Chapter 69: Who is the Ruffian

As Rayan was pondering how to deal with Duncan in the future, he faintly heard someone shouting his name from the shore.

Rayan was surprised and immediately surfaced, his head peeking out of the broken ice, and indeed saw a slender figure standing on the shore.

"Rayan! You ruffian! I know you're here, come out to your grandma right now!"

Rayan was stunned for a moment, "Olivia? How did you..."

He intended to climb up from under the ice, but suddenly realized he was wearing nothing, and quickly retracted back. "How did you know I was here?"

Olivia, dressed in thick winter clothes with a brown-red leather belt tied around her waist, making her already slim waist appear even more enchanting. She still wore trousers, now in black skin-tight leather, and black leather boots on her feet, paired with a pristine bear fur top, breathtakingly beautiful even from a distance.

"You ruffian, your boss took thirty silver coins from me before he would tell me!"

She seemed like she wanted to rush up and kick Rayan in the face, but she dared not tread on the shifting ice, so she could only stomp her feet in frustration on the shore.

Rayan had just advanced to the Eighth Tier, and was in a good mood, so he chuckled to Olivia, "You got played by the boss, it only costs ten silver coins to gather intelligence."

"I knew it!"

Olivia gritted her teeth and said, "You and your boss are cut from the same cloth! Both big liars, big ruffians!"

Rayan's face instantly cooled down, although he knew Olivia didn't mean to insult Duke, he couldn't help but feel the rage boiling inside. "Hey, whatever grudge is between us, say what you want about me, but leave the boss out of it."

Olivia paused, seemingly sensing Rayan's displeasure, then bit her lip and changed her response, "Okay, I won't mention your boss. He took my money but at least gave me the right information, unlike you, you're just a big liar, a big ruffian!"

She felt it still wasn't enough and, hands on her hips, continued to curse, "Big liar! Big ruffian!"

Hearing Olivia no longer mentioning Duke, Rayan felt more at ease, and a slight smile spread across his lips again, lazily saying, "Yes, I deceived you, though I didn't want to, but I don't want to make excuses. But I helped you solve the village council dispute, that should count for something. But as for being a ruffian... I admit I've been a ruffian with a few women prettier than you, but when I was unconscious, didn't you also see my whole body? If we're talking about being a ruffian, it's both of us, we are both ruffians."

"You! You're talking nonsense!"

Olivia's face turned beet red, "I, when have I ever been a ruffian to you?"

"Why would your face turn red if you weren't?"

Rayan, amused, raised an eyebrow, "I even have witnesses—oh no, bird witnesses."

Caught out, Olivia put on the authoritative pose of a village chief, "You, you're the ruffian! I only uncovered you as revenge, who knew you would wear nothing! Only a ruffian would be naked!"

"Who isn't born naked? By your logic, then all people born naked into this world are ruffians. I'm a ruffian, you are too, you just won't admit it."

Every time Rayan mentioned "ruffian," he never forgot to include Olivia as well.

"You!"

Olivia, knowing she couldn't argue with Rayan, swiftly changed the subject, "Hmph, didn't you say lying to you means getting beheaded? So who's going to behead you when you lie?"

"No one."

Rayan bluntly said, "Only I behead others, no one dares behead me."

"Shameless!" Olivia stomped her foot in anger.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be your village chief, running all this way just to argue with me?"

Rayan helplessly shook his head, "Have you yelled enough? If you're done, I'll continue practicing underwater, I need to master Eighth Tier Battle Qi soon to move on to the Ninth Tier."

"Wait—"

Olivia hurriedly called out, "Come up first, I need your help with something, it's about the joint council of three villages at Shadowcrest Ridge..."

"What, that again?"

Rayan frowned, "You already know I'm no noble, I'm tired of settling village disputes, don't bother me with this, you big liar, you big ruffian."

Saying that, he dived back into the water.

"You—"

Olivia was both angry and anxious, "Rayan, listen to me, this isn't just about our village this time, I've been in touch with the other two villages this past month, and we all agree that you should be the new Crow Lord, did you hear that? Hey— you ruffian!"

Rayan reemerged, "You pestering woman, one moment you want to elect me as lord, the next moment you call me a ruffian, what do you really want?"

"I want you to be Crow Lord, to restore the former glory of Shadowcrest Ridge, you ruffian!"

"No time, lady ruffian!"

"Fine, you won't agree, huh?"

Olivia's lips curved into a sinister smile, she bent down to pick up Rayan's scattered clothes on the shore, hugged them to her chest, and turned to leave. "Goodbye!"

"Hey! Lady ruffian, give me back my clothes!"

Although in this cold weather, Rayan wouldn't feel cold even without clothes, but walking naked on the streets was still not ideal. Even if there were no people on the streets, returning to Ravenstorm Inn would definitely lead to mocking from Duke and Wu ah.

"Dream on!"

Olivia only pretended to leave, but didn't actually go far. She turned around and shouted loudly at Rayan, "Since you don't want to be Crow Lord, I don't need to be polite to you, a ruffian."

Rayan wished he could use his Eighth Tier Battle Qi to flatten Olivia right there, to teach this "ignorant" woman a lesson. But Olivia was not a bandit mercenary, and there wasn't a deep hatred between them, plus she was a village chief, so Rayan couldn't just forcefully deal with her.

"Is it just being Crow Lord?"

He gritted his teeth, swallowing his pride and said, "Miss Olivia, everything is negotiable, just put down the clothes first."

Olivia's pretty face showed a trace of triumph, "You first agree, lest you put on your trousers and go back on your word."

Rayan, half laughing, half crying, said, "You're not a striptease dancer, and I'm not your patron..."

"What did you say?!"

Olivia, furious, "You dare call me a dancer!"

"No no no, I just mean I won't go back on my word after putting on my trousers."

Rayan sighed helplessly, "But I really don't want to be any lord, why must you force this issue? Can we discuss this after I get dressed?"

"Hmph, I knew you were just placating me." Olivia turned her head and walked away.

"Wait! If I'm to be Crow Lord, you at least owe me an explanation. How do I know this isn't just a farce?" Rayan said with a sense of entitlement.

Olivia stopped again, her face serious, "You must understand the history of Shadowcrest Ridge by now. Shadowcrest Ridge was originally a trade hub on the border of two countries, with many travelers coming from north to south. The previous lord, although greedy, ensured that under the protection of a lord and the law, Shadowcrest Ridge maintained a prosperous state. Today, the number of bandit mercenaries at Shadowcrest Ridge is decreasing, with some bandit mercenaries starting legitimate escort tasks. We village chiefs think there's hope to regain the former prosperity."

Rayan was troubled, "Then you village chiefs can take turns being Crow Lord, why insist on me?"

"Because the villagers of Windwood Village fear you, the villagers of Dusk Village are grateful to you, and my villagers of Dusty Village admire you, especially because you can deter the bandit mercenaries with your—"

"Eighth Tier."

Rayan corrected, "Eighth Tier Battle Qi."

Olivia's face showed astonishment, "Eighth Tier?! You ruffian, to think you could reach this in just a month... that's even better, with you as Crow Lord, bandit mercenaries won't be a problem anymore."

She paused, then continued, "As I was saying, if I could do it myself, I obviously wouldn't need to beg you, you ruffian. The key problem is that none of us village chiefs want to yield to each other, and we also feel we can't deter those bandit mercenaries. If we start investing in construction, and those bandit mercenaries see an opportunity to revert to their old ways, our efforts will be wasted. If we fail, Shadowcrest Ridge won't be able to recover in our generation of village chiefs."

"This has nothing to do with me."

Rayan shrugged coldly, calmly saying, "The state of Shadowcrest Ridge today isn't caused by me, nor you."

Olivia seriously said, "Rayan, you have your pursuits, and I have my wishes. This is my homeland, I'm willing to do everything I can so my villagers can live a stable and prosperous life. If Shadowcrest Ridge continues to decline like this, more bandit mercenaries will gather here, and our three villages' living space will shrink. My descendants, and their descendants, will suffer because of my inaction today."

Rayan was momentarily taken aback, then nodded thoughtfully, "Alright, I'll drive away all the bandit mercenaries for you, to let you rebuild in peace, will that do?"

"That's just treating the symptoms, not the cause."

Olivia shook her head, "Even if you drive away this batch of bandit mercenaries, new ones will come. Our demands aren't high, we just need to leverage your reputation in the three villages, you just need to act like a lord, the rest—planning, taxation, rebuilding, all that will be done by our villages—this is the joint council's plan."