Farewell

A cunning rabbit had three burrows!

Yin Ming had no fewer than ten hideouts in the Magic Beast Forest, all of them secondarily modified from the legacies left behind by cave-dwelling Magic Beasts.

This time, Yin Ming headed straight for a hidden cave on a sheer cliff deep within the Magic Beast Forest.

[Zero-Ring Wizardry: Wizard's Hand.]

The second mental rune was permanently fixed.

Wizard's Hand's upper strength limit rose from six thousand kilograms to eight thousand kilograms.

He effortlessly pushed aside a massive boulder, sealing the cave entrance.

"Collect!"

Yin Ming took out the Scavenger Gourd and stored himself inside it. Viewing his body through the gourd's perspective, all manner of information appeared before his eyes.

"Good... there's nothing strange!"

There was no unusual tracking aura or mark on his body.

Only then did Yin Ming relax. He began secluded cultivation within the cave, deciding to wait until the storm had passed before going out.

[+0.01.]

[+0.02.]

[+0.03.]

Zero-Ring Wizardry: Flesh Strengthening had broken through its bottleneck.

His constitution rapidly increased once more, reaching nearly 30 points.

The prerequisite for running his brain at high frequency without damaging his lifespan rose from 4% to 6%.

The daily saturated increase in mental power rose from 0.34 to 0.36.

However, each session of saturated cultivation required two days to restore his mental stamina. It amounted to borrowing against the next two days of cultivation.

With the third mental rune permanently fixed, the time needed to accumulate mental power was reduced from four months to three.

"..."

That night, the succubus Dinaya Aman returned to the Abyss and was assigned by Demon King Christine to mine.

Johnny Green fled while badly wounded and hid in the Magic Beast Forest, but because of the specially made flintlock arquebus rounds, his wounds refused to heal.

The next morning, a group of black-robed wizards descended. They detected traces of parasitism by demon blood descendants, but found nothing else of significance.

On the third day, the minor nobles of Green Forest City united and opened Count Golden Lion's treasury. A mysterious snakeskin inscribed with peculiar writing sparked a savage slaughter.

That same afternoon, the Landon Duchy dispatched a valiant general to take over the Golden Mane Knights.

On the fourth day, because the entire Adams Lineage had perished in the calamity and left no heirs behind, thirteen noble families of distant relatives from the same clan mourned deeply, expressing their willingness to adopt heirs to inherit the title and territory.

As the thirteen noble families entangled and checked one another, Golden Lion County temporarily became a lawless no-man's-land.

"..."

Yin Ming, hidden in the cave, knew nothing of any of this. He meditated every day to increase his mental power, and whenever his mental stamina ran dry, he studied rune structures and attempted to convert immortal-path spells and cultivation techniques.

After six days, his mental power had risen to 21 points.

Only then did Yin Ming emerge from the cave. Crossing the Magic Beast Forest, he decided to observe the situation from afar.

The ruins of Count Golden Lion's castle were packed with people. Countless commoners rummaged through them for valuables.

Silver tableware, crystal lamps, gilded objects, decorative paintings, leather, even knights' iron armor and weapons—all of it could fetch a fair sum.

Those commoners who did not dream of becoming rich overnight instead carried off flowers from the gardens and fine marble blocks.

"Looks like this place is no longer suitable for quiet cultivation..."

Yin Ming had no desire to become a savage in the Magic Beast Forest, cut off from all outside information without even a weather vane. He might not even know when danger came knocking one day.

As the saying went, when danger came, you did not need to outrun the beast chasing you—you only needed to outrun your companions. With no companions, Yin Ming felt deeply insecure.

"Eno, what are you doing?" Randy suddenly poked his head out from the bushes at the edge of the Magic Beast Forest. "Hurry up and hide! Don't let the slave catchers seize you."

I knew it!

How could the serfs have such high moral standards?

Not a single one had taken advantage of the disaster to make a fortune. So they counted as property too.

"You kept sneaking out in the middle of the night. I thought you'd been blown to pieces that day!"

When Yin Ming had first begun slipping away, he did so late at night, after Randy had fallen asleep.

But he did it too often. Randy would occasionally wake in the middle of the night and discover that Yin Ming was not in the room.

Yet after discovering it, Randy had not reported him to the manor steward.

Yin Ming therefore stopped hiding it from him. He often gathered edible wild fruit and roots to share, which served as an explanation for why he slipped out.

"The other serfs were all taken away by the slave catchers?" Yin Ming asked.

Randy led Yin Ming to a hollow tree, where half a bag of black bread had been stored.

Randy had hidden there these past few days, which was why the slave catchers had not found him and turned him into a meal for the beasts of the Magic Beast Forest.

"A small number ran away. Most let themselves be caught. With nothing to eat or drink, they might as well go back to the slave market and be sold again." Randy pulled aside the branches covering the tree hollow, making room for Yin Ming as he spoke.

"What about you? What are you planning to do?" Yin Ming asked.

"Me? I'll run once the heat dies down. I don't want to be a serf anymore! I'm already nineteen by my real age, twenty by nominal age, swaying toward twenty-one, with the hairs of twenty-two. If I don't marry a wife soon, it'll be too late!"

Randy took a deep breath, hesitation and struggle flickering across his face.

From the aged rotten soil piled up inside the tree hollow, he dug out an exquisitely fashioned gold cup and silver pot. Excitedly, he said, "Sell these, and I'll be able to afford a wife. I can even get one for you too. Want one?"

Yin Ming: "..."

Compared with Jack's obsession with making something of himself, Randy's obsession with marrying and having children was even stronger.

Adams Arthur had died in the explosion. The Golden Mane Knights had been stationed on the outskirts far from the castle and were unaffected, though no one knew which noble would take over the army.

"Your skin color, your clothes, and the whip scars left on your back over the years—once the heat dies down, anyone will recognize you at a glance as a serf." Yin Ming could not help splashing a bucket of cold water over him.

He had experience with being exposed. It had been the first stumble he took after crossing over.

Still, he had gained much from it. He had even developed products using the Scavenger Gourd, and had no plans for retaliation.

Hearing this, Randy's expression darkened. He understood that Yin Ming was speaking the truth. "I still want to try. At worst, I'll just become a serf again."

Though he did not need a wife, he had to accept this gesture of friendship.

Yin Ming took out several primitive bamboo-tube jars from the Scavenger Gourd and introduced their uses one by one.

"Nameless Body Lotion! Apply it to your body, and it can quickly remove scars and whiten your skin."

"Life Essence. You know the knight breathing technique Jack taught, too. Use them together, and you can become a low-level knight."

"Grain-Repelling Pill. You can think of it as one pill being equal to eating more than ten pieces of black bread. After breaking through to a low-level knight, you can use it to replenish energy."

[Zero-Ring Wizardry: Crimson Flame Ring.]

Ignoring Randy's astonishment, Yin Ming ignited a crimson flame in his palm.

The gold cup and silver pot instantly melted into twenty gold coins and more than two hundred unmarked silver coins.

"The gold cup and silver pot are valuable, but they also bring trouble. I've melted them into currency for you. It's enough for you to marry a wife. If you want more, work for it yourself." Leaving behind several items, Yin Ming headed into the Magic Beast Forest.

The waters of noble territory ran too deep. Either they summoned evil gods, or they had murky ties to the Abyss.

Yin Ming did not intend to remain a serf, nor did he intend to become a savage. But first, he needed to break through and become a One-Ring Wizard. Alchemical bombs, flintlock arquebuses—even Wizard Apprentices were not particularly safe against ordinary people.

"Eno!" Randy's mind went blank. Looking at Yin Ming's retreating back, he called out for some reason.

"What is it?" Yin Ming turned and asked.

"Nothing! See you around!" Randy smiled and waved. Somewhere in the dark, he had a feeling that they might never have another chance to meet again.

"..."

Thud!

Before Yin Ming had gone more than a few dozen meters, someone fell from a broad-leaved silver-tassel tree. His chest, abdomen, shoulders, and thighs bore seven or eight penetrating wounds, all accompanied by severe inflammation.

He crawled laboriously toward Yin Ming with both hands, raised his head, and spat out two words. "Save me!"

After only a few days apart, Johnny Green had become far more weathered. His face was like gold paper, his body withered like dead wood. He had once looked like a down-and-out wandering knight; now, he was simply a beggar on the verge of starving to death.

Save him?

Or not?

If these people had not overestimated themselves and broken the balance, they could have enjoyed at least ten peaceful years. By all rights, Yin Ming ought to put this down in the ledger.

Yin Ming did not know that the cause of this incident was Red Nose, the Quasit created by his Bloodline Potion, returning to the Abyss through an Abyssal sacrifice.

"For the sake of the flintlock arquebus, I'll save your life. Consider it research fees." Yin Ming was very curious. Why was this world's arquebus so much more powerful?