I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

Chapter 640, pages 2.3-23: Guess Who I Am

"Why isn't the one with black petals called 'dirt'?" Shui Qi asked, puzzled.

"Do you know what color ordinary blood is?" Daolin asked.

Shui Qi sighed softly and asked in return, "What do you think?" She felt like she was asking an idiot question.

Dao Lin raised an eyebrow and said matter-of-factly, "So it won't be called 'dirt'."

Shui Qi suddenly realized, "I see." Because ordinary people's blood is red, 'black filth' is the most common color in this world. That's why they don't call it 'filth,' because it's not dirty.

"Because of this way of blooming, florists in the market will not have 'Mugu'. Of course, there is another reason, this 'black Mugu' represents their great king. So they do not feel that dyeing 'Mugu' black is a bad thing, but rather feel happy that they can be close to the king."

Dao Lin paused for a moment, then said, "Although that's the case, there's one thing I don't quite understand. According to the historical records I've seen, the king's blood can only produce 'white kimono,' but the king's name is an alternate name for 'black kimono.' I just can't figure that out."

"The creator of this world really has a wicked sense of humor," Daolin sighed helplessly.

Shui Qi: "..." No, this is already considered extremely bad. For some reason, I feel like I've heard the nickname "Black Kimono" somewhere before, and it sounds somewhat familiar.

“Olicia?” Shui Qi asked in confusion.

"That's what I thought too, but unfortunately, Olivia and Wugou are not related. They're probably just similar-sounding names." Daolin took out a scalpel and easily sliced ​​open the rabbit's fur.

"Although this way of blooming seems like a playful act full of malice, it is quite effective. The red color is not just a simple dye; it actually absorbs all the blood of the creature. This way, when processing the prey, there is no need to worry about blood splattering. You just have to insert the heart while the prey is still alive."

As he spoke, Daolin cut the rabbit meat into pieces and washed them in the snow water. Then he put them into a clean stove, placed it on the fire, and began to cook them.

Shui Qi lay on the stone bed covered with a blanket, quietly looking at the stone wall, falling into silence.

With her icy blue eyes, she glanced at Shui Qi's shivering back and sighed softly. Their relationship wasn't exactly good to begin with, or rather, for a period of time it could be described as terrible.

Even he had never imagined that one day he would be living peacefully with him in a cave, without any testing or deception. Under normal circumstances, he probably wouldn't have even considered it; how could he possibly get along with Shui Qi? No matter how you think about it, it seems incredibly ironic.

"Daolin." Shui Qi called out in a muffled voice, lying on the stone bed with his back to Daolin.

"Hmm?" Dao Lin paused slightly while handling the plants, but did not look up and simply responded casually.

"Thank you," Shui Qi said softly, then pulled the blanket over her head.

Dao Lin paused for a moment, then chuckled, "What you just said makes me feel for the first time that saving you wasn't a mistake. After all, when I first found you, I was thinking of just leaving you there to die. But then I realized... I actually needed your abilities, so I saved you as a matter of course."

Shui Qi didn't speak, but her grip on the blanket tightened slightly. "Shui Qi, have you ever considered the possibility that there might be a moment of trust between us?" Dao Lin tossed the prepared plants into the pot, stirred them a few times with a spoon, and quietly watched the flickering flames with his icy blue eyes, asking softly.

Shui Qi remained silent, buried in the blanket.

"To be honest, even I never thought about truly coexisting peacefully with you, let alone trusting you." Dao Lin reached out and put the lid on the pot, then walked out.

The cave fell silent again, with only the crackling sound of burning firewood.

Shui Qi lay buried in the blanket, his eyes fixed, empty and blank, as if lost in thought. After a long while, he slowly closed his eyes and murmured an "Mmm" as a response to Dao Lin's words.

Actually, he had thought about it.

When he first met Dao Lin, he had considered joining the Strategist Guild. Joining the Strategist Guild meant becoming teammates, and he had even dared to dream of tackling dungeons with Dao Lin, since Dao Lin was a truly reliable and trustworthy person, something he had genuinely hoped for.

But it's a pity...

In the end, it was nothing but wishful thinking.

Starting with the September instance, his relationship with Dao Lin plummeted to rock bottom. While it wouldn't be to the point where he wanted to kill him outside the instance, he at least didn't want to see him at all.

Later, he met Bertias and couldn't help but associate him with Daolin. He went too far and ended up driving Daolin away.

Although the damage to the prefrontal cortex of the brain may have contributed to the problem, Shui Qi was unwilling to put all the blame on it, as he felt that would be too cunning.

Making a mistake is making a mistake; there's no point in trying to cover it up with anything else—it's just self-deception.

However, this only applies to the matter of driving away Bertias. In fact, he didn't regret it much afterward, since Bertias was indeed a threat. It can only be said that if used well, he can be an ally; if used poorly, it could lead to something even more terrible than what happened to Daolin. He was truly a double-edged sword.

"I've thought about it, Shui Qi, let's coexist peacefully. Although it doesn't have to be to the point of mutual trust, at least let's stop fighting amongst ourselves." Dao Lin slowly walked in, placed two cups in front of the fire, and sat down gently, speaking softly.

"I've been thinking about this very seriously. Whether now or in the future, let's try to coexist peacefully. At least in terms of the strength of our future enemies, it doesn't support us continuing to fight amongst ourselves; it would be completely detrimental to us. If we're scattered and disunited, the final result will only be total annihilation. I think you wouldn't want that either."

Daolin lifted the lid, stirred the broth with a spoon, and then poured in a small bag of washed rice.

Receiving no reply from Shui Qi, he glanced back at the stone bed and gave a helpless, bitter laugh. "Already asleep? Oh well, he's been working so hard, he should get some rest before this pot of food is finished cooking..."

He glanced down at the scalpel in his hand, his icy blue eyes flashing with complex emotions, but in the end, they only turned into a sigh.

(End of this chapter)