CH 36

pei xia always wondered why lucifer was so delicate, and he couldn’t figure out why lucifer was angry again.

the key was that lucifer didn’t admit to being angry.

the road in the forest was not good, and everyone was riding slowly. it was daytime, peaceful and serene, with fragmented golden sunlight streaming through the dense branches and leaves, and the shadows of leaves and butterflies seemed to dance like spirits in the wind.

lucifer’s flowing robe hung down from the horse, almost blending with the golden-white horse. with his beautiful and silky golden hair, he looked like an otherworldly angel.

if it weren’t for his robe inevitably picking up grass and dust, as he watched, it almost felt like he was going to flutter his wings and fly away.

pei xia tugged on the reins, getting closer to lucifer, and cleared his throat, thinking about how to start a conversation with him.

since the incident with the delicious rabbit last night, lucifer hadn’t spoken much to him. he must have some grievances, but what exactly was he upset about?

pei xia thought it over and guessed that lucifer was too kind-hearted and thought it was cruel to eat such a cute rabbit. he must think he’s too ruthless.

pei xia felt that he should make amends.

after all, as a holy knight of the church of light, he should be kind and gentle. he needed to find a way to make amends and not let lucifer think he was too cruel.

“lord saint, it’s been a morning, would you like some water?” pei xia handed him a water pouch.

lucifer glanced at him indifferently and then slowly nodded. he took the water pouch and had a sip, then continued to look ahead with a cold demeanor.

pei xia was anxious in his heart: it’s still not working!

at this moment, they were passing through a dense thicket of grass, where the grass grew very tall, almost reaching the horses’ bodies, making a rustling sound as they passed through.

after they passed through the thicket of grass, almost everyone had grass stuck to their legs, especially lucifer, whose loose clothing had a wide contact area.

suddenly, pei xia noticed something!

he pulled on the reins, and the black horse closely followed the white horse. pei xia shifted his body, stretched out his hand, and directly grabbed something on lucifer’s robe.

his sudden move startled lucifer.

the saint, whose delicate features resembled something otherworldly, tilted his head slightly in mild surprise. his pale pink lips parted slightly, revealing a glimpse of white teeth.

pei xia slowly straightened up, placing the object he had in his hand in front of lucifer, trying to appear emotionally charged.

“look, lord saint, it’s such a pitiful little creature. it has a broken leg; it must be in pain!”

lucifer stared woodenly at the struggling beetle in front of him. after a moment of silence, he said, “pei xia, i can see what you did.”

pei xia, holding the shiny black beetle the size of his thumb, didn’t understand why lucifer didn’t show the same affection as he did for the little rabbit. he weakly replied, “it’s really pitiful.”

“it was you who secretly broke its leg.”

pei xia: !!!

he suddenly sat up straight on the horse, stared straight ahead, and stammered, trying to explain, “th-that was an accident!”

lucifer glanced at him askew and sighed softly. “pei xia, you don’t have to force yourself.”

pei xia looked at the beetle in his hand and still couldn’t give up. “lord saint, actually, i care about small animals just like you do!”

lucifer remained silent, raised his hand, took the beetle from pei xia, and a brief holy light flashed. he then casually threw it into the grass.

pei xia looked at him expectantly. “you are truly kind. so, are you still angry?”

lucifer blinked slowly and chuckled, saying, “i’m not angry with you. in fact, i’m just praying for these unfortunate lives.”

“so seriously?”

pei xia felt somewhat embarrassed and clenched his fists. “your kindness will surely help them thrive in this beautiful forest. this adorable little beetle will definitely become stronger.”

however, it seemed that this beetle didn’t help pei xia improve his image. was it because it wasn’t big enough, or the injury wasn’t severe enough?

suddenly, beta from behind pulled on the reins and exclaimed, “captain, be careful, there’s a snake in the tree!”

pei xia instinctively drew his sword and swiftly cut the green snake hanging from the treetop into two pieces.

the green snake fell to the ground, wriggling incessantly. pei xia held his sword and hesitated for a moment.

this target seemed big enough, and the injury was severe enough, right?

pei xia made up his mind, hooked his legs around the horse’s belly and saddle, and agilely reached down to grab the still-wriggling snake’s body and head.

he tightly pinched the severed part and turned to face lucifer. “look, lord saint, it’s such a pitiful little life. it’s been severed into two halves, such a severe injury; it must be in pain!”

pei xia said with a heavy heart, “i’m truly heartbroken, just like you.”

lucifer: “i suspect you’re mocking me.”

the kind-hearted saint, who loved small animals so much, remained expressionless, gazing ahead, holding the reins, ignoring the equally kind-hearted holy knight.

pei xia pinched the severed snake, not understanding what he had done wrong again.

both were small animals, both were injured, why did he show concern and compassion while lucifer was displeased?

it’s too difficult.

being a kind and compassionate holy knight is really difficult.

in the end, the holy knight threw the severed snake to the ground in frustration, wiped his blood-covered hands on a tree, and hurriedly caught up.

he decided to temporarily give up on showcasing his compassion.

as long as they avoided the wave of monsters, the sapphire forest was still very safe. over the next two days, they moved on intermittently and soon reached the depths of the forest.

during their noon rest, baku exclaimed.

“what’s wrong?”

“we’re running out of the dry rations we brought.”

“there’s no other way; we’ll have to go hunting.”

“yes, captain!”

the knights were divided into three teams. one team went hunting, another gathered firewood, and the third stayed behind to protect lucifer and set up an area for a barbecue.

soon, a massive rabbit-like monster was brought back. after simple preparation, it was placed over the fire to roast. once it was cooked, baku started distributing it to everyone.

first in line was lucifer.

pei xia, who was inspecting their supplies, turned around and was shocked. he quickly rushed over and snatched the skewer of meat from lucifer’s hand.

“baku, please don’t do this. seeing innocent lives harmed would cause the saint great pain!”

how could the saint, who loved cute creatures like rabbits, bear to witness this??

baku was taken aback, and looked at lucifer, then at the considerate captain. he said in embarrassment, “i’m sorry; it’s all my fault for not paying attention. i’ll never let the saint eat this meat again!”

“exactly.” pei xia said solemnly, “let us bear the burden of consuming this sinful meat!”

since he couldn’t demonstrate his compassion in front of lucifer, he would avoid making him sad!

as for lucifer?

the pure, kind, tender-hearted saint, holding the dry piece of bread in his hand, gazing at the crisply roasted monster rabbit meat oozing with oil, remained silent for a long time.

the holy knights gathered around the campfire, eating the roasted meat, tears streaming down their faces as they ate.

“lucifer, the saint, seemed to be in a very bad mood.”

pei xia, with a mournful tone, took a bite of meat and said, “he must be feeling pain for this poor rabbit.”

“the saint is truly kind-hearted!”

pei xia sighed, “indeed, so we should try our best to avoid making the saint sad!”

“the captain is right! but how do we help when the saint can’t even eat his bread because of his bad mood?”

pei xia glanced at lucifer, who was quietly exuding a gloomy atmosphere and shared the same concern. “let’s finish eating quickly. maybe if the saint doesn’t see it, he won’t be so sad!”

“that’s absolutely right!”

so, the seven holy knights began eating heartily, their mouths greasy from the delicious food, clearly displaying excellent appetites!

in the end, when only the rabbit’s skeleton remained, pei xia wiped the oil from his hands, stood up, and said, “tom, you and i will take care of this. the rest of you, protect the saint and clean up here.”

“understood!”

lucifer sat on a clean piece of bluestone, holding a piece of bread that had become warm from being roasted but was now even drier. although the aroma of the roasted meat wafted through the air, he had no appetite.

it’s too much.

lucifer tore a piece of bread and ate it slowly, his gaze fixed on the ground, appearing rather unhappy.

in reality, he didn’t care much about his own appetite; he just felt somewhat annoyed.

as he slowly nibbled on the small piece of bread, his mood didn’t improve. suddenly, someone approached him.

he gathered his thoughts, didn’t lift his head, and asked gently, “what’s wrong?”

with a thud, a small calf-like monster was dropped in front of lucifer.

lucifer raised his head slightly in surprise when he saw pei xia approaching him. pei xia’s clothing, his sword, and the blood stains on his hands made it seem like he had just been through a battle. lucifer noticed that he knelt before him and gave a knightly salute with his hand placed over his chest.

pei xia spoke earnestly, “my lord saint, i know that you are kind-hearted and reluctant to take life, but eating only bread is not good for your health. please, have some meat. you once told me that you don’t consume other animals but pray for cows and sheep to offset your sins. i believe, since that’s the case, you can accept a creature like this one that resembles a cow.”

pei xia cautiously looked at lucifer’s expression and, seeing no signs of aversion, continued, “if you still find it difficult, you can pray for it first before consuming it.”

this was the closest pei xia could find to a creature that resembled an ordinary cow.

the saint, who had been silently listening, finally smiled when the holy knight was starting to feel anxious. he extended his hands and helped the somewhat weary holy knight to his feet, saying with a smile, “thank you, pei xia.”

pei xia sighed in relief, feeling the improvement in lucifer’s mood.

indeed, this creature had lightened lucifer’s mood. although he didn’t express a strong liking for the roasted meat, at least he was treating pei xia as he used to.

the holy knight, who had expected to be cold-shouldered even more by lucifer for his perceived cruelty, was becoming increasingly puzzled.

‘why? shouldn’t lucifer be even more saddened when he saw this creature?’ pei xia couldn’t figure it out, truly couldn’t.

as they ventured deeper into the sapphire forest and rested at night in their camp, a strange sound suddenly came from outside the tent.

in the darkness, pei xia’s eyes shot open.

here comes the elf maiden!