Chapter 104: The Merchant

Liu Zong had not yet made his choice when Lü Shang pulled him aside. “That merchant was sent here by a temporary teleportation spell. He can probably only carry out one task before he has to leave. So don’t go off-script when we talk to him—our main objective is to find a way into the forbidden ground.”

Reminded by Lü Shang, Liu Zong came to his senses. He took a deep breath and refrained from speaking about the battlefield with the merchant. Instead, he asked directly, “If we want to go to the forbidden land of the Kurasters, how do we get there?”

With this question, the merchant realized that his own plans had failed. He answered bluntly, “You did save my life, after all. I’ll take you in, but how you get out has nothing to do with me.”

Hearing this, Liu Zong sighed, knowing he had chosen wrongly this time. Whatever goodwill might have existed between him and this merchant was now spent. Even if they met again in the real world or on another map, he could expect no further help.

But perhaps it was for the best—this merchant was hardly a benevolent soul. Even knowing the state they were in, he was still trying to play games with them. If they’d gotten too close, who knows what kind of trouble he might bring if he decided to betray them.

With these thoughts, Liu Zong made up his mind. He nodded to the merchant. “Then we’ll be counting on you, uncle.”

Seeing Liu Zong’s resolve, the merchant had nothing more to say. He merely glanced toward Yuan Ying, who was cooking nearby.

Liu Zong didn’t say anything further and led the merchant over to join Yuan Ying.

Yuan Ying was in good spirits today, and with everyone back, she’d decided to prepare a better lunch than usual.

Most of the ingredients she was using had been gathered from the surrounding wilderness—Liu Zong saw some red dried fruit and strips of bark, likely spices of some kind, and two fish, each about the size of a palm.

These two fish must have been caught from a nearby river. They had already been cleaned; the bones had been removed, and the fillets and scales were placed together in the pot to dry-roast first.

Apart from the fish, there was no other fresh game, so Yuan Ying took out some preserved meat from their supplies and sliced it thinly.

She had also found a kind of wild fruit, about the size of a fist, full of moisture and looking like a sponge soaked with water. If you squeezed out all the liquid and ground the fruit into a fine powder, it could be used as a substitute for flour.

The liquid squeezed from the fruit could be drunk directly or used for making soup. Yuan Ying had collected quite a lot this time; she had already finished extracting the juice and was now grinding the pulp into powder with her tools.

Seeing this, the merchant seemed to think of something. He rummaged through his pack, opened it on the ground, and in the blink of an eye, a makeshift stall appeared before them, displaying all sorts of peculiar items.

He picked up one of them and placed it before Yuan Ying. “You prefer preparing food yourself, right? This is a multi-functional cooking kit. Don’t be fooled by the small box—there are seven different kitchen knives inside, along with various gadgets. It’ll make processing ingredients much easier.”

Yuan Ying glanced at him and replied casually, “That’s nearly three centuries out of date. Back then, people loved using all sorts of fancy gadgets for cooking. It might have been faster, but there was nothing fresh or refined about it. I had my own set when I was ten, just to get familiar with the properties of different ingredients. After that, I never used them again. All I need is a single chef’s knife to handle everything.”

Her words left the merchant momentarily stunned; he hadn’t expected Yuan Ying to be so accomplished in the culinary arts.

But he quickly produced something else. “How about this, then? A portable refrigerator—perfect for storing all kinds of ingredients. It’s got separate compartments to keep flavors from mixing. And look at this, the best spices I’ve just brought back from the secret realm. Oh, and this—see? A recipe book! It’s classified as a ‘purple’ recipe, very rare.”

Yuan Ying waved him off. “Do you want to eat or not? I’m busy. Why don’t you ask the others if they need anything?”

The merchant turned around and saw that Liu Zong and the rest were already gathered around his stall, inspecting the goods on display.

Though it was only a temporary stall, the system’s rules prevented anyone from simply taking what they wanted. Each person could only view the properties and prices of the items.

It was clear that this black market merchant was no amateur—both Liu Zong and the others found things they wanted among the wares.

The first to act was Reina. Her eyes landed on a few stone tablets inscribed with writing, likely chronicling some history unknown to her. A lover of books, Reina didn’t even bother to ask the price; she tossed a gemstone onto the stall and took the tablets.

As soon as the gemstone landed, it converted into data, and the light enveloping the tablets faded. Reina easily picked them up.

She examined the tablets carefully, then took out her own book and placed the tablets onto a blank page. They slowly melted into the pages, transforming into three full pages of densely written text.

Next, Xu Ying found several bone beads on the stall. She exchanged some mercury for them, then held the beads in her hand. Under her control, the beads liquefied like mercury and finally merged into the white bone lion behind her.

Lü Shang, the wealthiest of them all, found several items useful to him. He didn’t ask for prices—he simply picked up what he wanted and would settle up at the end.

Only Liu Zong stood there, carefully examining the properties of each item. After all, he wasn’t wealthy, and he knew exactly what he needed—he would only buy something if it was truly necessary.

Liu Zong didn’t realize that as he browsed the items, a peculiar look flashed in the merchant’s eyes. Yet the merchant didn’t turn around to introduce his goods, preferring instead to continue explaining kitchenware to Yuan Ying.

In the end, Liu Zong shook his head and was about to go check on Yuan Ying’s cooking when he noticed the merchant giving him an odd look.

Seeing Liu Zong about to leave, the merchant couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong? Didn’t find anything you like?”

Liu Zong shrugged. “Nothing that suits me.”