Chapter 52 The Mysterious Lord_1
Eden’s silver tongue not only made Li Zhua suspicious of the rumors’ authenticity; other Werewolf Tribes also had their own reasons for not shunning Eden. All the Werewolf Tribes who traded with Eden had become reliant on his caravan. By exchanging items they usually deemed worthless for food from Eden, they could greatly relieve the pressure of feeding their tribes. Consequently, the Werewolf Tribes cherished their relationship with Eden and were even willing to kill some humans approaching the swamp in exchange for food as payment.
The news of trading agarwood at a 200-to-1 ratio was spread only by the werewolves of the Red Mud Wetland, and other werewolves could not discern its truth. But this exchange rate was too tempting, so the Werewolf Tribes didn’t rush to sell Eden too much agarwood this time. With an opportunity to obtain more food, the werewolves naturally wanted to hold out for the best price.
"I certainly trust you, my friend," Li Zhua said to an earnest-faced Eden. "It’s your food that kept us from having to discard some pups. But werewolves from Red Mud Wetland are proclaiming everywhere that Lord Yan Xing of the Eternal Domain is willing to trade with the Werewolf Tribes at a price of 200 to 1 for their wood. He calls this wood ’agarwood.’ This price far exceeds what you offer us."
"What! Someone is offering a 200-to-1 price to buy agarwood! Is he insane?" Eden was greatly shocked upon hearing this price. The spice merchants in the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce only paid him the equivalent of 300 kilograms of food for one kilogram of agarwood. If one deducted the cost of travel to the Thunderous Swamp, food expenses, and the fees for hiring mercenaries, the profit Eden made from reselling one kilogram of agarwood from the Thunderous Swamp was only 200 kilograms of food. Eden didn’t believe that a human merchant new to doing business with the Swamp Werewolves could make more profit from agarwood. What was he trying to do?
"Whether this human Lord is insane or not, I do not know, but I do know he is a very powerful and wealthy Lord," Li Zhua said. "Anyway, all the Werewolf Tribes on the edge of the Thunderous Swamp know this news. You probably haven’t received much agarwood on your way here, right?"
"It’s a scam, definitely a scam," Eden said, trying his best to slander his competitor. "Trading agarwood for food at 200 to 1 will cause him to lose everything. No sane merchant would do this... You—you just said he is a human Lord?"
"Yes, he is a human Lord. His domain is not far from here, named the Eternal Domain. If it weren’t for waiting for your caravan, I would have already visited this neighbor," Li Zhua answered.
Li Zhua was, in fact, the Clan Leader of the Stenchwater Forest Werewolf Tribe and the brother of Steel Fang. He had already heard about Steel Fang and had learned about the Eternal Domain through the messengers coming and going. Mysterious, wealthy, powerful... These were Li Zhua’s impressions of the Eternal Domain at the time. He looked forward to seeing the fences made of iron and tasting the delicacies from the Eternal Domain. He also hoped this would be an opportunity to ease the tension between Stenchwater Forest and the Eternal Domain.