A Major Shopping Trip

Li Ziran did not lack public spirit; he simply wanted to live a little more purely.

Although handing the Goathead Chief over to Wolf would be an unimaginable misfortune, the same old saying applied: who in this world had not suffered misfortune?

After deducting the market's commission, he had earned a total of sixty-seven silver coins from this transaction. It could be considered one of his biggest incomes in recent memory.

Now that he had money, Li Ziran certainly would not let it take root in his pocket. So-called financial management simply did not exist in his life.

In his view, the most valuable investment was undoubtedly investing in himself.

He first went to the Silver Exchange in Martiner Town and handed over the forty silver coins meant for Barbaro.

The Silver Exchange was somewhat like a bank, but it also handled financial deliveries. Every town in the Wasteland had such services. Though deliveries sometimes failed, the town's Silver Exchange would refund all fees and provide a certain amount of compensation.

Of course, the Silver Exchange's greatest value lay in paying ransoms.

Kidnapping had flourished across the Wasteland for ages. Handing ransom money to the Silver Exchange benefited the kidnappers, while the captive's family did not have to take too great a risk.

Forty silver coins disappeared at once, yet Li Ziran did not feel any heartache. In his eyes, those forty silver coins had belonged to someone else from the beginning. As for Annie's freedom, he did not think he had suffered much of a loss either.

This girl had helped him greatly and had even taught him the precious [Snake Transformation] and [Devouring Curse].

Those were treasures money could not buy.

Only after dealing with the most pressing matter hanging over his heart did Li Ziran finally have the mind to purchase supplies.

This time, he needed to add some Mithril to his scalpel. That would allow his mental power to better resonate with the scalpel.

"How much?" Li Ziran dragged his voice to its limit, bloodshot veins standing out in his eyes as he stared at the Silver Dwarf gripping an Iron Hammer.

"Eighty copper coins per carat." The Dwarf hammered a red-hot iron sword, sparks scattering in every direction, while answering unhurriedly, "That's the standard price. If you don't want it, you can try another shop."

That take-it-or-leave-it attitude made Li Ziran want to beat him senseless. This man was even calmer than he was.

Not long ago, he had still been a seller. In the blink of an eye, he had to accept being fleeced like this.

It was truly too expensive.

In his opinion, one carat should cost thirty copper coins at most. His scalpel needed forty carats embedded into it, which came to twelve silver coins.

But with the price suddenly soaring, fulfilling his requirements would mean paying the Silver Dwarf thirty-two silver coins.

Even if he threw in nearly his entire fortune, he still could not afford it.

"Give me ten carats. Hammer it all into this knife!" Li Ziran compromised. As he spoke, he felt as though he had ground his teeth to pieces.

That was the downside of having no money: he could not stand tall and speak tough.

Four silver coins slipped silently out of his pocket just like that.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Thirty-two blows. It was that simple. That tiny bit of bright silver material vanished into the scalpel's surface.

When he left the Dwarf blacksmith's shop, Li Ziran felt as though his heart were bleeding. Still, the result was good. At the very least, when his mental power entered the scalpel, he could sense minute fluctuations within half a finger's breadth of its blade.

There was a faint scorching heat. It was the sensation of Fire Element within the Elemental Tide.

That was a good sign. If he had enough Mithril and his mental power grew stronger, perhaps he could one day use mental power to completely see the existence of elements.

Then, he could observe the microscopic workings of various organs according to how they absorbed elemental power, and thereby alter those organs.

Perhaps in the future, he would no longer need to transplant from existing creatures. He could create them himself.

At that time, he would surely become an extraordinary Grand Witch Doctor.

Of course, Li Ziran knew that reaching such an achievement would take until the Year of the Monkey and Month of the Horse.

"Guest, are we going to the inn now?" Horse Dwarf asked excitedly from beside him. Today's experiences had made him feel as though he were living in a dream. Whether buying or selling, everything had been counted in silver coins. In his daily life, copper coins were the normal unit of trade.

"No. Are there any corpses here?" Li Ziran asked.

Purchasing corpses was the main event. He needed to trade corpses for Necromancer's Rope, buy some unique magical potions from Necromancers, and more importantly, see whether he could learn a trick or two of Corpse Witch Summoning and Soul Replacement from those Necromancers.

Necromancers were even more conservative than Witch Doctors when it came to Necromantic Magic. Without a special stroke of fortune, one could forget about slipping into their circle.

"Yes, guest. There are plenty of livestock. Do you need a lot?" Horse Dwarf asked tentatively.

"Are there corpses of living beings? Humans, Orcs, Elves, things like that." Li Ziran's tone remained calm.

Little did he know that these words had already stirred heaven-shaking waves in Horse Dwarf's heart. Buying the corpses of living beings was something only Necromancers did. Their stench of infamy made them unwelcome among almost all living creatures.

"There are some, but these corpses... you know, Martiner Town was attacked by Necromancers before. The mayor even said that once traces of a Necromancer were discovered, they had to be reported. Anyone who had dealings with Necromancers would be expelled without exception..."

Li Ziran did not want to hear any nonsense. He pinched out two copper coins and smashed them directly against the Dwarf's head. "Lead the way."

Once Horse Dwarf saw the copper coins, he stopped talking and immediately broke into a run on his short little legs.

It had to be said that money was the productive force behind everything. Spurred on by those copper coins, the little Dwarf quickly led Li Ziran to the most remote corner of the market.

It was a small alley lined with slaughtering businesses. Even from afar, the pungent stench of blood could be smelled.

Li Ziran smiled. Only a place like this could have corpses.

Martiner Town might seem warm and hospitable, but there would be no shortage of business conducted in the shadows.

Just think about it: the Wasteland was so vast, and so many living beings died every day. How had Li Ziran never once found a corpse?

As long as the mayor of Martiner Town was not a fool, he would not let such wealth slip away for nothing.

Horse Dwarf's arrival brightened the merchants beside the butcher shops, especially when they saw Li Ziran behind him. Smiles blossomed directly across their faces. Clearly, they knew what these little fellows were for.

"Honored guest, this way!"

Horse Dwarf led Li Ziran before a simple-looking Minotaur. The Minotaur held a large cleaver, while the shop was piled full of livestock bones. Its sign read: 'Wholesale Bones.'

After Li Ziran entered, the Minotaur handed the storefront business over to a young Minotaur and led Li Ziran straight toward the basement.

The basement was extremely spacious. The most conspicuous feature was a livestock pen containing animals such as wild boars and yaks.

At that moment, four young Minotaurs were going after a yak with huge butcher knives. The yak's death cries pierced the sky. One look was enough to tell that the four little calves were complete novices.

When the young Minotaurs saw the Minotaur come down, they immediately sped up.

One of them directly picked up a huge hammer and smashed it into the bellowing yak's head. Only then did he lift his head again to look at the Minotaur, as if asking whether he had done it correctly.

Li Ziran smiled from the side. Wouldn't that method damage the yak's skull? A yak's head might not be worth much, but an intact one could clearly fetch two more copper coins.

Wasn't the normal method of slaughtering cattle to hold the animal underwater in a trough and drown it?

He merely judged it in his heart. Everyone had their own way of slaughtering. Perhaps someone liked eating shattered yak skulls.

"Honored guest, this way!"

The Minotaur respectfully opened a wooden door, revealing a simple slanted ladder. Before Li Ziran even entered, he smelled a nauseating stench.

Those corpses had already decayed, and they had been dead for no fewer than three days.

He did not move. These corpses did not meet his standards. Necromancers were even pickier than he was. In their eyes, the fresher the corpse, the more likely it was to summon a spiritual Skeleton.

A Skeleton's spirituality was of crucial importance. A spiritual Skeleton had a chance of evolving into a Skeleton General. It could even be transformed into a Skeleton Archer or Skeleton Cavalryman. That was more important than a thousand ordinary Skeletons.

"What's wrong?" Seeing that Li Ziran did not move, the Minotaur asked suspiciously.

"Your goods aren't fresh." Li Ziran smiled. "This isn't what I want." With that, he turned around.

"Honored guest, don't go. At least look at the goods. I can make it cheaper," the Minotaur said anxiously.

Li Ziran shook his head. He was not collecting junk. Necromancers were important clients of his, and when it came to maintaining clients, Li Ziran would certainly give one hundred percent.

Even if he exhausted every effort, he might not earn a Necromancer's satisfaction, much less by being sloppy.

He looked directly at Horse Dwarf. "Let's find another place. You can't only have this little bit of resources on hand, can you?"

Horse Dwarf hesitantly glanced at the Minotaur. Clearly, the two had a close relationship, but before Li Ziran's forceful attitude, he still shook his head, indicating that there was nothing he could do.

Just as Li Ziran was about to turn away, the Minotaur suddenly blocked his path.

Li Ziran instinctively placed a hand at his waist and pulled out Necromancer's Rope, asking without changing expression, "What, are you going to force a sale?"

"Red Hoof, what are you doing?" Horse Dwarf cried out nervously as well. "I only brought the guest here for the sake of our friendship."

"No, no, no!" The Minotaur panicked slightly. "Guest, I only want to ask you to take one look. These goods are absolutely worth the price."

Li Ziran chuckled. With that attitude, even if the corpses were fresh, he would not take them. "Sorry, your goods truly do not meet my requirements." This time, his words were already severe. His mental power boiled as it condensed into the Frog Transformation Array.

Dealing with such a tiny shop, he would not cause the slightest disturbance.

The Minotaur seemed to sense something unusual about Li Ziran and hurriedly threw his large cleaver aside. "Honored guest, I truly only hope you'll take a look. If Little Horse hadn't brought you here, I would never have exposed these things no matter what. If I keep them any longer, I won't be able to hide them."

Li Ziran's brows furrowed slightly. He sensed something. In a low voice, he asked, "What kind of corpses are they?"

"Elves! A group of Moon Elves from the forest!" the Minotaur replied quietly.