"Brother, you have no idea what I went through yesterday!"
"Goblins, a Brown Bear, and a pack of Forest Wolves!"
"That Brown Bear was at least seven feet tall! Its claw just grazed me, and my chest plate was completely destroyed!"
"But guess what! I still managed to kill it in the end!"
"One strike with my Sword right to its neck!"
"..."
Five minutes later, Furen was gesturing wildly in front of Lu Wei with an excited expression. Although his eyes kept darting toward the roasted rabbit in Lu Wei’s hands, he certainly looked the part of a triumphant Adventurer.
To be honest, no one is completely without vanity.
So, his boastful showing off, which bordered on exaggeration, was completely understandable.
Besides, strictly speaking, he wasn’t lying. The Brown Bear really had died by his Sword.
"It’s just a shame I got injured, and in my right hand, the one I use for my Sword."
"That’s why I had to come back to town to get it treated."
"Sigh. Otherwise, I would have definitely kept exploring deeper into the forest."
Shaking his head in feigned regret, Furen quickly wrapped up the latter half of his story and immediately changed the subject.
"What about you? How was business yesterday?"
"Uh, it was alright..."
Lu Wei glanced at Furen’s filthy clothes. He had a feeling the other man’s experience hadn’t been nearly as smooth as he claimed.
However, Experience told him that calling out a friend’s lies was detrimental to their friendship, so he went along with it.
"I sold a few things and made a little profit."
"Is that so? That’s great!"
Furen’s praise was a little over the top. Then, revealing his true intentions, he feigned surprise as he looked at the roasted rabbit.
"Huh? I’m just now noticing. Are you roasting a rabbit?"
"..."
’Dude, isn’t this a little too forced?’
’The act is so obvious...’
The corner of Lu Wei’s mouth twitched. "Yeah, it’s my lunch."
Furen swallowed. "It looks really good. I bet it’s delicious."
"Uh, want some?"
"I couldn’t possibly... although I haven’t had lunch either."
"You sure you don’t want any?"
"I... well, in that case, don’t mind if I do!"
Tempted by the delicious food, Furen finally dropped the act. He plopped down on the ground and eagerly took the roasted rabbit.
Without even minding that it was scalding hot, he immediately tore off a hind leg. The crispy skin split open, revealing the steaming, plump meat inside. An indescribable, meaty aroma instantly filled the air, more intoxicating than the most expensive perfume in the world.
’It smells so good!’
’Now *this* is what I call food!’
’A million times better than that damn bear paw from last night!’
"I’ll pay for it!"
Unable to wait another second, Furen blurted out the promise and then took a huge bite of the leg meat. An expression of blissful satisfaction immediately spread across his face.
The charred aroma of the fat, the herbal scent of the spices, and the firm texture of the rabbit meat itself all combined to form the most effective comfort after a failed adventure.
In that moment, he had long forgotten that this was originally Lu Wei’s lunch. All he wanted was to devour the entire roasted rabbit.
Lu Wei, on the other hand, didn’t really mind.
Although he was also very hungry... seeing Furen eat with such gusto made him even hungrier.
But after all, the man had said he would pay.
’So...’
"Mm, I almost forgot. Aren’t you having any?"
"No, no, you eat. I’m not hungry."
"But..."
"Don’t be polite! Please, enjoy all of it!"
"Mhm, brother, you’re a good man."
"You flatter me. Here, have some water."
Lu Wei handed over the waterskin with a wide smile, then took out the leftover Sunberries from yesterday. As soon as Furen finished the rabbit, he immediately presented them to him.
"Have some fruit, too."
"Thanks... Oof, this feels amazing!"
Furen chewed on the Sunberries, his eyes narrowed in bliss. "This is the most wonderful meal I’ve ever had in my life!"
"Is that so?"
Seeing that he was about done eating, Lu Wei gave him a timely reminder, "So, about what you said earlier..."
"Earlier... Oh, of course!"
Furen froze for a moment before it dawned on him. "How much do I owe you?"
"Forty Copper Coins for the roasted rabbit, 10 Copper Coins for the Sunberries."
Lu Wei smiled faintly. "That’ll be 50 Copper Coins in total."
Furen: "..."
’Why does this scene feel so familiar...?’
...
...
"Brother, my adventure this time... it actually didn’t go as smoothly as I said."
Twenty minutes later, Furen, now full and content, leaned against the Tree of Origin with a stalk of sagebrush dangling from his mouth, a melancholic look on his face.
A certain philosopher once said—
When a man is hungry, he has but one worry. But once he is full, he has countless worries.
It certainly seemed to make a lot of sense now.
"Mhm, go on. I’m listening."
Beside him, Lu Wei, who had just earned another 50 Copper Coins, was in a cheerful mood. He spoke while turning a Wooden Stick in his hands.
A plucked wild pheasant was skewered on it, freshly caught just moments ago.
Catching two prey in just one hour was a rare feat in all of Heitai Town, something only a very experienced Hunter could achieve.
This was probably why High Level Adventurer Squads always had a member with high Perception.
Early warnings, Tracking, hunting, finding direction... while these things weren’t related to combat, they greatly increased a squad’s chances of survival.
’Feels like I could even make a side business out of hunting in the future.’
’The forest’s resources are so abundant, yet these people are always obsessed with goblins.’
’I really don’t get what they’re thinking.’
Sprinkling some black pepper powder on the roasting chicken, Lu Wei mumbled to himself, not really listening to Furen’s woes.
But it wasn’t a particularly complex story anyway, so catching a few phrases here and there was enough.
It was something about a wolf pack stealing his prey, followed by an unfortunate case of an upset stomach.
"In short, I was underprepared. I lack the common sense and Skills for surviving in the wild."
Sitting up straight, Furen concluded seriously, "So I plan to head back to town first to find a teacher. I’ll go on my next adventure after I’ve learned these things."
"Hmm..."
’He knows his mistakes and wants to correct them. At least he’s self-aware...’ Lu Wei nodded, about to offer a few noncommittal words of agreement.
But in the next second, he suddenly swallowed his words.
’Wait a minute.’
’Find a teacher...’
"Brother Furen, to tell you the truth, I actually have extensive experience with wilderness survival."
"Look, I caught two prey in such a short amount of time. That’s proof enough of my ability."
"So if you need help, I’d be more than willing to lend a hand."
Having keenly spotted a business opportunity, how could Lu Wei let this big deal slip away? He immediately began to enthusiastically sell himself.
However, perhaps because he’d already been burned twice, Furen didn’t agree right away this time. Instead, he tentatively inquired about the price.
"Uh, may I ask about the fee?"
"Of course! Transparency has always been my business principle!"
Lu Wei put on a serious expression and, after a moment’s thought, gave a quote. "One Silver Coin per day!"
"..."
Furen’s mouth fell slightly open, looking as if he’d been stunned.
Seeing this, Lu Wei knew he had asked for too much and quickly lowered the price on his own.
"Hahaha, just kidding! That price is basically robbery."
"How about this: 70 Copper Coins a day!"
"..."
"Ahem, that’s still a bit expensive, of course. We’re friends, after all, so I have to give you a discount... How about 50 Copper Coins?"
"..."
"That’s still not quite right, eh... Final offer, 30 Copper Coins!"
"..."
Giving him a strange look, Furen still said nothing.
This put Lu Wei in a difficult position.
Going by the current market prices in Heitai Town, where you could rent a carriage for 10 Copper Coins or hire a day laborer for 15 Copper Coins, a price of 30 Copper Coins per day definitely had some room to come down.
The problem was, as a Crafty Merchant, earning even one Copper Coin less than he could made him feel physically ill.
’Should I go a little cheaper?’
Lu Wei looked at Furen, whose mouth was still slightly agape, and thought, ’So you’ve gotten smarter, kid.’ He quickly tried to calculate what Furen’s ideal price might be.
However, before he could lower the price again, Furen suddenly let out a very loud burp.
He then scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
"Um, I was trying to burp just now and couldn’t get it out."
"Is 30 Copper Coins a day too cheap?"
"Since we’re friends, I can’t let you take a loss."
"..."
Lu Wei: ’Heh, you little...’
From *On How to Be a Proper Crafty Merchant*:
3. Under no circumstances should you ever voluntarily lower your price!