This was not Yang Yi's first time doing this. He had been at it for several days already.
With his elusive movements and keen powers of observation (Three Eyes), no one could catch him.
They could hardly stake out a Mystery Merchant who might spawn at a random location twenty-four hours a day. That simply was not feasible.
Even trying to sense Yang Yi's location through the White Shards was impossible.
After each transaction, the shards were transported through the Witch's Treasure Bag on Yang Yi to the Witch Laboratory, at least several hundred kilometers away and beyond sensing range.
So Yang Yi had made a kill... no, brought the people here a great deal of wealth, even leaving a few mysterious tales in the settlements he had visited.
Word had it that a black-robed giant might spawn in a bustling market, on the street, or even right outside someone's door. He bought White Shards at high prices (generally ranging from 1,000 to 100,000 Conch Coins, with larger ones fetching more and no upper limit), paying many times what the church offered. He was practically there to hand out money.
If these indigenous people had figures like a god of wealth or Santa Claus in their folklore, those figures would probably soon take on the image of the black-robed Mystery Merchant. After all, this merchant actually existed, and he really did come to hand out money!
With Yang Yi so active, the rumors about the Mystery Merchant grew increasingly impossible to suppress. There was no way to contain the news, since the settlements were interconnected to begin with, and there was no white fog beneath the ice.
In the end, the Ice Nest Cult could only erect thick ice walls to separate the settlements and reduce the impact. But this