It felt like a heavy stone was pressing down on his head, making it hard to lift, and even his thoughts seemed to be lagging behind. Supporting himself with his elbow on the ground, Jack shook his head and sat up, realizing that it was already bright outside. A sunshade was stretched above him, and the dismembered bodies of the living dead dogs around had been cleaned up. The girls had packed all their things and were sitting on the ground, nibbling on compressed food. Not far away, a large dog wrapped in gauze like a mummy was looking at him with its big eyes, appearing very cute.
"Master, you're awake!" Michael wagged his tail happily, scratching his head awkwardly where a brown woolen hat had been forcibly placed on him, which Ash had insisted on putting on to keep him warm.
"What time is it? Morning?" Jack patted his head, trying to wake himself up a bit more.
"It should be close to noon. You didn't wake up, so they didn't dare to leave!" Michael, wrapped in gauze and moving awkwardly, walked up to Jack and asked with a hint of worry on his face, "Did you borrow that madman Rashul's power again last night?"
Jack silently nodded, acknowledging it. Habitually, he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, speaking in a low voice, "But this time he forced me to reach an agreement: every time I borrow his power, he gets to control my body for at least an hour, and I can't deliberately suppress him anymore!"
"That bastard…" Michael, feeling a bit frustrated, took off the somewhat ridiculous woolen hat from his head and stomped it into the sand, then anxiously said, "But Master, you should know that you can't borrow his power anymore. If this continues, it's only a matter of time before you're completely demonized and lose your body!"
"I know, but do I have a choice? Besides…" Jack glanced at Michael indifferently, who also looked helpless. Jack took a deep drag from his cigarette and said, "My soul was originally a part that he split off!"
As this deep secret was revealed, both master and servant fell into silence. Jack stared at the ground, lost in thought while Michael was busy with the hat in the sand, digging it out and burying it again. After a while, Jack suddenly said, "By the way, he didn't do anything inappropriate with my body, did he?"
"He did. Yesterday, he used your finger on Cao Mei. If I hadn't woken up in time, he would have already taken your thing out and prepared to get serious!" Michael stared at Jack's expression, and when he saw the look of annoyance on Jack's face, he covered his mouth and chuckled, saying, "It should be fine, after all, it's all just food in the bowl!"
"That's different!" Jack glared fiercely at the grinning Michael and sighed, saying, "I always feel that Cao Mei is too scheming and has too strong of an agenda. Even if she's a fairy, I don't really want to have any deep relationship with her. A woman like that just makes me feel like I'm engaging in a physical transaction!"
"Then just go all out, Cao Mei can't be crying and demanding you to take responsibility, right? Besides, they all know it wasn't you last night!" Michael said with a grin.
"Hmm? Did Rashuel tell them her identity?" Jack asked, somewhat surprised.
"Of course!" Michael said disdainfully, curling his lip. "You should have seen Rashuel's arrogant attitude last night, claiming he is the greatest demon god, waiting for me to worship him. It was so damn pretentious! Compared to that lunatic, I realized just how low-key I actually am!"
"Only he could say something like that!" Jack nodded noncommittally and asked, "You didn't get hurt too badly last night, did you?"
"Sigh~ Don't mention it. That bitch broke six of my bones with one hit. I really underestimated her!" Michael shook his head, looking quite gloomy.
"As long as you're alive!" Jack said with a smile, ruffling Michael's hair. Hearing Jack's words, Michael nodded heavily. This kind of mutual encouragement between the master and servant always happened after they narrowly escaped death, and it had occurred far too many times.
"Can't you skip a couple of cigarettes if you're injured?"
White Ru walked over, snatched the half-burned cigarette from Jack's mouth, shot him a glare, and handed him a steaming bowl of meat soup, saying, "Drink it while it's hot!"
"Did you make this?" Jack asked with a grin as he took the soup.
"Yeah, there wasn't much meat left, so I just made a little!" White Ru nodded, looking very generous at Jack.
"What about me? What about me? I'm injured too, don't I get any?" Michael, smelling the aroma of the soup, immediately perked up, standing up and staring at the bowl in Jack's hand, saliva almost dripping down.
"How could you forget about your old man? Your share is naturally with your Snow Sister!" Bai Ru playfully twisted Michael's big ears, making him grimace in pain. But as soon as she finished, he happily ran off to find A Xue for some soup.
After finishing the soup, Jack contentedly set down the stainless steel bowl in his hand, took the Thomas tissue Bai Ru handed him to wipe his mouth. He wanted to reach for a cigarette, but reluctantly put his hand down under Bai Ru's warning gaze and awkwardly said, "Don't you want to ask what happened last night?"
To his surprise, Bai Ru shook her head, took the bowl from Jack's hand, and said flatly, "Why ask so much? As women, we just need to do our part. Knowing too much will only make us more worried. If even you can't handle it, what can we do to help?"
"Hehe, I love hearing that. You really understand!" Jack scratched his head and smiled at Bai Ru.
"You still have the mood to laugh. If something really happens to you, it will be our turn to cry. Although I'm not quite sure what happened last night, I can guess that you must have taken a huge risk!" Seeing Jack slowly nod, Bai Ru bit her lip and said, "For our sake, and for your own, please don't take risks anymore, okay?"
Don't take risks? Jack felt a bitter smile in his heart. He never wanted to take risks, but given their current living environment, weren't they taking risks every day? However, looking at Bai Ru's sincere eyes, Jack's heart skipped a beat, and he nodded, saying, "I'll try my best!"
"I know what I'm saying is a bit unrealistic. Sigh… just consider this my beautiful wish!" Bai Ru forced a smile, then looked up at Jack's back, stood up, and helplessly said, "The debt collector is here; you handle it yourself!"
Jack was speechless. Just as Bai Ru got up and left, he saw Cao Mei swaying her little waist, walking over. When she noticed Jack looking at her, her face turned red, and she slowly sat down beside him, softly asking, "Lin Ye, are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, I'm fine now!" Jack nodded, then hesitated and said, "Um, about last night…"
"What happened last night?" Cao Mei smiled sweetly, biting her red lips and said, "Even if something happened, it was someone else's business, and it has nothing to do with you!"
"I'm not…" Jack stopped mid-sentence, genuinely unsure of what to say next.
"Alright, Master Lin, enough said. Can you leave a little dignity for me?" Cao Mei still smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. She tossed her long hair and said to Jack with a smile, "I know you look down on me, so I won't cling to you too much. Rather than harboring unrealistic hopes, it's better to be content. If a miracle does happen one day, I just hope that by then I'm not an old woman with no charm!"
Jack looked at Cao Mei and said lightly, "I think you're overthinking it. Some things really can't be forced, but everyone has their own place. You don't have to be my woman to find a way out. Haven't you been doing well these past few days? You're doing your best to protect everyone. Isn't that shiny gun you polished the best proof?"
"What you said only shows that you don't understand women. Nowadays, every woman is like a rootless duckweed. After experiencing hardships, everyone wants to find a man to rely on, someone to support them and give them a sense of security. Moreover, good men are hard to find, and when you meet one, no one wants to let go. I'm no exception. Maybe some of my actions disgust you, but the most important thing is that when danger arises, you would definitely risk your life to save your woman. Because I know you are definitely a man of feelings and loyalty. But if it were me in danger, would you risk your life to save me? Would you leave me behind… Haha, I think you already have the answer in your heart!"
"..." Jack fell silent. Cao Mei's words indeed left him speechless. Not everyone can risk their life to save someone; who would do that for someone they don't love? So Cao Mei was right; if she's not his woman, he would only do his best.
"Alright, Master Lin, all I ever wanted was for you not to see me as a cheap woman. Although I'm not a good woman, I still have my dignity and my bottom line!" Cao Mei forced a smile, stood up, brushed her bangs, and looked at Jack with a hint of melancholy, saying, "Maybe you don't know, but if you became my man, I would do anything for you, even give up my life!"
Watching Cao Mei turn away with a hint of sadness, Jack felt he might have been too calculating. A woman in this chaotic world using a little cunning is just for self-preservation. As a man, he really shouldn't care about such things. After all, isn't he also on guard against many people and things every day?
"By the way…"
Just as Cao Mei was about to walk out of the tent, she suddenly turned around and forced a smile at Jack, saying, "If Master Lin ever needs me, I will still be that Cao Mei who is always at your service, a little lover unrelated to love!"
Jack opened his mouth to say something but didn't say anything. Although Cao Mei spoke lightly, he could see the hint of loneliness in her eyes. He didn't want to say comforting words to her to ease his guilt, but he really didn't know how to say it. He had a ticking time bomb inside him, and he didn't know when it would explode. If he lost his life, what right would he have to take care of others? So all along, Jack wasn't indifferent to the women around him; he had thought about them, but every time he thought about how he couldn't bear the responsibility for them, he felt a wave of sadness.
Thomas, who had already passed away, could be said to be his uncontrollable impulse. So when faced with the various provocations from Bai Ru and Cao Mei, he chose to restrain himself. If he didn't have the ability, he shouldn't easily take on the burden of responsibility. Jack didn't want to leave too many regrets and guilt after his death. However, just because he thought this way didn't mean others thought the same. Moreover, women are naturally creatures that can complicate simple matters.
Jack shook his head helplessly, let out a heavy sigh, and thought to himself that having more women around didn't seem to be a good thing...