CHAPTER 388: CHAPTER 202: NOT EASY TO DEAL WITH! (PART 2)

Let him breathe a slight sigh of relief.

In comparison, the rewards should still be quite decent.

Aside from the mission rewards provided by the Association, just the pelts and bodily materials of these Night Wolves could fetch quite a bit of money.

Even after splitting it four ways, it should replenish his nearly depleted small treasury a bit.

Being veterans, the four members of the Sea Thorn Squad spent only about half an hour handling the wolf corpses in the woodland.

They called out to each other to reassemble their formation, with Cash leading the way with a lantern, heading towards the camp.

Still hanging at the end of the line.

Xia Nan took one last glance back at the spot where the Alpha Wolf had been.

Gone was the former grace.

The fluffy silver-white pelt had been completely stripped off, and the claws and canine teeth had been removed.

What lay quietly in the thickets was nothing but a bloody, reeking corpse.

The gentle moonlight fell upon it, making it appear even more grotesque and eerie.

His gaze lifted upwards.

The silver moon hung high in the night sky like a jade plate, adorned with several bright stars.

The dim clouds drifted by like a thin veil, accentuating the moonlight as they passed by with a ghostly glow.

Time quietly accelerated.

The bright moon silently slipped to the horizon, the rising sun, accompanied by purplish-red clouds, rippled like a colorful satin across the sky.

Day and night alternated; clouds thick and thin shuttled back and forth, lingering above the dome of the sky.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

...

River Valley Town, White Sparrow Tavern.

"Creak."

Accompanied by the noise of hinges creaking, the tavern’s wooden door slowly opened.

In the deep winter, the cold chill from the outside streets was dispersed by the warm air inside, filled with the aroma of alcohol and food.

Vireis still wore her exquisitely revealing leather outfit, with the physique of a professional and the Zor bloodline coursing through her veins, coupled with the relatively warm climate of the Pan Yun Province, allowing her to ignore the temperature’s effect on her body.

Reassured, she showcased her exotic fashion sense from the Dark Territory.

The metal pendants at the ends of her hair chimed as they clashed, and the slightly dark skin in the openings of her snug leather attire appeared even more delicate and smooth under the light.

Vireis could sense the countless gazes, either hidden or fervent, from around the numerous tables.

Long accustomed to them, her mixed heritage and long-term residence both on the Surface and underground gave her a clear understanding of the cultural and habitual differences between the Zor Elves of the Dark Territory and the intelligent beings of the outside world.

Being a Senior Adventurer, her wealth of experience also allowed her to fully adapt to such an environment.

In a way, due to her inherent wicked nature, Vireis rather perversely enjoyed those conflicted gazes — a heart full of desire yet afraid to approach because of her Half-Elf and professional identity.

The crisp click of pointed leather boots hitting the ground as she moved her lush, long legs brought her to a less crowded corner of the tavern hall.

Cash was sitting there.

Judging by the half-empty bottle and the plate with only remnants of food on the table before him, it’s clear he’d been waiting there for quite a while.

"Everything ready?"

Raising an eyebrow and casting a glance at the Half-Elf, there was no excess expression on his face as he casually asked.

"Of course." Vireis sat directly opposite Cash, picked up the bottle, and poured herself a glass. "I have to say, this River Valley Town may not look very large, but the shops are quite well-rounded."

"That ’Green Grass Cauldron,’ even sells the poisonous mushroom toxins from the Dark Territory. I have no idea where Ms. Edwina got her hands on them, but it saved me a lot of effort."

"Quite normal."

Cash held his glass, his eyes slightly squinted, seemingly savoring the taste of the wine.

"With such a large Mist Forest, everything that comes out of it has to pass through the town."

"Every year, so many adventurers come and go, each having their own needs. If things weren’t comprehensive, prices weren’t reasonable, or there were too many defective items, the shop couldn’t stay open."

As he spoke, as if suddenly recalling something, a hint of reminiscence entered his words.

"Back then, the one we had in Suo Yu Bay, supposedly a fishing tackle store, wasn’t it also selling potions and manuals?"

"There’s money to be made, only a fool wouldn’t."

But as soon as the sentiment brought by alcohol was expressed, recollections of prior unfortunate events surfaced, making him clam up and set down his glass.

The atmosphere at the dining table fell into silence.

After a while, Vireis finally opened her mouth, lowering her voice:

"We’ve stayed here for so many days without any progress at all."

"When do we leave?"

A month and a half had passed, and they had taken on many of the Association’s beast-clearing missions but had yet to spot any traces of their target.

"No rush." Cash shook his head, "Let’s finish this last one first."

Hearing him say so, a playful look suddenly appeared on Vireis’s delicate face as she teased:

"Ha, you’re really planning to keep your word and help that Gray Sword with his mission?"

"You’re overthinking it."

To this, Cash snorted a laugh and explained:

"I just have a feeling that his Beastman investigation commission might be related to our target. Maybe we can actually find some useful information."

"Besides, we’ve already been in town for so long, if it wanted to escape it would probably have left the forest already."

"A few more days or less make no difference."

Although Vireis did not respond, she silently nodded her agreement with his assessment.

"Madi!"

As the topic turned to Xia Nan, Cash, under the influence of alcohol, suddenly showed some emotion.

"Bloody damn unlucky!"

"We originally planned to pick up some extra from a couple of newbies between missions, and we ran into such a guy."

He appeared especially disgruntled.

"I literally saw him myself, being taken upstairs by the receptionist, doesn’t even know how to Level up!"

"Clearly just a newbie without a background, who got lucky and cobbled together three Battle Skills, barely reaching a Professional Level."

"Now it’s a pain, I have to guard against him on the way during missions, fearing that we’ll suddenly get a sword to the neck. Even speaking has to be all polite."

"If it wasn’t that we couldn’t find any suitable teammates temporarily, and the fact that he is indeed useful during missions, I..."

Upon hearing this, the smile that had remained on Vireis’s face since entering the tavern finally faded into a more serious expression.

"This boy indeed has some issues."

"After all these days, I haven’t really had a proper look at his back, and a few times when I thought to strike up a conversation, he would just look over after a step or two, like he had eyes in the back of his head."

"And as for his two Battle Skills, you’ve seen them too, haven’t you?"

Cash nodded deeply.

"Troublesome."

"A few days ago, that Alpha Wolf, though the two of us were holding back a bit, to really take that beast down in a few moves... we couldn’t have done it."

"But that kid took it down with one sword stroke, although there was an element of luck, but..."

"Not easy to deal with!"

"And I suspect, no, I’m sure."

"He’s definitely hiding something!"

Cash’s expression turned serious as he tilted his head back, downing the contents of his glass.

"Too risky, let’s forget about it this time."

"Let him keep his life."

"Once this mission is over, we’ll leave right away, no need to be entangled with him."

Upon hearing this, even Vireis couldn’t help but show a touch of regret on her face.

"It’s just a pity about my little Mint, big sis can only meet you again another time."

But Cash merely raised an eyebrow, indicating with his words:

"What’s there to pity, we can take her along when we leave."

"Once out of River Valley Town, how to deal with her is all up to you, one word from you suffices."

"Heh." Vireis’s eyes lit up instantly, a sinister chuckle escaping her lips.

She was about to say more when she suddenly noticed Cash sitting up abruptly.

The previously wicked expression quickly dissolved from his face, replaced by the integrity and seriousness befitting the squad leader.

Handling the change swiftly and naturally.

Vireis also seamlessly adjusted her expression, gracing her face with a gentle smile.

Standing up, she turned and waved enthusiastically:

"Xia Nan, over here!"

"What took you so long? We’ve been waiting for you for a while now."