Ashen Wasteland 09: Trouble was brewing in the Ashen Wasteland...

Unpurified low-rank Beast Cores had another use: snacks for beast companions. The small amount of violent energy they contained was still within a beast companion's ability to digest. Too many were out of the question, of course, as they could send the beasts into a frenzy.

Not all beast companions liked snacking on low-rank Beast Cores, either. Presumably, they did not taste very good. The more intelligent the beast, the less interest it had in unpurified beast cores. Their tastes were exceedingly picky.

Xiao Nuo leaned over to sniff the beast cores, then promptly flew from Ye Chuqi's shoulder to the top of Red Beard's head, looking distinctly disgusted.

With Red Beard watching, Ye Chuqi could hardly put the goods straight into her storage space. Instead, she carefully wrapped them in a beast hide. Just as she was about to carry the bundle herself, Coke stepped in. "I'll take that for you. What else do you want to buy?"

Ye Chuqi looked slender and delicate, but she was far from weak. Red Beard knew that firsthand.

They wandered around the stalls. A few others sold low-rank Beast Cores, but only a handful apiece. Most of the other goods were edible magical beast meat, juicy fruit, and assorted provisions such as bread and jerky. There was little worth trying.

The Red Wind Mercenary Group was not short on supplies, so there was no need to restock here. Aside from letting Ye Chuqi see more of the world, they were staying to rendezvous with the other members. Their leader's disappearance was a serious matter, and most of the Elite Group's members had been mobilized. The dozen or so who had found Red Beard were naturally the best of the best.

Now that Red Beard was safe, they needed to spread the news and put everyone's minds at ease, while also investigating who had gone to such lengths to attack him.

Ye Chuqi knew nothing of this, but her shopping at the stalls went smoothly. Along the way, she asked Coke how they would carry so many things, and whether it would be too much trouble.

Spatial Rings were luxury goods. Everyone had already explained that to her. While they were not quite worth a fortune, they were still high-end products beyond the reach of ordinary people. Even if an ordinary person owned one, they would struggle to hold on to it.

After all, unlike the items in the Cultivation World, these did not have an ownership-binding process.

Coke smiled. "You can indeed use an Alchemy Array to bind a Spatial Ring, or lock onto its location and recall it. But that array costs at least as much as a Spatial Ring." That was why very few people did it.

Ye Chuqi certainly disagreed with that reasoning. Was the Spatial Ring itself what mattered? Of course not. What mattered was everything inside it.

The most common practice, however, was to add a self-destruct formation to a Spatial Ring. Once the ring was destroyed, spatial turbulence would sweep away its contents, making them vanish rather than spill out for everyone to see. The people who attacked Red Beard had destroyed his Spatial Ring immediately because they knew the resources inside were worth even more. They had also cut off his fallback options.

There were things like Spatial Bracelets, too, all using metal as their medium. There was no Spatial Equipment made with jade, nor anything like a Storage Bag.

The little Storage Bag hanging from Ye Chuqi's belt seemed unremarkable apart from its exquisite embroidery, like an ornament with nothing surprising about it.

There was also a small smithy, with a selection of simple, even crude weapons. More importantly, the smith could maintain and repair the weapons adventurers already owned.

Ye Chuqi held a dagger and examined it for a long while. It wasn't much good, but it was better than nothing.

Red Beard took the dagger from her and tossed it down. "No need to settle for this." He called Ed over and, after a few words, sweet-talked him into handing over a finely crafted dagger. It was pure black, without a single decorative pattern, but leagues above anything on the stall. "Make do with this for now."

No one objected, not even Ed. After all, they had seen Ye Chuqi's skills firsthand. She had held her own against Ed's surprise attack, and the way she wielded that branch had clearly borne the hallmarks of swordsmanship—swordsmanship so exquisite that they had never even heard of anything like it.

Ye Chuqi gave the dagger a deft twirl. The black blade spun swiftly between her fair fingers, and she soon adjusted to its weight and found its balance.

Coke: That looked pretty impressive.

Ed narrowed his eyes, seeing far more in that little display. The girl was good. Even he had not been able to familiarize himself with a brand-new dagger that quickly at her age.

Smiling, Ye Chuqi tucked the dagger into her belt. Her casual movements made everyone's brows twitch. Wasn't she worried the dagger would slice through her belt?

Of course Ye Chuqi was not worried. She had changed all her clothes, but not that belt. It was, after all, a High-Tier Spiritual Artifact with defensive properties. Even if she lacked the spiritual power to sustain it, an ordinary dagger could not cut through it.

Once the Red Wind Mercenary Group had assembled, they pitched camp outside the Adventurers' Camp and decided to rest for the night before continuing their journey. Although there was no immediate need for the Red Sun Fruit, it still had to be delivered to the Imperial Capital as soon as possible. They remained concerned about Red Beard's health, however, and a few members had yet to return.

They did not avoid discussing these matters in front of Ye Chuqi. She had also asked San San to turn off the dialogue bubbles. She would understand what she could; that would help her learn faster, too. San San would naturally watch for anything important or anything she missed.

Ah, San San had spoiled her rotten.

Chapter 9: Ashen Wasteland 09: Trouble was brewing in the Ashen Wasteland...

The largest town they had to pass through on their way out of the Ashen Wasteland toward the Imperial Capital was Kru Town. Initially, it had been nothing more than an adventurers' camp formed by a gathering of adventurers. But it bordered the Lost Forest and stood on the main route connecting the forest to the Ashen Wasteland. Years of development had brought it to its present size.

Whether people were exploring the Lost Forest or opening up the Ashen Wasteland, Kru Town was an unavoidable stop, as well as the largest supply point.

Because it had begun as an adventurers' camp and quietly grown in the wilderness, Kru Town remained firmly under the Adventurers' Guild's control. It was also the guild's largest outpost on the edge of the Lost Forest. Moreover, Kru Town had a Teleportation Array built by the Mage Guild, allowing travelers to leave town and cross to the other side of the Lost Forest as quickly as possible.

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