Chapter 254 - 173: Do You Take Me for an Idiot?
Forgotten Dao fell into thought after hearing this.
’So, I have to go back to the Great Withered Tree—the Eagle Lizard’s nest—and defeat it?’
...’More map grinding.’
Forgotten Dao felt a wave of resignation.
But before that, he still had to hear the next piece of information from Le Ti.
"So, what’s so special about the Divine Hall?" Forgotten Dao asked.
"Well, about that... I don’t actually know much." Le Ti chuckled. Seeing the other’s face darken, he quickly added with another smile, "But I do know a little something."
Forgotten Dao stared intently at him.
"...This is an ancient Divine Hall. It rose from the depression, and it’s said that traces left by a god are hidden within... Kill the Lion Serpent, and perhaps you’ll uncover its Arcane Mystery."
Le Ti cleared his throat, spouting a bunch of fluff. It was undoubtedly just a gimmick to pique Forgotten Dao’s curiosity.
So, the key was still the Lion Serpent.
And to enter the Lion Serpent’s Barrier, the key was the lizard...
"...You stay here. I’m going to convey your intentions to the Candlekeeper."
Forgotten Dao started walking down, passing Le Ti without any fear of a sneak attack, leaving his back completely exposed.
"Hey, hey, hey, not so fast..." Le Ti suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm, flashing a harmless-looking smile. "There’s one more thing."
"...If you can’t say everything at once, I guarantee you won’t get another chance to speak."
Forgotten Dao stared at him, his face devoid of expression.
’This damn NPC talks way too much.’
"...This really is the last thing." Le Ti gave an awkward laugh, then fumbled around in his pocket and pulled out a dark brown claw. "Look at this."
’A chicken foot?’
’NPCs eat these things?’
Forgotten Dao glanced at the object in his hand, a little surprised, the thought popping into his head unconsciously.
But soon, he saw the item’s information.
[Eagle Lizard Hook Claw (Excellence)]
[Type: Weapon/Special Items]
[Effect: ① Slightly increases Attack Power, Agility +1. Power is greatly increased when successfully hitting Shield-type Magic or Prayers. / ② Warfire can be infused into it to unleash a single, tremendously powerful Eagle Lizard Claw Strike.]
[Explanation: A claw nurtured by Warfire over a long period. It has the shape of an eagle’s claw, yet it grew on a lizard’s body.]
After reading it, Forgotten Dao more or less understood what Le Ti was getting at and narrowed his eyes.
Then he flashed a brilliant smile and held out his hand.
"Thanks."
Le Ti: "..."
’Holy crap, you really have the nerve to just ask for it!’
"...This took me quite a bit of effort. How could I just give it to you? That would be a disservice to all my hard work." Le Ti said as he pulled it back, clearing his throat. "Perhaps we can make a trade."
"What kind of trade? What do you want?" Forgotten Dao withdrew his hand. Of course, he didn’t think Le Ti would give it to him that easily.
"Something of value, of course." Le Ti offered a friendly smile.
["Le Ti" has sent you a trade request. Accept?]
After accepting the request, a dark gray trade interface appeared before Forgotten Dao.
[Please take the items you wish to trade from your inventory and seek the other party’s agreement until the trade is complete.]
Seeing this, Forgotten Dao began to ponder.
After saying a word to Le Ti, he went over to the Milestone Spirit Candle, took out a pile of equipment and useless junk, and swapped out everything he was carrying.
’He’s feeling the air again... It must be a hidden Campfire...’
Le Ti stroked his chin thoughtfully as he watched Forgotten Dao’s actions.
A moment later, the trade resumed.
Le Ti put on an honest, simple-looking smile.
But as he saw the items Forgotten Dao pulled out one after another, his expression started to change.
"How about this? A Gulard Soldier’s sword. It has a few nicks and a bit of rust, but it can still cut through iron like mud. An indispensable weapon."
"...No."
"What about this? A Living Corpse’s headband. It has some bloodstains and damage, but it still has a unique and distinctive style. It’s quite nice."
"...That won’t work either."
"How about this? A Mad Talk Mushroom?"
"N—"
"This one?"
"..."
For the vast majority of players, when trading with an NPC, giving away even one item they considered decent was a loss.
So, players usually treated certain NPCs like a recycling bin, using them to clean out their own little inventories, which were often stuffed like a hamster’s cheeks.
Therefore, the things Forgotten Dao was offering Le Ti now were naturally not much better.
In other words, he was offering a pile of junk and scraps—the kind of stuff that even a newbie just starting the game would shake their head at.
"..."
And so, Le Ti’s expression gradually grew uglier, eventually turning completely dark.
When he saw the other guy even pull out things like stinky socks, Le Ti finally couldn’t take it anymore.
"Enough!"
[The other party has terminated the trade.]
"Do you take me for an idiot? I wouldn’t even bother throwing this junk away if you gave it to me for free, and you actually want to trade it for the Eagle Lizard’s treasure?"
Le Ti’s vision went dark, and he found it hard to breathe.
Honestly, as a shady merchant, he, Le Ti, had scammed plenty of Firewood Gatherers.
But this was the first time he had ever met someone more cunning and stingy than himself.
’Does he think the more junk there is, the higher the value?’
Forgotten Dao: "..."
Being called out by Le Ti like this, he felt a bit awkward too.
’Is there a problem? Aren’t NPC trades just for offloading junk?’
"Bring out something you have that’s valuable, or we’d best not trade at all."
Le Ti shook his head. This was his bottom line.
However, a glint suddenly flashed in his eyes, and he then adopted a deliberately casual look.
"If you have any ancient currency or collectibles found in the various regions, those could also be used for exchange. I’m quite the collector."
’Ancient currency?’
"You mean this? A Manlak Coin?"
After a moment’s thought, Forgotten Dao took out a Manlak Coin.
Le Ti glanced at it nonchalantly and nodded slightly. "That’ll do, but one definitely isn’t enough."
Hearing this, Forgotten Dao became thoughtful.
After realizing that this NPC, Le Ti, clearly wouldn’t take junk, Forgotten Dao started to trade seriously.
In the end, Forgotten Dao could only grit his teeth and offer up several decent-Quality weapons he had obtained earlier, along with a few dozen Manlak Coins, to finally get the Eagle Lizard Hook Claw from him.
"Hmm... Although it’s not quite worth it, for the sake of our friendship, I’ll take a small loss."
Le Ti said with a pained expression, sighing.
Forgotten Dao scoffed at this. He didn’t know how much this guy had profited, but he was certain Le Ti hadn’t lost anything.
After confirming there was nothing wrong with the Eagle Lizard Hook Claw, Forgotten Dao didn’t immediately go to fight the boss. Instead, he glanced at Le Ti.
"You just wait here. I’m going to inform the Candlekeeper."
"I await your good news." Le Ti said with a smile and a bow.
However, just before leaving, Forgotten Dao suddenly let out a strange laugh, making Le Ti jump.
"What are you doing?" Le Ti said irritably.
"That old woman from before... that was you, wasn’t it?" Forgotten Dao turned his head and said with a grin, his eyes narrowed.
"Ahem... What old woman? I don’t know what you’re talking about." Le Ti’s gaze darted away as he denied it.
Seeing this, Forgotten Dao didn’t press the issue. Le Ti’s reaction had already given him away.
...
"I understand."
Luo Ge gave Forgotten Dao a slight nod. Although he had long since noticed the strange interaction between Forgotten Dao and Le Ti, he still casually gave him some Wax Oil as a reward.
Then, his figure slowly vanished before Forgotten Dao’s eyes.
Seeing the Candlekeeper leave, Forgotten Dao turned his attention to the chat group.
Sitting and Not Forgetting the Dao: "I told the Candlekeeper. He said he understood, then he disappeared. Not sure if he went to find Le Ti."
Storyteller: "Then you should Teleport back and check. The guy might still be there. See if you can trade him for anything else."
Sitting and Not Forgetting the Dao: "Okay."
After Forgotten Dao left, Niuniu chimed in.
I do Bull’s Push-ups: "What the hell, that’s the NPC Brother Miaozi met before? Why not just kill him? That guy’s a total scumbag."
Storyteller: "(Wipes sweat) You still haven’t fixed that nasty habit of yours. This NPC is clearly different from the ones inside dungeons. They’re part of a dynamic storyline. Killing him could have unforeseen consequences. Anyway, from my perspective, as long as you can communicate with them, it’s best not to kill any of them."
I do Bull’s Push-ups: "...Alright, that makes some sense. But I can at least beat him up, right? (Picks nose)"
Storyteller: "...Why are you always so hostile toward these NPCs? (Laughing and crying at the same time)"
I do Bull’s Push-ups: "That reminds me of the guy who traded my fully Enhanced King’s Sword for three Gold Coins..."