing more!
“I’m just fine living alone, why should I go to someone else’s house?”
“Stop throwing a tantrum; the situation is really serious now. Disaster beasts have appeared, and things might get worse.”
She should really be throwing a tantrum! Xu Xiaofeng thought.
“Uncle, do you think I’m too unruly, so you want to keep an eye on me?”
“Uh… no, I…”
“Alright, Uncle, don’t say anymore. I know I might be a bit troublesome, but I’m grown up now. I should handle my own affairs. What gives you the right to micromanage me?”
Dear main character, there’s more to this chapter. Click the next page to continue reading; it gets even more exciting!
What right? That question left Edward speechless.
Neighbor? Just a neighbor, can’t really call it a right. Uncle? Just what she called him.
“I taught you a very important skill, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Forget it, never mind.” Edward shook his head. “Since you don’t want to, we’ll drop it. Go home and rest.”
Hearing this, Xu Xiaofeng truly felt relaxed.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that today Edward was acting a bit strange; he seemed unusually concerned about her compared to usual.
Thinking of this, she had a brainwave.
“Uncle! Since there’s trouble in Falling Leaf City, I should go to the Imperial Capital!”
“You want to go to the Imperial Capital?” Edward frowned but quickly relaxed again.
Going to the Imperial Capital sounds good, safer than being here.
“Yeah, yeah! I’ve always wanted to see the big city. But I’m not familiar with the place, so I wanted to ask if you could help me out.”
“Sure, when do you plan to go? I’ll write you a letter of introduction.”
“Probably in five or six days. I’ll go check it out, prepare a bit, and then just move over there.”
“Sounds good.”
“Thank you, Uncle!”
Xu Xiaofeng planted a kiss on Edward’s hand and then happily bounded off home.
Edward looked at her petite figure, shaking his head helplessly.
“Going to the Imperial Capital is fine, at least it’s peaceful.”
What Edward didn’t know was that once these outsiders reached Bronze Level, they would all flood into the Imperial Capital. By the time he found out, he would definitely smack himself hard!
