Minions and Treasures

Tang Qi, now free, finally had a chance to fill his stomach.

He repeatedly banged the rye bread in his hand against a plank on the wagon.

Perhaps it was occupational hazard, but he gradually beat it into a simple rhythm.

It wasn't until he woke Black Snake from its slumber that he managed to break off a few small pieces of bread.

This kind of hard, stick-like bread was the easiest to store and carry as travel rations here.

At least Catherine had thoughtfully prepared some plum wine, so it wouldn't get stuck in his throat.

"I'm really missing yesterday's fried pork chop."

The plum wine diluted the bitterness of the rye. He tossed a piece of bread into Kuru's mouth and gave it a drink of wine.

"Th-thanks..."

The kobold's thanks weren't necessarily sincere.

It was more out of fear that if it didn't say thank you, it wouldn't get any more food.

When it was Black Snake's turn, after pouring it a mouthful of wine, Tang Qi found it directly clamped the spout of the bag with its teeth and downed the entire bag of plum wine before letting out a burp.

"There are only three bags of wine, we should ration it," Tang Qi wasn't angry, just sighed.

"Who cares? You don't expect a scoundrel to follow the rules, do you?"

"Of course not, so the remaining two bags won't be for you."

"You shouldn't have shared them in the first place."

Black Snake leaned back against the cargo, "The road of adventure is most afraid of meddling.

If doing good deeds brings good rewards, that's what you deserve.

If you run into a rogue like me, then consider yourself unlucky."

Tang Qi shook his head:

"A bag of wine is no great loss; we can still buy it in Dragon Gold City.

Compared to seeing you days later, with cracked lips, begging me for a sip of wine.

This isn't much of a loss."

"I'm really curious, how did that rotten mouth of yours, which always knows how to hit people where it hurts, grow like that?"

"I learned it from One Thousand and One Pages on Arguing."

"Is that one of your academy's textbooks too?"

"It will be."

"What do you mean?"

"Because I haven't written it yet."

"You're a damn genius!"

Black Snake admired his tongue, but also scoffed at his ignorance, "But don't think you can drink star plum wine anywhere."

Tang Qi looked towards the merchant wagon not far away, filled with wooden crates of star plums.

Inside were not only Lord Mel's "Shining Star" but also surplus crops planted by the town's residents:

"I don't believe that with tons of goods coming in every year, star plum wine in Dragon Gold City would be in short supply."

"There are goods. But do you have money?"

"Melon wine from Golden Oak costs two copper coins. How much more expensive can it be in Dragon Gold City?"

"If it were really that cheap, why would that pig spend such a large sum to hire a mercenary group to escort his caravan?"

Black Snake sneered, listing the expenses required to transport a batch of star plums, "Only the damp soil of the Twilight Forest is suitable for growing these specialties.

To ensure the freshness of the fruit, in addition to the mercenary escort fees, a spellcaster must be hired for preservation--

A single [Grain Preservation] scroll sells for a high price of 50 gold coins.

And the output of just one small town is far from enough to meet the demand of the entire Dragon Gold City...

All these factors combined cause the price of star plums in Dragon Gold City to multiply dozens of times.

The cost of the plum wine brewed from them accumulates upwards based on quality.

Do you think the money in your pocket can guarantee you a few sips of low-quality star plum wine?"

Recalling that 300 kilograms of star plums only cost 10 gold coins in Catherine's hands.

Tang Qi, thinking about how much profit Lord Mel could make from this, couldn't help but gasp with envy:

"No wonder so many people resonated with me when I was singing that day..."

"Once we get to Dragon Gold City, you'll definitely miss how cheap it is here at the Golden Oak."

"Looks like you already miss it. Too bad, you're destined to lose this job.

I wonder if the laws of Dragon Gold City will sentence you to slavery to cover the losses from your dereliction of duty?

That way, you could at least go back to the town and plant star plums."

Despite saying this, Tang Qi was just joking.

The laws of Dragon Gold City didn't solely serve the Nobles; they were relatively fair compared to the Tyron Empire.

Someone like Black Snake, who abandoned their post, would likely pay sufficient compensation.

If they weren't well-off, they'd be imprisoned and made to work off their debts.

But for Black Snake, this would clearly be using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

"Forget that damn trial, I'm more curious about..."

Black Snake snorted, stammering like a shy maiden, losing his previous rogue-like demeanor.

"Hey, you and her... when did you get so familiar?"

This old man must be talking about Catherine.

Tang Qi wouldn't pass up the chance to mock him:

"What, jealous?"

"Hmph."

"Jealousy won't help. Sloppy old men can't win girls' hearts."

"I'm only forty-six."

"Then you're at a very awkward age that no one appreciates—

Among humans, you're an outdated, sloppy old man.

Among dwarves, you're a kid who hasn't even grown pubic hair.

Among elves... good heavens, you're still a baby."

"Go to hell with your rotten mouth."

Black Snake kicked out.

Tang Qi's hair stood on end instantly, and he instinctively rolled to the other side of the cart—

Black Snake, however, froze.

He hadn't even put much force into it?

Why was this kid reacting so strongly?

Tang Qi looked at Black Snake with lingering fear, thinking that he truly lived up to his reputation as a high-level adventurer.

A seemingly casual kick was enough to trigger his Alertness.

"Are you perhaps too timid?" Black Snake teased.

"I..."

"Or perhaps he'd already heard of your great reputation?"

Thanks to his occupational hazard, Tang Qi was always sensitive to a person's voice and could often discern their outward personality from their tone and speech.

For example, Black Snake's voice was always languid and decadent, like a useless person who had muddled through forty years without achieving anything.

Explosive Wolf's voice was rough and impatient, with short pauses between words, almost no breath.

New Star was always confident and resonant, and this might be a common flaw among all young mages:

"Minions of the Ebony Forest, right?"

Black Snake frowned. "This team wasn't this famous before it disbanded."

"Once people discovered you survived escaping from the Great Desert, you were already renowned.

I heard ten teams ventured into the desert, and you were the only survivors."

Everyone knew of the Great Desert that New Star spoke of.

It was a wasteland that cut across the center of the continent, separating the Tyron Empire on the west coast from the Lord Alliance on the east.

It was also the reason Tang Qi couldn't choose an inland route and had to cross the continent by ship.

Theories about the formation of this wasteland varied.

Some said it was the ruins of a battlefield where gods had fought.

Others claimed a forgotten kingdom once stood there.

Legends always attracted endless adventurers, who ventured deep into it.

Yet, few ever left that wasteland alive.

It was enough that the mere act of "walking out" was something people would talk about for ages.

Black Snake closed its eyes, not showing much respect for New Star:

"That hardly counts as proof you recognized me."

"They say there was a 'viper with a black scimitar' in that team. Honestly, I really thought you were a snake person at first."

"So you recognized me from my captured 'Snake Kiss,' and then what?"

Black Snake was uninterested.

"And then... I hope you can tell me—

What treasures did you all find in the Great Desert?"

New Star leaned closer, resting against the railing of the cargo truck.

"I'm curious."