Contemplation

"Where's the stone?" Saina opened her mouth wide, searching frantically in every direction. "Did a rat carry it off?"

Su Li flicked his finger.

The stone appeared out of thin air, slamming heavily onto the ground right beside Saina's feet.

Saina jumped in fright.

She grabbed Su Li's left hand, staring fixedly at the bronze ring.

"My Luo Tianyi!" Saina swallowed hard. "Magic! You've become a mage!"

In the minds of the people of Wading Village, anyone capable of conjuring items from thin air was a mage lord who had fled from the Baris Empire.

Those were big shots a hundred times more precious than knights.

"What kind of nonsense mage?" Su Li said, looking quite smug. "This is called a Space Ring. Inside, it's as big as a large room. Anything you put in there never spoils. If you put a hot bun inside, it's still scalding when you take it out."

Saina's head was buzzing.

She stared at Su Li's face, the more she looked, the more unfathomable her man seemed.

With a skill like this, why worry about food or clothing?

Su Li began to calculate in his mind.

This Space Ring was simply a divine tool for getting rich.

That one-eyed man in Grey Gull Port called Old Jack was a broker for fake documents in his past life. That old bastard must have plenty of illicit goods in his hands.

As long as he used the Space Ring to pull off a few no-cost jobs, he could secure his first pot of gold.

Then, he could obtain a clean, noble identity, lease a massive manor, and live a life where he was served hand and foot every day.

Who would want to go to the front lines to eat sand? Who would want to be a laborer for that damn Count?

"Gurgle—"

A loud stomach growl shattered Su Li's grand plan.

It was Saina's stomach protesting.

After tossing and turning for most of the night, this thin, frail body could no longer hold out.

Su Li's stomach let out a long rumble immediately afterward.

Although his Sword Spirit Root could absorb ether, he was currently just a mortal of flesh and blood, and the hunger was tormenting his nerves in earnest.

The two stared at each other with wide eyes.

"Um..." Saina's face flushed red. "There's half a roast chicken on my stove. Old Buck drank too much tonight and didn't finish it."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Su Li perked up immediately. "Put on your clothes! Let's go get that chicken!"

Of all the things in the world, eating was the most important.

Even if he had to save the world tomorrow, he had to fill his stomach tonight.

The two crept out of the large pit beneath the Old Locust Tree like thieves.

Wading Village was deathly quiet. Only a few barks from dogs drifted over from the west end of the village.

The blacksmith shop was in the middle of the village.

Su Li knew this path too well.

The courtyard wall of the blacksmith shop was not high.

Su Li walked in front, nimbly vaulting over the earthen wall; his current physical state was excellent.

He was young and strong, and with that Sword Spirit Root constantly absorbing free-roaming ether, his entire body was filled with inexhaustible strength.

As for why they didn't use the door, Sena said she wanted to experience something she had never done before.

Saina climbed up the wall using her hands and feet, and Su Li reached out, caught her under the armpits, and hoisted her thin, frail frame down.

"Be gentle," Saina complained in a low voice.

The courtyard was pitch black, and a series of snores drifted out from the main room. Old Buck was sleeping soundly; the old man usually loved to drink a bit of cheap ale, and once he had too much, nothing could wake him.

Su Li navigated toward the kitchen with practiced ease. He had lived in this courtyard for sixty years; he could find the stove even with his eyes closed.

The wooden door wasn't locked, and Su Li pushed it open.

A scent of firewood ash mixed with the aroma of meat wafted over.

Saina followed behind, skillfully feeling her way to the stove and lifting the large wooden basin turned upside down.

Half a golden-brown roast chicken lay quietly on a coarse pottery plate, with a small piece of unfinished bone beside it.

"It's really here." Su Li swallowed his saliva.

He reached out, pinched a chicken leg, and pulled it off with force.

His hands were greasy, but he didn't care at all, stuffing it into his mouth and chewing vigorously.

It was delicious. When you were starving, anything tasted like a delicacy, let alone actual meat.

Saina tore off a piece of chicken breast and nibbled on it in small bites.

The only sound in the kitchen was the two of them chewing.

Su Li finished off a chicken leg in a few bites. He looked at the remaining meat with lingering desire, a thought popping into his head.

He raised his left hand, aiming the unremarkable bronze ring at the ceramic plate.

Store.

The plate and the half-eaten roast chicken vanished into thin air.

Saina stopped chewing, her eyes widening as she stared at the empty stove.

Although she had already seen Su Li make a stone disappear at the village entrance earlier, seeing half a roast chicken vanish with her own eyes still felt absurd.

"You really put it inside?" Saina asked in a low voice.

Su Li snapped his fingers over the stove.

The plate and the roast chicken reappeared, landing steadily back in their original spot.

Su Li picked up the roast chicken and touched it; the chicken had been warm just a moment ago, and after a trip inside the Space Ring, the temperature remained exactly the same.

Su Li tossed the chicken bones in his hand onto the floor.

Saina was still gnawing on her chicken breast, her mouth covered in grease. Her eyes were bright, occasionally darting toward the bronze ring on Su Li's left hand.

Su Li leaned against the earthen wall.

Going to Grey Gull Port to get a fake noble identity from Old Jack and then making a fortune through some risk-free business—the plan sounded solid.

But reality was far too harsh.

This broken world was at war; the Orenda Kingdom and the Baris Empire were beating each other's brains out on the front lines, and the world outside was in chaos.

Then there were those knights and mages who wielded Aether power. Any one of them could pin a novice like him, who only had brute strength, to the ground and crush him.

He still felt a phantom pain in his chest whenever he thought of the knives wielded by those two female assassins in his past life.

He now possessed a Sword Spirit Root, which automatically absorbed Aether while he slept. As long as he kept a low profile, he would definitely be able to walk sideways in time.

The key was Saina.

That silly woman had followed him devotedly for sixty years in their past life, and even on her deathbed, she was still worrying about him finding a fairy.

If he took her out to wander the world in this life and they ran into a tough opponent, this village girl, who didn't even have two ounces of meat on her, wouldn't survive three episodes.

Dump her in Wading Village and go have fun on his own? Su Li couldn't do that.

He was greedy and lustful, but he remembered for a lifetime anyone who was good to him.

Staying in this broken village and lying low was the safest path.

He had a long lifespan; he could accompany Sena through the rest of her life.

Su Li grabbed a tattered rag hanging by the stove and wiped his hands haphazardly.

"What are you looking at? Never seen a handsome guy before?" Su Li reached out and flicked Saina on the forehead.

Saina covered her forehead. "You're really not going to the city to become a big tycoon?"

Hearing Su Li's mutterings, Sena asked with red-rimmed eyes.

"To hell with that, it's full of press-gangs out there." Su Li threw the rag aside. "I've thought it through. I'm staying in this dump of a village. If it's blacksmithing, then it's blacksmithing. At least I can eat a hot meal every day. I'll just stay here and waste away with you, living out this life."

The piece of chicken in Saina's mouth dropped straight onto her lap.