Chapter 422 - 67: His Attentiveness
How Qin Dongting killed the Ghost Fire Squid King was something he never spoke about to outsiders.
But from the scene when he entered the tavern, it was undoubtedly a tough battle.
Other than his face and the Mountain and River Fan, there was not a single intact spot on his entire body.
The rock iron armor that he had always worn was shattered, his upper body was bare, and his muscles, like marble patterns, were covered with various wounds.
The more such a sight, the more enticing it appeared, causing the female mercenaries watching to gulp down their saliva vigorously.
Yue Jinghua then came forward, with tears in her eyes, patted Qin Dongting’s shoulder, and said, "You’ve worked hard."
Boss Helen, being closest to Yue Jinghua, was quite sure that a flash of inexplicable emotion passed through Yue Jinghua’s eyes at that moment, looking moved, yet seemingly... ecstatic.
That’s an entire sea squid after all, weighing at least five hundred pounds, which could be turned into so many squid silks and squid balls.
However, before that, Yue Jinghua had plans to make good use of it.
Due to the massive size of the Ghost Fire Squid King, Qin Dongting had no choice but to leave it in the open space outside the tavern.
The business-savvy Yue Jinghua quickly summoned Shalman and Weiwei. One was in charge of watching the scene, and the other was responsible for collecting admission fees. Anyone who came to see the Ghost Fire Squid King had to pay five fourth-level Dark Pills.
If someone wanted to touch the Ghost Fire Squid King, they charged an extra ten Dark Pills.
Additionally, if someone wanted to listen to the story of "Novice Mercenary Brave Fight Ghost Fire Squid King" narrated by Yue Jinghua from Qin Dongting’s "personal experience," they needed to pay an extra twenty Dark Pills.
If someone wanted to try squid silks and squid balls provided by the chef Mi Xiu from White Moon Pavilion, along with a new type of drink called beer newly sold at Helen Tavern, that would require an additional fifty Dark Pills.
To enjoy all the above services at once, the package price was sixty-six Dark Pills.
For an entire month, anyone passing by Helen Tavern could hear a handsome, masked young man standing in front of a makeshift storyteller’s stage, compiled of three tables, vividly narrating a story.
"It seems slow, but it happened quickly. A dark shadow burst forth from the water, with ghost-patterned green eyes, it was the deep-sea monster, the Ghost Fire Squid King. Each tentacle as thick as a hundred-year-old vine, a ghostly fire that could melt metal and scorch bones came hurtling towards us. The eerie fire broke through the darkness of night, emitting a sound like ghostly wails and wolf howls. Novice mercenary Qin Dongting, calm and composed, gently waved his Mountain and River Fan, and in an instant, the weather changed, sand and stones flew, and in the illusion, a high mountain pressed down..." While Yue Jinghua spoke passionately, he didn’t forget to grab a beer and take a swig.
The long-missed chilled beer, refreshing and delicious, paired with freshly roasted squid silks, was truly a heavenly day.
"Brother Yue is amazing," in a corner of the tavern, Weiwei was nearly hearts in her eyes, though she didn’t forget to tally up the "Second Generation Soldier’s" income during this period.
Brother Yue really was impressive, with just one month of "effort," he earned a considerable sum of money and reportedly wanted to use this money to open a shop in town, though what that shop would sell was still unknown.
The tavern’s owner, Helen, pursed her lips to the side. These days, Yue Jinghua really made a killing in her tavern, though she knew that most of Yue Jinghua’s so-called stories were likely fabrications, but as the concerned party, Qin Dongting didn’t speak up, so naturally, Helen couldn’t expose the lies.
Moreover, Yue Jinghua also brought a new stream of income to the tavern.
Although it’s not clear where Yue Jinghua got this strangely named, strangely tasting liquor from, it must be said that beer and squid strips, these odd items, brought a breath of fresh air to Five Saints Mercenary Town.
The days in Five Saints Mercenary Town were frankly quite dull; the mercenaries drank almost the same liquor and ate roughly the same food every day. It was rare to try something new, and even rarer for Yue Jinghua to agree to an exclusive sale of the liquor at Helen Tavern—Helen had nothing to say.
As the turmoil with the Fire-spitting Octopus gradually subsided, Yue Jinghua was ready to start investigating the disappearance of the Dark Beast Egg and the preparations for the new pharmacy. However, an unexpected discovery forced her to halt her plans.
The origin of the matter had to be traced back to Kalan Peak.
Since Old Kuru had left, Yue Jinghua only occasionally accessed Kalan Peak using the Jiuxiao Sky Eagle Crystal Plate. The management of the farm had been mostly handed over to Ah Zad. The breeding of the Stone-eating Fragrant Pig was smooth sailing without any obstacles.
What caused Yue Jinghua to rush back to Kalan Peak overnight was the urgent message sent by Qian Luo.
An incident occurred at the Star Falling Mine.
The newly discovered Star Falling Mine, after being surveyed by Hongling’s appointed experts, was determined to predominantly contain Star Fall Salt, which approximately made up two-thirds of the entire mine.
Thanks to Qian Luo’s Dark Array for protection and the large Transmission Array on the mountaintop, the secret of the Star Falling Mine had not been leaked.
Under Hongling’s meticulous operations, the miners selected to enter the mine were carefully chosen, and the mining of the ore was conducted very covertly.
The development of the Star Fall Salt was relatively simple and convenient for mining, and it was sold to the north to Wohua Imperial City and to the south to Rui Song Federation respectively through Yunhu Commerce and the Helian Family.
The remaining Star Falling Stones were mostly handed over by Yue Jinghua to Yun Luo, who was tasked to find suitable artisans to craft them into high-grade art pieces. The first batch of crafts was expected to be ready within two months.
However, at this moment, the mining of the mine encountered a significant problem.
When mining reached the halfway point of the mine, which is where Yue Jinghua had found the Nine Heavens Crystal Plate, no matter what tools the miners used, they could not dig any further.
"Boss, right in this area, the miners have already broken ten Initial-stage Spirit-grade shovels. Captain Nan even found a Middle-level Spiritual-grade cone, and it also broke," Yue Jinghua arrived at the mine and recognized several familiar faces, among them was prominently Nan Muyu.
Seeing Yue Jinghua’s surprised look, Nan Muyu touched his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
Since the death of Nan Muyu’s wife and child, he had been in a period of depression, but then Hongling suddenly returned to the county, saying she needed to recruit some miners.
Hongling also told Nan Muyu in secret, that although they were recruiting miners, if they mined for a while, it would definitely enhance one’s Cultivation.
Nan Muyu, who had always blamed his own lack of strength for the tragic death of his wife and children, was skeptical but decided to come to the Star Falling Mine after hearing Hongling’s words.
Soon, he realized what Hongling said was true—the abundant energy contained in the Star Falling mine was more effective for Dark Practitioners than any elixir.
Thus, he stayed, and with just over a month of mining, his Cultivation had leapt from Dark Earth Small Achievement to Dark Earth Great Success, and lately, there were signs of breakthrough toward Dark Earth Peak.
"Lord, look, this is the cone that broke while I was digging, and this gun is the Mountain-opening cone passed down from my ancestors, capable of crushing stones and splitting gold," Nan Muyu took out the cone and handed it to Yue Jinghua.