TL : Snowy Codex
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Shang Ke knew that, although they let him journey with them, they did not completely trust him. They asked him many questions on the way regarding the attack's specifics. Shang Ke randomly weaved a story together and dismissed it, since they didn't have a way of investigating it anyway.
When night fell, Gwyn and his students made camp near a water source and began to start a fire and cook. Shang Ke and Pupu sat nearby, silently watching.
At this time, Youri walked over and handed Shang Ke a set of clothes, smiling as he told him, "Your body is stained with blood, so you can go wash up by the river and change into these clean clothes." He then looked to Pupu, a bit awkward as he continued, "We don't have any children's clothes, so I'm afraid we can only let her wear some adult's clothes for now."
"Thank you." Shang Ke took the clothes Youri gave him and led Pupu to the river.
He first placed the new clothes on a clean stone, before taking off his black robes. Long black hair was scattered like a waterfall over his shoulders, and hung to his ankles.
Pupu followed his model, and also took off the worn out clothes on her body.
Shang Ke looked down at Pupu, who was only wearing a small undercloth.
Pupu also raised her head to look at Shang Ke and his long, drifting hair.
The two faced each other for a while, and then Shang Ke asked, "Are you afraid of the cold?"
Pupu's little head shook from left to right.
"Then come here." Shang Ke lifted his hair and casually made a braid, laying it loosely over his chest. He then crouched by the riverbank and gestured towards her, soaking his black robes and starting to carefully wipe her face and body.
In the first world, Ravel had also taken care of him like this, so he had naturally became familiar with it after seeing it so much.
Pupu looked up, her half lidded eyes sneaking glances at Shang Ke.
When Shang Ke saw, he suddenly made a face at her.
Pupu stared blankly before starting to giggle, her hair shaking from her laughter. Her tinkling laughter was like the sound of an oriole, causing the quiet forest to become more spirited.
Hearing the laugher, the group of people who were quietly discussing Shang Ke all turned their heads to the river bank.
The small river looked like a golden ribbon under the sunset, with beautiful flickering reflections of light. A long-haired man was half crouching, lightly pulling on a small girl's hand. His hair blocked their view of his face, but his bare neck and upper body were already enough for everyone to have a very high evaluation of his appearance.
At this moment, the little girl reached out and carefully helped Shang Ke raise his falling hair.
Shang Ke raised his head, revealing an exceptionally handsome face. His face held almost no blemishes, as if he had been sculpted by an artist. His pair of pitch black eyes resembled the clear, gleaming little river under the dusky light, glimmering with a soft and gentle light.
A single thought emerged in everyone's mind: It was no wonder he was caught by the slave traders, his appearance was simply drawing attention from criminals!
Shang Ke's attractiveness was greatly improved after experiencing two different worlds. With the addition of the Perfect Expression Package's amplification, his beauty was even further heightened.
After they finished washing up, Shang Ke helped Pupu put on a white robe. The robe was very big, and its hem almost dragged on the ground. He had no choice but to let her hold it in her hand, and he would later ask one of the others for a pair of scissors or a dagger so he could cut a bit off.
After tidying up Pupu, Shang Ke washed himself and put on the clean clothes. His set of long robes was ashy blue, with a silver border. It had a simple style, and on his waist was a handmade rope to tie it together.
Shang Ke's hair wasn't dry yet and it hung damply behind him, soaking the back of his robes.
However, Pupu's hair had been carefully wiped by Shang Ke. It was already half dried and lazily dangled by her face.
After the bloodstains were washed away, they could see that Pupu's small face, although thin, had a pair of bright eyes and delicate features. She had reddish brown hair that slightly curled and fell to her shoulders. Her two hands carried her overly large robe, and with her serious expression the scene was very adorable.
The big and small ones standing together easily drew everyone's stunned gazes.
Shang Ke led Pupu back to the camp and politely thanked Youri once more. The other repeatedly waved his hand, a trace of bashfulness flashing through his expression.
If they were still wary of Shang Ke before, then after seeing his true appearance, no one could muster any more suspicions.
So to speak, this was also a world where you base things off appearances...
Shang Ke smoothly borrowed a dagger and helped cut off more than half of Pupu's robe, leaving it at knee length.
However, seeing how the robe was still very loose, Shang Ke thought a bit before taking off his waist rope, carefully undoing it and dividing it into four strings. He then took two of them and wrapped one around each of their waists.
Following that, he picked up another strand, his finger nimbly winding as he began to weave.
Everyone was originally preparing the meal, but they were all unconsciously attracted to him, or rather, their attention was on his fingers. From within the ashy blue robes, ten slender and fair fingers interweaved and danced, like he was playing an instrument, full of rhythm.
His expression was very focused while his gaze was gentle, and it brought about a tranquil and serene feeling like a relaxed song.
In the blink of an eye, the string within his hand had been turned into a pretty
Shang Ke placed the rhombus knot on Pupu's waist, making her unpresentable clothing a bit more fun.
Following that, he weaved another one for himself and also placed it on his waist.
Pupu rubbed the knot on her waist, before looking at the one on Shang Ke's waist. She suddenly revealed a big smile and threw herself into his embrace, happily calling out, "Daddy!"
Shang Ke: "......"
You were swindled with just a knot? Child, people's hearts are sinister, you can't be so lacking in vigilance!
"So you guys were father and daughter?" The red-haired girl Vadula ran an amazed gaze across their figures.
Shang Ke faintly smiled and did not say anything. Based on the information from the System, he knew that this little girl no longer had any family. Because she was saved by Kaiser, she was very intimate with him, and later became one of his great helpers.
Did this mean that he stole one of the main character's pieces? Shang Ke glanced over at where Kaiser was sitting not too far from them, and the other just so happened to look toward him as well. Their lines of sight met in the air.
Kaiser smiled at him, boyishly winking his left eye at him.
Shang Ke: "......"
He was originally contemplating whether he, Ravel, and Jian Chenfeng were the same person, but from the looks of it, his personality was completely different!
Kaiser probably wasn't even twenty right now, and youthfully handsome. His brows were slightly raised, like a playful fox.
"Shang Ke, this is for you." Youri gave Shang Ke a roasted bread of some sort.
"Thank you." Shang Ke took the bread, while pondering in his heart if he should give Youri some kind of compensation. After all, he was wearing his clothes and eating his food.
When he was washing himself, he had found a money bag on his body. Inside was a dozen of gold coins, which should be enough.
As a great villain, Osari normally smashed, fought, and killed people, so he had quite a bit of property saved up. However, it was all hidden by him in his old lair, so he temporarily couldn't access it.
Shang Ke pulled apart the block-like bread and blew on it before giving a chunk to Pupu.
Pupu held the bread, following after Shang Ke's example and blowing on it before taking a large bite. Her cheeks immediately puffed up like a steam bun.
Soon after, she saw how Shang Ke was eating leisurely, and immediately felt that the way she was eating wasn't right. She immediately also slowed down and began to eat with small bites.
The two of them sat together, eating a few bites of bread and then having a drink of water. Their actions were identical.
"Pft." Youri and the others couldn't help laughing. This pair of father and daughter were too funny.
Kaiser's fox-like smile also became more amiable and fond.
They all couldn't help but secretly rejoice that the group of slave traffickers did not succeed. Otherwise, this pair of father and daughter would be treated like playthings by those dirty nobles. Who knew how much torment and disrespect would they suffer?
They were like a unique scenery, where just a look would cause people to feel happy.
At night, Gwyn gave them a tent and warned them to rest well. After experiencing unforeseen events during the daytime, they were certainly all quite tired.
Shang Ke lay down on a blanket, and Pupu also lay on his chest, leaning her head against him. Her dark eyes stared unblinkingly at him.
"What are you looking at? Close your eyes and sleep," Shang Ke said as he lightly poked her forehead with a finger.
Pupu immediately closed her eyes, but after a moment, she sneakily opened them again. When she saw that Shang Ke had already closed his eyes, she shifted a bit, finding a more comfortable position in the crook of Shang Ke's arm before falling asleep...
Kaiser lightly replaced the tent corner back down, retracting his peeping gaze. That pair of father and daughter's sleeping appearance was like a beautiful drawing, deeply engraving itself in his mind.
He was an orphan and had always only observed such moments fleetingly during his foster life, so he never enjoyed paternal love.
He felt that if his biological father was still alive, then he should also be a gentle person like Shang Ke.
"Teacher, are we going to send them to Watcher City and leave them to their own devices?" Youri quietly asked.
Gwyn answered, "Watcher City will arrange a temporary residence for them, so you don't need to worry."
"They are so weak, what if they are caught and sold again?"
"Then what do you want to do?" Gwyn glanced at him.
Youri laughed mischievously, and suggested, "Teacher, why don't we bring them back to the imperial capital?"
"You're going to raise them after we bring them back?" Gwyn snapped back.
"I completely can!" Youri's family background was pretty good, a small noble family of the Holy Empire. Although their position fell quite a distance from being a true great family, they did not have to worry about food and clothing, and raising an additional two people was no problem at all.
Gwyn snorted as he spoke, "It's best to forget it. If you are targeted by one of the other nobles, can your family protect them?"
Youri's face went stiff, his head drooping as he no longer said a word.
"Let them live with me," Kaiser suddenly spoke.
The others all looked at him in surprise.
Although Kaiser usually treated people kindly, he rarely took the initiative to be intimate with others. They didn't expect that he would be willing to let that father and daughter pair live in his home.
Kaiser lived alone in the outskirts of the imperial capital. The environment was quiet and secluded, and it was a rather peaceful place to live.
Gwyn thought about it for a moment before nodding and saying, "We can ask Shang Ke tomorrow, and see if he's willing to."
Kaiser's face smoothed out, and he gracefully walked away to start his night vigil.
Youri indignantly grumbled a bit.
Vadula's eyes carried a bit of displeasure.
As for Doru, Amy, and Fred, they were all people of few words, and so they did not voice any other opinions about the suggestion.