Chapter 653: Chapter 13: Aisha’s Request
"Yes, we just walked through the back alley of the restaurant and got covered in smoke from the exhaust pipe," Han Zhan nodded.
This statement was a bit of a linguistic art.
He acknowledged the truth in Punk’s words without lying against his own conscience.
Upon hearing Han Zhan’s words, Punk breathed a sigh of relief, and Aisha nodded as well.
"Sis, you must be hungry, I’ll go prepare some food." Punk, seeing that his little detour to the bar had successfully gone unnoticed, cast a grateful look at Han Zhan and then headed to the kitchen.
This left Aisha and Han Zhan alone in the room, and the atmosphere instantly turned awkward.
Suddenly, Aisha stood up and approached Han Zhan, feeling her way forward.
"Mr. Zhan, may I have your hand?"
This abrupt request left Han Zhan momentarily stunned, but ultimately, he didn’t refuse.
Han Zhan extended his hand into the air, lightly brushing against Aisha’s.
She recoiled like a startled fawn. "Sorry... I’m so sorry..."
As she apologized, she reached out once more, successfully taking hold of Han Zhan’s hand this time.
Feeling the soft, tender texture transmitted from her palm, the gentle caress of her delicate skin, Han Zhan was taken aback by what seemed a "bold" move on Aisha’s part.
"Come with me." Aisha held Han Zhan’s hand and invited him off the seat, turning towards the bedroom behind.
Though she was blind, Aisha still moved with great familiarity in her own home.
They both walked into the bedroom, and Aisha’s voice rang out once more: "Mr. Zhan, could you close the door?"
"Well..." Han Zhan glanced at Aisha, "Isn’t this a bit inappropriate, we just met."
Aisha shook her head.
"Punk is my friend; doing this would surely cause him pain," Han Zhan tried to persuade her.
Aisha shook her head again.
"Punk is just in the kitchen; he’ll be out soon enough," Han Zhan said earnestly.
"It’s fine, I’ll be quick," Aisha said softly.
With no other choice, Han Zhan closed the bedroom door with a backward motion.
He decided to let this fair-skinned, pretty girl understand that when it comes to things like speediness, it is usually up to the man to decide.
No sooner had he thought of this than he heard a thump behind him. Turning around, he saw that Aisha had sunk to her knees in front of him!
What was this situation?
An alien girl’s special way of expressing herself?
Before Han Zhan could figure it out, Aisha, kneeling on the ground, began to speak, switching to a pleading tone.
"Mr. Zhan, I beg you, can you spare Punk?"
Aisha’s words caused Han Zhan’s gaze to harden.
"Why do you say that?" he asked calmly.
"The smell of blood." As Aisha spoke, she lowered her head slightly, just enough for Han Zhan to see some, but he quickly averted his gaze.
"I smell a strong scent of blood on you."
A strong scent of blood?
Indeed, he had taken care of an entire camp when he left the Tukalu Camp.
But after passing through the influence of the bar and exhaust pipe, even he could barely smell it, yet Aisha claimed she could smell a strong scent?
With that thought, Han Zhan couldn’t help but consider another possibility.
He looked at Aisha again, this time with a more scrutinizing gaze.
"You can even smell the blood on me, so—"
"Yes, I can. To prevent me from noticing, Punk would often take the exhaust pipe route from the restaurant, deliberately letting himself stink a bit."
"But what he doesn’t know is that my sense of smell is not just good, it’s exceptional."
Aisha knew that Punk had been to the bar and that he was lying, but she didn’t expose him.
"Do you know what he really does outside?"
"I... I don’t know." Aisha shook her head.
"He ’hunts’ in the Uda Desert, targeting drifters like us as ’prey,’ then sells the prey to Tukalu Camp in exchange for bounty."
Since Aisha already knew Punk was lying, Han Zhan felt there was no point in hiding it any longer, and simply laid it out.
"One prey, ten Sand Coins." Han Zhan paused here.
He suddenly understood why Punk chose to gather information and hunt at a tavern dozens of kilometers away from his home base.
Punk had probably anticipated that his sister might hear of his "deeds" from others, so that’s why he went to such a faraway place to work.
"Ten Sand Coins," Aisha murmured, lowering her head even further.
"So now? Do you still want me to spare him?" Han Zhan continued to ask.
This time, Aisha didn’t respond as quickly as before.
After a while, her voice came:
"Every time Punk earns money and comes back, he buys me a bag of Star Candy. Because that was the treat our parents would occasionally buy us when we were little, the only treat."
"Star Candy is made from cleaned sand mixed with some syrup. It tastes sweet, and the sand can temporarily fill a hungry stomach."
"One Sand Coin can buy a big bag of Star Candy. Every time we finished a bag, Mom and Dad were supposed to come home. Until one time, the Star Candy was long gone, and we never waited for them again."
"I say this with no other intentions, Lord Zhan," Aisha said up to this point. She raised her head, forcing a smile, "What I mean is that Punk is my brother, and each time he earns those Sand Coins through bad deeds, one is spent by me on Star Candy."
"So, I’m willing to repay it for him!"
Aisha spoke up to this point, tilting her head back and closing her eyes, as if ready for anything.
Was this for real?
Han Zhan opened his mouth, raised his head, but before he could respond, Punk’s voice suddenly came from outside the door.
"Sis? Where are you guys? I’ve finished cooking, where are you?"
"Why is the bedroom door closed?!" At this moment, Punk’s voice suddenly escalated several folds; he rushed over at top speed, and pushed open Aisha’s bedroom door.
With a crash.
The door was flung open.
Punk’s eyes met the sight of Han Zhan with his back to him while his own sister Aisha was kneeling in a rather peculiar posture in front of Han Zhan,
Aisha’s head was just level with Han Zhan’s waistline.
So when Punk saw this scene, his blood pressure instantly skyrocketed to its peak, shooting straight to the top of his head!
"You bastard, how dare you make a move on my sister?!"
"Today, I’m going to kill you, kill you, ah!!"
Punk’s eyes bulged with rage, his eyes bloodshot, as he snatched up a handy object and charged at Han Zhan.
"Touch my sister and I’ll smash your head in!"
The words barely left his mouth when with a bang, the wooden box Punk had snatched up crashed atop Han Zhan’s head, shattering into pieces.
Aisha listened to this in stunned silence, unsure how to explain.
"Now, do you still want me to spare him?" Han Zhan’s voice rang out for the third time.
