The Trade

Over the past two days, Chen Jinyang had been in a foul mood. He was being pestered and harassed by a dead, cross-dressing elf who played innocent and acted cute. He couldn't hit him, and whenever he scolded him, the elf played dumb. Fuming with rage, Chen Jinyang felt like he could cry. How did I end up stuck with such an insufferable creature?

The elf showed up everywhere—at meals, while Chen Jinyang slept or trained, even when he went to the bathroom—and asked maddening questions that drove him to despair. But as much as it annoyed him, Chen Jinyang had also noticed something: the bastard elf wasn't as oblivious as he pretended to be. It seemed more like he was deliberately getting back at him. Whenever the cross-dressing elf noticed that Chen Jinyang was truly getting angry enough to hit him, he would promptly dart away.

Chen Jinyang watched the elf keep his distance, making faces at him with a smug, self-satisfied grin. His anger flared until he felt his nose might burst. Hopping mad, he shouted, "You damn freak! How dare you mess with me? I'll tear your hide off!" The elf narrowed his big eyes, wrinkled his delicate nose, and pouted. "Hmph!" he sniffed dismissively. If a beautiful woman had made that gesture, it would have been charming and adorable—utterly captivating. But when a man who'd been so thoroughly feminized did it, it was just revolting! Chen Jinyang broke out in goose bumps, overcome with discomfort, and could only cover his face and retreat in defeat.

"Let me see! Let me see! Oh, it really is a Winter Wolf pelt! Look at that soft, long, thick fur—so beautiful it takes your breath away! It's the treasure every noblewoman in the North goes wild for." Elrago greedily stroked the snowy-white Winter Wolf fur. The smooth hairs brushing against his skin sent him into a daze. "If those ladies saw you using a treasure like this as a rug, I'm sure they'd strangle you on the spot!" After little Alos told him that William had once killed a Winter Wolf, the caravan leader had pretended not to believe him. The boy had then dragged him down into the cellar to see the spoils left behind by that silvery-white beast.

"Wait! Let me see that!" Elrago had been admiring the Winter Wolf pelt with Alos when he turned his head and happened to spot the pale blue 'wolf pelt' in the corner. Finding it strange, he went over to examine it.

"Oh, you mean that pelt? We found it by the gate two weeks ago. Some dumb wolf ran into the ice wall and killed itself. It feels pretty nice, but there's something odd about it! It's really uncomfortable to use as a cushion." Seeing that Elrago had taken an interest in the pelt they'd found by chance, Alos explained casually.

"Oh! Mystra, Goddess of Magic! I can't believe I'm actually seeing one of these!" The former Mage excitedly handled the Hell Hound hide. This time he didn't cry. Instead, he turned around and shouted angrily, "Little Alos! That joke isn't funny at all! You're insulting the intelligence of a great Mage—honestly, this guy... never mind! Do you think I'm an idiot? This is a Hell Hound! A real demon, almost fully grown! You expect me to believe that such a sinister, powerful, evil creature ran into a wall and killed itself right outside your door? So what is it—are you saying the demon's an idiot, or I am? Or are you the idiot?"

Intimidated by the force of Elrago's anger, the boy stammered, "I'm the idiot! But we really did find it right at the front gate! Ask William if you don't believe me! William and Phinia skinned it themselves!" Once he'd recovered, Alos flushed scarlet and hurried to protest.

The two of them found Chen Jinyang swinging a huge pole in the open space. The caravan guards had gathered in a ring around him, watching the enormous wooden pole whistle through the air. Remembering how it had hit them two days ago, their faces turned deathly pale. The little elf, who looked like a cross-dressing girl, stood far away at the edge of the crowd. His mouth, even daintier than a woman's, kept muttering, "So barbaric! You awful brute! I hope you hit yourself! Hit yourself! Hit yourself!"

"William! William! Come over here! I need to talk to you!" Elrago called out to Chen Jinyang from a distance.

When Chen Jinyang heard him, he swung the pole even faster, until the giant wooden beam was little more than a whirlwind. "Whoosh!" He flung it away without even looking where it landed, then turned and walked toward Elrago and Alos. The elf, still muttering under his breath, suddenly saw something blur past. A fierce gust grazed his hair, sending several strands flying. "Bang! Clatter-clatter-clatter!" The little cross-dresser's eyes went wide. He slowly turned his head and stared blankly at the huge pole, thicker than his head, quivering violently where it had embedded itself in the wooden wall behind him. His face went white, and he slumped to the ground. His nose twitched, and then he burst into tears.

The watching guards froze for a moment, then scattered like startled birds. As Chen Jinyang led the somewhat dazed caravan leader away, he said, "Forget about him! Didn't you want to talk to me? Let's go!"

"Uh, right! I did want to talk to you! But Alafil is actually a pretty decent elf, apart from his occasional pranks. Don't be too hard on him!" Elrago was something of a softhearted fellow and spoke up to plead the elf's case.

"Enough! I know what I'm doing. I was just teaching him a lesson. Now, what did you want?" Chen Jinyang said impatiently.

"Don't you have a blue wolf pelt? How did you get it?"

"Oh, you mean this? What's it to you?" In the cellar, Chen Jinyang picked up the Hell Hound hide without answering the question.

"That's a Hell Hound hide! It came from a real demon!" The poor, nervous man was getting worked up again.

"So what?"

"I—" Faced with Chen Jinyang's chilly gaze, Elrago lost heart. He took several deep breaths to calm himself, then said, "William, you need to understand: as a real demon, a Hell Hound's hide carries an evil aura. It's no use to ordinary people—in fact, it can be very dangerous. But to spellcasters, a Hell Hound hide is an extremely precious magical material. You know that the Habel Family is a family of Mages. I'd like you to transfer it to us."

Chen Jinyang met Harpell's calm gaze without expression and asked, "Is it really that valuable?"

"Very valuable! The commotion caused by the Hell Hound found in the Silvermoon League still hasn't died down. I heard that the Lady of Silvermoon has had a serious falling-out with her allies over it. Does that tell you how valuable it is?" Elrago answered with complete honesty.

"Who's the Lady of Silvermoon?" Chen Jinyang wondered, but didn't say it aloud. He continued to regard the other man coolly. "If it's so valuable, what are you offering in exchange?"

"You could have ten thousand gold coins! It's a shame the rest of the Hell Hound's body is gone, or we could give you another twenty thousand." Elrago sounded regretful. Beside him, Alos was stunned by the enormous deal. "William! Say yes! Hurry up and say yes!"

Chen Jinyang remained calm. "I can still find the rest of the Hell Hound's body. But what use are all those gold coins to me? Having too much money isn't necessarily a good thing."

"You'll have the friendship of the Habel Family."

"Are you joking? Spare me the empty promises."

"Fine, fine! You win!" Elrago gave up completely. He had no choice but to offer a bigger incentive to persuade the man in front of him. "Little Alos will be fifteen soon, and he's already awakened his talent for spellcasting. He has the potential to become a powerful spellcaster. But you need to understand that potential isn't the same as ability. Without a skilled mentor to guide him, he'll never teach himself to master magic. The world of magic is full of dangers. One wrong step, and he could find himself in peril." At this, the former spellcaster grew despondent, then continued bitterly, "I'm a perfect example."

"If you're willing to transfer the Hell Hound hide, along with the rest of its body, to us, you'll get thirty thousand gold coins. The Habel Family will also help little Alos find a suitable Mage to teach him. As a family of Mages, we have good connections with many powerful archmages." At this, Alos was so excited he could barely contain himself. He gazed hopefully at his composed older brother, wishing he would agree at once.

"Why not have one of the Mages in your own Habel Family teach Alos? Why find someone else?"

"Almost everyone in our family is obsessed with magical experiments, and most of them aren't suited to teaching apprentices. Besides, once we get the Hell Hound, I doubt anyone will have the mind to do anything else. It would be better to find another archmage to serve as his mentor." Elrago hurried to explain.

"All right, I agree to the deal! But I don't need that many gold coins. Convert them into suitable magical equipment for Alos to use up during his apprenticeship." As soon as Chen Jinyang finished speaking, Alos burst into tears of joy and threw his arms around him. "Big brother! Waaaah!"

Elrago said, deeply moved, "William, you're a wonderful big brother! Little Alos, I'm so envious that you have a brother like him! We'll provide all the magical equipment and consumable materials Alos needs for his apprenticeship."

"All right, all right. Hurry up and find the rest of the Hell Hound too. I won't feel at ease until I've seen it," Elrago urged, growing impatient as the two brothers dawdled.

"Don't rush. Don't worry, nobody can take what's yours. By the way, I have a few little things here. Take a look and tell me what they are." Chen Jinyang suddenly remembered the items he'd been thinking about for the past couple of days. He turned and rummaged in the corner, then took out five small, flat bottles and handed them to Elrago. They were things he'd gotten from the adventurers' camp when he'd first arrived in this world. He'd only remembered he still had them two days ago, when he saw the elf drink a healing potion.

Elrago glanced at the five little bottles filled with colorful liquids. Eager to complete the Hell Hound deal, he said impatiently, "They're just a few ordinary adventuring potions. The two gray ones are acid, the red one is Alchemist's Fire, the pale green one is an antidote, and the colorless one is holy water. But the antidote and holy water have already expired. They've definitely been sitting around for more than three months. Even if they were still good, they wouldn't be worth much. Hurry up! Let's get the rest of the Hell Hound first!"

Elrago left the bottles behind, slipped the Hell Hound hide into his magic bag, and pulled Chen Jinyang out of the cellar.