Chapter 567

Chapter 189: Determination Part 1

“Hey, Sister Hill, you asked me to rush back to the village and keep watch that night. You said if anything happened, we should quickly gather everyone and hide in the back mountain. You know, such a big thing, how could you forget?”

In a simple wooden shack not too far from the village in the west, Ryan, a young villager boy, rolled up his pants and squatted down. While using a stick to poke at the fire for boiling water, he spoke casually to the silent girl sitting next to the fire.

“The moment you mentioned it that night, I rushed back immediately, didn’t sleep, climbed up a tree at the village entrance to keep watch. Soon after, it seemed like there was a fire, and the explosion sounded like thunder, scaring me so much I nearly fell off the tree. I realized something was wrong and hurriedly ran back to wake everyone.”

The iron pot on the fire rack made a bubbling sound. Ryan put down the stick, lifted the lid of the pot, and once the steam had cleared, he turned around, took a wooden cup from the table, filled it with hot water, and smiled as he handed it to the girl. “Here, drink some water.”

He then realized something and his face flushed slightly. He quickly explained, “The cup is mine, but I washed it by the stream this morning. I haven’t used it since. It’s clean.”

As he spoke, the girl took the cup from him, held it with her small hands, blew on it lightly, and took a sip.

“Be careful, it’s hot.”

Ryan couldn’t help but remind her, his smile somewhat tense.

He sat down on a low stool beside her and watched her quietly drinking water. She had just washed her face hastily by the stream; her forehead was still damp, her hair softly sticking to her forehead. Her thin, tender lips rested on the rim of the cup, her cheeks puffed out as she blew air, her curled eyelashes blinked occasionally, and there was still a hint of redness from crying around her eyes.

Her skin was too delicate; even though she had stopped crying, the redness hadn’t completely faded yet, making her look pitiful. Ryan felt his heart tremble at the sight, but he didn’t dare look any longer, feeling somewhat awkward. He turned his head and started rubbing his hands, clearing his throat after a while, then continued where he left off.

“Cough, well, that night, I went door-to-door knocking, telling them the village might be in danger and they should all hide in the back mountain.”

As he spoke, Ryan couldn’t help but glance at the girl again.

“At first, they didn’t believe me or listen to me. Many didn’t see the flames, only heard the noise and thought it wasn’t a big deal. There was no need to make such a fuss. So, I had to bring out Grandma Claire and show them the handkerchief you gave me. But the moment they heard it was Sister Hill who said it, they believed instantly!”

“We left in a hurry later, many things were left behind, like warm clothes, sleeping bags, traps, axes for cutting wood, and canned food. Someone wanted to eat green fish cans, and there weren’t enough fire racks. Luckily, I and Uncle Jim came back to the village today to take some supplies and check the situation. We didn’t expect to meet you…”

As he spoke, Ryan realized he was rambling, as if trying to fill the silence.

Actually, he wanted to claim credit for his efforts because he had always given the villagers a bad impression. That night, it was really hard to get them to believe him. For example, he rushed to knock on the door of the hot-tempered hunter at the western entrance of the village, which happened to interrupt his late-night activities with his wife. He was chased from the west side of the village all the way to the north, no matter how he tried to explain. If Grandma Claire hadn’t shown up in time, he would have definitely been beaten up.

However, when it came to talking about these things, Ryan found it difficult to do so in front of Sister Hill. In his heart, a girl like Sister Hill, so pure and beautiful, must have thoughts as clear as white paper, perhaps even unaware of what late-night activities meant.

Moreover, seeing her now, lost in thought and looking troubled, she probably didn’t have much interest in listening.

But he couldn’t say nothing either; otherwise, Ryan would feel even more awkward.

So, after a moment of silence, he said dryly, “Grandma Claire will be here soon. Sit down first. Are you hungry? Do you want anything to eat?”

The girl shook her head gently, drank some water, and stared blankly at the ground.

With the conversation over, Ryan started rubbing his hands again, almost angrily.

But after a while, Sister Hill suddenly looked up, as if just realizing what he said. “Grandma… Where is she? I’ll go find her.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry. Just sit down and rest for a bit.”

Sister Hill’s gaze made Ryan nervous again. He didn’t dare look directly into her star-like eyes, scratching his face and turning away, pretending to look outside the wooden shack. “Grandma said she would walk around this morning to stretch her legs, go into the mountains for fresh air. The tailor’s mother-in-law also went. You know, Grandma never sits still. I’m not sure where she is now. It’s not easy for you to search alone. My father and Uncle Jim have gone to call her. They’ll definitely be back soon.”

The girl responded with a sullen “Oh,” lowered her head, placed the water cup on the ground, and remained silent.

Ryan couldn’t help but sneak a peek at her.

Things that made people laugh and cry had also happened. He had once gotten her drunk, but later realized he liked her and knew about her heroic identity, which changed things between them. It wasn’t as easy as before, but there was no need to be this nervous. After all, she was still Sister Hill.

At that moment, the real reason why this rural young man felt awkward was because of the magnificent and awe-inspiring armor Sister Hill wore.

Or rather, after putting on the armor, she truly exuded a heroic aura, no longer the weak girl he remembered. This Sister Hill, with her imposing presence, made Ryan, who was wearing old, coarse clothes and somewhat unkempt, feel a subtle distance from her deep inside. This sense of distance left him uneasy, unsure how to communicate, making him feel restless.

Although Sister Hill didn’t look particularly clean—her hair had been combed, but it still seemed to have a hint of dust and dirt on it.

Even though she had just cried.

But Ryan still felt that pressure.

He knew very well that Sister Hill had gone through a battle before returning here. Not only him, but everyone in the village who saw her return knew this.

That battle must have been extremely arduous, with terrifying enemies, possibly even demons that struck fear into their hearts. The outcome of the battle might not have been smooth. From her tattered, scorched-looking clothes, the twisted and deformed black scythe leaning against the corner, and the commotion that night, Ryan could guess the general situation.

It seemed something very bad had happened.

Because Sister Hill cried.

He had never seen her cry before.

Though he didn’t know exactly what had happened, Sister Hill cried. Ryan recalled how he used to tease her just to see her cry. Now he saw it, and it was soft and pitiful, but he didn’t feel happy. He wanted to see the girl cry out of anger at him, but not truly sad.

“Sister Hill, are you…are you really okay…”

Ryan couldn’t help but ask again. He had already asked this question before, but aside from that, he didn’t know what else to do or say to make Sister Hill feel better, to stop her from thinking about those troublesome things he didn’t know about.

“I’m fine.”

The young girl shook her head lightly.

“Did you get hurt anywhere…”

She shook her head again.

When Ryan couldn’t think of anything else to ask, the girl looked at him and said seriously, “Ryan, thank you.”

This sudden expression of gratitude really left the young rural man confused.

“For what…why thank me…”

He scratched his head uncomfortably, not understanding why Sister Hill suddenly thanked him. He thought to himself, “I haven’t even had the chance to thank you yet.”

Ryan felt his face heat up. He stood up and walked to the rack where the bag was hanging. Facing away from the girl, he reached into the bag, searching for the handkerchief she had given him earlier. Ryan intended to take it out and return it to her, but when he touched the soft fabric, he hesitated.

The handkerchief must be important to girls? After all, it’s an intimate item… Sister Hill’s personal belongings… Should he return it?

He had secretly smelled it later, filled with the special scent of the girl.

Ryan wanted to keep it…

“Sister Hill…”

After a long internal struggle, he decided to change the subject to avoid纠结