Chapter 37: Are You Made of Stone?!

Power outages are everywhere these days. Sigh, the midday sun is blazing! Poor Little Black is begging for votes.

――――

Eastern side of Xuan Frost City

When I learned that White Valentines Day and his companions had managed to stabilize the situation with the help of two men and one woman, and were preparing to leave the valley and return to the city, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

I rummaged through my backpack and found that inconspicuous little stone known as the "Kodo Beast Magic Stone," examining it several times:

"Quest item? Was this what that female mage was talking about?"

A thought stirred within me as I gently pinched the stone, feeling its smooth texture and faint warmth. Suddenly, a peculiar voice sprang forth from the depths of my heart:

This stone... is truly special!

It wasn't just the strange warmth that made me regard it differently; the name itself—'Magic Stone'—was exceedingly rare. A stone that could use magic? Or perhaps one imbued with magical power?

It was very likely that those three top-tier experts had spent several nights lurking here just for this stone...

With this realization, I became even more convinced by my intuition.

Glancing at the small storefront beside me, then at the few gold coins in my backpack, I gritted my teeth and stepped into the "Appraisal Shop" that White Valentines Day had mentioned before.

……

The appraisal shop was unlike other stores; since nothing physical was sold here, it was deserted at night—a stark contrast to the bustling crowds during the day.

Inside, it was empty. The simple, rustic room contained only four sets of tables and chairs, where four old men sat, engrossed in their tea and shaking their heads as they pondered the paper slips in their hands.

It was unusually tranquil.

As I approached one of them, he finally raised his head slowly, freed a hand, and said,

"What do you want appraised?"

I hurriedly handed over the "Kodo Beast Magic Stone," but the appraiser merely glanced at it, smacked his lips, and said,

"Kodo Beast Magic Stone? So that's what it is..." He then looked at me curiously, neither accepting nor rejecting it, and quietly picked up the paper slip from the tea table, holding it up to his eyes without another word.

Huh?

I was stunned, completely baffled by the old man's reaction...

What was going on? Could this arrogant old man not even understand the basic principle of "the customer is king"? Was he just going to leave me standing here?

How infuriating!

Just as I was about to demand an explanation, the old man suddenly turned his head, rolled his eyes, and said, "Why are you still here? Come back when you’ve got ten gold coins. With what you have now, it’s not even enough to get these old bones moving."

So it was a matter of money. My face flushed hot with embarrassment, and I slipped out of that heartless and greedy appraisal shop...

But soon I realized: What nonsense—ten gold coins just to appraise a measly stone? After nearly an hour of hard work slaying adult Kodo Beasts, I only had four gold coins in my backpack.

This appraisal shop is a rip-off! No wonder Sister Black Tea trained appraisal skills as a life skill.

Yes, yes, she must have been forced by the darkness of the appraisal shop... (cold sweat)

Grumbling internally, I mentally berated the shady appraisal shop and that arrogant old man, until White Valentines Day messaged me, saying they were not far from the east gate and I should head over.

……

When I met them, I immediately sensed the strange atmosphere.

Previously, Poet Saint had always strutted confidently beside Little Love, but now he was tugging at his ears, trailing behind her like a child who'd made a mistake, his handsome face drawn long and glaring furiously at Big Bear, who walked beside Little Love.

Big Bear seemed oblivious to the murderous glare behind him, chatting with Little Love about the two men and one woman who had appeared in the valley earlier. Seeing me, Big Bear greeted me boisterously:

"Little Lin! I have to be friends with you—you're gutsy! A real man!"

Obviously, he was praising me for my actions in the Kodo Beast Valley, for daring to rush into the perilous herd at such a moment.

I chuckled and replied, "If you all could move, there’d be no need for me to step in. Besides, the main credit for defeating the magical Kodo Beast goes to Poet Saint. If not for him, I wouldn’t have had the chance to help, right?"

As soon as I finished speaking, Poet Saint’s face brightened, and he lifted his head.

The hostility that had been simmering within him vanished instantly. Of course, it wasn’t just my words that achieved this—Big Bear’s rising threat had been the key. This guy had been provoking him all the way, constantly comparing him to that elegant female mage, with Little Love chiming in, joking about matchmaking, leaving Poet Saint speechless.

Now, with Scavenger Lin’s words, it was as if he’d found his tribe, and his goodwill towards me grew.

I was clueless, and when Poet Saint shot me a grateful look, I was momentarily stunned as well.

But unfortunately, Big Bear had no intention of letting Poet Saint reclaim any dignity. He chimed in with, "That’s right, that’s right..." and moved to my side, throwing an arm around my shoulders and, attracting everyone’s attention, lowered his voice conspiratorially:

"Little Lin, let me tell you something funny—just now, Little Cat (Poet Saint) was chatted up by a stunning beauty... Do you know what his expression was like? Haha... just like this, haha, wasn’t it hilarious? I bet his heart rate shot over one hundred sixty..."

As Big Bear animatedly reenacted the scene, White Valentines Day and Black Tea glanced at the newly deflated Poet Saint and sighed inwardly: The battlefield of romance is as treacherous as war—how true.

Casting a sympathetic glance at Poet Saint out of the corner of my eye, I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for him, so I put on an interested expression and asked,

"Was she really that beautiful? Tsk tsk, what a shame..."

"What’s a shame?" Big Bear’s eyes lit up as he stared at me, his voice creeping up a few decibels.

Seeing that smile, I suddenly felt this guy might be even more annoying than Poet Saint. Though Poet Saint was aloof and cold, and bore some hostility towards me, he didn’t have Big Bear’s scheming nature... Never mind, I wasn’t here to chase girls anyway. Who knows if I’ll even cross paths with them in the future. So I just played along and said,

"Nonsense! If she’s as beautiful as you say... then I missed my chance, didn’t I? By the way, did you ask her name? No? Seriously? Are you made of stone?! How could you not be interested in a beauty like that?"