It went without saying that Melissa was shocked and scared, which her expressionless face did its best to hide. Only her green eyes were wide, and they did little to describe the chaos in her mind.
After narrowly escaping death during the collapse, Melissa had relied on her cloaking technique to make her way through the underground structure until she found areas she was familiar with.
However, reaching the bright chamber put Melissa before something almost as concerning as the huge snake. Of her five companions, four now lay lifelessly on the uneven floor, and she had even arrived in time to catch Liam deliver the finishing blow to Neil.
On top of that, Liam had somehow seen through Melissa’s cloaking martial arts and was now pinning her to the wall, his cold face reeking of killing intent.
Yet, before Melissa could sort through those shocking events, something even more confusing unfolded. A genuine smile broadened on Liam’s face, replacing his cold expression and paving the way for his blinding excitement.
"You are alive!" Liam happily exclaimed, letting go of Melissa’s shoulder.
Melissa blinked in perplexity. She couldn’t understand how such a cold face could transform into a blinding smile so suddenly, nor what could warrant that change.
Liam didn’t seem to care about Melissa’s confusion. He actually stopped minding her and turned to approach Neil’s corpse again, intent on resuming what he was doing.
But when Melissa left the wall to straighten herself, a sharp pain spread from her left ankle, triggering a close-mouthed gasp that reclaimed Liam’s attention.
Liam threw a proper look at Melissa now. Her ponytail was no more, replaced by disheveled, damp hair, some of its golden strands glued to her sweaty, slightly dirty face.
Wet patches of sweat also stained Melissa’s robe, clinging to the dirt that had covered her. She looked as if she had spent her entire time alone crawling through narrow holes, which probably wasn’t far from the truth.
Also, it was clear that Melissa hadn’t come out unharmed from that crawling. She tried her best to hide it, but her slightly tilted stance highlighted how she was putting most of her weight on her right leg.
The previous suppressed gasp had even carried traces of suffering that didn’t escape Liam’s sensitive ears, triggering a question. "Did you hurt your leg?"
Needless to say, Melissa’s shock and confusion only intensified. Still, Liam’s keen observation skills remained behind his inexplicable behavior.
"Let me see," Liam casually muttered, stepping forward, only for Melissa to retreat instinctively.
Yet, when Melissa put her left foot down, the sharp pain returned, destabilizing her balance and almost making her fall into the wall, only for someone to catch her.
Melissa had squinted her eyes in pain, but they went wide when she saw Liam supporting her, gently placing her down. He had wrapped his whole arm around her back despite her sweaty patches there, and that direct touch tensed and froze her.
"Easy," Liam said, placing Melissa down, completely oblivious to her reaction, moving to her legs after securing her on the uneven floor.
Melissa tensed even further when Liam partially lifted her robe to expose her legs, even removing her left shoe to check its state. Luckily, he stopped at her ankle since its swollen state told him where the injury was.
"It might be broken," Liam admitted, ripping off the lower part of his already torn robe to create makeshift bandages. "Bear with me a little."
Naturally, the idea that such a direct touch could be improper never crossed Liam’s mind. More than shocked or confused, Melissa was utterly embarrassed, but the following pain distracted her from that sentiment.
Liam’s bandaging was rough but effective, something he had learned during his time in the mountains. He couldn’t fix Melissa’s ankle, but he could force it to stay still, wrapping it tightly in torn cloth.
"Sorry, sorry," Liam apologized at Melissa’s suppressed painful gasps, eventually raising both hands. "It’s done."
Melissa had squinted her eyes in pain again, but she forced herself to look at her ankle at those words, even moving it slightly. It still hurt, but it was far more bearable now.
Yet, when Melissa lifted her gaze to Liam, she saw his genuine, blinding smile again, rekindling her utter confusion, which deepened until her lips finally parted.
"W-why ...," Melissa whispered, stammering, "Did y-you save m-me?"
Despite everything that had unfolded and the concerning situation in the chamber, Melissa couldn’t help but ask about Liam’s previous actions with the magical beast, only for him to be completely nonchalant about them.
"You can speak," Liam exclaimed, tilting his head in thought. "Do you mean with the snake? It’s because we are a team, aren’t we?"
Melissa could hardly believe her ears, but Liam’s face and tone were as genuine as they came. No one would ever think to fight against a fearsome magical beast to protect virtual strangers, especially cultivators, but Liam seemed to have done that simply because Melissa had been on the same team.
And things truly were that simple in Liam’s mind. Wariness or not, Melissa was his companion, so he had saved her. He would have done the same for Randall and the others, too, before their betrayal.
Melissa felt like believing Liam, but her gaze went past him at that point, looking at the corpses visible from her position.
Liam followed Melissa’s gaze, finally realizing how the situation might look, prompting him to explain it as best as he could.
"Right," Liam muttered. "The disciples from the Crimson Warrior Sect left us to die with the magical beast, so I killed them. Then, Randall tried to sneak up on me, so I killed him, too."
The explanation didn’t fix anything. It might make Liam look somewhat innocent, but it didn’t change the fact that he had still been willing to rely on murder.
However, that summary also updated Liam on something else, which he didn’t hesitate to ask about when he turned toward Melissa again.
"Wait," Liam considered. "Were you also planning to betray me?"
Melissa couldn’t believe her ears once again. No one in their right mind would reveal that to the culprit behind such a slaughter while being injured, but Liam didn’t seem to consider those points.
Still, Melissa didn’t have any reason to lie, so she shook her head.
"Let’s stick together, then," Liam announced. "Do you know the way from here?"
Melissa performed a slight, timid nod, but fear inevitably spread in her mind.
Liam felt trustworthy, especially since Melissa owed him her life, but that remained a peculiar situation. Anyone would be drilling her for information, resorting to all sorts of cruel methods to learn what she knew so that her injured state wouldn’t become a burden during the rest of the journey.
Liam also sounded like the perfect candidate for that due to his evident murderous streak. Still, he ended up surprising Melissa, abruptly standing up and turning toward the nearest corpse.
"I’ll see what I can salvage from them," Liam exclaimed. "You can rest in the meantime."
And just like that, Liam seemed to forget about Melissa, leaving her stunned but unharmed on the uneven floor.