Chapter 446

Unlike the taverns and various casinos in town, the Adventurer Association at night was significantly quieter than during the day, and the entire hall appeared empty and spacious.

Of course, while it could be called quiet, in reality, one could still see a few adventurers moving back and forth, handling their business; it was just not as crowded and noisy as it was during the day.

Following the receptionist Maer, Xia Nan walked through the hall all the way to the trading room located on the second basement level.

"Knock, knock, knock."

The crisp sound of knocking echoed in the humid air.

"Please come in."

The male voice coming from inside the door was slightly muffled through the wall, yet it felt inexplicably familiar.

Xia Nan raised an eyebrow slightly and pushed the door open to enter.

Sure enough, a figure he had seen before came into view.

"E Lisen?"

Sitting across the table at this moment, that decadent middle-aged man wearing a windproof fishing cloak was none other than E Lisen, whom Xia Nan had met once during his trip to Qiaoyan Island.

He remembered that at the time, in order to find clues about Morton, he had encountered the man next to a wooden cabin on the north cliff of Qiaoyan Island. He remembered being treated to a meal of grilled fish, and before leaving, the man had even provided clues about the caves on the island's coast.

It was precisely because of this that Xia Nan was able to rendezvous with the Silver Claw Osprey Squad and eventually encounter the Shark Beast inside the cave.

He had originally thought the man was just a passerby met by chance during the mission; he hadn't expected the man to be the one seeking to purchase his 【Tide-Surging Lure Rod】.

Thinking about it this way, there had actually been hints about the connection between the two all along.

When Maer helped him inquire about the whereabouts of the fishing rod buyer, he had said the man had gone to the outer sea to fish; and when E Lisen was chatting with him on Qiaoyan Island, he had also mentioned that he was from Shoal Bay and would come here to fish every so often.

It was truly a coincidence.

At the same time, E Lisen, sitting in the room, couldn't help but be stunned when he saw Xia Nan appear at the door, not expecting the other party to be here.

"Xia Nan?" He stood up from the table, glanced at Maer, the association receptionist who was helping to close the door behind Xia Nan, and looked slightly surprised, "So you are the consignor of this piece of equipment?"

"Obviously."

Xia Nan nodded in reply, simultaneously unbuckling the twin swords from his back and sitting down across the table.

"Sorry, sorry." Perhaps Xia Nan's attitude caused a misunderstanding for E Lisen; this decadent and weathered middle-aged man smiled awkwardly, "I originally thought you wouldn't come until next year. After all, there is quite a distance from Hegu Town to Shoal Bay, so I went on a long trip."

Coming to Shoal Bay was mainly to find the key to the 【Dream Weaving Corridor】; selling the equipment was just something he did while he was at it. It wouldn't even matter if it didn't sell and he kept it for his own use, so even if the other party had returned a few days late, Xia Nan actually didn't have much of an opinion on it.

Glancing across the tabletop, he saw that besides the 【Tide-Surging Lure Rod】 that was the subject of this transaction, there was actually a small fish tank sitting there.

Inside, a fish about the length of a forearm was swimming listlessly; its head was flat, and its body was greyish-white but covered in black cow-like spots, looking very strange in appearance.

"Looks like you had a good harvest?"

"Spotted Whale, this one is just barely an adult." E Lisen explained, "It was for this fellow that I stayed on Qiaoyan Island for so many days."

Spotted Whale?

Pondering the name of this strange fish in his heart, Xia Nan subconsciously glanced again in the direction of the 【Tide-Surging Lure Rod】.

One must know that as a "nest-baiting artifact," the only usage restriction of the 【Tide-Surging Lure Rod】 was that one needed to use a spear tip to strike a living, healthy whale-like creature at a frequency of sixty times per minute for ten consecutive minutes.

And in Xia Nan's impression, so-called "whale-like creatures" were all those massive behemoths that were easily ten or twenty meters in size, with absolutely no possibility of being carried around.

If one had to specifically find a whale to trigger the equipment before every fishing trip, it would be too much of a hassle.

Therefore, regarding the 【Tide-Surging Lure Rod】, even after he had gradually ignited an interest in fishing, he still felt it was a chicken rib, completely devoid of practical use.

But now, if the Spotted Whale, which E Lisen said was only the length of a forearm, could truly satisfy the trigger conditions of the 【Tide-Surging Lure Rod】...

"So you specifically went to catch this fish for the sake of the rod?"

Not expecting such a solution, Xia Nan felt it was interesting and asked.

"You could say that." E Lisen nodded, "Actually, normally speaking, I go out to sea to fish at this time every year. It's just that I had caught this kind of Spotted Whale on Qiaoyan Island before, so I thought I'd see if I could catch another one to keep, and then try to see if it could trigger the conditions after the fishing rod transaction was completed."

"I can't guarantee that." Xia Nan replied quite cautiously.

Although he possessed an attribute panel and could confirm the special effects of the 【Tide-Surging Lure Rod】, he was not certain whether the loophole E Lisen was trying to exploit would work.

To avoid any future friction, he felt it was better to make things clear now, even if it meant the transaction couldn't be completed.

"It doesn't matter, even if it turns out it doesn't work in the end... I can try other methods."

Clearly, for such a "nest-baiting artifact," a fisherman's patience is extraordinary, and the subjective initiative they can exert goes without saying.

Although there was a suspicion of an "Emperor's golden hoe," Xia Nan even suspected that if a transcendent or even legendary-level powerhouse truly obtained the 【Tide-Surging Lure Rod】, it wouldn't be a surprise if they really did go out to sea to find a whale specifically before every use...

Compared to the twists and turns on the road to their meeting, the transaction itself could be said to have gone very smoothly.

Perhaps out of compensation for standing Xia Nan up for so long, E Lisen's offer was very high.

For a second-hand white-tier item like the 【Tide-Surging Lure Rod】, which had harsh trigger conditions for its special effects and no practical combat value, the first offer was directly 120 gold, far exceeding Xia Nan's expectations.

And after a little bargaining at the end, the final transaction price reached 135 gold.

After deducting the association's 5% service fee, Xia Nan received about 128 gold.

After the transaction ended, the two did not leave the room immediately, but instead chatted along the way.

"There's only a little over a month until the New Year. Do you plan to return to the mainland?"

Lowering his head to sip the tea in the conference room, E Lisen asked as if casually.

"I still have some things to handle in Shoal Bay; I'll be staying at least until February of next year."

He still had to attend the Moon Tide Feast, so naturally, he wouldn't be leaving so early.

"Then you've been staying at the tavern during this time?"

"Yes, the Sanzu Haigou. You can come find me for a drink when you're free. I remember I said I'd treat you to a meal back then, right? Come anytime, and I'll make good on it anytime."

"Hehe." E Lisen smiled in a friendly manner and said pointedly, "The expenses at the Sanzu Haigou are not low. In a place where adventurers gather like this, a single meal is probably worth a day's expenses at other inns, right?"

That was indeed the case. Just as E Lisen said, whether it was the White Tit in Hegu Town or the Sanzu Haigou in Shoal Bay, the prices in the shops were much higher than in the market.

It is said to be a well-known adventure ship group in the bay that has gone through many years of honing.