Passing Off Inferior Goods

"So, we're just letting them go?"

In the clearing, Tang Qi watched as the robed kobold "Kuru" directed others to move the miscellaneous items from the recessed chamber, including the young ones' eggs.

Now they were heading deeper into the cave, as if relocating, Tang Qi hesitated.

"A full suit of plate armor, that's not something you see often.

In Dragon Gold City, even sold at half price, it would fetch at least a hundred gold coins.

This trip has already been profitable.

A kobold's scales are much tougher than human skin. Using their lives to dull my 'Snake Kiss' would be more of a loss than a gain."

The jackals were mercenaries; their loss wasn't significant.

Guarding the orchard was a leisurely retirement job. People would flock to Lord Mel, pledging their loyalty.

Black Snake kicked open the lid of a wooden crate again. Seeing twenty standard-sized wooden boxes, with the star plums inside intact, he finally breathed a sigh of relief:

"The most important thing is, the star plums are recovered."

"All of them?"

"One box isn't full. It's likely they ate some and used the excuse of a poor harvest to cover it up."

Tang Qi frowned. The robed kobold's shouts from afar grew more impatient, sounding like they were urging them on.

A seed of doubt sprouted in his mind, and he couldn't help but step forward to inspect.

He only found twenty boxes of star plums, which shimmered faintly in the dim cave.

The fruity aroma filled the air, a scent that reminded him of the plum wine he'd drunk the night before.

They were indeed star plums, perfectly preserved.

Considering Tang Qi's sharp perception throughout this entire affair, he asked with unease:

"Are these star plums okay?"

"No, they aren't problematic in the slightest."

"That's good then."

"But star plums only have a shelf life of three days."

To be precise, they would rot after three days.

Tang Qi hesitated before reaching his hands into the plum fruits.

His fingertips first felt the smooth coolness of the fruit skin, stored in the cellar.

As he reached deeper, his palms began to feel sticky.

Finally, at the very bottom, he felt the rough hardness of the stones.

The moment he realized the star plums were rotten on the inside, a faint, sour stench of decay assailed Tang Qi's nostrils.

He directly pried open the outermost layer of plums—

He discovered that what appeared to be a full box of fruit flesh was merely a shallow layer spread across the top.

The star plums in the middle layer were beginning to rot, their sugary rinds turning a dirty yellow, breeding mold.

The very bottom was even filled with stones for weight!

"How could this be?"

Gravel exclaimed in shock, still not processing what had happened.

"They smelled fine just now! How did they end up like this, like boots that were vomited into and left unwashed for a month!?"

"Magic. There's a spellcaster among these kobolds—"

The instant Tang Qi made his deduction, Black Snake's curved blade was already drawn.

The robed kobold on the other side had clearly been watching their situation. Seeing their trick exposed, it let out a strange cry:

"Rua!"

A series of fluctuating sounds erupted from its throat.

Tang Qi reacted, "It's casting a spell!"

A blue-white halo flickered at the tip of the staff it held as the kobold chanted.

At the same instant, several kobolds quickly drew their crude short bows.

The bone arrows were rough and couldn't reflect the torchlight off the stone walls, thus tracing a faint trajectory in the dim cave—

A soft "whoosh" sounded. The arrow wasn't powerful, but it precisely intercepted Black Snake's path!

Black Snake saw the direction, bent his spine to reduce resistance, shifted his footing, and dodged the arrow to the side.

His movements were ghostly, almost merging into the darkness.

"Rua!"

The arrows bought Kuru a moment to chant.

Its throat rumbled heavily, and as it shrieked, the tip of its staff shot out a snow-white ice cone—

Trailing a faint blue cold light, it stabbed straight towards the Black Snake's forehead!

The Black Snake didn't intend to dodge. Its obsidian scimitar, like an invisible force in the dimness, its edge dragging through the unseen air, tearing a mournful whistling sound.

Only when it neared the light did a sliver of its outline reveal itself.

"Snap!"

The ice crystal was cleanly severed, the ray splitting in two before the kobold's eyes.

"Kuru!"

The kobold cried out in alarm, hastily rolling over, attempting to flee.

The scimitar had already grazed its throat!

"The difference in strength is too great..."

Tang Qi blinked, then slowly walked over with Gravel, who seemed to have foreseen the outcome.

To him, all of this had only taken a few breaths.

The Black Snake had already crossed over a hundred feet, aiming to sever the kobold's head.

Leaning closer, he saw that the obsidian scimitar was covered in a spiderweb-like frost, extending all the way to the hilt, freezing the Black Snake's fingertips purple.

[Frozen Ray], like Tang Qi's Art of Making Friends, was a 0-level cantrip that didn't occupy a spell slot. Upon hitting, its cold would freeze the target's limbs, slowing their movements.

But even with the slowness, the Black Snake's speed was still too much for the kobold to handle.

He and the Jackal were clearly not on the same level.

Adventurers of their caliber, why were they hiding in a corner like Star Plum Town?

Suppressing his doubts, he heard the Black Snake coldly demand:

"Where are the remaining star plums?"

The kobold wailed, not only kneeling this time but also banging its head a dozen times:

"The fruit, rotten, could only, be eaten!

Afraid, killed, could only, deceive!

Surrender, spare life!"

The Black Snake finally realized that nothing could be salvaged.

Annoyed, it spat coldly, and with a swift hand, was about to slit the kobold's throat—

"Wait!"

Tang Qi quickly grabbed its wrist. The cold air made him shiver.

"If you kill it, there's no way to explain it to the lord."

"How else can I explain it? Tomorrow is the Harvest Festival, and the merchant caravan will surely arrive. If the amount submitted is insufficient, keeping it won't help you make up for the deficit?"

"Of course, it can."

Tang Qi wanted to record today's events in his journal.

If the kobold died, he would lose the possibility of understanding the whole story.

Moreover, he had already signed a military order—

If he didn't retrieve all the star plums, he would be taken away to confess his guilt.

From any angle, he couldn't let the kobold die here.

"It's a spellcaster, isn't it? Since it could fool our eyes, why can't it use magic to fool the merchant caravan?"

The Black Snake sneered:

"Mel, that fat pig—the employer, will arrange for professional personnel to accompany the caravan to the town. They will inspect the quality of the star plums one by one.

Its trickery couldn't even fool you. Do you think you're more professional than them?"

"Of course not. The reason I discovered the problem with this batch of star plums is that some of them had already rotted. As long as the illusion is seen through, the smell cannot be hidden no matter what.

But I can pass off inferior goods as superior, can't I?"

Tang Qi quickly explained.

"When you submit the star plums, you should sign documents certifying the goods are intact, right?"

"Of course. To prevent any trouble during transport or loss of star plums, the caravan shifts the responsibility onto us."

"Normal star plums, compared to 'Shining Star,' besides slight differences in taste, only have differences in color.

If they are placed at the very bottom and their natural color is concealed by magic, it would be difficult to see through the illusion if one didn't know from the start that they were 'inferior goods.'

And as long as they are fooled and the documents are signed, even if they discover the goods are not as ordered upon arrival in Dragon Gold City, they can only find a way to bear the losses themselves."

"But they will still know that the problem originated from my side."

"As if they wouldn't know something had gone wrong if I didn't lie to them.

Something had already gone wrong, and the important thing was how to shift the blame.

Pushing some of the risk onto them meant that even if the caravan complained, it was better than taking all the responsibility myself."

The kobolds all shut their eyes, ready to have their necks stretched.

Who would have thought that with a twist of fate, a human would "plead" for them?

It crudely understood Tang Qi's plan, nodding repeatedly, kneeling on the ground and gesturing constantly:

"Kuru, use, Silent, Illusion!"

[Silent Illusion].

A 1st-level spell. Within a 15-foot radius circle, create a movable image that cannot be perceived by hearing, smell, or other senses.

Any action that physically interacts with the image will reveal its illusory nature.

Tang Qi guessed that Kuru used Silent Illusion to conceal the stolen star plums.

Then, using the trick of [Magic Trick], it twisted the rotten smell into the scent of fruit, thus deceiving their eyes.

They could, of course, repeat the same trick to deceive tomorrow's caravan.

After hearing Tang Qi's plan, Black Snake fell silent in contemplation.

He was weighing the pros and cons.