Chapter 254: Exchange, Highest Bidder Wins
The villagers were undeniably far more welcoming this time.
"Sister, you’re here!"
Faye Yardley saw a familiar little face and smiled. "Oh, it’s you, Faye! You seem a little chubbier than last time, which makes you look even cuter and more beautiful."
"Really? Really? I knew I got prettier!" The little Faye happily twirled around, one hand clutching the doll she’d gotten from their last trade.
Then, holding it up like a priceless treasure, she shook it slightly. "Now that Niuniu is with me, I don’t have nightmares anymore. I’m so happy every day!"
"I’m glad you’re happy. Here, have a piece of red date cake." As she spoke, Faye Yardley took a fragrant, sweet-smelling piece of red date cake from her backpack and handed it to the little girl.
The little Faye glanced back at her grandmother, who was standing right behind her. Only after getting a nod of approval did she happily accept it. "Thank you, Sister."
Upon arriving in the village, Master Veridian had sought out Reggie and asked if he could arrange for someone to show him around.
So, Reggie had Mr. Yates—the man who’d traded for the Exorcism Wind Chime last time—take Master Veridian on a tour of the village. Faye Yardley had no idea where they had gotten to.
By the time most of the villagers had gathered at the entrance with their goods, Master Veridian still hadn’t returned.
Despite the large crowd, it was very quiet. Reggie walked up to Faye Yardley, bowed slightly, and said, "Divine Envoy, what our people want most are the Energy Stones to maintain the Array. If not those, then dolls are also welcome. We also need vegetable seeds, and any other ready-to-eat, uncontaminated food and drink would be good."
Faye Yardley nodded. "Everyone can just set up their stalls in a line. We’ll split up and trade for the items we each need. As for Energy Stones, they’re extremely precious, even where we come from."
"I understand. We all do." Reggie understood. ’We’ll never get any Energy Stones unless we have something the Divine Envoys truly desire.’
’But to be honest, they had no idea what the Divine Envoys wanted. This trade was destined to be unequal.’
’Still, getting dolls and vegetable seeds like last time would be good enough.’
’And if there were other wonderful items like the Exorcism Wind Chime, that would be even better.’
Reggie turned and waved to the crowd. "Alright, everyone find a spot and set up your stalls."
Faye Yardley added, "Don’t worry if one of us looks at your things and doesn’t make a trade. We all need different items, so even if one person passes, you can just wait for the next."
Logan Langdon was quite satisfied with this arrangement. He didn’t want anyone else knowing what he traded for, either.
Faye Yardley added one more thing. "Oh, and Village Chief, if any of your hunters have game, I’m willing to trade other food for it."
As soon as they heard that game was also a valid trade, several villagers immediately turned and headed back.
Logan Langdon asked in a low voice, "Gorgeous Yardley, you wouldn’t mind telling me what’s so special about the game here, would you?"
Faye Yardley turned and smiled at him. "I don’t mind at all. But this isn’t the right place to discuss it. Why don’t you trade for some and take it back with you? You’ll find out the difference right away."
"Then save some for me to trade for later."
"Suit yourself," Faye Yardley said, adding, "If there’s enough time later, you can also hunt some small animals on the way back."
Logan Langdon offered a slight smile, thanking her for the tip.
’On the way here, Leah Chandler had mentioned that time on this island seemed to flow faster than outside. Last time, they had left themselves plenty of time but still almost didn’t make it back.’
’He wasn’t going to waste precious time hunting, so trading for some meat was a good alternative.’
’Faye Yardley figured that if Blackwood could eat the meat, he might as well. He seemed to have an iron stomach. The only side effect was that eating it would prevent him from coming to this island, which wasn’t a big deal.’
’He could just stay away.’
’Speaking of which, Leah Chandler must have some incredible luck to have gotten an Island Entry Order twice.’
With Master Veridian absent, the four of them split up, each heading toward a different stall to browse.
Faye Yardley browsed quickly. She made a small trade for some vegetable seeds and food at nearly every stall she visited.
She started with the first stall on the left, but there was nothing of particular interest. At least, the simple, basic Martial Arts Secret Manuals were completely useless to her.
Some villagers offered small, handmade trinkets. While not particularly useful, Faye Yardley figured they would make nice decorations. They were cheap, too—costing just a bottle of Pure Water, a few buns, or some pastries. Since she had plenty of those, she made a few small trades at each stall.
The little girl Faye’s family stall was the seventh one she visited. There were no special blueprints here; they had likely been traded away during the last visit.
This time, however, her family was offering a few dark, bluish-green beaded bracelets, strung by the little girl’s mother.
The moment Faye Yardley touched one, a system notification appeared: [Winter Evergreen Tree Fruit Bracelet from the Land of Damnation: Calms the mind and spirit when worn].
’This is supposed to be a cursed land where everything is decaying and rotten,’ she thought. ’And yet, there are always these miraculous things that manage to grow with a unique splendor in such a broken environment.’
"Ma’am," she asked the grandmother, "what would you like in exchange for this bracelet?"
"Just a few vegetable seeds would be fine, Divine Envoy."
The little Faye tugged her grandmother’s hand. "Grandma, can we get some food?"
Faye Yardley picked up all three bracelets. "How about I trade you for some easy-to-grow cabbage and watermelon seeds? And I’ll throw in a whole steamer of buns. Would that be alright?"
"Thank you for your generosity, Divine Envoy." The little Faye’s grandmother was truly grateful.
The little Faye also piped up with a sweet, "Thank you."
Faye Yardley couldn’t resist gently pinching her cheek. "You’re welcome. I really like them."
As she spoke, she slipped one of the bracelets onto her right wrist and stored the other two in her backpack.
’As for whether she could bring plants from here back to cultivate, Faye Yardley wasn’t optimistic. She’d tried it before, only for the system to inform her that the plant was cursed.’
She took out the items and handed them to the grandmother, then affectionately ruffled little Faye’s hair before moving on to the next stall.
’Huh, I didn’t expect to find another novel blueprint.’
It was a blueprint for a two-deck ship.
Although it didn’t seem very useful, Faye Yardley traded for it anyway.
The next stall had a jar of special paralytic paste. It could be applied to an Arrow’s tip or other weapons, and would paralyze any enemy it struck.
’Last time, I traded for some paralyzing Arrows. I wonder if they were made by dipping them in this stuff?’
Naturally, Faye Yardley had to have it.
The others hadn’t been idle, either.
Faye Yardley didn’t expect that she and Logan Langdon would be the first to cross paths.
And it just so happened that the stall owner had an item they both wanted: a [Guild External Trading Certificate]. But there was only one.
"Gorgeous Yardley," Logan began, "you’re a lone wolf. What use would you have for this?"
"Listen to you, Mr. Langdon. How could I be a lone wolf? It’s not like you don’t know who my brother is."
Seeing she had absolutely no intention of backing down, Logan Langdon said with a sigh, "Looks like we’ll have to let the highest bidder win, then."
"Agreed."