Chapter 5: “You Really Are a Genius.”
????Wasteland.
??Crouched behind a low earthen mound, the man in the blue robe finally let out a long breath, sure now that the boy couldn’t spot him from this angle. He drew out his Ghostskin Map again, preparing to take the long way around before heading toward Jiangbei Market.
??According to his original plan…
??He should have left the Waystation and struck due east.
??But—
??The wasteland here was absurdly flat—nothing but open ground stretching for miles. For a so-called expert to saunter across that open expanse in full view of those two would be nothing short of humiliating.
??A true master, he thought, should perform a good deed, flick his sleeves, and vanish without a trace—leaving not even a wisp of cloud behind.
??“I really am…” He shook his head, a wry smile tugging at his lips at his own childishness. Yet, after a mont, the smile faded and his gaze grew dark and turbulent. He glanced back toward the direction of Jiangbei Chen Clan’s Waystation No. 37, muttering under his breath—
??“Why was there never anyone back then willing to reach out a hand for
like today…?”
??“If there had been… perhaps there wouldn’t be a Jiangbei Old Demon now.”
??…
??Only after confirming the blue-robed man was long gone did Chen Fan hurry around to the heap of straw behind the wooden hut. From it, he retrieved the Level 1 Beast Trap and last night’s unlucky Ghostbeast.
??The trap was reusable, but its drawback was obvious: it could only trigger once per night.
??The Ghostbeast was monkey-shaped—small and nimble.
??Its mouth took up nearly two-thirds of its face, packed with jagged, needle-like teeth—utterly nightmarish to behold.
??Every Ghostbeast carried a Ghoststone within its body.
??Ghoststones were the most vital currency in this world.
??“Young Master, this one is called a ‘Monkey-Head Ghoul’—a common low-grade Ghostbeast, usually Level 1 to 3, not especially dangerous. Its main trait is speed, and its Ghoststone is located at the back of the skull,” said Crippled Monkey.
??“…”
??Chen Fan gave Crippled Monkey a mildly surprised look. “How do you know that?”
??He couldn’t recall this detail from his own mory. Back at the Chen Clan, Crippled Monkey had rely been a nial servant—how would he know such things?
??“When we servants were assigned to you, Young Master, we all underwent three years of training. That included private school lessons covering Ghostbeasts and other knowledge.”
??“I see…”
??Chen Fan searched his mory—there was a faint recollection of private tutors for core clan mbers, but in his previous life, he’d been too busy wallowing in self-pity to bother with such things.
??“I rember now. The family gave you a Ghoststone back then, didn’t they? To try to awaken as a Practitioner?”
??“Yes.” Crippled Monkey’s voice grew small. “After training, all the servants were given one Ghoststone. A few lucky ones awakened as special Practitioners and were personally taken away by the Clan Head.”
??“I never received another Ghoststone after that. My body’s no different than before.”
??“They call
a Practitioner, but I don’t have a trace of a Practitioner’s aura.”
??Chen Fan nodded, offering no further comnt. The mory surfaced—he’d always been overlooked in the clan, though not outright shunned. That changed when, at sixteen, he absorbed a Ghoststone but failed to awaken any special power. Even the Clan Head, who had once harbored hope for him, gave up entirely.
??His status plumted after that.
??Soon—
??Crippled Monkey rolled up his sleeves, took out a small knife from his robes, and sliced open the Ghostbeast’s corpse. He extracted a blood-slick Ghoststone, wiped it clean on his hemp shirt, and handed it to Chen Fan.
??Now, counting the two Ghoststones in the Ghostfire, Chen Fan had three Ghoststones in total.
??…
??Chen Fan dragged a chair outside, settled by the Ghostfire, and began plotting how to amass more Ghoststones. He didn’t need to go to Jiangbei Market to hire a Builder—he could construct the Basic buildings himself.
??All he needed was enough Ghoststones.
??And he had a way to get them—quickly.
??Mass-produce Ghostfire.
??Ghostfire was in high demand; the market was enormous. Most Builders would make Ghostfire and sell it at the market for about sixty Ghoststones apiece.
??The cost? Around fifty Ghoststones.
??Almost every Builder produced these, so the profit margins weren’t great.
??But—
??His cost was only three Ghoststones. Even if he sold at fifty each, he’d make a fortune.
??The problem was…
??It would draw too much attention. He’d be stepping on the toes of many. Besides, the market was still a long way off—he couldn’t get there anyti soon.
??For now, it was better to focus on the Beast Trap.
??A Beast Trap could only catch one Ghostbeast per night, but that was only because it was a single-target trap. If he could retrieve and reset it after each catch, it could keep working through the night.
??Of course, once Eternal Night fell, he wasn’t about to venture out into the darkness to reset traps.
??But he didn’t have to.
??All he needed was a bit of twine. He could pull the trap back from the darkness into the safe zone, reset it, and send it out again.
??“Crippled Monkey.”
??Chen Fan looked up. “Can you braid rope from dried grass?”
??“I can.”
??“You really are a genius.”
??He couldn’t help but sigh. “Your task today is to braid a few ropes from the straw behind the hut. They don’t need to be long—three or four ters will do. I’m heading out to gather information. Once you’re done, get so rest during the day. We’ll be busy tonight.”
??“Understood,” Crippled Monkey replied crisply, not asking a single question about the rope’s purpose.
??…
??Once everything was arranged, Chen Fan went inside, grabbed a few hard cakes, washed them down with water from the kettle, and, after filling his belly, left camp with his Ghostskin Map in hand. He set off toward the nearest Ghostfire outpost.
??He wanted to inspect the other Waystations.
??His current problems weren’t limited to a shortage of Ghoststones—food and water were running low as well.
??The Ghostskin Map was invaluable. Not only did it show the real-ti status of nearby Ghostfire outposts, but it also displayed a green dot marking his own position, so he would never get lost. The map even highlighted his camp’s Ghostfire with a unique red mark, making it stand out from the rest.
??He climbed over a small mound and headed west.
??After about half an hour, he spotted the nearest Ghostfire camp.
??Flattened against the cracked wasteland, he studied it closely.
??“That’s probably a Level 2 Ghostfire…”
??“Otherwise, the safe zone wouldn’t be large enough for this many huts—seven in all, two large and five small.”
??“But there are no walls.”
??“And they’ve cleared a patch of land for farming.”
??“Four people in total.”
??He muttered to himself as he observed. All four seed to belong to the camp—no travelers coming or going. Just as the blue-robed man had said, this Waystation was in far better shape than his own.
??With the sa overnight fee of one Ghoststone, his own Waystation simply couldn’t compete.
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