Transaction

For the past two days, Chen Jinyang had been absolutely livid. Faced with the constant pestering of a cross-dressing, cutesy-acting dead man—a trap—he found himself in a state of suppressed fury. He couldn't bring himself to hit the guy, and whenever he scolded him, the fellow would just play dumb. Chen Jinyang felt like crying; how on earth did he end up stuck with such an insufferable creature?

Whether he was eating, sleeping, practicing his martial arts, or even taking a dump, this guy would appear out of nowhere to pose mind-numbing questions, driving Chen Jinyang to the brink of madness. However, amidst his splitting headache, he began to notice something: this bastard elf wasn't as mindless as he acted. It felt more like deliberate retaliation. The moment the trap-elf sensed that Chen Jinyang's mood had soured to the point of actual violence, he would immediately scamper away with nimble grace.

Chen Jinyang watched with a mix of amusement and frustration as the elf kept his distance, winking and looking smug. His nose flared with rage. He stomped his feet and threatened, "You damn cross-dresser! How dare you toy with me? See if I don't skin you alive!" The elf narrowed his large eyes, wrinkled his delicate nose, and pouted, "Hmph," in a gesture of utter disdain. If this were a beautiful woman, it would have been playful and alluring; but coming from a heavily "feminized" man, it was—ugh—absolutely disgusting! Covered in goosebumps and feeling deeply uncomfortable, Chen Jinyang had to cover his face and retreat in defeat.

"Let me see! Let me see! Oh! It really is Winter Wolf hide! Look at this soft, long, thick fur—it's intoxicatingly beautiful! This is a treasure that every noblewoman in the North would go crazy for." Elrago greedily stroked the snow-white Winter Wolf pelt, the sensation of the smooth fur against his skin leaving him enchanted. "If those ladies saw you using such a treasure as a floor mat, I'm certain they'd strangle you first!" After hearing young Alos mention that William had once killed a Winter Wolf, the caravan leader, who had initially expressed disbelief, was dragged by the boy into the cellar to admire the spoils left behind by the silver-white monster.

"Wait! Let me look at this!" While critiquing the Winter Wolf pelt with Alos, Elrago turned his head and inadvertently spotted a light blue 'wolf skin' in the corner. Feeling something strange, he curiously stepped forward to inspect it.

"Oh! You mean this wolf skin? We found it at the gate two weeks ago. A stupid wolf ran into the ice wall and died. The fur feels comfortable enough, but it's a bit weird! It always feels uncomfortable to use as a mat." Alos explained nonchalantly as he saw Elrago focusing on the accidentally acquired pelt.

"Oh! By Mystra, Goddess of Magic! I never imagined I would actually see such a thing! This is a Hell Hound! It's the hide of a Hell Hound! And it's been peeled so perfectly! I've only heard that such a thing appeared in Sundabar of the Silvermoon League a few years ago." The former mage excitedly fiddled with the Hell Hound hide. This time, he didn't cry; instead, he turned back, looking somewhat angry, and shouted, "Little Alos! Your joke isn't funny at all! You are insulting the wisdom of a great mage (this guy, sigh! I won't say anything else!)! Do you think I'm an idiot? This is a Hell Hound! A true demon on the verge of adulthood! For such a sinister and powerful evil existence, you want me to believe a demon committed suicide by running into your door? Do you think the demon is stupid, or am I? Or are you?"

Intimidated by the "aura" of his anger, the boy stammered, "I'm the stupid one! But! We really did find it at the front gate! If you don't believe me, ask William! William and Phinia peeled this hide themselves!" Alos, having regained his composure, argued back with a flushed face.

The two found Chen Jinyang practicing with his heavy pole in the open space. A circle of curious caravan guards stood around, watching the giant wooden pole being swung with such force that it whistled. Recalling how they had been struck by this thing two days ago, everyone's faces turned pale. The little elf-trap even stood on the outer perimeter, hiding far away, his mouth—more delicate than a woman's—muttering incessantly: "So barbaric! Horrible guy! I hope you hit yourself! Hit yourself! Hit yourself! Hit yourself..."

"William! William! Come here for a second! I have something to ask you!" Elrago called out loudly to Chen Jinyang from a distance.

Hearing the call, Chen Jinyang swung the pole even more fiercely, the giant wood turning into a gale. "Whoosh—" He threw the pole aside without even looking where it would land and turned to walk toward Elrago and Alos. The muttering elf suddenly felt a blur before his eyes, a vicious gust of wind brushing past his hair and sending several strands flying. "Bang! Clang—" The wide-eyed little "trap" turned his head bit by bit, staring blankly at the giant pole, thicker than his own head, vibrating violently as it embedded itself into the wooden wall behind him. His face turned deathly pale, and he sat down on the ground, his nose twitching as he burst into tears.

The watching guards froze for a moment, then scattered like birds and beasts, running away as if nothing had happened. Chen Jinyang dragged the somewhat stunned caravan leader along as he said, "Forget about him! Didn't you have something to ask me? Let's go!"

"Uh, oh! I do have something to ask you! But Alafil is actually a pretty good elf, aside from his penchant for pranks. You shouldn't be too harsh on him!" Elrago, having a bit of a soft-hearted nature, began to plead on the elf's behalf.

"Enough! I know what I'm doing! I was just teaching him a lesson. Say what you have to say!" Chen Jinyang said irritably.

"You have a blue wolf skin, don't you? How did you get it?"

"Oh! You mean this? What does it have to do with you?" Entering the cellar, Chen Jinyang picked up the Hell Hound hide without answering the question.

"This is a Hell Hound hide! It's the skin of a true demon!" The poor, neurotic man became agitated and heated again.

"So what?"

"I—!" Faced with Chen Jinyang's cold gaze, Elrago deflated. He took a few deep breaths to calm his emotions and said, "William! You must understand! As a true demon, the Hell Hound's hide carries an aura of evil. Such a thing is useless to ordinary people and, on the contrary, poses great danger. But for a spellcaster, Hell Hound hide is an extremely precious magical material. You know that our Habel Family is a family of mages; I hope you can transfer it to the Habel Family."

Chen Jinyang looked at Habel, who was meeting his gaze with calm eyes, and asked expressionlessly, "Is this thing very precious?"

"Very precious! The ripples caused by the discovery of a Hell Hound in the Silvermoon League last time have yet to subside. It is said that the 'Lady of Silvermoon' strained her relationship with other allies over this very thing. Would you say it's precious?" Elrago said with brutal, honest directness.

"Who is the Lady of Silvermoon?" Chen Jinyang felt a bit of confusion, but he didn't voice it, his eyes still coldly fixed on the other man: "Since this thing is so precious, what will you offer in exchange?"

"You can have ten thousand gold coins! It's a pity the rest of the Hell Hound's body is gone; otherwise, we could offer you another twenty thousand." Elrago said with regret. Alos, standing nearby, was stunned by the sheer scale of the transaction: "William! Hurry and agree! Hurry up!"

Chen Jinyang remained calm and said, "I can still find the other parts of the Hell Hound! But what use do I have for these gold coins? Having too much money isn't necessarily a good thing!"

"You can have the friendship of the Habel Family."

"Are you telling me a joke? You can spare me such empty words!"

"Fine, fine! You win!" Elrago was completely defeated. He had to bring out a heavier bargaining chip to convince the man before him. "Little Alos is turning fifteen soon and has already awakened his talent as a spellcaster. He has the potential to become a powerful mage. But you must know that potential does not equal strength. Without the guidance of a brilliant mentor, he will never be able to teach himself. The magical world is full of crises; one wrong step and he could fall into danger." At this point, the former spellcaster looked dejected and continued painfully, "I am a clear example of that."

"If you are willing to transfer the Hell Hound hide along with the other parts to us, not only will you receive thirty thousand gold coins, but the Habel Family will also step forward to help little Alos find a suitable magic mentor. As a family of mages, we have good relationships with many powerful archmages." Hearing this, Alos was overcome with excitement. He looked at his calm brother with hopeful eyes, wishing he would agree immediately.

"Why not have the mages of your Habel Family teach Alos directly instead of looking for someone else?"

"The members of our family are almost all magic experiment fanatics; most are not suited to teach apprentices. And once they get their hands on a Hell Hound, I'm afraid no one will have the heart to do anything else. It would be better to find another archmage to serve as a mentor." Faced with Chen Jinyang's question, the Habel member hurriedly explained.

"Fine! I agree to this deal! But I don't need that many gold coins! Convert them into suitable magical tools for Alos to use during his apprenticeship." As soon as Chen Jinyang finished speaking, Alos, weeping with joy, hugged him and sobbed: "Brother—! Wuwuwu—!"

Elrago said with some emotion, "William! You are a competent and good brother! Little Alos! I truly envy you for having such a brother! We will provide little Alos with a full set of magical equipment and consumable materials for his apprenticeship."

"Alright, alright! Hurry up and find the other parts of the Hell Hound. I won't feel at ease until I see them." Seeing the two brothers dawdling, the impatient Elrago urged them repeatedly.

"Don't rush this! Rest assured, it's yours and no one will snatch it away! By the way, I have some other little things here. Take a look and see what they are." Chen Jinyang suddenly remembered the items he had been thinking about for the past two days. He turned and rummaged through the corner to find five small flat bottles, handing them to Elrago. These were the items he had obtained from the adventurer's camp when he first arrived in this world. Seeing the healing potion the elf drank the day before yesterday reminded him that he still had these little things.

After just a glance at the five small bottles containing colorful liquids, Elrago, eager to complete the Hell Hound deal, said impatiently, "These are just a few common adventurer potions. The two gray ones are strong acid, that red one is alchemist's fire, the light green one is an antidote, and the colorless one is holy water. However, the antidote and holy water have already expired; they must have been sitting for over three months. Even if they hadn't expired, they wouldn't be worth much. Hurry! Let's get the other parts of the Hell Hound first!"

Elrago dropped the bottles, casually stuffed the Hell Hound hide into his magic bag, and pulled Chen Jinyang toward the exit.