Chapter 25

With a speed that would put even the fastest horses to shame, Gerald caught up to the moving merchant caravan in less than half an hour.

When he tossed the corpses of the Orc Wolf Rider Band's leader and his deputy onto a wagon and revealed their identities to the group, the entire caravan erupted in a frenzy.

The merchants, caught between shock and joy, meticulously inspected the two bodies to confirm their identities, with some even pulling out copied bounty posters to compare them against the faces of the dead.

There was no doubt: these two filthy, hideous orcs were the leaders of the brutal and cunning criminal syndicate that had ravaged the Four Northwest Towns for years, terrorizing villages and merchants alike.

The Orc Wolf Rider Band was finished!

The merchants cheered and whooped, quickly forming a circle around Gerald to offer their thanks. Beyond mere words, they pooled together a significant sum of money as a reward for his services.

Sui Xiong, of course, had no intention of accepting the money. In his view, since that group of orcs had dared to ambush him, wiping them out in a counter-attack was only natural—why should the merchants pay him? If he were to take money, it should be at an adventurer's guild in a town, collecting the official bounty.

But this time, it was his turn to be persuaded. Gerald explained that in civilized society, giving a reward after the elimination of bandits was a matter of course. Refusing the money would only make the merchants feel uneasy.

Since that was the case, and Sui Xiong was no stubborn old curmudgeon, he certainly wouldn't refuse this legitimate income.

The benefits of wiping out the Orc Wolf Rider Band went far beyond that; a wealth of valuable loot was found on the two corpses. Because both had been scared to death, their belongings were largely undamaged. The magic leather armor and magic scimitar belonging to "Blood Hand" alone were worth a month's income for an average merchant.

Not to mention the other items—for instance, both orcs possessed spatial bags. The one belonging to "Blood Hand" was mostly empty, containing little more than some coin and potions; he had likely converted his primary income into gear to maximize his combat prowess. The old shaman's spatial bag, however, was quite substantial, containing over a thousand gold coins alone, along with various gems, high-level potions, and scrolls, totaling several times that amount.

Between the wealth in those two bags, the equipment on the leaders, and the bounties on their heads, Soth estimated that the total value—easily convertible to cash—would likely exceed twenty thousand gold coins!

Twenty thousand gold coins! Upon hearing that number, Gerald was left completely dazed.

What did this amount signify? The main income for the villagers of White Leaf Village came from logging, charcoal burning, and planting Gold Vine—a crop with a poor taste that nonetheless resisted negative energy, serving as the staple food for commoners in the Ash Forest region. An average household, working hard for a year, could save about three to seven gold coins. Of that, the Church of the Sleepless would take at least seventy percent as tax, leaving them with only one or two coins.

Wait, a seventy percent tax? That's brutal! Sui Xiong couldn't help but exclaim upon hearing this. Shouldn't they be rebelling against such extortionists?

"Your Majesty, this tax is actually quite light," Gerald explained, looking surprised. "The Church's tax is levied only after the farmers have set aside their food rations. In other words, it is a tax on 'surplus wealth.' By comparison, the noble lords don't care whether a farmer has money or not when they collect taxes; that is what you call a truly heavy tax."

Sui Xiong finally understood his mistake. In truth, a moment's thought made it clear: if they couldn't guarantee their basic survival, who would be willing to live in a godforsaken place where skeletons roamed at night?

It was just like the "Account of the Snake Catcher"—venomous snakes were dangerous, but compared to harsh taxes and forced labor, catching snakes was the lesser evil!

In any world, harsh governance is fiercer than a tiger, he mused to himself, letting out a deep sigh.

Gerald, unaware of Sui Xiong's thoughts, continued, "The entire White Leaf Village only pays about two hundred gold coins in taxes a year. Twenty thousand gold coins is equivalent to a century of taxes for this village. Or, to look at it another way, back when I was an adventurer, my entire party would only save about a thousand gold coins in a year, and we were considered a fairly capable group."

"Think about it, Your Majesty: driving away a vicious dragon only pays five thousand gold coins, and hunting down a criminal who murdered a noble pays only one thousand. Eliminating a famous bandit group like the Orc Wolf Rider Band is only worth two thousand. You can imagine just how much twenty thousand gold coins really is!"

Sui Xiong nodded slightly, finally gaining a clear impression of the value of those twenty thousand coins.

"With this money, we could build a temple—Your Majesty, I suggest we also develop a village so we can monopolize the faith of an entire settlement. It wouldn't be much, but it would be stable and risk-free. Once the village is settled in a couple of years, we can continue to develop new ones. After developing a few more, we could build a town..." Gerald's thoughts wandered further and further. "In a hundred or two hundred years, we could have several towns, a dozen villages, and a stable following of at least ten thousand people."

Sui Xiong was noncommittal. To him, Gerald was thinking far too far ahead. Even the Chinese, who often had "century-long plans" on their lips, were usually just talking; who would seriously make a plan spanning one or two hundred years and actually intend to carry it out?

But then, he realized the reason.

Whether it was him or Gerald, they were theoretically immortal. A hundred years, or two hundred, was nothing more than a few extra winters and summers to them—watching leaves grow and fall, watching villagers be born and die.

The word "immortality" was no fantasy in this world; it was a concrete reality.

"Your Majesty, what do you think of this plan?" Gerald asked.

Sui Xiong gave a dry laugh and said vaguely, "No rush. Let's wait until I understand more about this world."

"That is also true. The wisdom of a deity is far beyond that of a mortal. Perhaps you will soon have a better plan to perfect your system of faith more quickly," the loyal Gerald nodded repeatedly. "Still, I think building a few villages with exclusive faith would be quite stable..."

Their conversation took place entirely through thought. Old Soth, seeing Gerald standing motionless as if deep in contemplation, couldn't help but chime in, "Brother White, this isn't over yet. There's another big payday waiting for you!"

He had truly done Sui Xiong a favor, and the topic immediately shifted from building villages to generating revenue.

"Generally speaking, the leaders of these bandit groups have a secret treasure cache, meant for a comeback if things go south, or for retirement. The Orc Wolf Rider Band has been ravaging the Four Northwest Towns for five or six years; their leader, 'Blood Hand,' surely has his own stash," Soth said. "If we can find that place, there will definitely be another huge sum of money!"

At the mention of a "huge sum of money," a strange light flickered in Soth's eyes, which had been somewhat dim with age, making them shine with an almost dazzling intensity.

Sui Xiong finally understood why he had named his caravan "Lucky Coin."

The old man was a total miser!

"How much money could there be?" Palin asked curiously.

"At least ten thousand gold coins!" Soth said with absolute certainty, leaving Sui Xiong wondering how he had arrived at that conclusion.

Palin clearly didn't have a great desire for money, or perhaps, having been baptized by the sight of twenty thousand gold coins, he was no longer so surprised by ten thousand. He nodded casually and returned to the campfire to study his spellbook.

Gerald nodded as well. "That sounds good. I will find a way to locate this treasure."

"If you find it, you must bring me a souvenir! At least one complete gold coin!" Soth whispered, but with firm emphasis. "This is an intelligence fee. Even though we are good friends, the rules cannot be broken!"

A gold coin?!

Sui Xiong was left speechless. He could tell Soth wasn't joking; he was being perfectly serious, yet he couldn't grasp the old man's logic at all.

The way humans in this world thought was truly bizarre!

Yet, Gerald was clearly able to keep up with Soth's eccentric logic. He agreed with equal seriousness and gravity, promising to select the most special souvenir for Soth and deliver it to him personally.

Soth was satisfied and walked away with a smile.

"Gerald, what exactly were you two talking about? Are souvenirs or things like that really so important?" Sui Xiong couldn't help but ask.

"Your Majesty, this is a tradition among adventurers," Gerald said, knowing his divine master knew little of the human world, and explained patiently. "Adventurers often come across clues regarding treasures or other valuable things, but for various reasons, many never get the chance to verify them before they grow old. So, if they meet a younger person with a compatible personality, they entrust those unverified clues to them. If the other person verifies the clues, regardless of how much they obtain, they must bring a small token back for their predecessor. It is a sign of respect for tradition and a continuation of the culture passed down through generations of adventurers."

So that was it!

Sui Xiong had a sudden realization, and he felt the somewhat hunched figure of Old Soth suddenly become tall and noble.

The elderly veteran adventurer entrusts their experience and dreams to the younger generation, and when those juniors achieve success, they bring back a souvenir. This allows those who no longer have the strength to adventure to share in the joy of success, proving that their past pursuits were not in vain... This love for adventure, this spirit of passing the torch, is truly moving beyond words!

It is just like the esports legends of the past; even though they have retired and their skills have dropped to the point where they are being crushed by amateurs, they still love the game. They retire in name only, persisting in the fight from the commentator's desk. Even if they have gone from powerhouses to weaklings, they still use comedic banter to guide the audience to love the game and share the joy with everyone. Even if they become a laughingstock and are labeled as clowns, they have no regrets.

Although the worlds are different, the inner spirit is ultimately the same!

"Old Soth, after you die, I will definitely help you reconstruct your body and resurrect you. I'll make you a super sturdy body when the time comes. It won't matter if you have short legs or stubby feet; I guarantee it will be immune to sword slashes, spear thrusts, drowning, burning, electrocution, and freezing. I'll make it so you can roll your face through traps to bypass any obstacle and continue the adventure career you're so obsessed with!"

The deeply moved Giant Jellyfish scratched its chin with a tentacle inside the underground cavern and smiled with gratification, completely unaware of where its line of thinking had gone wrong...

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