The Truth About the Black Stone

Ding Dang Ear had some intelligence. He could talk and knew a thing or two about surviving in the Wizarding World. But when all was said and done, he was still just a rat—albeit a clever one.

A rat's world was simple: eat, sleep, scuffle, and play. Rats had almost no chance to encounter concepts born of advanced civilization, such as economics, finance, or currency. So when the young scholarship student hit him with a lecture packed with impressive-sounding arguments, unfamiliar terms, and strange definitions, Ding Dang Ear felt dizzy and lost, as if his brain had shrunk to nothing. Not that it had been any bigger than an almond to begin with.

In the language of the Wizarding World, Ding Dang Ear had suffered a magical attack from an arcane scripture. Like the legendary Monk Tripitaka's sutras of moral persuasion, it left its victim confused and unable to think straight.

The rat in the tree could stay there, eyes spinning like mosquito coils, looking utterly bewildered.

As for the black stone, Lin Guo picked it up soon after it fell from the tree.

"Can you tell what kind of stone it is?" The Black Cat lowered his head and stared without blinking at the young wizard holding it, curiosity filling his voice. This was his first trade with a rat, and he genuinely wanted to know what those sharp-snouted, long-tailed creatures had to offer.

Judging by its luster, Zheng Qing no longer hoped it was something valuable like black agate, ink jade, or a Black Gem. But if it was a black meteorite rich in rare metals, or even an ordinary piece of obsidian, he could accept that.

After all, trading a few Little Rats for a piece of obsidian he could inscribe with an array would hardly be