Chapter 53: High-Speed Identification

In the next few hours, they visited many stalls in Lizard Alley, and Luo En's [Herb Identification] EXP was also steadily increasing thanks to his precise identification ability.

At a stall specializing in rare plants, he found the third material on the list—Thirst-Dying Tongue Moss.

This thing looked like a small piece of shriveled gray tissue, its surface covered with a layer of fine crystalline structure, emitting an unsettling aura.

Its acquisition method was extremely cruel—just as Andre said before, it required binding a living person in the desert to die of thirst, and then extracting specific tissues from the corpse.

This inhumane practice made it almost impossible to obtain through regular channels, and it could only be found in gray areas like the black market.

The stall owner was a hunched old woman, her skin presenting an unhealthy yellow color, her eyes deeply sunken in their sockets, almost unable to see the pupils.

"This is real Thirst-Dying Tongue Moss, young man." The old woman's voice was hoarse and dry, like the sound of a throat that had been dehydrated for a long time:

"Not many people know about this thing, and even fewer can recognize it. What do you do that makes you interested in this kind of thing?"

Luo En didn't answer directly, but reached out to take the glass container.

The moment his fingers touched the container, a strong sense of thirst suddenly struck him, his throat feeling as if it were being burned by fire.

This was the most obvious characteristic of Thirst-Dying Tongue Moss—it induces a strong sense of thirst in the contactor, simulating the pain of the deceased before death.

[Precise Identification! Herb Identification EXP +2]

[Breakthrough! Herb Identification (Novice 50/50) -> Herb Identification (Proficient 1/100)]

[Obtained Additional Trait: High-Speed Identification (Identification speed increased; judgment accuracy slightly increased)]

A strange feeling surged into his heart; Luo En could feel that his perception ability for medicinal herbs had suddenly been elevated to a brand-new level.

Before, he needed to carefully observe, touch, and even try to determine the authenticity and quality of a material.

But now, with just a glance, he could quickly capture the key characteristics of the material and make an accurate judgment.

It was as if his previously blurred vision had suddenly become clear, and it was as if a complex musical score had been simplified into a simple melody; all the details became clear and distinguishable in an instant.

"What's wrong?" Andre noticed Luo En suddenly stunned and asked in a low voice, his eyes carrying a trace of vigilance, worried about whether there was any trap.

"Nothing, just a new discovery." Luo En smiled slightly, suppressing the joy in his heart, maintaining that calm and self-contained attitude on the surface.

He hid the joy of the breakthrough in his heart without changing his expression, and continued to focus on the transaction at hand:

"This is indeed genuine, and it's preserved quite well. Ten Magic Stone Fragments, this is the highest price I can accept."

"Ten?" The old woman let out a mocking chuckle:

"Young man, do you know how difficult it is to obtain this material? At least twenty, and that's a discount price because you have a good eye."

Luo En shook his head and put the glass container back on the stall:

"I know the market situation very well; even in a place like Lizard Alley, the price of Thirst-Dying Tongue Moss won't exceed ten. Fifteen, this is my final concession; you're definitely making a profit."

After some bargaining, the deal was finally made at the price of fifteen Magic Stone Fragments, lower than Luo En had expected.

Now that the four main materials had been bought, the money bag at his waist had clearly shrunk. He had spent several dozen Magic Stone Fragments, almost the majority of all his savings.

"I have to find a way to earn some Magic Stone Fragments." He calculated in his heart: "Maybe I can use the [High-Speed Identification] ability to do some appraisal work in the black market?"

When he put away the materials and prepared to leave, Luo En noticed a strange light flashing in the old woman's turbid eyes.

That was not the simple profit-seeking look of a merchant, but a more profound, almost greedy observation, as if she were looking at a big fat sheep.

"Be careful, I feel that old thing is ill-intentioned." After leaving the stall, Luo En said to Andre in a low voice:

"The way she looked at us, it didn't look like she was looking at customers, more like she was looking at some prey."

Andre nodded slightly:

"Indeed, people who do business in this kind of place are rarely simple merchants. Most have some other identities—information brokers, bounty hunters, or even eyes for certain forces."

Just as the two turned a corner, Luo En felt his inspiration triggered.

He didn't look back, but his spiritual power had already quietly unfolded, forming ripples to probe outward.

"We're being followed." He said calmly, his voice so low that only Andre could hear:

"Judging by the footsteps, there are at least three half-orcs and one goblin scout responsible for leading the way, and they've been following us since that old thing's stall."

Andre's face suddenly became heavy, and his hand moved quietly toward his waist, where a small but sharp dagger was hidden:

"Half-orcs? The situation is a bit bad... The physical fitness of this alien race far exceeds that of ordinary humans; I can barely deal with one by myself, if there are three, should we shake them off?"

"No rush." Luo En's lips curled into a cold smile: "Let them think we haven't noticed, and see what they really want to do."

Andre looked at him suspiciously, but still nodded, indicating trust in his decision.

The two continued to walk forward, stopping at various stalls casually, acting just like ordinary customers.

But Luo En's spiritual power was always focused on the four sneaky followers behind them.

The physique of the half-orcs was terrifying; even the smallest one had shoulders twice as wide as an ordinary adult, and the exposed skin presented an unhealthy blue-gray color.

Their faces were between human and beast, fangs exposed, eyes deeply sunken in prominent bone sockets, emitting an unsettling yellow light.

The most eye-catching thing was their equipment—unlike ordinary street thugs, these three half-orcs wore uniform leather armor, battle axes hanging at their waists, their movements coordinated, clearly having undergone professional combat training.

This was not some temporarily assembled robbery gang, but a well-trained mercenary squad.

"The situation is a bit wrong." Andre whispered with a frown: "Those guys don't look like ordinary street thugs, more like some kind of bounty hunters. Well-equipped, and organized and disciplined."

Luo En sneered: "Maybe they got the news from that old woman and knew we were big fat sheep..."

He scanned the surrounding environment vigilantly and quickly found an alley suitable for an ambush.

It was a dead end, the entrance was narrow, the walls on both sides had almost no windows, almost a perfect battlefield.

"Follow me." Luo En suddenly grabbed Andre's wrist and walked quickly toward the alley: "We'll wait for them there."

Andre was a bit surprised, but still followed silently.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 54 =====