「Ten minutes later.」
"Goodbye, Miss Bai Ya. I wish you a speedy recovery~"
"Goodbye, Mr. Furen... Ah, Mr. Lu Wei, please wait a moment."
"Hm? What is it?"
"You forgot this."
Handing the IOU to Lu Wei, Bai Ya said quietly, "You can just give it back after you’ve pawned the Pendant. I trust you."
"Uh..."
Stunned, Lu Wei looked down at the signed IOU in his hand and felt he couldn’t stay here a second longer.
’If I stay any longer, I’ll probably end up giving this Pendant back to her!’
"Alright."
He shoved the IOU into his pocket, gave Aryan a hasty goodbye, and bolted out the door without a backward glance.
He didn’t slow his pace until he reached the end of the lane, his heart still pounding as he glanced back at the small clinic’s sign.
’That was terrifying.’
’Being a Crafty Merchant with a conscience is torture.’
’Encountering a rich mark like Furen is one thing; it doesn’t create too much of a psychological burden.’
’But someone like Bai Ya...’
’Sigh... Sure enough, a conscience is the biggest stumbling block on the road to riches.’
’Looks like until my conscience is completely obliterated, I’d better stick to wealthy clients.’
’Otherwise, I might not be able to bring myself to be ruthless.’
Shaking his head, Lu Wei silently retracted his gaze.
Seeing Lu Wei’s worried expression, Furen, who was walking beside him, grew a little confused.
After a moment of thought, realization suddenly dawned on him, and he apologized with great sincerity.
"Lu Wei, my friend, I’m sorry."
"..."
’What are you apologizing for now??’
Lu Wei was utterly baffled. "Why are you apologizing?"
"Because Miss Bai Ya just mistook me for you. I know that must have made you very sad."
Furen looked at him earnestly. "I bear some responsibility for this, so I must apologize to you."
???
’Seriously? You’re not about to say something like, ’It’s not my fault I’m handsome,’ are you?’
Lu Wei shook his head, exasperated. "It’s got nothing to do with that."
Furen was confused. "Really? Then what are you sad about?"
"Because... wait, who said I’m sad??"
Lu Wei finally caught on. "I was just lost in thought!"
"Oh, I see. So what were you thinking about?"
"I..."
Faced with Furen’s relentless, get-to-the-bottom-of-it questioning, Lu Wei felt a headache coming on and could only fob him off with a vague answer.
"It’s nothing. I just think Miss Bai Ya seems a little too naive."
"Yes, that’s true."
His brow furrowed slightly, his gaze suddenly turning melancholic. He nodded in agreement, his tone full of pity.
"While my shoulder was being treated, Aryan told me about her ordeal. It’s truly heartbreaking."
’Heartbreaking?’
Lu Wei paused, just now realizing he hadn’t even asked Bai Ya how she’d gotten injured.
"So what exactly happened?"
"Hm? Didn’t Miss Bai Ya tell you?"
"No, we were busy talking about... her mother."
"Oh, right. Well, this is what happened..."
Furen didn’t overthink it, simply nodding and giving him a brief summary of what had happened.
After listening, Lu Wei was inexplicably reminded of the so-called "team-building trips to Northern Myanmar" from his previous life.
’The situation felt pretty similar.’
’People get lured to a dangerous place with the promise of high pay, then ruthlessly exploited like pigs for slaughter.’
’The only difference was that Bai Ya’s teammates probably didn’t actually mean to harm her at first.’
’They just realized later that they couldn’t win the fight, so they had no choice but to abandon her and run.’
’In any case, whether it was premeditated or a desperate last resort, the incident must have caused her immense psychological trauma.’
’And yet, she still hasn’t learned her lesson, continuing to trust others so easily.’
’Just because I saved her, does that automatically make me a good person?’
’So naive!’
With a cold sneer, Lu Wei started walking, leaving Daffodil Lane with Furen.
A few torn scraps of paper lay scattered by the roadside. An evening breeze swept by, carrying them off into the sunset’s afterglow until they disappeared without a trace.
...
...
「Adventurer’s Tavern.」
If the taverns on the Falanis Continent were as countless as the stars in the sky, then at least a third of them were named "Adventurer’s Tavern."
And their interior decor was also remarkably consistent—
a large bar piled high with barrels, a few grimy tables and chairs, and a female bartender who could deftly handle all manner of crude jokes and groping hands.
"Goddammit, get your hand off my ass! Or I’ll chop it right off!"
"Haha, you hear that! Clara said she’s gonna chop off my hand!"
"Nah, I think Clara wants to chop off something else!"
"Hahahaha! The ladies in Pigeon Lane wouldn’t stand for that!"
"..."
Candlelight flickered, and dancing shadows crowded the small tavern. The air was thick with the reek of stale beer and sweat.
Boisterous shouts, coarse laughter, and exaggerated boasts filled every inch of space, making Lu Wei feel as if he’d returned to a nightclub from his past life—the kind where you had to shout to be heard.
He’d never liked places like this; he had only gone once in his previous life.
There were plenty of girls, but for some reason, it seemed they only had two "Professions": "college student" and "preschool teacher." It was all very confusing.
In short, Lu Wei felt completely on edge, as if sitting on pins and needles.
Furen, in contrast, was thrilled. Clutching a large oak beer mug, he kept looking left and right, having already blended seamlessly into the environment.
Although his first adventure had ended in failure, he was still getting the full "experience."
"This is amazing! This is a real tavern!"
Turning to Lu Wei, he shouted excitedly, "And a huge mug of beer like this is only two Copper Coins! It’s so cheap!"
"We’re about done here. Time to go."
Lu Wei rolled his eyes and downed the last of his beer. "Or you can keep drinking. I’m heading back."
"No, wait! One more round! I’m buying!"
Without waiting for an answer, Furen yelled to the bar, "Two more beers!" then enthusiastically asked, "Do you want anything else to eat?"
"I’m good."
As much as he wanted to keep freeloading, Lu Wei had just devoured a whole pound of roasted meat, plus a large serving of beet soup with bread. He honestly couldn’t eat another bite.
"One last beer, and then I’m really leaving!"
"No problem! My brother!"
He was probably a little drunk. Furen’s polite daytime demeanor vanished as he suddenly clapped Lu Wei on the shoulder.
"Friend! Can you believe it? We’ve only known each other for two days!"
"We met for the first time yesterday, and here we are today, drinking our hearts out!"
"It must be the will of the gods!"
"..."
’No, this was *my* arrangement.’
’I was the one who spotted you, my prize mark, at a single glance.’
"Oh, right, right, right."
Lu Wei knew better than to argue with a drunk, so he helplessly played along. "We’re just too bound by fate."
"Exactly! That’s what I’m talking about!"
Furen’s face was flushed, his tone magnanimous. "So if you ever need my help, I will be there for you, no questions asked!"
"And I’m sure that if I needed help, you’d do the same for me without a second thought!"
"Come, to our friendship! Cheers!"
Snatching up the beer that the bartender, Clara, had just brought over, Furen GULP GULP GULP-ed down half the mug in one go.
Then, before Lu Wei could even take a sip, Furen’s expression suddenly changed. With a loud "BLECH," he charged out of the tavern.
"..."
’Jeez. If you can’t hold your liquor, don’t drink.’
Glancing at Furen vomiting violently on the roadside, Lu Wei shook his head and looked away, sipping his beer as he silently plotted his next move.
’First, to grow the business as quickly as possible, I have to pawn the Soul Pendant to raise enough start-up capital. This is necessary whether or not I decide to fulfill my promise to Bai Ya later.’
’Its Value is 37 Gold Coins, so getting a loan of 15 Gold Coins for it should be no problem.’
’Then, I can use 10 of those Gold Coins to buy a Skill Book and use the rest to stock up on inventory.’
’Profit is always proportional to investment. Selling stuff like bandages, styptics, and pain relief powder won’t make much money, no matter how high the profit margin is.’
’Besides, it’s not like I can count on running into some unlucky, injured schmuck every day.’
’So, I need to be more efficient—get some more expensive supplies to sell, or maybe flip some Equipment that has special attributes.’
’With my ’Precise Identification’ cheat, I’m guaranteed not to lose money, at the very least.’
’And as long as I can close one successful deal, the profits will be substantial.’
’Well, of course, all of that comes later.’
’Whether it’s pawning the Pendant or buying inventory, the immediate priority is to make a trip to Kalin Port.’
’But right now, I don’t even have enough cash on hand for the travel fare.’
’So...’
His gaze shifted to the tavern entrance, and Lu Wei couldn’t help but start scheming about Furen again.
However, before he could even figure out how to bamboozle him, Furen ran back inside with a panicked look on his face.
"Lu Wei, my friend, this is bad!"
"My money pouch is gone!"
"..."
’No way. Are you fucking doing this on purpose???’