Chapter 47: Processing Loot (Two-in-One)

The accommodation conditions at the inn were far from those of the star-rated hotels in his previous life, but compared to sleeping in the wild, they were undoubtedly much better.

At least he didn't have to worry about being shoved awake by a companion on night watch, only to have to fight off a surprise monster attack while disheveled and bleary-eyed.

Xia Nan had a long-overdue good night's sleep.

But he didn't oversleep.

The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, he forced himself out of bed through sheer willpower.

As an adventurer, the first day after a mission ends is often the busiest.

Turning in quests, disposing of loot, repairing equipment...

Countless urgent tasks piled up in Xia Nan's mind like a checklist.

Even if it took an entire day to handle these matters, he was more than willing.

Because only then, after a hard day's work, could he enjoy his hard-earned "vacation" without any burdens, his wallet bulging and his heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.

After a quick wash, he left the tavern.

Carrying his heavy backpack, Xia Nan arrived at the Hegu Town Adventurer Association.

It was still that treehouse-style building with a distinct "Mist Forest" flair, and it was just as busy as ever.

Even though he had gotten up as early as possible, by the time he stepped onto the dark brown oak floor at the entrance, the area was already filled with all sorts of adventurers.

Some, like him, carried bulging packs, looking like they had come early to turn in quests; others gathered in groups of three or five under the quest board, whispering to each other from time to time.

Xia Nan even saw an extremely burly, two-meter-tall Orc slowly lumbering over from the distant street, holding a ferocious-looking monster head in his hand.

Traces of battle were clearly visible on his mud-caked body, and blood was still dripping from the severed neck of the head in his hand.

Clearly, he had just finished an intense battle.

The thick stench of blood and the odor of someone who hadn't bathed in many days in the wild caused passing adventurers to frown and dodge.

But according to Xia Nan's observation, the Orc showed no signs of anger at the disgusted reactions of those around him.

On the contrary, he looked completely relaxed and satisfied.

That calm and composed demeanor was just like a fisherman who had finally caught a big fish and would gladly take a detour through a dozen streets just to make sure everyone in town knew about it.

Xia Nan even suspected that if someone were to walk up to the Orc now and ask about the monster's name or the battle process, the Orc might laugh so hard his two protruding tusks would swallow themselves.

In the end, the Orc still didn't make it into the Adventurer Association.

Just as he reached the entrance, he was "politely" asked to leave by staff who had heard the commotion, told to clean himself up before coming back.

But the Orc still wore a blissful expression, clearly having achieved his goal.

Withdrawing his gaze,

Xia Nan felt the oppressive mood from his long stay in the Mist Forest ease with this comical scene.

*Ding-a-ling. *

The crisp bell sound brought him back to reality, and he saw the adventurer who had been in front of him leaving the counter with a money bag.

He composed himself and walked to the counter.

It was the same short-haired girl, looking listless and head drooping as if she were about to fall asleep at any second.

"Quest number?" a listless voice came from the girl.

"387H, the Glow-Garlic Vine collection quest."

Silence.

The girl didn't reply, just operated something under the counter with both hands.

Only then did she speak slowly again:

"Number: 387H, quest timed out. The requester did not choose to extend the bounty, and it has been removed."

As expected...

Although Xia Nan had been mentally prepared, he still felt a faint sense of disappointment.

Normally, three days would have been plenty for him to make a round trip between Hegu Town and the outskirts of the Mist Forest; the quest time was very generous.

But who could have predicted he would run into a half-elf squad during his adventure and accept their commission to venture deeper into the forest?

Although he had gained a 100-gold reward and plenty of loot because of it, the original Glow-Garlic Vine collection quest had indeed timed out.

He had rushed back to town overnight yesterday, actually hoping to turn in the quest in time, but the Association had already closed by the time he arrived, so he had to wait until now.

"Understood, thank you."

Xia Nan nodded slightly to the girl and was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, she raised her eyebrows and glanced at him, adding:

"I heard Ms. Edwinna's new antidote potion is quite effective, and she's preparing to produce a second batch."

"You could go to her shop and ask; there might still be a chance."

Hearing this, Xia Nan was stunned, then pondered inwardly:

As far as he knew, Glow-Garlic Vine wasn't a common plant. Even if the requester no longer needed it urgently and the price had dropped, he could probably still sell it for something at market price.

The girl's reminder had given him a second option.

He couldn't help but thank her:

"Thanks for the tip!"

After a moment's thought, he took a gleaming silver coin from his pocket, covered it with his fingertips, and silently slid it onto the counter.

*Whoosh—*

In the blink of an eye, the silver coin had vanished from sight.

The girl, who had been listless, suddenly sat up straight, her half-closed eyelids lifting, looking like a diligent and excellent employee as she muttered to herself:

"Ms. Edwinna likes to drink, the strong stuff. Maybe I'll bring two bottles over next time; she might even give me a discount on things I buy."

He raised an eyebrow.

Xia Nan nodded silently and turned away from the counter.

*Tap. *

His thick leather boots landed on the stone-paved road of Hegu Town, making a slightly muffled sound.

Xia Nan carried the "Lava Sigh" strong liquor he had just bought for two silver coins from the Baishanque Tavern.

Standing on the bustling street, he looked at the herbal shop in front of him.

The shop wasn't large, only half the size of "Rock Hammer."

But the design was exceptionally exquisite.

It seemed to imitate the Adventurer Association's style of being close to the Mist Forest; the small hut was also built from dark oak from the forest, but it was decorated with a large number of vines and green plants.

If the Association was a giant treehouse, then the shop before him was like a large bush commonly seen in the forest.

A standing sign was placed in front of the door, featuring a simple sketch of a small iron pot tilted slightly, being stirred with a ladle, and next to it, written in Common—

Green Grass Crucible.

Organizing his words in his mind, Xia Nan cleared his throat.

He pushed the door open and entered.

*Ding-dong. *

A light, pleasant bell sound rang in his ears.

A rich, slightly fragrant herbal scent flooded his nostrils along with the warm air inside.

The interior was also small and exquisite.

A dark brown wooden counter divided the space in two, and shelves on both sides were filled with many bottles and jars.

The items sold seemed similar to the alchemist's shop in the Association, but the prices were much cheaper.

There were no healing potions, but there were many tonic patches of unknown use.

Behind the counter, a slightly plump, curly-haired woman was focused on stirring the crucible in front of her.

From time to time, she would scoop up some potion with an iron spoon, seemingly checking its quality.

Hearing the door open, she didn't rush, but said gently and softly:

"Sorry, please wait a moment, I'll be done soon."

Xia Nan wasn't in a hurry; he just placed the "Lava Sigh" he was holding gently on the counter and waited patiently.

About two minutes later.

As the white smoke rising from the crucible grew thicker, the woman stopped stirring, took out the ladle, and carefully covered the pot.

She took a handkerchief from her waist and wiped her hands.

Edwinna turned around, just about to greet the customer.

She spotted the bottle of strong liquor labeled with the Baishanque Tavern name on the table.

Her eyes lit up instantly.

Turning her gaze to Xia Nan, her tone softened even more as she asked:

"Welcome to Green Grass Crucible, is there anything I can help you with?"

Having already prepared his script, Xia Nan replied:

"It's like this: I accepted a bounty quest from the Association for Glow-Garlic Vine a few days ago, but by the time I rushed back to Hegu Town, the quest time had already expired."

"I heard from the staff at the Association that you might still have a need for Glow-Garlic Vine, so I thought I'd come and try my luck."

As he spoke, he glanced at the "Lava Sigh" in front of him.

"I happened to drink a glass of excellent liquor at the inn last night, and since I had the chance today, I brought a bottle over. I don't know if it's to your liking."

"Of course," Edwinna smiled gently, taking the bottle, "you're very thoughtful."

"I do indeed need a batch of extra Glow-Garlic Vine; I was planning to go to the Adventurer Association to bother you all in a couple of days... If you have any extra, I can buy them back at the bounty price."

Hearing this, Xia Nan breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

He took off the backpack containing the Glow-Garlic Vine and handed it to her.

"Hmm... that's thirty-two clusters of Glow-Garlic Vine in total, totaling thirty-two gold coins. Please keep them safe."

Edwinna handed a money bag stamped with the Green Grass Crucible pattern to Xia Nan.

Feeling the heavy weight in his palm, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly from inner satisfaction.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Xia Nan took a small cloth bag from his waist that still had faint traces of green liquid on the surface.

"This is..."

The rimless glasses on Edwinna's nose reflected the sunlight from outside the window.

A look of surprise appeared on her round, plump face.

"Rust Monster? You went to the Underdark?"

She carefully pinched the deep purple poison gland and examined it closely under the sunlight.

Facing the shopkeeper's doubt, Xia Nan didn't answer, just blinked at her silently.

"Oh, sorry." Realizing she had spoken out of turn, Edwinna smiled apologetically and put the poison gland, which she had confirmed was intact, back into the bag. "After all, this thing is quite dangerous for the average adventurer, and it's not common here either."

"I'll give you the market price, 6 gold each. Four poison glands total twenty-four gold, how's that?"

"Good."

He didn't know the specific market rate, but since she had said so, Xia Nan didn't haggle and readily agreed.

His small treasury had once again surged significantly.

The quest was turned in, and it was already morning.

The sun was intense.

Xia Nan walked down the street with his backpack, pondering:

"Next, I'll deal with the odds and ends like the compass."

Before meeting the half-elves and the others, he had fought a battle against two unlucky adventurers in the clearing where he found the Glow-Garlic Vine.

Besides the money bag that seemed to contain all their savings—53 gold and 6 silver—the other weapons and armor were too heavy, so he naturally hadn't brought them back.

But there were some small items that had disappeared into his backpack.

They should be enough to sell for a few meals.

Unlike last time, when he had malachite of unknown value that needed appraisal, Xia Nan hadn't obtained any loot on this mission whose specific value he couldn't determine.

Therefore, compared to the rigorous and meticulous but stingy "Fairy Wind," he chose the more cost-effective "Kukunuer's General Store."

The shop owner, "Kukunuer," was a rather cheerful gnome; as soon as he entered the shop, the other party enthusiastically introduced his business.

And just as mentioned in the 【Adventurer's Handbook】, the prices were quite fair.

Just some scattered small items, which added up to 3 gold and 7 silver—it was originally 6 silver and 5 copper, but Kukunuer rounded it up for him.

"No wonder his business ability is average but he's still mentioned in the handbook; he's truly honest."

Xia Nan thought to himself.

By now, he had finished dealing with almost all the loot he needed to sell for the entire morning.

After his first mission, his small treasury had shrunk significantly due to the purchase of equipment and weapons, but now it had surged to an unprecedented level.

From the adventurer duo—57 gold and 3 silver.

Glow-Garlic Vine and Rust Monster poison glands—56 gold.

Reward for the half-elf quest—100 gold.

Plus his original savings of over twenty gold, Xia Nan's current savings had reached a staggering—

236 gold, 2 silver, and 7 copper.

Although it was still only enough to buy half a bottle of 【Radiant Resistance Potion】, or one-seventh of a set of heavy plate armor.

But he was already very satisfied.

After all, this was just the savings he had accumulated from two missions.

Xia Nan was even considering whether to buy another full bottle of healing potion just in case.

"Right!"

Recalling the information he had obtained from Wood and the half-elves during the previous mission.

Xia Nan didn't leave the shop immediately after completing the transaction.

Instead, with a strong sense of purpose, he carefully scanned the shelves in the general store.

"Customer, is there anything you need?"

Seeing this, Kukunuer asked enthusiastically.

Xia Nan hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at the empty doorway.

He leaned in, and with a hint of probing, said:

"Do you have any 'Combat Techniques' for sale in your shop?"

"Of course!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the gnome, whose height barely reached Xia Nan's thigh, patted his chest and said loudly.

He saw him suddenly dive under the counter, making the sound of heavy objects being moved.

And then...

*Bang! *

A huge cardboard box covered in dust was thrown heavily onto the counter by Kukunuer, who was standing on his tiptoes.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Choked by the dust flying in the air, he said while coughing:

"Combat techniques, cough... they're all in there."

"1 pound for 3 copper; buy 10 pounds and I'll give you 30% off."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 48 =====