He needed to escape, and to escape, he needed food. This flour could save his life.
Carrying the flour and the remaining sea salt, Rosen hurried back to the alchemy room at the corner of the hallway.
Inside the alchemy room, the female hunter had already stood up. The bloodstains at her mouth had been wiped clean. Seeing Rosen, she quickly walked over: "That stuff really worked! I feel much better."
"That's good! Come on, let's go to the second floor!"
"Why go to the second floor?" the female hunter asked curiously, but seeing Rosen had already turned around, she could only follow.
Upon reaching the second floor, Rosen hurried towards the room of his parents.
"There's no time to mourn your parents! The effects of the datura poison won't last long; we have to leave quickly!" The female hunter assumed Rosen wanted to see his parents one last time.
Rosen pushed open the door without looking back and strode in: "Come quick!"
"Why are you making such a fuss?" the female hunter said, somewhat annoyed.
She had only been passing by, and upon realizing the assailant was likely a high-ranking vampire, she initially intended to turn and run. However, she then noticed there were still living people inside the wooden building.
After some hesitation, she ultimately decided to risk coming to rescue him. Unexpectedly, this guy she rescued wasn't scared half to death like a normal person; instead, he dragged his feet and refused to leave—truly a peculiar character.
If it weren't for his previous excellent behavior, she wouldn't have wasted any words with him; she would have simply knocked him unconscious and taken him away to avoid further trouble.
Once inside the room, Rosen didn't even glance at the corpse. Sir Laplace was the original owner of the body's parents, not his own; in his mind, they were like strangers.
Walking to the bedside, Rosen pointed to the mural on the wooden bed and said, "Quick, go and remove the painting."
"Why?"
"Hurry up, there's no time!" Rosen urged.
"Shut up!" the female hunter snorted, but still walked to the bedside.
She was tall, and with a little tiptoeing, she could reach the mural on the wall. With a little effort, she removed the heavy painting. Behind the painting was a small cupboard, inside which sat a very exquisite wooden box.
"Take the box, let's go!" Rosen added.
This time, the female hunter complied. She reached for the wooden box, weighed it briefly, and found it surprisingly heavy. "Is there money inside?" she asked.
Rosen nodded. "Yes, money. Mostly silver rand, with a small amount of gold dragon coins and jewelry. The total value is about 3000 rand. I heard that hunters need a bounty for their work. You saved me, so this is my reward."
"Hiss~" The female hunter gasped. "I didn't save you for the money! And this is too much!"
An ordinary farming family, with five able-bodied members, toiled in the fields, and after selling all their produce, their annual income wouldn't exceed 50 rand. 3000 rand would require a farming family to work for 60 years without eating or drinking! As for herself, risking her life to kill monsters, she could only earn a maximum of 100 rand for a single quest. After deducting expenses for food, equipment, potions, etc., she would have virtually no money left. It's easy to imagine how much money 3,000 rand was.
"Stop talking nonsense, let's go!" This time it was Rosen's turn to urge them.
He had his reasons for giving the money.
First, they were on the run and needed the money. Second, he was grateful for their life-saving grace. Third, he was now a defenseless rich young master, and in such a chaotic world, he needed a protector, and this female hunter seemed perfect.
"Oh~ oh~ okay, I'm going now."
The female hunter was stunned by such a large sum of money, looking somewhat dazed. Hearing Rosen's urging, she responded blankly a few times, then walked blankly towards the balcony.
The balcony wasn't high, only three meters from the ground. The female hunter jumped off, and the impact made her cough up blood again.
Rosen was completely dumbfounded: "Hey~ are you crazy?"
"Oh~ oh~ sorry, I'll be careful." The female hunter hadn't yet recovered from the shock of receiving such a huge sum of money. "You got hurt yourself, and you're apologizing to me?" Rosen was speechless.
He also climbed over the railing and carefully jumped off the balcony. Below was a soft lawn, no more than three meters high; even an ordinary person, with preparation, could easily leap down.
Upon reaching the backyard, the female hunter finally recovered. She started jogging: "Hurry, keep up with me."
Rosen nodded and quickly followed.
At the backyard gate, the female hunter kicked open the wooden door. After running about twenty meters, a sycamore tree appeared by the roadside, with a black horse tethered to it.
The female hunter reached out and tossed Rosen onto the horse's back, then straddled it herself, cracking the whip: "Lily, let's go!"
"Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!"
The black horse, called Lily, neighed and began to gallop wildly along the weed-covered dirt road.
The black horse was incredibly fast, jolting Rosen wildly on its back. He occasionally glanced back, watching the scenery rush past. The Laplace family manor quickly receded into a tiny black dot, and soon even that disappeared.
"Where are we going?" Rosen had to shout because of the strong wind.
"Holdburg!"
"Holdburg?" Rosen tried to recall, but found he couldn't remember the name. This was understandable; the world of Hunter x Hunter was vast, and the server had only been open for three months. Even for a dedicated player, exploring the entire map in detail was a remarkable achievement.
"It's my Hunter Academy. My mentors are there, along with many hunters and mages. High-ranking vampires are very vengeful. You tricked him, and he'll definitely seek revenge. Only when we get there can we truly escape his pursuit!"