"No, no. Auntie, you misunderstand."
Wang Tianhai, honest and simple-minded, was surprised by such an absurd misunderstanding. He shook his head frantically, denying it while awkwardly scratching the top of his head.
"Exactly!"
The bald man chimed in, perhaps a rare moment of agreement between them.
Lu Yan: "She's just a young girl, not very cooperative. She should stay by my side and be properly taught."
Orlanar: "Triple confirmation of identity received, finally relieved. Stay by her side and protect her well."
Wang Tianhai: "What should I do? I feel like this little girl might be a con artist. Should I expose her?"
Lu Mingming: "It's over!! I hope I can successfully hide this."
Everyone silently raised their heads, involuntarily showing a smile, creating an illusion of peace and friendliness, while their thoughts, like slipping on a banana peel, flew off in unknown directions.
"Oh, right."
Lu Mingming recalled what the little boy she coincidentally met had told her, her face filled with confusion.
"Auntie Shi, is there some kind of contagious disease outside? Why haven't you mentioned it?"
"That? There's nothing much to talk about."
Auntie Shi was nonchalant, as if there was truly nothing to say, completely unworth mentioning.
She silently refilled all the cups with warm water and carried the kettle to the kitchen.
Unable to see Auntie Shi's expression, Lu Mingming could only infer her attitude from her words.
"Don't be too scared or bothered. It's just a minor illness; she'll be lively again in a few days."
Lively?
That was completely different from what the little boy had said.
Lu Mingming recalled the little boy's words.
"Within three days, you will inevitably face a life crisis."
It seemed Auntie Shi was hiding something.
Auntie Shi put down the kettle and quickly returned, her expression showing no hint of abnormality.
In her hands, she carried a tray of cookies that were clearly just baked. They were fist-sized and oval, thick, and felt heavy when held.
"Knocking nails with this would be no problem..."
The bald man flipped the grass cookies in his hand back and forth, muttering.
Auntie Shi ignored him and turned to Lu Mingming: "Speaking of which, how is your search for the cub going? And my herbs?"
So there really was a cub. She hadn't expected one piece of information to be true.
Orlanar felt a pang of melancholy. How long had it been, and who else was preparing to take the lead?
"I went to look. I didn't have enough money and didn't get any information."
Lu Mingming took out the carefully preserved herbs from her embrace and handed them to Auntie Shi.
"You child, you really... Keep it yourself! I gave it to you, so don't give it back to me!"
A hint of annoyance creased Auntie Shi's brow.
The bald man, being knowledgeable, spoke first: "I'll take it if it's for sale. This medicinal herb isn't cheap, is it?"
As the capable second-in-command of the star pirate team, his keen nose had already detected the preciousness of this herb.
Wang Tianhai frowned, disagreeing and explaining: "I should get it first, after all, I told her the valuable worth of this herb."
He turned to Auntie Shi: "Excuse me, do you know where such medicinal herbs can be found? They are available for purchase outside, but it's impossible to obtain them."
"This medicinal herb was given to me by an old man from the Alliance when he was dying. How would I know where to dig for it? If I knew, I wouldn't be soaring to success and living in the City of Eternal Night."
Her words made sense. Orlanar gestured for Wang Tianhai to step down and not to cause more trouble.
"I apologize, my subordinate is always a bit slow-witted."
"It's alright, children are curious."
Auntie Shi harbored no blame.
Lu Yan seized on another point and asked: "If you're looking for information about the cub, I can provide a convenient way to do so."
Orlanar looked over quickly, almost forgetting that this old fox had bought the little boss's mermaid treasure.
"That might not be good, it'll cost a lot of money..."
Lu Mingming was about to refuse when she remembered the free piece of information the little boss had offered.
The next second, Lu Yan summoned a shiny scale from his personal space and handed it to Lu Mingming.
"Use this to ask the little boss for information for free."