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Chapter 81: Nighttime Talk beneath the Stars

When Ashura saw the girl’s stunning face, lust stirred in him, and he crawled over to sit right next to her, but Clara blushed and shoved him hard.

Ashura shamelessly said, “Beauty, what’s on your mind? Did your conscience kick in and you want to give back those 360 credits?”

Clara swung her tiny fists and punched him a few times, then snorted, “Keep dreaming, I just think your tree hollow is interesting and the view is nice, so I came to sit for a bit!”

Ashura curled his lip and said, “Boring. You stay here and watch the stars, I’ll go sleep in your tent!”

Clara pinched the rising Ashura hard, fell silent for a moment, and admitted shyly, “Actually I have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds, so I came over to watch the stars from here.”

Ashura nodded knowingly and said, “That means you lack a sense of security, huh? You came here to feel safe with me?”

Clara’s face flushed; she muttered, “Don’t flatter yourself,” and buried her face between her knees.

Ashura lay down beside her and said slowly, “Lie down and look at the sky too; if you can’t sleep in the future, just count the stars, and you’ll doze off before you know it.”

“Look at this sea of stars… isn’t it as dazzling as I am?”

Clara lifted her head and laughed, “You’re truly shameless!”

Ashura took no offense, patted the dry reeds beside him, and said, “Lie down and tell me whether the sky looks better than I do.”

Clara hesitated for a long while with her cheeks red, then bit her lip and lay down on one side, not daring to look at the boy beside her.

Ashura rested his hands behind his head and leisurely spoke of childhood memories and future dreams; Clara listened intently, occasionally chuckling and chiming in.

Under the brilliant night sky, the pair lay in the tree hollow, sharing memories of the past and hopes for the future; the scene was peaceful and beautiful.

They talked until late into the night, and Ashura actually fell asleep; when he woke at dawn, the girl beside him was gone.

It felt as though he had had a sweet dream, yet he had gained nothing from it, so he grumbled a bit and climbed out of the hollow.

The camp gradually grew lively as the students crawled out of their tents to wash up for departure, some still chatting about how delicious last night’s roast had been and guessing what treats awaited them tonight.

Ashura washed his face at the lake, stretched broadly, then turned and saw the silver-haired Clara approaching with a towel, apparently also seeking to freshen up.

Ashura greeted her boisterously and stood by watching her wash, secretly thinking, ‘You crawled into my hollow last night, so I’ll crawl into your tent tonight.’

Clara tried to look calm, but being stared at by this lecher made her uneasy; she left the water on her face, shot him a feigned glare, and ran back to her tent.

Ashura gave a couple of lewd chuckles and sauntered off to find his team; with no tent to pack, he was easily the most relaxed person in camp.

After dilly-dallying for an hour, the students finally packed up and formed ranks; the instructors offered no guidance, leaving everything to the students.

Today’s trek was rougher than yesterday’s; the deeper they went, the harder the path became, and moving a group of over 100 people was even harder.

Interestingly, whenever the team killed a Tier-2 or Tier-3 Beast, someone would drag it to Ashura and ask whether it would taste good.

Ashura never refused; if the Beast was suitable for roasting, he stored it in his storage belt, planning to show off his cooking skills again that night.

He had already decided to roast and sell the meat alone tonight; he’d rather work himself to death than let those four wicked women exploit him again.

During the march a Warrior at the front was bitten on the left cheek by a venomous insect; his face swelled like a steamed bun, and his classmates frantically smeared all kinds of antidotes on him, yet he still writhed on the ground in pain.

Ashura could not bear it anymore, scraped some tree sap from a nearby trunk, and applied it to the injured student’s cheek; within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea the swelling subsided visibly.

Even Instructor Enge looked at Ashura in surprise; he had not expected this unruly boy to possess such knowledge.

Ashura had merely used medical skills learned from his grandfather; after all, the injured student had paid 50 credits for tonight’s roast, and if his customer’s face stayed swollen, how could he eat or, worse, might ask for a refund?

Thus, without further incident, the group reached the second campsite a little later than the previous day; it was on a mountaintop with sparse trees, wide visibility, and easy defense.

As soon as they arrived, Ashura ignored the question of where he would sleep, slipped into a hidden spot, and began processing the night’s barbecue ingredients.

But before he could light the fire, he turned around and saw the four beauties watching him with radiant smiles, and a wave of indignation surged inside him.

Lan Yu giggled and said, “We’re here to help. We’re a team, so just tell us what to do… why tire yourself out?”

Ashura tilted his head helplessly toward the sky, fighting back tears… this was just bullying…

In the end, under their strong-arm tactics, the barbecue sale was completed, and the 2 000 credits he had collected the night before were once again split among the four; Ashura dared not voice his anger.

Tonight’s roast was equally praised, but only a little over 800 credits were reserved for tomorrow.

Ashura thought for a moment and realized that if they kept eating grilled meat, the students would lose interest; no matter how tasty, constant barbecue would grow cloying, especially for girls who already disliked greasy food.

Besides, his barbecue was not cheap, and many people were protective of their credits.

Ashura could not allow his credit flow to dry up, so his eyes lit up with an idea and he began looking for a large soup pot to borrow.

After asking around he found no one had a pot; none of the students had ever thought of cooking for themselves, so no one had brought cookware.

Ashura had not packed one either, since his space belt was too small, and he was scratching his head in anxiety.

Clara, cheeks crimson, dragged him aside, handed him an ornate, oversized silver basin, and asked, “Will this do?”

Overjoyed, Ashura almost hugged and kissed her; hoisting the basin, he sprinted to the camp center and shouted, “No more barbecue tomorrow… stewed meat instead, and it’ll be even better!”

The students were intrigued and quickly placed orders for the stew; Ashura stared at the 1 000 credits he had just collected and grinned foolishly.

Clara opened her mouth several times, blushing, yet said nothing in the end.

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