Chapter 338: Follow-up plans and processing of loot materials

The return journey was smoother than the journey here.

The two Goblin extermination missions additionally accepted before setting out had already been completed, and there was no need to spend extra time searching for Goblin lairs.

Although this meant losing the opportunity to indulge desires slightly and relieve stress, it had to be admitted that this indeed saved Xia Nan a lot of time.

And the two young people following behind, whom he originally thought might delay the journey slightly, performed somewhat beyond his expectations.

They were very obedient on the road; whatever Xia Nan said was what it was, and they never disobeyed. Even for some of his decisions that might be difficult for ordinary people to understand, such as suddenly keeping silent during the march, or inexplicably taking a long detour, they never asked why, just simply obeyed.

At the same time, they also helped him do some things within their power as much as possible, such as collecting firewood and cooking food, reducing Xia Nan's energy consumption.

Coupled with his keen perception ability, which avoided many unnecessary troubles on the road, and relatively good luck.

It made the return journey of the group of three exceptionally smooth.

Even though there were more rest times in the middle because of Dongshu and Lilina's physical strength.

When they arrived at Hegu Town, it was still two days earlier than expected.

Baishanque Tavern.

A classic location in the corner of the lobby.

The silver spoon slowly sank into the thick and smooth milky white soup, stirring gently; finely chopped dark brown mushroom slices and crisp parsley fragments appeared and disappeared in the vortex formed by the soup.

Scooping up half a spoon, accompanied by the tempting soup dripping from the edge of the spoon, he sent it into his mouth.

The forest mellow fragrance unique to wild mushrooms and the sweet fat of fresh cream embraced tightly, plus a little black pepper grain that stimulated the appetite and the fresh flavor of parsley; the layered flavors burst from the tip of the tongue and filled the mouth in an instant.

Enjoying the long-lost cream mushroom soup, Xia Nan narrowed his eyes unconsciously.

In contrast, the young boy and girl sitting opposite the dining table appeared somewhat restrained, their bodies stiff, out of place with the noisy environment in the tavern.

It was normal, though.

After all, having lived in a remote village deep in the lowlands since childhood, let alone an adventurer hub as prosperous and lively as Hegu Town, they rarely even saw passersby from the outside world on weekdays.

Suddenly being brought to a bustling place like the Baishanque Tavern, which was gathered with a large number of adventurers all year round, it was understandable that they felt uncomfortable.

In fact, when they followed Xia Nan to Hegu Town and saw the crowds shuttling back and forth on the streets and the shops lined up on both sides, the two who were originally quite lively stopped talking much.

They just shrank behind Xia Nan like quails, following step by step while carefully observing the scenes they had never seen before.

Regarding this, Xia Nan did not interfere too much.

Since they had already decided to leave their original environment and work hard in Hegu Town, they naturally needed to desensitize as soon as possible and try to get familiar with the atmosphere and life rhythm here, which were completely different from Mist Lamp Village.

Holding the spoon in his hand, he glanced at Dongshu and Lilina in front, who were radiating the panic of being new here and being at a loss.

He tapped the edge of the soup bowl gently with the bottom of the spoon.

"Ding..."

The crisp sound that burst out instantly focused the attention of the two, which had been slightly scattered due to being too nervous, on him.

"Eat, don't just look."

"Here, being polite will only make you hungry."

The dining table was already filled with extremely rich food.

Besides the steaming pot of cream mushroom soup that was wantonly venting its sweet milky fragrance, there was a whole roasted chicken with golden and crispy skin, honey-glazed ham with charred fragrance and flowing oil, a large plate of sizzling sausages, mashed potatoes piled up like a small mountain, and meat pies exuding the tempting fragrance of spices.

Naturally, Xia Nan was treating.

Compared to the income of his mission this time, the dishes on this table didn't count for much money.

Having finally finished the mission and returned to town to rest, he naturally had to reward himself well.

And the two young people in front were new here; he had a good impression of them and also thought about taking care of them a little.

Having never eaten such good food, the two from the remote village didn't even dare to make their movements too big.

It wasn't until the fragrance of the food surged into their nasal cavities with their breathing and their throats rolled subconsciously that they started to eat carefully.

Perhaps because his performance in the canyon and on the return journey was too reliable, as the only familiar person in a strange environment, Xia Nan gave them considerable sense of security.

Even though he didn't say much himself, just sitting opposite the dining table, accompanied by pieces of delicious food being swallowed into their stomachs, the two people's expressions and movements finally relaxed a bit.

They were no longer as restrained as when they first entered the restaurant.

Dongshu dared to stand up halfway and use a table knife to cut the ham located at the other end of the wooden table;

Lilina also gradually got used to the noise in the tavern and started to secretly observe the adventurers around who were carrying weapons and talking and laughing.

To be honest, under normal circumstances, the two's green and immature performance could be said to be extremely conspicuous to the old hands in the tavern.

If they encountered some drunks with poor drinking habits, or some adventurers with bad intentions who wanted to extract benefits from them seeing that they were young, it was possible they might really encounter entanglement.

But right now, when Xia Nan was sitting opposite them, all possible troubles vanished like smoke.

Some adventurers who noticed Lilina's gaze even took the initiative to greet them, thinking they were being kind.

Perhaps placed in the entire Aifala Continent, or even the circle of professionals in the Pan Yun Province of the Servia Kingdom, Xia Nan belonged to the most obscure bottom of the pyramid.

But for Hegu Town, which had a large number of bottom-level adventurers active all year round, the name "Grey Sword" had already spread widely after more than a year of hard work.

Black hair and black eyes, dual swords, cold temperament, young...

The uniqueness of his appearance, temperament, and weapons and equipment made him not difficult to identify.

If it weren't for special circumstances, who among these ordinary adventurers who could barely handle a few Goblins would dare to take the initiative to offend this "big shot" who was said to have already obtained a professional level and climbed to the second floor of the Association.

Just sitting there, even if he did nothing, the meaning attached to the name "Xia Nan" isolated the two from 99% of the malice that should have fallen on them without any cover.

Time passed quietly.

When Xia Nan sent the last spoonful of cream mushroom soup into his mouth, most of the food on the table had also been wiped out.

Most of it was solved by himself; excellent physical fitness also meant higher energy consumption, requiring sufficient nutritional supplementation.

Dongshu and Lilina were also full; the hunger desire that was completely satisfied turned into psychological sense of security under the effect of physical instinct, and their originally tense nerves relaxed a lot. ===== CHAPTER 339 =====