C14 Look at the Goldfish Uncle

As Lee Yu led Mu Yinhua quietly into the room, they could already hear a gruff voice loudly bragging about his exploits from behind the door.

"I knew it! I'm truly a Zhuge Liang of our times!"

Lee Yu sighed and whispered, "We're late. They're already on to stories about sneaking peeks at girls bathing when they were fifteen or sixteen."

They slipped into the room and made their way to the table, where Elder Mu caught their eye and offered a knowing smile.

Across the table, a portly middle-aged man who had dismounted from a strange beast was eyeing Lee Yu. His eyes, narrowed to slits by his plump cheeks, sparkled with keen interest.

He stood out. With his refined attire and smooth skin, Lee Yu seemed out of place among the others at the table, as if he belonged to a different world altogether.

The middle-aged man pondered this quietly.

"Elder Mu, how long does your new retail merchant group plan to stay in our village?" he inquired.

"Oh, Elder Mu, please, just call me Little Lin!" the rotund man chuckled, "We'll be heading to the next village the day after tomorrow. I've made sure to accommodate Stone Village quite generously. You might want to consider if there's anything you need."

It was then that Lee Yu learned the name of the village.

Listening to Lin Sanjin, it appeared that Stone Village received special treatment compared to other places. Lee Yu didn't entertain the thought that this might just be a polite overture.

However, he quickly pushed that aside when he heard Elder Mu bring up the subject of Divine Path items. Lee Yu's attention sharpened, eager to catch every word.

"Elder Mu, these items are in high demand. Next time, I'll be sure to save some for you," Lin Sanjin said with an apologetic grin, spreading his hands.

"You'd better remember that promise. I'll be expecting some on your next visit," Elder Mu replied, stroking his beard, leaving it at that.

Lee Yu, listening in, felt a wave of disappointment wash over him. It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck on a clear day.

The meal wrapped up amidst lively chatter. The retail merchants announced they would step out to organize their wares, and by the afternoon, the villagers could come and see if there was anything they needed.

The people of Stone Village were eager to lend a hand but, upon being turned down, weren't disheartened. Instead, they planned to prepare goods for trade from the village.

The people from both sides went about their business in perfect harmony.

As they neared the area where the beasts resided, Lin Sanjin rubbed his protruding belly, squinted his eyes in thought, and then instructed, "Scarface, Xiaosan, you two check out the village's overall situation, and pay close attention to that young man, got it?"

"Boss, the one from the dinner table?" Lee San licked his lips with a suggestive smile. "A young man with such soft skin and tender flesh is quite a rare find."

"Understood, boss." Scarface, a middle-aged man, bore a massive scar stretching from the corner of his eye down to his chin, giving him a fierce appearance. His nickname was a direct reference to this distinctive feature.

Meanwhile, Lee Yu and Mu Yinhua were making their way down the road.

"How do you usually practice your cultivation?" Lee Yu asked, his demeanor serene, having moved past his earlier despondency.

"When I don't have any aids, I just earnestly attune myself," Mu Yinhua replied with a hint of resignation. "Ever since the retail merchant was killed by bandits, everyone's been on edge. Now that a new group has arrived, the villagers up ahead certainly won't pass up the chance to snatch up any divine items."

Lee Yu nodded in understanding. He had anticipated this, but one always hopes for a bit of luxury in life.

Upon returning to the cabin, Mu Yinhua mentioned she wanted to check on the retail merchant to see if they needed any assistance, and then she and Lee Yu went their separate ways.

With a creak, Lee Yu pushed open the door of the cabin and settled into a cross-legged position on the bed.

Life in Stone Village was quite basic, with the bed merely a pile of unidentified dry hay. Although Lee Yu wasn't the type to notice a pea under ten layers of blankets, he wasn't averse to a little comfort either.

He had brought a bedding set from Blue Star to improve his 'starter village' living conditions.

After playing a single-player game on his phone to pass the time, Lee Yu figured the retail merchant would be done sorting things out. He then stepped out, ready to head over to the beasts' area to see if anything there piqued his interest.

Shortly after his departure, the window at the side of the cabin was stealthily opened, and a shadowy figure slipped inside.

Lee San was meticulous in her actions. Once she was sure the room was empty, she turned and closed the window. Almost immediately, her attention was captured by the quilt on the wooden bed.

In just a couple of strides, she was at the bedside, her rough fingers tracing the fabric of the bedsheet. Her gaze was particularly drawn to the beautifully embroidered five-clawed dragon. "How can there be such an exquisite quilt? This young man must be of no ordinary status," she murmured, her voice rough with astonishment.

Lifting a corner of the quilt, Lee San's eyes widened at the sight of the phoenix design. She was utterly shocked, her voice growing thick with awe. She had never encountered anything so mystical!

Lee Yu would have laughed off her amazement; on Blue Star, such a bedding set was a mere two hundred soft coins—a trifle for someone of his means, enough to fill Stone Village with identical ones.

"Could this salt be so finely crafted?" she wondered aloud.

After carefully replacing the quilt as it was, Lee San was about to slip away when a transparent bag on the table caught her eye. It was the salt Lee Yu had left behind, intending to take it to the kitchen later that evening to enhance his meal.

Now discovered by Lee San, she wrestled with temptation for a long moment before quelling the urge to take it and retracing her steps, making sure no one was around.

Meanwhile, in the plaza, Lin Sanjin was pondering over a report from a man with a scarred face when he noticed Lee San hurrying back.

"Boss, you wouldn't believe the wonders in that young man's room!" Lee San blurted out, barely containing her excitement, her voice rising above a whisper.

Lin Sanjin's brow furrowed, prompting Lee San to quickly scan the surroundings to ensure her outburst hadn't drawn unwanted attention. Once satisfied, she calmed down.

The man with the scar spoke in a hushed tone, "Third brother, what you found is nothing. That young man, he's of the Thunder Bloodline!"

"The Thunder Bloodline? What's so impressive about that?" Lee San scoffed, ready to argue, but then it hit her. "The Thunder Bloodline?!"

"Yes, the villagers spoke freely, not realizing the significance," the scarred man whispered. "So, boss, what's our move?"

"Let me think it over," Lin Sanjin said, his gaze flickering. He scrutinized the youth standing before the exotic creature, carefully considering his options before striding forward.

"Don't see anything that catches your eye? I've got some other great items—want to check them out?" Lin Sanjin inquired.

Lee Yu's eyes, nearly hidden by his plump cheeks, betrayed nothing. Turning around, he was met with the middle-aged man's affable smile, which sparked an odd thought in his mind.

"Why does he remind me of an uncle showing off goldfish to kids?"

"No, I'm good. I'll just look at these for now," Lee Yu declined with a dismissive wave.

For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about these people, adhering to the old adage 'no good deed goes unpunished.' Lee Yu made it clear he wasn't particularly interested in their wares.

Lin Sanjin didn't press further. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he turned and walked away.

Lee Yu watched Lin Sanjin's retreating figure for a moment before returning his attention to the assortment of items scattered on the cloth below.

Visiting tourist spots and being coaxed into buying souvenirs had become almost second nature to him, and the prospect of Otherworld specialties only heightened his curiosity.

Among the items, he spotted bundles of ginseng, impressive in both size and quality. Two in particular were extraordinarily large, leaving Lee Yu in awe. "Could these be thousand-year-old ginseng?" he wondered.

There were plenty of other intriguing items too, like the vibrant stones and the curiously shaped pieces of wood.

"How about this sugar? What can I get in exchange for it?" Lee Yu asked eagerly, holding out the glistening rock candy to the young stallholder.