A day earlier.
"Wait, don't leave! I'm back!" Dragging his exhausted body along, Xiu Yuan hurriedly shouted.
The shopkeeper, who had been about to leave, instinctively turned around, surprise filling his eyes.
"You..."
"What happened to you?"
Seeing Xiu Yuan in such a state, he asked in bewilderment.
Not only were Xiu Yuan's clothes in tatters, but wounds of all sizes covered his body. His back was especially bad, mottled with bruises and marked by numerous blade wounds.
"I went out to earn some money. I've got enough Mora now." As he spoke, Xiu Yuan took out thirty-five thousand Mora and handed it to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper stared at the Mora in Xiu Yuan's hands, momentarily stunned, but did not take it.
Judging by Xiu Yuan's current condition, he strongly suspected that Xiu Yuan had been involved in something shady.
Robbery, perhaps...
Seeing the shopkeeper's wary gaze, Xiu Yuan let out a sigh.
"Don't worry, sir. This money wasn't obtained illegally. I earned this Mora by killing monsters."
Hearing this, the shopkeeper looked at Xiu Yuan's advanced age again. His eyes narrowed further as he studied the man before him with growing suspicion.
"It's not that I don't believe you, but at your age..."
"Killing monsters would probably be rather difficult."
He voiced his concerns, and Xiu Yuan simply drew the pitch-black Demonbane Sword. With his grandmaster-level swordsmanship, he needed only to demonstrate a move or two for the shopkeeper to feel the fierce power behind his swordplay.
The shopkeeper immediately apologized for his earlier words, accepted Xiu Yuan's Mora, and handed him the piece of high-quality mineral essence.
"Thank you." Xiu Yuan offered a quiet word of thanks and was about to turn away when he realized that going home in this state would hardly be appropriate.
Instead,