Thinking

"Where's Stone?" Saina gaped, searching all around. "Did a rat drag him off?"

Su Li flicked a finger.

The stone appeared out of thin air and landed heavily by Saina's feet.

Saina jumped in fright.

She grabbed Su Li's left hand and stared intently at the bronze ring.

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

As far as the people of Wading Village knew, anyone who could make things appear out of thin air was a mage lord who had come from the Baris Empire.

Such people were a hundred times more prestigious than knights.

"What kind of nonsense is that?" Su Li said smugly. "It's called a Space Ring. There's a room's worth of space inside. Anything you put in there will never go bad. Put in a hot bun, and it'll still be piping hot when you take it out."

Saina's head was buzzing.

She gazed at Su Li's face, the more she looked, the more she felt her man was unfathomable.

With a skill like that, who'd ever have to worry about food and clothes again?

Su Li began plotting.

This Space Ring was practically a magical tool for getting rich.

That one-eyed man named Old Jack in Grey Gull Port had been a fake-document broker in his previous life. The old bastard was bound to have some shady goods stashed away.

All he had to do was use the Space Ring to pull off a few jobs that cost him nothing, and he'd make his first fortune.

Then he could get himself a respectable noble identity, lease a huge estate, and spend every day having his meals and clothes brought to him.

Who'd go eat sand on the front lines? Who'd toil away for that damn earl?

"Grrr..."

A loud growl from a stomach shattered Su Li's grand plans.

It was Saina's stomach protesting.

After all that exertion in the middle of the night, her scrawny body couldn't take any more.

Su Li's stomach let out a long growl right after hers.

Although his Sword Spirit Root could absorb aether, he was still just flesh and blood. Hunger was tormenting his nerves for real.

The two of them stared at each other.

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

"Then what are we waiting for?" Su Li perked right up. "Get dressed! Let's go get the chicken!"

Nothing mattered more than food.

Even if they had to save the world tomorrow, they still had to fill their stomachs tonight.

The two of them sneaked out of the big pit beneath the old locust tree like a pair of thieves.

Wading Village was silent. A few barks drifted over from the western end.

The smithy was in the middle of the village.

Su Li knew the way too well.

The smithy's courtyard wall wasn't high.

Su Li went first, nimbly vaulting over the earthen wall. He was in excellent shape now.

He was young and strong, and his Sword Spirit Root was constantly absorbing the aether around him. He felt like he had energy to spare.

As for why they weren't going through the gate, Saina had said she wanted to try something she'd never done before.

Saina scrambled up the wall, using both hands and feet. Su Li reached out and caught her under the arms, lowering her scrawny little frame down.

"Easy," Saina complained in a low voice.

The courtyard was pitch-black. Snores came from the main house; Old Buck was fast asleep. The old man liked to drink a little cheap ale, and once he'd had too much, nothing could wake him.

Su Li headed for the kitchen, knowing the way by heart. He'd lived in this courtyard for sixty years and could find the stove with his eyes closed.

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

The smell of firewood ash mixed with the aroma of meat drifted out.

Saina followed behind him and made her way to the stove with practiced ease. She lifted the large wooden basin that had been turned upside down over it.

Half a roast chicken, browned to a crisp, lay on a coarse ceramic plate. Beside it was a small bone with a little meat left on it.

"It really is here." Su Li swallowed.

He reached out and grabbed a chicken leg, tearing it off with a hard pull.

His hands were greasy, but he shoved the meat into his mouth without a care and wolfed it down.

It was delicious. When you were starving, anything tasted like a feast—and this was real meat.

Saina also tore off a piece of breast and nibbled at it in small bites.

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

Su Li finished a drumstick in a few bites. He gazed at the little bit of meat left, reluctant to let it go, and an idea came to him.

He raised his left hand and aimed the unremarkable bronze ring at the ceramic plate.

Store.

The plate and half a roast chicken vanished into thin air.

Saina stopped chewing and stared at the now-empty stove.

Even though she'd already seen Su Li make the stone disappear back at the village entrance, watching half a roast chicken vanish with her own eyes still seemed unbelievable.

"You really put it in there?" Saina asked softly.

Su Li snapped his fingers above the stove.

The plate and roast chicken reappeared, settling right back where they'd been.

Su Li picked up the chicken and felt it. It had still been a little warm before, and after a trip inside the Space Ring, its temperature hadn't changed at all.

Su Li tossed the chicken bone in his hand onto the ground.

Saina was still nibbling at the breast. The little girl's mouth was greasy, and her eyes shone as she kept glancing at 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, then making a fortune with jobs that cost him nothing. It sounded like a solid plan.

But reality was harsh.

This rotten world was at war. The Orenda Kingdom and Baris Empire were pounding each other to a pulp on the front lines, and chaos reigned beyond the village.

There were also knights and mages who wielded aether. Any one of them could show up and grind a beginner like him, strong as he might be, into the dirt.

Even now, when he thought about the knives of those two female assassins in his previous life, his chest hurt.

He had a Sword Spirit Root now and absorbed aether every night while he slept. As long as he could keep his head down, he'd eventually be able to do as he pleased.

The key was Saina.

In his previous life, this silly woman had stayed devoted to him for sixty years. Even on her deathbed, she'd still been urging him to find himself a fairy.

If he took her out adventuring in this life, and they ran into someone too tough to handle, this village girl, who didn't even have two ounces of flesh on her, wouldn't make it past the third episode.

Leave her in Wading Village and go enjoy himself? Su Li couldn't do that.

He was greedy and lecherous, but when someone treated him well, he remembered it for life.

Staying in this lousy village and keeping his head down was the safest choice.

He had a long lifespan. He could stay with Sena for the rest of her life.

Su Li grabbed the rag hanging beside the stove and wiped his hands haphazardly.

"What're you staring at? Never seen a handsome guy before?" Su Li flicked Saina on the forehead.

Saina covered her forehead. "You really aren't going to the city to become a rich man?"

After hearing Su Li mutter to himself, Sena asked with red-rimmed eyes.

"Forget that. It's full of conscription squads out there." Su Li tossed aside the rag. "I've thought it over. I'll stay in this lousy village. If that means smithing, then I'll do smithing. At least I'll get hot food every day. I'll stay here with you and see out the rest of my life."

The piece of chicken in Saina's mouth fell onto her leg.