Chapter 26: The Wang Clan of He Dong (Part 4)

"Isn't it?"

"Of course not," Li Yuan said with a smile. "If it were true, why would the monster go to such lengths, dragging that box into the pit they use for disposing of corpses?"

"What use does the monster have for that yellow‑white thing? Is it coming to buy something from us?"

Hearing that, everyone burst into laughter. Wang Wu laughed along, though he felt a little sweat forming at his back.

Has this guy already seen through his own identity?

Wang Wu was a bit doubtful.

"Li Xian truly is a master of divine foresight."

At this moment, Wang Yin, who had been silent, also spoke up. He first flattered Li Yuan, then turned to Wang Wu, "Although I know Young Hero Wang was in a dire situation at the time, I guess there wasn't much time to observe much…"

"But Wang, I still want to ask…"

He said nothing, but looked at Wang Wu, his gaze clearly waiting for Wang Wu to speak.

"Of course," Wang Wu nodded. "If I knew, I certainly wouldn't hide it."

"Young Hero Wang, while in that pit, did you ever see any bones whose color differed from the other corpses?" Wang Yin asked.

"Different color?" Wang Wu was taken aback.

"Yes, a different color. Perhaps a greater luster, like white jade, or simply a different hue, but at a glance you'd know it's not an ordinary bone," Wang Yin said, nodding.

Wang Wu recalled the clothing he had uncovered while digging up human bones in the pit, as well as the bones there, and then shook his head.

"None."

"I see…"

Wang Yin's face showed understanding, and he then made a bow toward Wang Wu, "Thank you, Young Hero."

"Though somewhat shameless, Wang still has…"

"I can help you locate that pit, as well as the money chest inside it," Wang Wu cut off Wang Yin and got straight to the point.

To be honest, after so much small talk he could no longer hold it together. After all, in his previous life he wasn't very sociable—more of a homebody.

Now that he's transmigrated here, the past few months have been spent dealing with beautiful female monsters, and the way monsters think is actually quite different from humans.

One could say that for Wang Wu, interacting with monsters is easier and more relaxed than dealing with humans.

"But I need payment," Wang Wu said.

Hearing Wang Wu's words, Li Yuan's heart leapt at that moment.

"That warrior… could it be—damn it, could he also be after the thing I'm looking for?"

"Wang Clan… do I have a true‑realm martial family with the surname Wang in the southern provinces? Where on earth did this kid crawl out of??"

"As long as it's something my Wang Clan can handle, Young Hero, feel free to ask," Wang Yin said solemnly.

"I need food—a large shipment of food," Wang Wu stated directly. "Winter is approaching, and I came to He Dong County precisely to buy some provisions to take back."

"I also need to buy other things, like rouge and powder; I promised someone I'd bring her a few items."

"Oh right, also some clothes and shoes. Just convert the cost into silver taels for me."

At once, Li Yuan let out a sigh of relief.

"That's not a problem," Wang Yin said, somewhat surprised by Wang Wu's request, because the guy's conditions were actually…

It's not exactly hard, but it's not exactly easy either. Yet for the Wang Clan, it's no issue at all.

"These days, refined grain is in demand everywhere, so my Wang Clan might not be able to provide you, Young Hero, with much refined grain. If you accept, we do have plenty of ordinary grain," Wang Yin said.

"Refined grain? Ordinary grain?" Wang Wu heard two terms he understood the words of, yet had no idea what they meant, and felt a bit bewildered.

At this moment, the encyclopedia that is Li Yuan made his entrance. Li Yuan was becoming increasingly certain that this kid must have run away from some true‑martial family, a clueless young master.

Just look at his appearance, his build, his bearing. Add his illiteracy and total lack of worldly knowledge—it's the classic three‑question, no‑answer type…

He's literally uneducated… no, no, he's practically the living embodiment of pure saintly nature.

"Refined grain is food meant for us transcendent beings. Compared to ordinary grain, it allows cultivators or warriors like you, Young Hero, to feel full on a normal person's meal portion," Li Yuan promptly explained to Wang Wu.

"Ordinary grain, as the name suggests, is the food eaten by the common folk, the majority of ordinary people."

"If we cultivators eat ordinary grain, we can still get full, but we need to eat more than ordinary people do."

"So that's how it is," Wang Wu realized.

Seeing the 'so that's it' expression on Wang Wu's face, Li Yuan inwardly muttered again, "Damn, this kid… probably hasn't eaten a single ordinary grain since he was a child."

"So awesome, so enviable… damn, why wasn't I born into a noble family??"

"Ordinary food will do," after grasping the difference, Wang Wu looked at Wang Yin and said, "I'm not picky about this; just give me ordinary food, i. e., ordinary grain."

"As for money, just give me a modest amount—enough for rouge, powder, and clothes. It was really just a trivial favor to begin with."

"Um…" Wang Yin, hearing Wang Wu's words, was at a loss for what to say.

He could see it now, no wonder Li Xian held such respect for this Young Hero. Looking at his appearance, his bearing, and his total lack of common sense…

He's definitely a young master of distinguished birth, sneaking into the common folk to experience civilian life.

Moreover, this young master seems to already be married. But that doesn't matter; even if he weren't, once his identity was known, Wang Yin had already given up any thoughts.

The other party is a scion of a noble family, while he is merely from a merchant household in a county town. Even though they have some influence in He Dong and He Xi counties, that's all there is to it.

And his own daughter, if truly taken by this young master— even if both parties are willing— their eventual outcome would likely not be good.

Either they'd be forcibly separated, or his daughter would marry into that noble family as a low‑born concubine.

It's impressive to become a shared wife, but it would inevitably bring grievances.

Perhaps with another family, sending a daughter to a noble house could be a profitable deal, but not for Wang Yin.

Wang Yin loves his daughter dearly; he hopes she can marry a husband she likes and who likes her.

Ideally they'd be a good match socially; if not, it's fine for her to come to his house. If the other side is willing to come, he won't treat them poorly.

But it's absolutely not the kind of overreaching to a place that doesn't belong to them.

"What, too much?"

Just then, as Wang Yin was lost in wild guesses about Wang Wu's identity, Wang Wu's voice reached his ears, yanking him abruptly out of his fantasy world.

"Ah! Oh!" Wang Yin gave a sudden start, then immediately put on an apologetic expression. "My apologies, my apologies. I was just thinking about something. Young hero, the conditions you mentioned are absolutely no problem on my end!"

Wang Yin slapped his chest, then cautiously asked, "It's just... young hero, are you sure that mortal grain will do?"

"It will do." Wang Wu nodded. "Better to bring more meat and such—things like cured meat, cured sausages, and cured fish would also be fine."

Seeing that Wang Yin seemed not to understand, Wang Wu explained, "I mean preserved—preserved meat and fish, and intestines, you know?"

This time Wang Yin nodded and replied, "Of course! That's no problem at all!"

"Tsk tsk, 'cured fish and cured meat'—that word 'cured' is well used. 'Cured' refers to the year-end sacrifice to the gods, hence the term 'curing sacrifice.' He doesn't look illiterate, does he?"

This was the inner thought of a certain cultivator of common birth at that moment.

"As for grain, my Wang Clan can probably prepare for the young hero two thousand catties of refined grain and thirty thousand catties of mortal grain."

"As for silver, whether the matter succeeds or fails in the end, my Wang Clan will present the young hero with three thousand taels of silver as a token of gratitude."

"If it succeeds, then from the silver recovered, my Wang Clan will also offer thirty percent to the young hero."

Wang Wu said.

"Too much, a bit too much." Hearing this number, Wang Wu waved his hand and said with a smile, "I don't need that much. A thousand catties of refined grain and five thousand catties of mortal grain will be enough."

"As for the silver, I'll pass on that thirty percent of the recovered silver. I haven't really done anything—even if you asked me to kill that monster, I couldn't do it. Even working together with this Immortal Li, I'm afraid I couldn't manage it."

"Young hero, you may call me Li Yuan. I am merely a mundane cultivator and cannot bear the name 'Immortal,'" Li Yuan spoke up at this point.

"Heh, then... Brother Li?" Wang Wu cupped his hands toward him.

"The young hero flatters me, flatters me." Li Yuan also cupped his hands toward Wang Wu in return, maintaining a polite smile on his face.

Haha, what a polite fellow, this kid. These clan youngsters aren't as arrogant and overbearing as Senior Brothers said, are they?

Unlike his calm exterior, someone's heart was already blooming with joy at this moment.

"When do we set out?" After finishing the discussion on payment, Wang Wu looked at Wang Yin and asked, "Now?"

"If the young hero is not in a hurry, please wait four or five days. I still need to prepare everything properly." Wang Yin cupped his hands.

"No problem, no problem." Wang Wu nodded. "Then I'll wander around the county for these few days. I'll first find a place to stay, and later I'll come back and tell you where I'm lodging."

Having said that, Wang Wu turned around, ready to leave.

But he stopped after just two steps—first, because the Wang Clan estate was too large and he didn't know the way. Second, because Wang Yin's voice came from behind:

"If the young hero doesn't mind, you could also stay at my Wang Clan. We have plenty of guest rooms, so you won't have to run around everywhere."

"Then I'll trouble you, Master Wang." Wang Wu turned his head and said with a smile.

"The young hero is too polite, too polite."

…………

Free guest rooms without spending a cent, servants to attend to you, and free meals to boot.

Gotta say, it felt pretty damn good.

(End of chapter)