Treasure-Seeking Compass

As Ye Wei'an grew more familiar with the minimap's functions, he discovered that beyond the basic terrain outlines and friend-or-foe markers, faint golden icons occasionally flickered on the map, accompanied by brief labels.

At first, he didn't pay them much mind, until the party passed a forest clearing and a golden label appeared right beside their path.

The label read: [Forgotten Harp].

Since it was so close, he decided to take a look.

Ye Wei'an reined in his horse, his gaze fixed on the location indicated by the map—there was nothing there but a massive, hollowed-out oak tree that had long since withered, surrounded by waist-high shrubbery.

"Hold up." He swung down from his horse and, under the puzzled gazes of Cain and the others, walked toward the dead tree and pushed aside the bushes behind the trunk.

"Young Master?" Ailian called out softly.

Beneath the thorns lay not soil, but a human skeleton that had nearly merged with the fallen leaves and humus. The bones had long since dried and bleached white, and the remaining fabric on the body had rotted away, save for a cloak half-pressed beneath it. One could still faintly discern its deep blue base color and an emblem that seemed to be composed of harp strings and stars.

Cain stepped forward to take a look at the unique mark, his expression turning grave. "The Harpers... This is a Harper... or at least, it once was."

The little maid asked curiously, "What is the Harpers? Is it a musicians' guild that performs for nobles?"

"Nobles wouldn't care for a musicians' guild like that." Cain gave a wry smile and shook his head. "They are a group of idealists walking in the shadows. Most of them are bards, mages, or rangers who use this mark to secretly oppose tyrants and evil magic. The common folk see them as the embodiment of justice, but in the eyes of lords, they are a bunch of mavericks and troublemakers who love to stir up the situation. Even if their intentions are good, these people often act without regard for the consequences."

He then crouched down to inspect the remains, eventually retrieving a silver brooch from the skeleton's curled hand, shaped exactly like a small harp. In a small leather pouch at the skeleton's waist, he discovered three vials.

"These are potent healing potions, and they've been preserved remarkably well." The knight was deeply moved. "In a place like this... even the most seasoned woodsman or ranger would likely struggle to find them. Young Master, your perception must be blessed by Oghma, the God of Knowledge."

Not long after, while skirting an area of jagged stone forests, another golden marker popped up on the edge of the map: [Hidden Cache].

Ye Wei'an stopped in front of a granite boulder that stood about half a person's height.

To anyone else, it looked no different from the surrounding rocks.

"Renn, move this."

"Me? Move a rock this big?"

The warrior was highly skeptical that he could manage it.

But since the Young Master had commanded it, he had no choice but to step forward.

The rock was looser than expected, and with a bit of effort, it was pushed aside.

They then discovered that the rock had been concealing a narrow, naturally formed crevice, inside which was stuffed a leather bag coated in a thick layer of preservative grease.

Harold reached in to pull it out, and upon opening it, his eyes immediately lit up. "My Lord! It's money! And... a map!"

The bag contained about fifty beautifully minted Cormyr Gold Lion Coins, and the tanned leather map was marked in red and black ink with the activity ranges, approximate numbers, and even one or two suspected camp locations of several bandit groups in the vicinity.

"This is the mark of the Zhentarim." Cain scrutinized the map, his brow furrowed. "These smugglers... it seems they have minions operating in this area and have left behind secret supply points. This will be very useful to us."

Ye Wei'an did not hesitate; he took ten gold coins from the haul and distributed them among the three warriors, leaving Renn and Harold grinning from ear to ear.

As private soldiers for a noble, Renn and Harold's monthly salary was about 6 Gold Lion Coins, so these rewards were by no means a small sum to them.

If Ye Wei'an were using a gacha game system, he would surely be hearing notifications of favorability going up and up right about now.

This was no mere noble young master; he was a walking treasure-hunting compass!

"Young Master is the best!" After they set off again, Ailian sat in Ye Wei'an's arms once more, her face flushed.

She chattered away while carefully using her sleeve to wipe the non-existent sweat from Ye Wei'an's brow. "Those goblins, beasts, and all these hidden treasures are no secret in front of Young Master; they get found in an instant! Even Uncle Cain says that following Young Master through the forest is like taking a stroll at home!"

Ye Wei'an only smiled faintly, habitually patting Ailian's soft hair.

He realized he had still underestimated the utility of the minimap.

With this precise treasure-hunting function alone, even without an upgrade panel, he could thrive just by relying on this map.

The group continued their journey under Ye Wei'an's lead.

In the blink of an eye, the silver moon Selune gradually rose, and the daylight began to dim.

Ye Wei'an scanned the map for a moment and selected a hillside sheltered from the wind, backed by a rock wall, as their campsite for the night.

Upon reaching the camp, without waiting for his orders, the three experienced professional warriors consciously busied themselves with their respective tasks:

Cain the knight was responsible for the outer perimeter.

He carefully set up nearly invisible thin threads around the camp, strung with tiny bells, beneath the bushes and dead branches. Then, he took a handful of special grey-white powder from his pouch and sprinkled it evenly around the edge of the camp—a potion used to repel venomous insects and certain sensitive small creatures.

Harold focused on defensive fortifications.

He drew his iron shovel, chose an angle, and began digging a shallow drainage ditch to guard against potential rain during the night. At the same time, he rolled several appropriately sized rocks from the vicinity to one side of the camp, stacking them into a simple, low-walled breastwork for cover.

Renn took on the chores.

He began leveling the ground, then sought out dry firewood, skillfully chopping it into appropriate sizes with his axe, stacking it at the designated spot, and surrounding it with a circle of stones to prepare the campfire.

Seeing Harold struggling with the trench, Ye Wei'an stepped in to help.

"Four Symbols Method: Earth."

The soil that would have required strenuous digging seemed to be stirred from within by an invisible hand, loosening and then, as if imbued with life, "flowing" along the surface on its own, moving five feet away to form a neat little mound.

In the blink of an eye, the prototype of a trench had taken shape, with efficiency far exceeding manual labor.

"Young Master, menial tasks like setting up camp should be left to us." Cain finished setting his traps, brushed the dirt from his hands, and walked over to Ye Wei'an. "You are a noble spellcaster; you should conserve your precious stamina and mental energy."

Ye Wei'an nodded, accepting this kindness.

This was the status of a spellcaster within a team.

However, he did not remain idle.

"In that case, I'm going to go get us some fresh dinner. I don't want to keep gnawing on dry rations."

As he spoke, he naturally took Ailian's hand from beside him. "Ailian, come with me."

"Young Master, it's almost dark, and the woods are..." Ailian said, sounding somewhat worried.

"What, are you afraid I can't protect you?" Ye Wei'an smiled, leading her toward the dense forest beside the campsite.

To others, a strange forest as night deepened was fraught with danger, and taking a maid with no combat ability away from the camp was nothing short of a reckless gamble.

But in Ye Wei'an's eyes, this was no different from heading to his own pantry to fetch ingredients.

On the expanded mini-map, aside from the terrain and red dots representing potential threats, there were also yellow dots marking neutral and non-aggressive creatures:

A forest rabbit curled up in a thicket with its long ears twitching slightly; a plump Thunder-Winged Grouse poking its head out from a tree hollow not far away; and even further off, behind the shadows of a mountain crag, a sturdy Rock Sheep was cautiously looking about...

"Rabbit, chicken, or sheep—which one do you want to eat?" Ye Wei'an looked at Ailian.

Ailian blinked, whispering, "The bunny... bunnies are so cute, why would you want to eat a bunny?"

"What about the sheep, then?"

"As for the sheep, it's so big, I wouldn't know how to dress it."

"Then it's the grouse." Ye Wei'an locked onto his target and said in a low voice, "Watch closely."

He pointed toward the direction of the grouse, focusing his intent.

"Mage Hand!"

A completely transparent palm coalesced out of the void.

Ye Wei'an controlled the Mage Hand like the most patient of hunters, slowly and silently reaching it into the tree hollow.

The grouse inside seemed to sense an anomaly in the airflow, having just let out half a startled "coo."

Unfortunately, it was already too late; the magical palm shot out from the side like lightning, precisely pinching the base of its wings before it could even spread them.

The grouse kicked its legs in vain before being firmly restrained. The entire process occurred with almost no sound, and just like that, it was brought back to Ye Wei'an's side.

"Young Master... this, you caught it just like that?" Her voice was filled with astonishment.

"Magic is quite convenient, isn't it?" Ye Wei'an handed the grouse to Ailian to hold, then plucked a few clusters of edible wild garlic and herbs from the surroundings.

"Let's head back to camp; we're having chicken soup tonight."