After packing his things, Joey opened the hotel door again.

The villagers at the entrance had not yet dispersed. Some were still discussing how Joey had eliminated the monster, while others were pulling Vivian aside to express their concern. But most were crying, because the missing person would never return, which was not an easy thing to accept.

When the hotel door was pushed open and Joey, carrying a pile of supplies, stood at the door, the villagers all turned to look at him and stopped talking.

"Traveler, are you leaving?"

Grandma Mary Sue walked up to Joey, her eyes still wet with tears, indicating that she had just been crying.

"Well, I've finished my business, I should go now!"

There's nothing here for Joey to linger over; having taken the bounty, it's best to leave as soon as possible.

"Big brother!"

Little Catherine ran over, tugging at Joey's pants and looking up at him.

"What's wrong? You've been crying too?"

Joey looked down and saw that little Catherine's eyes were still a little red, and there were still tear stains at the corners of her eyes, so she must have been crying.

"My mother said that my father will never come back. Is that true?"

Tears welled up in little Catherine's eyes again. She sniffled a few times, trying to get definite news from Joey.

Joey knelt down, placed the packed supplies on the ground, gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with both hands, looked into her eyes, and smiled as she said, "Your father has just gone to a very far place and won't be back for a while. He will come back when you grow up!"

Joey didn't want to extinguish little Catherine's hope with the truth, so he told her a white lie.

"Really? My father will come back when I grow up?"

Little Catherine immediately stopped sobbing and stared intently into Joey's eyes.

"Yes, it's true!"

Joey patted little Catherine's head, then stood up again, clutching the supplies on the ground.

Little Catherine was now smiling broadly, seemingly quite willing to believe what Joey said.

After calming little Catherine down, Joey continued walking, with Catherine close behind.

"Vivian!"

Joey called out to Vivian in the crowd.

Vivian walked towards him, holding the child.

"What's wrong, great traveler?"

Do you know where my sailboat is hidden?

Joey deliberately lowered his voice; he didn't want the villagers to suspect Vivian.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, I forgot about that. I'll take you to get it!"

Vivian understood Joey's words, said a brief farewell to the villagers, and then led the way.

The villagers who were watching made way for them, and the four of them walked forward.

Little Catherine has returned to her mother's side and is waving goodbye to Joey.

Joey was carrying too many things, and Catherine couldn't lend a hand. She could only say goodbye to little Catherine with her eyes.

The four of them returned to the water's edge, but Vivian led Joey and the other to a spot a few hundred meters away from where they had landed.

Where's the boat?

Joey looked around but couldn't see his sailboat.

"Did we lead you the wrong way?"

Catherine was unaware that Vivian was a monster, and was somewhat puzzled as to how she knew where their sailboat was. However, since she was there, she didn't ask, as Catherine considered it a painful memory and didn't want her to suffer it again.

"This is it, but not on the ground, it's in the tree!"

Vivian looked apologetic, and after speaking, she looked up at the trees on the shore.

Joey and Catherine looked up at her, though they were a little surprised by what she said.

Sure enough, their sailboat was indeed in the tree.

The sailboat was now perched on two large trees that were close together, and it was covered with spider silk, which seemed to be the work of that monster.

When Catherine saw the white spider silk, she understood.

"What a mischievous fellow!"

Joey glanced at Vivian and gave a wry smile.

He put down the supplies, rolled up his sleeves, and started climbing up one of the big trees, hugging it tightly.

...

Thud—

The sailboat fell into the water, creating a wave that was half a meter high.

After Joey spent half a day working on the two trees, cutting off the last piece of spider silk, he finally managed to push the sailboat into the water with all his might.

"My dear Lady Catherine, it's one thing if you don't help, but you're also wasting my resources while I'm busy?"

Joey jumped down from the tree and saw that Catherine had already opened a corner of the packed supplies and was leisurely eating a box of snacks.

"You only ate a little bit, don't be so stingy!"

Catherine stuck out her tongue, covered the unfinished snack again, and prepared to put it back.

"Never mind, since we've already taken it out, let's finish it!"

Joey walked over, took the pastry from Catherine's hand, opened the lid, and handed it to Vivian.

"I don't need it, thank you!"

"Eat something. You need to eat something for your child now. She's counting on you to fill her granary!"

"..."

"..."

Vivian and Catherine both turned to look at Joey when they heard his words.

Vivian blushed, while Catherine's face turned fierce.

"I've figured it out now. Catherine is a tigress, and Vivian is a sweet little bunny!"

"But I like them all. Only a fool would pick and choose!"

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!