The Big Bear Was Really Out of the Loop

Fang Yue was most short on Lifespan right now.

After a night of fighting, he had used up a lot of Lifespan.

Not to mention that practicing the Spark Heart Method and using the Spark Saber Technique both consumed Lifespan.

So the more Lifespan he had, the better.

He accepted the task.

System Notification: Congratulations, player. You have accepted the personal task Request Black Embers.

Task Name: Request Black Embers.

Task Level: Village-Class, High Grade.

Task Type: Personal Task.

Task Description: Captain Lin Ling has requested [Black Embers] from you and is willing to offer something of equivalent value.

Task Reward: Lin Ling's Favorability +1, Unknown.

After accepting the task, Fang Yue immediately took out 1 g of [Black Embers].

1 g of [Black Embers] could be exchanged for ten days of Lifespan.

And he had a whole 16 g. Wouldn't that be 160 days of Lifespan? This deal was definitely worth it!

He just didn't know if Captain Lin would offer him another task afterward.

Fang Yue was busy dreaming of a sweet deal when he noticed Lin Ling staring at him with a dark expression.

"Do you think I'm blind? I want the [Black Embers] produced when that weird creature just now underwent 'corpse transformation'! In terms of quantity, it should be at least ten times what you have in your hand, and it's much higher quality, too."

Huh?

He wanted 10 g of Black Embers?

Ten days of Lifespan for 10 g—that was a terrible exchange rate of one to one.

Fang Yue was suddenly a little unhappy.

He'd thought he'd lucked into a good deal, but it was a one-to-one exchange? What was the point?

He still didn't know exactly what [Black Embers] were for, but after going through so much trouble to kill the weird creature, he'd only accumulated this much. He couldn't help feeling like he'd be losing out if he just handed it over.

Fang Yue immediately shook his head like a rattle drum.

"Not trading!"

System Notification: Personal task Request Black Embers failed.

System Notification: [Ancient Moon Village Guard Team Captain] Lin Ling's Favorability -15.

That was fast! And brutally honest!

Seeing Lin Ling's expression turn visibly sour, Fang Yue exclaimed inwardly.

After being turned down, Lin Ling stared coldly at Fang Yue, making him feel a little unnerved.

Was this guy going to come kill him in broad daylight?

Fang Yue was genuinely a little spooked. He regretted refusing so quickly.

With this guy's Favorability dropping by 15 points, he might actually decide to kill him.

While Fang Yue was letting his imagination run wild, Lin Ling suddenly calmed down and said coolly,

"I'm not asking for these Black Embers just for myself. I'm also asking for them on Hua Wuye's behalf."

"Both Hua Wuye and I deserve credit for killing that weird creature. It wasn't your achievement alone. I didn't use that as leverage to demand anything. I offered a fair trade for what we were owed, and you still refused."

"I'll tell Lord Han about this."

"Lord Han is a man of noble character. No matter how much regard he had for you before, once he learns that your character is lacking, I think he'll drop you immediately and take another look at who you really are."

With that, Lin Ling turned and walked away, showing no sign of stopping.

"Wait!"

Fang Yue's voice rang out at once.

He'd been thinking only of his own interests and hadn't considered this.

Lin Ling had made a good point. He hadn't been the only one responsible for killing the weird creature.

Fang Yue hurried after him and smiled. "I can tell you've never done business, Captain Lin. I was trying to drive a hard bargain just now. I wasn't actually refusing to trade with you."

Business? Haggling?

Lin Ling's expression turned strange. It all felt a little absurd.

He'd never heard of anyone haggling over a deal involving [Black Embers].

"So you mean..."

"One gram of gray embers for two days of Lifespan. I have 10 g, so I'll trade them for 20 days of Lifespan. That's not unreasonable, right?"

That was unreasonable.

He'd doubled it from ten days to twenty, and that wasn't unreasonable?

But Lin Ling thought it over, then glanced at Hua Wuye, who was lying over there under someone's care, still unconscious and barely clinging to life. He gritted his teeth and said, "Fine. I'll take them!"

"Deal!"

Once he handed over the 10 g of Black Embers, Fang Yue's longevity token immediately gained twenty days' worth.

He drew all the Lifespan from the token into his own body.

"Lifespan: 28 days, 8 shichen."

What a relief! He didn't have to worry about running out of Lifespan for now.

System Notification: [Ancient Moon Village Guard Team Captain] Lin Ling's Favorability +16.

His Favorability was back...

Speaking of which, this guy's Favorability sure was cheap.

Seeing Lin Ling about to leave with the [Black Embers], Fang Yue hurriedly grabbed him and asked, "Captain Lin, wait. What are you planning to use the Black Embers for?"

So far, Fang Yue knew only that [Black Embers] could be used as an ingredient to make [Scum Yuan Pills], and that eating one had a small chance of turning someone into a weird creature. He knew nothing else about them.

That was why he wanted to ask an expert what people usually did with [Black Embers].

Lin Ling shook Fang Yue's hand off and said impatiently, "Some of it is for cultivation, and some of it is to treat her injuries. Also, I'll let it slide this time, but don't ask people what they plan to use their [Black Embers] for again. That's a major taboo."

Cultivation? Treating injuries?

Could this stuff replace the Lifespan consumed during cultivation?

Fang Yue thought about Lin Ling's claim that the exchange was fair—one to one. That seemed quite likely.

But how did it work?

Fang Yue still had 6 g of Black Embers.

Practicing martial arts consumed so much Lifespan. He wanted to use [Black Embers] instead.

Fang Yue was just about to catch up to Lin Ling and ask him to explain when Lin Ling suddenly stopped in his tracks and stared in shock toward the north.

What was happening in the north?

Confused, Fang Yue followed Lin Ling's gaze. At the edge of the crowd, it looked like a commotion had broken out.

Unlike the others, who were cheering excitedly, the villagers there looked terrified. They screamed and shoved their way inward, as if fleeing for their lives.

The panic seemed to spread. Before long, it had passed from person to person, and everyone was wearing a terrified expression as they screamed and pushed toward them.

The densely packed crowd surged toward them like a tide.

"Help! Help!!"

"A weird creature! There's another one behind us!!"

"The fighting isn't over! It's not over!!"

There was another weird creature?!

Fang Yue's heart lurched. For some reason, the first thing that came to mind was the silent Chen residence in the north of the village.

Could it be... that the weird creature inside had come out?

Lin Ling had already come over. His expression grim, he said, "There's another weird creature after all. Get ready. We're going to kill it!"

We?

No, no, no! If it was the weird creature from the Chen residence, Fang Yue was absolutely going to run away at the first opportunity!

"What? Are you scared?"

Seeing Fang Yue back away, Lin Ling gave a cold laugh and walked past him. "Then I'll go alone! I meditated just now and recovered some inner strength. It's enough to deal with an ordinary weird creature."

How could Fang Yue let him go get himself killed? He hurriedly grabbed Lin Ling and briefly told him about the Chen residence.

"What?! Chen Mu is dead?!"