A Major Shopping Spree

Li Ziran was not without a sense of public morality; 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?

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

Now that he had money, Li Ziran was not about to let it take root and sprout in his pocket. So-called financial management simply did not exist in Li Ziran's world.

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 across the Wasteland offered 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 greatest value of the Silver Exchange was paying ransom.

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

Forty silver coins vanished in one stroke, but Li Ziran did not feel the least bit pained. In his eyes, those forty silver coins had belonged to someone else from the start. As for Annie's freedom, he did not feel he had lost much either.

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

These were treasures one could not buy even with money.

Only after settling the most pressing matter weighing on his heart did Li Ziran have the mind to purchase supplies.

This time, he needed to add some Mithril to his scalpel. That would improve the compatibility between his mental power and the scalpel.

"How much?" Li Ziran stretched his voice to its limit, bloodshot eyes fixed on the Silver Dwarf gripping a hammer.

"Eighty copper coins per carat." The Dwarf struck the red-hot iron sword with his hammer, sending sparks flying in all directions, yet answered with unhurried calm. "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 fellow was even more composed than he was.

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

It was simply too expensive.

In his view, one carat should cost no more than thirty copper coins. His scalpel needed forty carats embedded into it, which came to twelve silver coins.

But at this suddenly inflated price, fulfilling his request would require him to pay 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 all of it into this knife!" Li Ziran compromised. As he said it, he felt as though he had ground his teeth to pieces.

That was the downside of having no money: one could not stand tall.

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

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Thirty-two hammer strikes. It was that simple. That tiny bit of bright silver substance vanished into the surface of the scalpel.

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

There was a trace of scorching heat. It was the feeling of fire elements within the Elemental Tide.

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

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

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

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

Of course, Li Ziran knew that achieving such heights was a matter for some far-off year of the monkey and month of the horse.

"Sir, are we going to the inn now?" Horse Dwarf asked excitedly from beside him. Today's experiences 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 exchange corpses for Necromancer's Rope, while also buying some unique magical potions from the Necromancers. More importantly, this time he might be able to learn a trick or two of Corpse Witch Summoning and Soul Replacement from those Necromancers.

Necromancers were even stricter than Witch Doctors when it came to guarding their necromantic arts. Without an exceptional stroke of fate, one should not dream of entering that circle.

"There are, sir. There's plenty of livestock. Do you need a lot?" Horse Dwarf asked tentatively.

"Any intelligent creatures? Humans, orcs, Elves, that sort of thing?" Li Ziran asked calmly.

Little did he know that these words had already stirred monstrous waves in Horse Dwarf's heart. Purchasing the corpses of living beings was something only Necromancers did. Their reputation stank, and few living creatures looked kindly upon them.

"There are some, but these corpses... you know, Martiner Town has been attacked by Necromancers before. The mayor even said that once traces of a Necromancer are found, they must be reported. Anyone who has contact with Necromancers will be expelled without exception..."

Li Ziran had no interest in listening to nonsense. He pinched out two copper coins and smashed them directly against the Dwarf's head. "Lead the way."

The moment Horse Dwarf saw the copper coins, he stopped babbling and immediately ran off on his short little legs.

It had to be said that money was the productive force behind everything. Urged 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. The pungent smell of blood could be detected from far away.

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

Martiner Town might seem warm and hospitable, but there was no shortage of shady business behind the scenes.

The Wasteland was so vast. How many living creatures died every day? Why had Li Ziran never come across even a single corpse?

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

Horse Dwarf's arrival perked up all the merchants beside the butcher shops. Especially when they saw Li Ziran behind him, their faces broke into broad smiles. Clearly, they knew what these little fellows were for.

"Honored guest, this way, please!"

Horse Dwarf led Li Ziran before an honest-looking Minotaur. The Minotaur held a huge cleaver, and his shop was piled with the bones of all kinds of livestock. The sign read: "Wholesale Bones."

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

The basement was very spacious. Most eye-catching was a livestock pen containing animals such as wild boars and yaks.

At that moment, four young Minotaurs were working over a yak with huge butcher knives. The yak's roars as it was slaughtered shook the air. One look was enough to tell that the four little calves were complete novices.

The young Minotaurs immediately picked up their pace when they saw the Minotaur come down.

One of them directly swung a sledgehammer into the bellowing yak's head, then raised his head again to look at the Minotaur, as though asking whether he had done it right.

Li Ziran smiled to himself. Wouldn't that method damage the yak's skull? Cow brains might not be worth much, but an intact one could clearly sell for two more copper coins.

Wasn't the normal method of killing cattle to press them into a water trough and drown them?

He merely commented inwardly. Everyone had their own way of slaughtering. Perhaps someone liked eating shattered cow skulls.

"Honored guest, this way, please!"

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

These corpses had rotted, 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 skeleton with spirit.

A skeleton's spirit was critically important. A spirited 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 take a look at the goods. I can make it cheaper," the Minotaur said anxiously.

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

Even by exhausting every effort, he might not gain a Necromancer's satisfaction, much less by being careless and slipshod.

He looked directly at Horse Dwarf. "Let's change shops. You can't possibly have only this little in the way of connections, can you?"

Horse Dwarf hesitantly glanced at the Minotaur. Clearly, the two were close, but faced with 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, drew out the red rope, and asked without changing expression, "What, are you trying to force a sale?"

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

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

Li Ziran gave a cold laugh. With that attitude, even if the corpses were fresh, he would not want them. "Sorry, your goods truly do not meet my requirements." This time, his words were already very stern. His mental power had begun to boil, condensing into a Frog Transformation Array.

To deal with such a tiny shop, he would not make the slightest disturbance.

The Minotaur seemed to sense something unusual about Li Ziran and hurriedly tossed the huge cleaver he carried to one side. "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 goods 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 these?"

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