Before they left, the caravan manager, Walsh, stopped Chen Lun.
"You're... you're a Transcendent, aren't you, sir?"
Walsh asked with some uncertainty.
Throughout the ride he had hitched with the caravan, the bald manager hadn't exposed him, even when they were inspected at the outpost.
Although that was partly because he had been hypnotized, Chen Lun still thought he was a decent fellow worth knowing.
So he generously dodged the question.
"A Transcendent...? What's that?"
Chen Lun waved his hands repeatedly.
"I'm just an utterly ordinary farm boy. I don't understand a single word you're saying."
Hearing that only made Walsh more certain.
The bald manager discreetly handed him a coin.
"Sir, this is a token from our Silver Dragon Trade Association. Show it at any of our branches to receive premium service.
That includes, but isn't limited to, commissions, storage, auctions, and purchases..."
Chen Lun took the coin and casually tucked it into his pocket.
"I'm not, I didn't, don't go making things up.
This is a misunderstanding. I'm really not a Transcendent... Anyway, I've got something to do. I'll be going now."
With a wave, Chen Lun hurried away with Froy in his arms.
Watching his figure disappear, Walsh smiled faintly and called for the caravan to head toward the trade association in town.
"The Silver Dragon Trade Association..."
Avoiding the crowds, Chen Lun crossed several blocks before stopping in an alley.
He took out the coin and laid it in his palm.
[You discovered a token: Silver Dragon Coin] Item description: A rare coin carved from a special stone. Silvery white, its surface bears the Silver Dragon Trade Association's distinctive dragon-head emblem. Present it at the Silver Dragon Trade Association to enjoy premium service available only to a select few.
Chen Lun knew this trade organization. He had dealt with them plenty in his previous life.
They were profiteers, sure, but how did that saying go? They only looked good because the competition was worse.
Compared with smaller trade associations, the Silver Dragon Trade Association charged steep prices, but it had never cheated anyone on quality or service.
More importantly, the power behind them was no ordinary force.
The association's headquarters stood in Tourmaline Royal City, and its many years of unshaken operation spoke to its strength.
Besides, the bald manager hadn't made a fuss after recognizing him as a Transcendent.
He had probably seen and heard plenty about the mystical world.
Chen Lun put the coin away.
"Good... Now that I have this, I can give that plan a try..."
He picked out a nearby inn and decided to stay there.
Jadeite Town wasn't prosperous. On the contrary, it looked thoroughly desolate.
Unlike the big cities, this remote town wasn't advanced at all. Everything he saw was backward.
The buildings were old-fashioned structures that hadn't been renovated in centuries, and the broken stone streets were covered in excrement and garbage.
The locals dressed more like people from the Middle Ages in his previous world, nothing like what Chen Lun remembered.
"The Scimitar Inn."
Chen Lun glanced up at the battered wooden sign, then strode inside with Froy in his arms.
Chapter 19: A Room, Please
Jingle...
As he pushed open the inn's door, an old bell rang.
It was still afternoon, and only a handful of guests sat scattered around the ground floor.
Most were older drunks, all unkempt and slovenly.
They glanced up at Chen Lun, then lost interest and went back to their cheap booze.
A few guests, reeking of alcohol, noticed Froy in his arms and gave knowing smiles.
The innkeeper was a stout, middle-aged woman wearing a headscarf, asleep over the counter.
A large orange-and-white cat lay on the counter too, watching Chen Lun lazily.
The stout woman raised her head at the noise.
"What do you need?"
She glanced at Froy, unconscious in Chen Lun's arms, and gave a disdainful chuckle.
"Most of the rooms upstairs are empty. Thirty Copper Crowns a night."
Chen Lun wasted no time talking. Pretending to take money from his pocket, he secretly withdrew a few Silver Crowns from his panel.
Several silver coins appeared out of thin air in his palm, and he placed them on the counter.
"Pick a quiet room for me. I'll stay two days... And bring some food and water. Keep the rest as a tip."
This world's currency system was standardized.
Copper Crowns, Silver Crowns, and Gold Pounds converted upward at a rate of one hundred to one.
At ordinary spending levels, ten to twenty Silver Crowns could comfortably cover a common family of three's living expenses for a month.
The panel was very convenient in that respect, allowing him to deposit and withdraw money freely.
By transferring currency between the panel and reality, it effectively served as an unusual money pouch.
The stout woman raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by Chen Lun's generosity.
With a sweep of her large hand, she sent the silver coins clinking into a drawer beneath the counter.
Then she turned to find a key on the wall.
Meow...
The large orange-and-white cat approached Chen Lun on its own and rubbed its head against his fingers.
Chen Lun smiled and played with it for a moment.
The stout woman took down a ring of old-fashioned keys and handed Chen Lun one, looking surprised at her cat's reaction.
"It seems to really like you. How strange..."
Then she pointed upstairs.
"Third room from the end of the hall."
"Thank you."
A young man bringing an injured nun from the Red Apple Church to an inn looked suspicious, but stranger things happened in times like these.
Besides, Jadeite Town was only a remote little town in the empire's east. Its sheriff might as well not have existed.
As long as there was money to be made, the innkeeper wasn't going to ask questions.
"Hey, kid, you're a lot bolder than I was at your age!"
Chen Lun was about to head upstairs when a drunk suddenly called out.
"A church nun... Aha, a woman who serves a god. Who wouldn't want to be a god for once...?"
Chen Lun turned to look at him. The old drunk grinned, showing uneven yellow teeth.
"What are you trying to say, sir?"
"How about ten Copper Crowns to let old Ham here be a god for once?"
He gulped down his booze, draining the wooden cup in one go.
After belching, he swayed over to Chen Lun.
Then he leaned closer and whispered:
"Don't worry, it'll be our little secret. I won't report you to the Red Apple Church..."
"Damn it, Ham! You'd better stop causing trouble in my inn!"
The stout woman snapped angrily, her hands on her hips.
Ham shrugged innocently, paying the innkeeper no mind at all.
Chuckling under his breath, he reached out to touch Froy's face, but his hand suddenly stopped halfway.
Meow-yowl!
The stout woman's cat suddenly bristled, screeched, and leaped onto the drunk's head, clawing at his face as though it had gone mad.
"Oh! You damned cat! Get off me!"
The drunk fell to the floor under the attack and struggled desperately.
Instead of helping, the other guests backed away and roared with laughter.
Amid the chaos, Chen Lun gave the drunk a light kick. It barely hurt, and the man didn't even notice.
Then he turned and carried Froy upstairs as though nothing had happened.
If the man insisted on courting death, he had no one else to blame.
Chen Lun gently laid Froy on the bed and poured himself a glass of water.
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