Chapter 236 - 209: A Wish-Granting Item
Shire had often seen a certain trope in stories before. The protagonist would face a mirror, a Golden Toad statuette, or perhaps a strange Statue of the God of Wealth, and ask with all sincerity, "How can I become rich?"
And usually, a voice would then reply, "At six in the morning three days from now, an armored truck carrying thirty million in cash will pass the intersection at Xizhi Road. You need to assemble a team of four to set up in advance. As long as you complete the operation within ten minutes and then flee like mad without stopping, you’ll eventually get rich. But before all that, you’ll need to work from dawn till dusk delivering takeout for at least two years, living frugally and saving every penny, just to get the funds for the operation. You’ll also need to go to the East City Suburbs to buy homemade shotguns and explosives."
If the protagonist were to hesitate and ask again, "I don’t want to do anything illegal. Do you have any other suggestions?"
The voice would surely offer another plan. "You need to work out every day to maintain your physique and stamina. Then, six months from now, apply for a job as a waiter at Ye Lang Karaoke. A rich divorcée named Zhang Shuijuan will take a liking to you. She just received a three-hundred-million-dollar settlement, but she’s into playing with steel wool. You’ll need to spend the six months beforehand getting... familiar with the procedure."
Every time Shire saw this kind of plot, he would scoff and complain to himself, ’How could such a bizarre premise even exist? A wish-granting item... as if.’
But now, he suddenly realized that the Shui Yumo of the Naga Race seemed to be exactly that: a wish-granting item.
According to Pazani, before his trial, after the elders’ prayers, he had stated his goal: "I want to complete my coming-of-age trial." After that, the Shui Yumo on the beast hide began to shift and change, guiding the Naga Prince step-by-step.
’So,’ he thought, ’if I changed the goal at the beginning to something like, "How can I enslave a busty, long-legged succubus with a tiny waist?" I bet that ink would provide the next steps, too.’
’The only problem is, according to Pazani, the Shui Yumo only provides the answer. It doesn’t care about your actual strength. For instance, it might say, "You need to summon Lust through a mirror, then imprison its Clone. Next, using the Clone’s location as a beacon, use powerful Magic to tear open a planar rift to the Eternal Darkness Plane. Once there, use your supreme Ability to defeat the Demon Lords and kick them off their thrones. You take their place, and only then will you be able to enslave a Succubus."’
’Luckily, if there’s enough of this ink, that problem can also be solved.’ Shire rubbed his chin, his eyes fixed on the Naga Prince before him. ’I’d just need to get another beast hide, write down the previous instruction, and then have the Shui Yumo ask for the next step. By repeating this over and over, eventually accumulating thousands or tens of thousands of hides, I’d get a safe first step, like, "Go to Such-and-Such Street and spend Ten Gold Coins on a Demon Slaying Potion."’
Working backward like this, as long as there was enough Shui Yumo, it might really be possible to achieve some seemingly unattainable wishes.
"Prince," Shire said with a smile, "care for some tea? I have Golden Flower Tea, a special supply for the Fran Kingdom’s Royal Family."
Pazani looked at the goblin before him. The dorsal fin on his back suddenly bristled. He felt that something was hidden behind the other’s smile, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. "Ah, no, I don’t really like tea."
He took the wooden cask from his back and made a gesture. A sealed opening on the cask popped open, and a brown stream of liquid curled out, pouring into the cup before him. "I prefer to drink the Ball Algae Wine brewed by the Naga Race."
Shire looked at the oddly shaped wooden cask. It had a special indentation carved out to accommodate a Naga’s dorsal fin. As for the brown liquid in the cup, it gave off an indescribable odor.
"Want to try some?" Pazani glanced at the Goblin Leader. "To be honest, your lunch was delicious. It was my first time trying smoked fish prepared that way, and those pan-fried meat patties were also quite fragrant. Serving the patty between two... two strange pieces of grain made the flavor even more unique. Your water, however, is a bit plain. It’s just a little sweet, is all."
"Oh," Shire nodded. "That’s a pan-fried Shape-shifting Monster patty. And that strange grain is actually the fruit of a Tree-man."
Upon hearing this, the corners of Pazani’s mouth twitched several times.
"I’ll have a cup," Shire said, seeing the prince’s expression. He immediately passed his own cup over. "By the way, I was wondering, would you Naga ever consider selling that Shui Yumo?"
GLUG GLUG. With the sound of liquor being poured, Shire’s cup was quickly filled with Ball Algae Wine. He lifted the cup and brought it to his nose for a sniff. ’Smells like regular booze. Should be fine,’ he thought.
Across from him, Pazani was already taking big gulps of his own.
"BURP." He let out a satisfied belch and then said, "The Shui Yumo? We don’t sell it. The Naga Race doesn’t even have enough for ourselves. That stuff is incredibly hard to get. The little bit we have left is what we managed to save when we fled into exile."
Shire took a small sip, slowly smacking his lips. ’The taste is a bit watery,’ he decided, ’and a little sour and astringent. Not sure if the Naga Race are just bad brewers or if their ingredients are poor. All in all, it’s nothing special.’
He hopped off his chair, went to a low cabinet on the side, and pulled out a bottle of red wine and two stemmed glasses. They were leftovers from when Mary had entertained the Vampire Count, Herbert. They hadn’t finished the bottle, so it had been saved until now.
"Is that so? Is the Shui Yumo really that scarce? What materials does it require?" Shire returned to the table, set down the glasses, and poured red wine for them both. The crimson liquid exuded a rich, fragrant aroma, far more enticing than the Naga Prince’s brown Ball Algae Wine.
Pazani eyed the glass before him, then reached out and picked it up. He only had to sniff it once before he nodded. "Grape wine, brewed by humans. There are other fruits mixed in as well."
He swirled the glass, watching the liquid slosh back and forth. "The materials are a huge problem. You see, the Shui Yumo is an extremely ancient artifact of the Naga Race. It has a history of several thousand years, and its ingredients, without exception, all come from the deep ocean."
Shire watched him take a sip of the red wine and nod, seemingly quite satisfied with this unknown vintage. "The deep ocean? But you said you live in Darren Lake."
Pazani clutched the stemmed glass, his gaze fixed on the red liquid within. "The Naga Race used to live in the ocean. But for the last several thousand years, we have been constantly driven from our home, constantly forced to wander in exile. In the end, we were forced to hide in Darren Lake."
"And my father... he fell ill and died in Darren Lake." He drained the wine in a single gulp.
"What was the illness?" Shire glanced at him and asked.
"Salt Deprivation Sickness."