Pregnant Sow

"Where in town can I find a gem craftsman?" Russell asked Charles immediately after buying the White Crystal.

"Regarding gem craftsmen, there's a lamp shop on Second Cross Street. The craftsman inside has top-notch skills in polishing Gem Lamp Fixtures. Of course, Fluorite Castle should have excellent gem craftsmen employed to polish gems for Baron Lord."

"Let's go to the lamp shop then."

Russell quickly led his men to the lamp shop, then found the craftsman who polished Gem Lamp Fixtures and stated his needs: "I need you to help me polish these two White Crystals into lenses... convex lenses... where the middle is slightly thicker and the edges are slightly thinner..."

In reality, he needed the craftsman to polish Reading Glasses.

His grandmother, Old Madam Ingrid, was already elderly, and the Battle Qi Seed she had nurtured in her early years had already withered, unable to warm her body anymore.

Thus, she had presbyopia; she could see distant objects clearly but had blurry vision when reading letters up close.

Russell planned to gift her Reading Glasses at her birthday banquet. Of course, what he intended to polish wasn't a complete pair of Reading Glasses, but rather two Monocles – the old-fashioned kind with a chain, a single lens.

Reading Glasses also had prescriptions, and Russell couldn't accurately measure her vision. He could only have two Monocles of different prescriptions made first, for his grandmother to use.

Once his grandmother found one that worked well, he could then commission someone to make Reading Glasses with a more accurate prescription.

"My Lord, you are truly filial," Charles exclaimed. "Even more astonishing is that a simple piece of crystal can allow presbyopic eyes to see clearly again. This is truly incredible."

"In life, wonders are everywhere, as long as one is good at discovering them," Russell chuckled. He believed his gift would surely make his grandmother very happy, and the cost wasn't high, just two pieces of White Crystal.

Actually, glass could also be used to make Reading Glasses, but Russell disdained its low quality. Moreover, the glass manufacturing process here wasn't good enough, with too many impurities.

Of course.

Before he had browsed the gem stall, he had considered making a few dishes from Earth for his grandmother. Considering Mrs. Moore's difficult communication, the possibility of making food was too low, so he decided on Reading Glasses instead.

The merchant caravan brought many novelties. As Russell browsed, the sun began to set in the west.

"My Lord, shall we return to the manor now, or stay at Fluorite Castle?" Charles asked.

"Neither Fluorite Castle nor the manor. Let's find a small inn in town to stay. By the way, are there any small inns?"

Charles looked troubled. "Of course, there are, but... your noble status..."

"It's just for one night, it's fine," Russell's purpose was not simple. "Life on the snowfield is far harsher than a small inn, but we will eventually fight on the snowfield, won't we? Consider it early adaptation."

"Alright, as you wish."

"Teacher Charles, you can go home and rest. Come back tomorrow morning." Russell gave Charles the day off.

Charles's "chicken" had indeed been idle for too long. Upon hearing this, he chuckled, "Thank you for your generosity and kindness, my Lord."

Night.

In the cramped little inn, Russell had a room to himself, while his personal manservant and several Knight Retainers squeezed into one room – with the arrival of the merchant caravan, the inn had no extra rooms.

Despite the somewhat unpleasant smell, Russell slept soundly.

When he was fast asleep, with a "caw" sound, the Dark Dreamscape descended again, centered on the inn, enveloping a large area of the surrounding streets.

He flipped over and mounted the Little Dream Dragon.

Instantly, spots of Magic Power lit up the streets.

"It's treasure hunting time again, Snowflake, let's go!" Russell stayed at the small inn precisely for this moment.

During the day, he had browsed the shops, but he couldn't discern the quality of many of the goods brought by the merchant caravan.

However, now, within the scope of the Dark Dreamscape, anything worth picking up would have nowhere to hide.

"Caw!"

Man and dragon flew slowly towards the first spot of Magic Power.

"Very good, these should be Magic Potions. The light is concentrated and dense, and it seems there are no fakes inside," Russell arrived at a stall. The stall had already closed, and the owner was sleeping in his tent.

Nodding, Russell left.

Magic Potions were meaningless to him; if he lacked them, he could always "borrow" from Fluorite Castle without spending money.

As he browsed, he examined most of the magic creations, but there wasn't much room for bargain hunting. It was possible for merchants who followed the caravan to pass off ordinary items as magic creations, but selling magic creations as ordinary items was unheard of.

"Regrettable!"

Russell was greatly disappointed. It seemed his bargain-hunting plan had failed. He then rode the Little Dream Dragon to a spot of Magic Power at the edge of the Dark Dreamscape.

"Huh?"

He soon let out a surprised exclamation.

"This seems to be a stall selling livestock. The cages on the cart are filled with many lambs, calves, and puppies... The glowing one seems to be a Sow? It's the Sow's belly that's glowing, and it looks like something is curled up inside. This..."

The surprise came too unexpectedly, too suddenly.

At an ordinary stall selling young livestock, there was a pregnant Sow, and it seemed she was even carrying a Phantom Beast baby.

"Could it really be a Phantom Beast baby?" Russell carefully observed the pregnant Sow. However, the piglet hadn't fully developed yet, so he couldn't see its specific appearance. Moreover, the light was very dim and could extinguish at any moment.

After all, it was extremely difficult for ordinary animals to gestate a Phantom Beast baby.

But if it truly was carrying one, with enough nourishment and time, it might yield countless times the return.

"I want this Sow!"

"Caw!" The Little Dream Dragon didn't understand why Russell was interested in a Sow and let out a cry, expressing its tiredness.

Afterward, the Dark Dreamscape dissipated, and consciousness returned to chaos.

The next morning, as soon as dawn broke, Russell woke up from his sleep. He then roused his Knight Retainers and they quickly headed to the livestock stalls.

The stall owner hadn't set up his stall yet and was feeding the young livestock.

Upon learning Russell's intention, he immediately put down the feed in his hands and enthusiastically introduced, "I went to great lengths to bring this sow over. I was worried the piglets wouldn't survive the cold on the journey, so I brought her over before she even gave birth..."

The sow was entirely black and was busily chewing on pig feed.

The stall owner continued, "This is an excellent breed of pig, the Golden Black Pig. Do you have your own manor, my lord? You can completely raise these Golden Black Pigs, and after a year, they'll be ready for market, yielding plump Golden Black Pork. Whether grilled or smoked, it's absolutely superb!"

Golden Black Pork was a specialty meat from the Golden Baron Territory. Russell had only eaten it at banquets in Fluorite Castle.

It truly tasted delicious.

So, he said with a smile, "Alright, I'll buy this sow. How much?"

"It will be one gold coin plus sixteen silver coins."

It wasn't expensive, so Russell didn't bother haggling. He nodded directly, "Ram, pay the bill... Jack, you and the others transport the sow back to the territory. Be careful of bumps and don't harm the piglets inside the sow."

"Understood." The Knight Retainers promptly got a cart from the stall owner and hired a serf from town to pull the cart towards Wuyou Snake Manor.

Russell stayed in town to continue browsing. He went through the entire merchant caravan and retrieved two custom-made monocles from the lamp shop before reuniting with Charles. Together, they returned to the territory.