Chapter 401: Pfft! You

Can you grow vegetables?

No.

No. Ang refused.

Anticipating this, Du Luo quickly said: "My lord, may I take her in?"

Now it was Nagris's turn to be confused. "Why take her in? Aren't you afraid she'll be a nuisance?"

"You're just a book—you don't care. But I'm the King of Alchemy! I used to have servants waiting on me, and now I have to wash my own clothes. How undignified."

Nagris frowned. "I've never seen you wash clothes. Don't you just tap them with your Gold Rod and they're clean?"

"Hey, don't remind me. Back then, the Gnome Merchants' Guild paid for everything. I had no dignity at all." Du Luo complained.

Indeed, as the King of Alchemy, having to do everything himself wasn't tiring—just annoying. One moment he was pondering how to craft a new magical trinket, the next he had to wash dishes. It shattered his focus too easily.

Only because Du Luo was a lich, with minimal physical needs, had he not gone mad from it.

Lisa, Silver Coin Anthony, and others also had plenty of servants and maids—but in Ang's presence, they were the ones being ordered around, so they did everything themselves.

"Besides, haven't you noticed? If we don't take her in, her life will be unbearable." Du Luo said.

Whether by coincidence or not, at that exact moment, the plump woman's stomach let out a loud gurgle.

Ang nodded.

Maid +1

Arriving at the inn, they found it packed—every corridor was filled with people. When they saw Ang and the others, everyone rose to bow. They were all refugees from Desert Town.

Spiritfall Town had a moat and drawbridge, and was several times larger than Desert Town, but it was still just a town. Its inn mainly served fur and herb merchants, with few rooms.

Over a hundred refugees from Desert Town had filled every room. The rest, unable to pay, slept on the corridors—and couldn't afford meals. Many of them groaned as their stomachs rumbled while bowing.

Du Luo called over the innkeeper and ordered: "Prepare some bread and distribute it to the Desert Town refugees." He flicked out a gold coin.

The innkeeper bowed deeply, apologetic. "Forgive me, noble guest, but bread is expensive. One gold coin isn't enough."

"One gold coin isn't enough? Is bread this expensive here? I didn't think the prices were high when I bought furs." Du Luo was astonished.

He hadn't thought prices were high when buying furs. One gold coin could feed a family of three for a year in the Main Plane—surely it was enough for a meal for over a hundred people here?

The innkeeper gave him a strange look. "Here, bread costs more than furs. Grain has to be shipped in. Fish cakes are cheaper. How about switching to those?"

Talking with the innkeeper, Du Luo learned why bread was so expensive: the town produced no grain. Bread ingredients had to be imported.

Fish and furs, by contrast, were cheap—they were locally produced.

"I see. But still expensive. Grain here costs far more than back home. One gold coin only feeds a family of three for a month." Du Luo shook his head.

The innkeeper gave him a strange expression—half disdain, half fear of being beaten. "You're a noble mage, probably don't know how to grow grain. Low yield means high price."

"I don't know how to grow grain?!" Du Luo pointed at his own nose, incredulous.

He, the King of Alchemy and servant of the God of Cultivation, had secretly mastered the art of sowing—now someone was saying he didn't know how to grow grain?

At that moment, Nagris suddenly interjected: "What's the yield per mu?"

Ang's mouth opened and closed, as if speaking through him.

"My lord, I've heard southern yields are higher—about 120 jin per mu. Northern yields are much lower, only 90 to 100 jin."

"Pfft! How much?" Du Luo and Nagris spat out in unison.

Having grown accustomed to yields of thousands of jin per mu beside Ang, the number sounded unbelievable.

Even ignoring Ang, average grain yields in the Main Plane were 400 to 500 jin per mu—four or five times higher than what the innkeeper claimed. The gap was absurd.

The innkeeper didn't understand their shock and, being no expert farmer, just chuckled awkwardly and left to prepare fish cakes.

Du Luo went outside and questioned the Desert Town refugees. After asking around, he confirmed one thing.

"The yield really is only around a hundred jin per mu? Good heavens—it's ten times lower! Why is it so low? Can people even survive on this?" Nagris said.

"That can't be right. The sorcerers here invented the 3D planting sphere. Their cultivation techniques shouldn't be this bad." Du Luo still couldn't believe it.

Nagris guessed: "Maybe sorcerers are skilled, but this world is ruled by undead. Look at the Grand Sage—how terrible are undead cultivation techniques?"

"Why can't we judge by the Lord?"

"He's a freak. Don't use him as a standard. The Grand Sage's level is what undead cultivation truly looks like."

Far away on the Eternal Road, the Grand Sage shivered violently and quickly found an excuse to hug the witch.

Because undead dominated this world, they had little interest in improving cultivation techniques, leading to low grain yields and high prices.

"So if we grow grain here, our techniques will make us rich," Du Luo said.

Ang's eyes gleamed as he nodded firmly.

Nagris cursed: "Damn it! Have some ambition! You want to get rich by farming? If you want money, go find Silver Coin!"

Indeed—the God of Cultivation, the King of Alchemy, and the God of Knowledge had come to a new world… and now wanted to get rich by farming. The thought was absurd.

Who had turned Du Luo into this?

Ang looked left and right, blinking innocently.

With no room available, Du Luo spread out the furs in a corner of the inn's lobby. With a few light taps, the furs softened instantly under his hands.

"Alchemy is the art of materials. Whether turning stone to gold or gathering sand into a tower, you must first have stone and sand. How you refine them into useful things depends on your technique. There are countless secrets here—many are never passed on." Du Luo explained as he worked.

"Clap, clap, clap…" Applause echoed. A deep voice came from the entrance: "Brilliant explanation. I never understood alchemy before, but now, after your words, everything is clear."

A figure clad in soul armor stepped in. Black mist oozed intermittently from the armor, suffusing the air with death. The entire body was encased, with only two blue glows visible where the eyes should be. He spoke gravely:

"I heard two noble guests arrived in town. I am Rock of the Bone, Town Lord of Spiritfall Town, and I welcome you."

"Pfft! You're Rock of the Bone?"

PS: Woke up late. Posting one chapter for now.