Chapter 19 My Mom Said

Chapter 19: My Mom Said

Meng Shu dusted himself off, keeping his cool: "Have you been here before?"

Xu Linzhou was still spaced out, staring dumbly around.

"This is..."

Meng Shu took one look at him and knew he hadn't been here, helpfully explaining: "The map says this place is called the Demon Beast Forest. Like the name says, there's a ton of demon beasts here."

"Demon Beast Forest..." Xu Linzhou went pale when he heard that, "Why'd we get teleported here!"

"Is it really that scary?"

"My mom said the Demon Beast Forest is the biggest forest on the continent, full of all kinds of powerful monsters. Unless you're a big shot, you wouldn't even dare go near it!"

Meng Shu nodded, not looking panicked at all: "I see. So how do we get outta here?"

A gust of wind blew by, and Xu Linzhou, like a scared deer, let out a shriek and grabbed Meng Shu's arm tight, "Monsters are coming!"

"Nah, it's not here yet, just the wind."

Meng Shu pushed down on his head, trying to force him to chill out: "Hey, Xu Linzhou, look at me. How do we even get out of here?"

"I, I don't know..." Xu Linzhou burst out crying, "My mom never said anything about that. She didn't want me becoming an adventurer, how the hell would I know! We're both gonna die here!"

"Hey, that's not right."

Meng Shu patted his head, smiling, with a gentle look: "Silly, why would we both die here?"

Xu Linzhou stopped crying, a spark of hope in his eyes: "Can you save me?"

"No."

Xu Linzhou rolled his eyes right away.

Meng Shu gave a faint smile: "But I'm not from this world. I can chant a spell to get home, and next time I teleport, I'll land right on Ling Qingjue's balcony."

Xu Linzhou was floored.

He clung to Meng Shu's arm for dear life, "No, bro, don't ditch me! You can go home, so what do I do?"

"Didn't you say you were tough and not afraid to die?"

"I... I'm scared of pain." Xu Linzhou drooped like a wilted plant, all dejected: "And to come back to life, you gotta find part of your body. If I get eaten by a monster and there's nothing left of me..."

"If you get eaten, you can't come back?" Meng Shu raised an eyebrow, looking surprised.

If being eaten meant no coming back, wouldn't that mess up the rules of this world?

Tears hung on Xu Linzhou's eyelashes. Meng Shu was his only hope now, so he didn't dare talk crap anymore, being super honest: "You can still come back... it's just kinda gross."

Meng Shu thought for a sec, "Don't tell me you gotta go find monster poop?"

If you're eaten, some remnants of the corpse might stay in the animal's excrement.

Xu Linzhou's face went pale and red, shocked by Meng Shu's crude language. After a few seconds of silence, he gritted his teeth and nodded: "Yeah, if a monster eats you, you gotta look for its... feces."

"Oh, I see." Meng Shu's smile grew even brighter, "Then I'll help notify your parents to come collect the remains, and you can be reborn from the poop."

Xu Linzhou hugged his arm even tighter, eyes brimming with tears: "No! You can't abandon me!"

"I can."

Meng Shu remained expressionless, lifting his chin: "I'm going home. You can be the monster's dinner here."

"My great, kind, noble Lord Hero! If you can save me, I'll give you a hundred thousand!" Xu Linzhou howled, tears streaming: "And, and I can tell you what Ling Qingjue likes!"

Meng Shu's heart was already moved by the hundred thousand, but he didn't show it, pretending to hesitate with a raised brow: "What use is knowing what Ling Qingjue likes to me?"

"..."

He lowered his head, looking puzzled: "What he likes isn't important to me. Why do you think that's a bargaining chip? Are you trying to win him over?"

"I..." Xu Linzhou's face flushed red. He awkwardly dropped his head, "Anyway, the laws say he and I are the official couple. If no Lord Hero pursues him, then he and I will end up together in the end."

"Oh? Is that what the laws say?"

"All the romanceable characters in this world have official partners, arranged by the laws. If no suitor appears, once the official partners' feelings align, they can be together."

"So you're saying the suitor steals the love away?"

Meng Shu laughed: "Since you put it that way, how can I ask you what Ling Qingjue likes? That would be stealing your beloved, right? Forget it, I'm going home."

Xu Linzhou nervously twisted his fingers, "It's not exactly stealing... because Ling Qingjue hasn't even acknowledged me yet..."

"Even the official partner gets snubbed?"

"It's just that the laws think we could be a pair, and I really like him too. If he's willing, he'd be my muse."

After a moment's thought, Meng Shu pulled his arm free, "I can stay with you, but after this, I want to compete with you fairly."

Xu Linzhou was dazed, "Compete for what?"

"Ling Qingjue, of course." Meng Shu admitted openly, "If I'd known you were here to steal my target today, I wouldn't have helped you."

"So you do like him!"

"Who wouldn't like a face like that!"

Xu Linzhou was fuming, but he had no ground to curse him. The laws did say they were suited for each other, but not that they were destined.

And they were both classified as "romanceable characters," prioritizing the suitor. Only if all suitors failed could they be together.

Meng Shu said, "So, deal? And you still owe me that hundred thousand."

Xu Linzhou pointed at his nose: "You! Greedy! Lecherous! Taking advantage of someone in need!"

Was he really that transparent?

Damn, I tried so hard to hide that I'm a greedy, lustful guy, and he still saw through me?

Meng Shu rubbed his nose and nodded calmly: "Then I'll go?"

Xu Linzhou hugged him again, pitifully, "Bro, don't go."

Meng Shu let out a low laugh and tapped his head, "Bro's being generous. We'll compete fairly. Just tell me one thing he likes, and in exchange, I'll tell you one too."

"What if we say the same thing?"

“Then I guess I’m just unlucky.”

Meng Shu surveyed his surroundings and walked over to a tree. He broke off a branch as thick as a wrist, roughly trimmed it, and said, “If the monsters we encounter aren’t too tough defensively, I should be able to protect you for a while. But we still need to figure out a way out of here.”

Xu Linzhou looked like he was about to burst into tears again: “You’re going to fight monsters with that thing?”

“What else can I do?” Meng Shu lowered his head with a wry smirk. “Where am I supposed to find a sword?”

He swung the branch—cutting through the air with a sharp whoosh.

It felt solid in his hand—good enough to handle a small monster.

“If you’ve got time to complain about my weapon, you’d better think about what else your mother taught you—like how to get out of the Monster Forest.”