Chapter 142: Chapter 116: Jade Box and Leather Scroll; Expanding the Item Bar
"Sir, please don’t misunderstand. It’s just... I’ve seen that Jade Flute Hairpin and the gilded hairpin before. The second madam of Zhao Kaitai, the Zhao Family’s Patriarch in the County Town, wears those exact two. I saw her on the road once."
It dawned on Cheng Zongyang. He pressed, "You rembered them from a single glance? Your mory’s not bad. But are there no identical ones in town?"
Ma San gave an embarrassed smile. "Well, mostly it’s because the second madam is gorgeous, and... well, very alluring and charming. Rumor has it she’s from the Commandery City and carries herself with such an air of nobility that many people rember her."
Cheng Zongyang was speechless, waiting for him to continue.
"As for identical ones, there wouldn’t be any. You might not know this, Sir, but this second madam has a peculiar temperant. She never uses the sa things as anyone else; everything is custom-made for her. Her clothes, her accessories, her jewelry, everything."
Thinking about the two Jade Boxes, Cheng Zongyang’s interest was piqued. "Is there anything else?" he asked.
Ma San cupped his hands. "You are wise, Sir. Indeed, there is. All I know is that two years ago, the Zhao Family was robbed. The second madam lost a trove of gold and silver jewelry. The entire Zhao Family was enraged. They practically tore the whole County Town apart looking for it and even offered a hefty reward.
When they discovered the thief had fled town, the Zhao Family dispatched two Eighth Grade Elders, and the County Magistrate’s Office sent a constable in pursuit. In the end, only one of the Zhao Family Elders returned, and he was injured. The other three were never heard from again.
On the third day after his return, that Zhao Family Elder also died, unable to suppress the poison. After that, the second madam was never seen in public again.’"
Cheng Zongyang stroked his chin, mulling over the sequence of events.
’The Zhao Family going to such great lengths, stopping at nothing... it must have been for those two Jade Boxes. A re collection of gold and jewelry wouldn’t warrant such a massive response, much less one that cost them two Eighth Grade clan Elders.’
’It seems this Martial Essence Pill and Body Tempering Technique really are incredibly important. But now... they’re mine!’
Cheng Zongyang smiled. This ant his family now had one more Cultivation Technique in its collection.
"I understand. Go on back to what you were doing. Thanks for the hard work," Cheng Zongyang said with a nod.
"Yes, Sir."
Ma San cupped his hands and went back to studying the Geomagnetic Stone. He had already started experinting with a few snakes he had caught.
Once Ma San was occupied, Cheng Zongyang took out the gilded hairpin. With a sudden clench of his fist, it beca a small, irregular ball of gold. As for the Jade Hairpin, he crushed it into dust and scattered it on the empty ground by the entrance.
’If they were going to bring trouble, there was no point in keeping them.’
He looked at the gold in the wooden basin, and an idea struck him. He imdiately turned and entered the cabin.
He took out the jewelry—the golden chain, Ring, Bracelet, and Earrings—placed them on the counter, and said:
"Expand item bar."
’He hadn’t made any money for a while. He wasn’t about to waste the opportunity this windfall provided.’
[Gold jewelry detected. Purity: 85%. Weight: seven taels and three mace. Can be refined into one tael of gold to unlock the fourth item bar slot. Confirm?]
[Confirm] / [Cancel]
"Confirm."
Cheng Zongyang answered imdiately.
The item bar imdiately flashed with a faint light. A new slot appeared next to the third one, and an item had already spawned inside it.
Cheng Zongyang quickly looked over.
——
[Preservation Warehouse] (Special)
Description: The first item in a newly opened slot is always a special item. The Preservation Warehouse preserves items in their original state. Can be deployed for use. Possesses the sa defensive capabilities as the Marketplace Cabin.
Grade: ★
Space: 10x10x10 (ters)
Quantity: 1
Points: 5000
Note: Grade cannot be upgraded.
——
Cheng Zongyang’s eyes widened, and his breathing grew ragged.
"Holy cow! A special item, and with a preservation function!"
Cheng Zongyang’s gaze was fervent. With this, he wouldn’t have to push the limits of the Marketplace Cabin’s space. He had already been on the verge of stacking shelves just to preserve things.
A hundred square ters of floor space and a thousand cubic ters of volu was quite large. With shelves, he could store an incredible number of items.
’Five Thousand Points... I still have a 70% off coupon, which ans it’s only fifteen hundred Points! I’ve hit the jackpot!’
His eyes shining with excitent, Cheng Zongyang called up his interface.
Points: 774
’I’m still short about eight hundred Points... a couple days of fishing... if my luck is bad, that might not be enough. I need to earn more Points!’
A special item was a rare find. He couldn’t just let it slip away!
"Exotic Beasts!"
The idea of hunting an Exotic Beast instantly popped into his head.
’My current strength isn’t enough, but if I plan this right and use my ability to jump in and out of the Wilderness World, I can definitely avoid a life-or-death crisis! The Marketplace Cabin should accept Exotic Beast corpses for Points, right?’
But no matter what, he had to try. First, he would take care of that Exotic Beast.
’Having seen the Wolf King’s Ability, I know getting into close combat is out of the question. I have to use ranged attacks.’
He looked at the four freshly-poisoned arrows, an idea forming in his mind. He then took the pair of thirty-centiter-long Black-Horned Python fangs and coated them with poison as well.
Finally, he took out a large bag of Seven Herbs Powder from a corner.
For insurance, he also grabbed a hundred-ter-long coil of finger-thick hemp rope.
To give himself more options, he also prepared flint and steel and firewood soaked in Tung Oil, ready for a fire attack at a mont’s notice.
After changing into his Explorer Suit and finishing his preparations, Cheng Zongyang gripped his Tang Blade and re-entered the Wilderness World.
He reappeared in the sa spot and scanned his surroundings.
Aside from the surrounding destruction, Cheng Zongyang didn’t notice anything unusual. His sudden appearance sent the small spiders in the area scurrying away.
Cheng Zongyang imdiately took out the rope and began weaving it between the surrounding trees. He had no intention of fighting the spider in the open; instead, he planned to use the forest for cover.
At the sa ti, he took out the Tung Oil-soaked firewood and placed it in several key locations.
He scattered large amounts of Seven Herbs Powder all around, mainly to repel any venomous snakes, poisonous insects, and the terrifyingly nurous small spiders.
He wasn’t worried, thanks to his Explorer Suit, but the thought of them crawling on him was still disgusting.
With these simple preparations in place, Cheng Zongyang slung the Bow and Arrow over his back, drew his Tang Blade, and began picking on the slightly larger spiders to lure out the big one.
Just as he expected, it only took a few minutes before he heard a commotion from the cave entrance.
Seeing this, Cheng Zongyang imdiately retreated into the woods.
The swarms of smaller spiders didn’t dare approach the woods. The scent of the Seven Herbs Powder, however, had no effect on the Exotic Beast Spider King.
After locking onto Cheng Zongyang’s location with its various senses, it leaped to the edge of the woods. Swinging its hardened legs, it demolished the trees in its path and charged straight in.
As it destroyed tree after tree, the hemp rope he had wound between the trunks, ant to be an obstacle, proved completely useless.
Two or three hundred ters away, perched in a leafy tree, Cheng Zongyang had already taken aim. The mont the Exotic Beast Spider King charged in, the poisoned arrow flew from his bow like a shooting star.
Amidst the shower of splintered wood and shredded leaves, the arrow was almost unnoticeable.
It cut through the debris, and with such a massive body as a target, the arrow struck the Exotic Beast squarely in the abdon!
However, where he expected the arrow to sink into its flesh as usual, it did not. He never imagined the Exotic Beast Spider King’s hide would be like steel armor; the arrow ricocheted off the very next second.
Feeling the pain of the impact, the Exotic Beast Spider King reared back in fury and let out a continuous, piercing shriek. Sound Waves rolled out from it like ripples on water, sweeping in every direction.
For hundreds of ters, trees shook and trembled as if in a gale, their leaves raining down. An untold number of its own spawn died instantly in the terrifying Sound Wave.
The sound made Cheng Zongyang’s expression turn grim, and he quickly began to retreat.
The shriek was like the grating sound of a sharp object scraping against tal—an ear-splitting, hair-raising noise that was utterly agonizing to hear.
But his retreat was slower than the speed of sound. An instant later, an intense, sharp pain stabbed through his brain.
It was a pain worse than any migraine, so intense he wanted to bash his own head against a tree.
Without a mont’s hesitation, he escaped into the Marketplace Cabin.
He appeared inside the Marketplace Cabin, and the world fell silent.
Cheng Zongyang let out a sigh of relief as the residual pain in his head slowly faded.
He hadn’t expected this Exotic Beast Spider King to be so terrifying—even more so than the Wolf King.
’No wonder those two Ninth Grade Martial Artists died so completely. One roar from that thing and you lose the ability to fight. After that, you’re just a lamb for the slaughter with absolutely no chance of survival.’
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