Jiang Qiehuo tied her hair tie back on, watching as the tiny Dandelion Spirit—barely bigger than a fly—flew off with a whoosh, turning into a street and disappearing out of sight.
“What kind of tricks did you use to make her obey you so submissively? Threats? Coaxing? Or just being utterly shameless?”
Fang Yuan reached out a hand. Before Jiang Qiehuo could dodge, her claw pressed down right on Jiang Qiehuo's head. “Are you jealous?”
Jiang Qiehuo: “? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
As Jiang Qiehuo spoke, she reached out to slap her, but Fang Yuan pulled her hand back before she could, causing Jiang Qiehuo's slap to land with supreme accuracy right on her own head.
“Hss, Fang Yuan, you shameless bastard!”
Even though the rage inside her blazed hotter, Jiang Qiehuo forcefully suppressed the urge to pick a fight with Fang Yuan right here.
Fang Yuan's 【Blessing】 could break her phantasmic dreams. On that point alone, Fang Yuan absolutely could not be left alive.
However, she currently didn't have the strength to kill her, so she would endure it for now.
Besides, she was currently deeply, intensely eager to go work at the place Fang Yuan mentioned.
Jiang Qiehuo adjusted her emotions and was just about to tell Fang Yuan to lead the way when Fang Yuan, who had been standing in front of her, was already striding toward Jingle Street.
Jiang Qiehuo followed closely behind her, warily keeping a distance of three paces.
Not a word was spoken along the way. Fang Yuan didn't take the initiative to strike up a conversation, and Jiang Qiehuo certainly wasn't foolish enough to talk to this shameless, overly confident narcissist.
When the full view of the “Has-It-All” General Store came into sight, Fang Yuan caught sight of a busy figure from afar.
Night-Bound Butterfly was clutching a broom, sweeping back and forth in one spot with listless eyes as she yawned.
Not until a pair of dark brown shoes appeared in her field of vision did she tilt her head up, meeting the eyes of a grinning Fang Yuan.
Night-Bound Butterfly: “...”
She also noticed Jiang Qiehuo standing behind Fang Yuan.
Night-Bound Butterfly: “...”
Suddenly, she found herself not wanting to say anything at all.
What if she spoke up and scared off this person who had been tricked by Fang Yuan into doing hard labor? Wouldn't that leave her as the only one working here again?
And so, Night-Bound Butterfly kept her mouth shut.
With the mental suggestion in effect, the moment Jiang Qiehuo saw that there was another Candidate working here, her desire to work at this place—already strong from the suggestion—grew even stronger.
“Is it nice working here?” Jiang Qiehuo asked on her own initiative.
Night-Bound Butterfly, who had been slaving away since arriving at the store: “...Um... Yes... Very nice...”
Jiang Qiehuo, who desperately wanted to stay and work here: “I knew it! The moment I saw you, I knew this job was absolutely perfect, practically custom-made for me!”
Night-Bound Butterfly, who thought something was wrong with her head: “...?”
Night-Bound Butterfly stole a glance at Fang Yuan. Catching her look, Fang Yuan tapped her own temple with an index finger, then wagged it back and forth.
Night-Bound Butterfly understood.
She was just a foolish idiot with a broken brain.
Well, that was great. Having a broken brain was the best-case scenario! As soon as she got hired, she'd dump all the work on her!
Fang Yuan gave the brass bell at the doorway a flick, stepping into the store amidst the hat's weird shrieks and leaving Jiang Qiehuo and Night-Bound Butterfly outside.
Huo Duoduo was holding a piece of fruit and nibbling on it. Her ears had already picked up Fang Yuan's movement outside the store. “The second worker?”
Fang Yuan sat cross-legged. “Yep. What about the clue I wanted?”
Huo Duoduo shoved the half-eaten fruit into Fang Yuan's hand. “Hold this for me first.”
She turned around and plunged into the shelves, pulling out a small square box from among a pile of knickknacks.
“The 【Divine Relic】 that can snatch 【Blessings】 isn't in Ryder Town. It's at Moon Bay, two kilometers north outside of town.”
Fang Yuan remembered this location.
Tuantuo had mentioned it to her as well.
—“Moon Bay is where the mermen live. Mermen excel at using song to bewitch minds, and they are bloodthirsty by nature. Most of the people who disappear in town at night are related to them.”
Fang Yuan quickly found the description of the merman race—a divine creation—that she had memorized in her mind.
【Divine Creation: Merman Race】
【Physical Characteristics: Mermen possess appearances capable of dimming the stars, making them unforgettable at first sight. Their pupils are composed of countless tiny hexagonal crystal spheres; between their brows lies a 'forehead scale'; the gill slits behind their ears serve as secondary vocal organs; below their elbows are covered in gradient scales; their fingertips bear retractable paralytic poison stingers; and their spine connects directly to the main caudal fin bone.】
【Merman Tail Length = Power Rank = Status Within Race; those with longer fish tails are revered.】
【Merman songs are extremely melodious and enchanting, capable of bewitching minds and destroying willpower. Listening to their songs for extended periods will turn one into a puppet of the merman race.】
【Merman pupils are composed of countless tiny hexagonal crystal lenses capable of simultaneously analyzing: micro-expression muscle twitches, blood flow rate changes, pupil contraction patterns, and guilty tremors within soundwaves. Any lie is as glaring as phosphorescent fire in the dark night before the eyes of the merman race. Please do not attempt to lie to the merman race.】
【Forehead scales are the vestigial traces of a third eye, capable of sensing the truth or falsity of oaths.】
【The merman race suffers from emotional defects. Please do not attempt to discuss emotions with a merman unless you can achieve total sincerity; otherwise, it will trigger the merman race's 'Reverse-Scale Reaction'.】
Huo Duoduo pushed the small square box in front of Fang Yuan. “This is a pair of earplugs that can completely eliminate the effects of merman songs on you. Friendly price, 299 gold coins. Are you buying?”
Fang Yuan didn't rush to open the box. Instead, she propped up her chin with her hand and asked, “You only told me it's in Moon Bay, but you didn't say specifically where.”
“For instance, which merman has it, whether it's a treasure of the merman race, or perhaps a body part of a merman?”
Huo Duoduo had grown somewhat accustomed to Fang Yuan's way of speaking. She rubbed her ear. “I don't know which merman has it either. Ryder Town's relationship with Moon Bay isn't good, and we haven't had much contact with the merman race.”
“The Divine Creation Introduction Scroll I gave you has information about the merman race. Just read up on it from there. If you die over there, I'll see depending on the situation whether I can collect your body.”
Fang Yuan curved her eyes into a smile, pulling out three hundred gold coins from her fluff ball and handing them to Huo Duoduo, while also returning the half-eaten fruit to her.
【Bastards Chanting Scriptures, I Just Won't Listen】: A pair of earplugs capable of blocking out all malicious sounds! Bewitching singing, suggestive speech—it's all just bastards chanting scriptures! Not listening, not listening, not listening!
Fang Yuan placed the pair of earplugs into her fluff ball and watched with a smile as Huo Duoduo finished counting the gold coins.
Fang Yuan had given one extra gold coin, and Huo Duoduo understood what she likely wanted to hear.
“I advise you to be careful recently. The rumor that you possess three 【Blessings】 has spread far and wide, along with rumors that you have quite a few 【Divine Relics】 on you.”
“Most importantly, what your three 【Blessings】 specifically are has been leaked by Candidates. Right now, practically all Candidates and divine creations are about to find out that you can revive with a new body after death, shatter phantasmic dreams with a snap of your fingers, and create gold coins.”
As she mentioned that last point, Huo Duoduo's gaze lingered on Fang Yuan for an extra moment.
Just as Fang Yuan had thought earlier, the 【Blessing】 of creating gold coins couldn't fool Huo Duoduo's ears.
A merchant knew better than anyone the falsity of such a 【Blessing】, but merchants were also shrewd and wouldn't expose it outright.
After all, who could say for sure whether she was truly a Candidate of the God of Wealth or not?
There would always be fools who believed it anyway.
Rate on N.U.
