bookpub Chapter 164 A Journey of One and a Half
Chapter 164 A Journey of One and a Half
Chapter 164 A Journey of One and a Half
After setting a time with the Golden Mask, on the morning of the first day, Geb received good news from Dulin.
The caravan's next resting town has a permanent station of the Salt and Iron Merchants' Guild, where the herbalists in the caravan can obtain all the materials needed to make "King's Kiss".
Of course, it wasn't cheap. The herbalist quoted 200 gold coins for everything.
Geb had some reservations about the price, and Dulin explained to him, "These materials aren't so legal in the Old Kingdom—this town is on the border between the Old and New Kingdoms, and the regulations aren't as strict, which is why my friend was able to get these things through 'underground' channels. Therefore, the price—"
Gebu didn't let Dulin continue. "Alright, I understand. 200 gold coins it is. But tell your friend not to get this batch of goods from one place, but to buy them separately. I can even give him a little more money."
Dulin listened with some doubt, but didn't ask any further questions and agreed.
That evening, after the team arrived in town, Gebu received the materials as promised. Gebu couldn't easily pay for them from the company account, so he had to pay for them himself—a total of 250 gold coins.
Looking at the coded markings in the corner of the bag, Gebu finally realized that the so-called "underground" channel really was a channel underground—he had seen similar markings at the vagrant market. This stuff was transported from the black market; no wonder it was so expensive.
It seems that one of the underground docks he saw earlier led to this area. The Gray Raven Society's power was greater than he had imagined, with its tentacles reaching into every corner of the kingdom.
Fortunately, I was cautious. These herbal ingredients have rather specific uses, and sourcing them from the same place might arouse suspicion—and what if word got back to Peacock?
The goblin wondered to himself, "Will I face retaliation for stealing the peacock's business?"
Gebu wasn't afraid of the Gray Ravens: firstly, they didn't know his halfling identity as a cover.
Secondly, he is now a second-circle wizard, his combat power has increased a lot, and he also has the help of caravans and partners. He can even speak with the church because of his relationship with the "Rose Knight".
Gebu is no longer the weak goblin he once was, and he won't be easily manipulated by the old elf lady—what he fears is that the peacock, upon hearing that his business has been robbed, will send people to ruin his business as well.
Golden Mask is a cautious man; even his hired subordinates don't know his true identity. If Peacock causes a big commotion, he might abandon his deal with Geb and disappear from the goblins' sight.
That would be a huge loss.
Therefore, this matter had to be kept secret—Gebu didn't tell anyone the details of the whole affair. Those involved only knew that they were helping Gebu, but they didn't know the full picture.
Dulin procures goods for Gebu, and the meat courier helps Gebu prepare the ingredients (this young girl is quite meticulous and has the potential to study herbal medicine). Neither of them knows exactly what Gebu is going to do.
Even the swordswoman who would be going to Martina later only knew that three days later, Geb would be leaving the party to take care of some business and asked her to go with him as a lookout.
The swordswoman was somewhat displeased with Gebu's secretive approach, but Gebu used his silver tongue to smooth things over, promising to explain things to her after setting off and to give her a reward after the matter was over—only then did the swordswoman shut up.
After everything was arranged, Gebu pulled the tent door shut, told the hostage not to let anyone disturb him, and then began his marathon-like herbal preparation work alone.
For two days and two nights, Gebu didn't sleep a wink.
Extraction, separation, and purification.
Mixing, heating, reaction, cooling, filtration —
When a goblin is focused enough on something, he loses all sense of time. When the solution in the test tube turned a bluish-purple light as the recipe described, Goblin finally breathed a sigh of relief, only then realizing that he was thirsty, hungry, and exhausted; his body was completely drained.
There's one more step—adding tail sting venom.
Gebu took the scorpion lion's tail stinger out of the dimensional belt, placed it on the table, and used a sharp knife to pry open the scales, separating the smooth bone spur like peeling a bamboo shoot.
Within that white, agar-like bone, dark blue venom had solidified.
Geb heated the bone spur slightly with a candle, allowing the gelatinous liquid to flow again within the cavity of the bone spur. As he watched the venom slowly begin to move, he tilted the bone spur upright, letting the liquid flow down from its tip.
Tick.
A drop of venom flowed onto the glass vessel, and the surface tension caused it to swell into a small ball, like a black pearl.
Geb used a silver stick to catch the liquid and carefully dripped it into the prepared solution.
Snapped.
When the venom was dripped into the bluish-purple solution, a vortex instantly formed in the liquid. A certain gas escaped as the bubbles rose and burst. Within ten seconds, the poison in the test tube lost all its color and odor, becoming as clear as water.
For a moment, Geb realized he had messed up, but then he thought, "That's right, the most distinctive feature of this poison is that it's colorless, odorless, and leaves no residue; even magical methods can't detect it. That's exactly what it should look like."
Geb carefully took out two drops of sample, placed them in a small vial, then sealed the test tube and put it into the dimensional bag.
Geb put the vial containing the sample into his belt—he wanted to test the poison's effects himself.
But what should we use for the experiment? Gebu's expression turned serious. This was a matter of life and death, not a joke.
It shouldn't be used on close relatives, nor should it be used to poison strangers indiscriminately, as this could cause a disturbance and lead to serious trouble.
Poisoning a chicken or a rat—you can't see the effect of poison, can you? It's not like it's rat poison.
Hmm—will that troublesome cat finally come in handy? Geb thought to himself.
He walked to the tent exit, opened the curtain, and the morning sunlight pierced the halfling's eyes. After two days and two nights without seeing the light, Gebu looked like a vampire, his teeth gleaming in the sunlight.
At the tent entrance, the little boy leaned against the catwoman, who was curled up in a ball, and the two of them slept together.
Hey, when did you two become so close?
Looking at the little girl, Gebu felt a little irritable, having neither eaten nor drunk anything and had not slept. A sudden burst of anger rose within him.
I'm working my butt off here, and you're just lounging around and petting your cat?
Gebu frowned and poked the little boy's butt with the tip of his boot.
The little girl scratched her bottom but didn't wake up. The sunlight was shining on her eyelids, making her restless. The girl grabbed the catwoman's tail and covered her eyelids as an eye mask.
"Purr pur ...
Gebula grabbed the little girl's legs, trying to pull her out of the catwoman's arms. The beastman was quite strong, and in his dazed state, he managed to pull the little girl back into his arms.
"Nuan Nuan belongs to Fina, don't take her away—Jiao Jiao, go find your Nuan Nuan—"
"And the horns? The wild dogs have chewed them all up." Gebu muttered to himself. He realized there was no real reason for his anger, and his rage subsided.
Gebu looked at the poison sample in his hand, then at the two peaceful-looking fellows, and after much deliberation, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
He put the glass bottle away and walked out of the camp, clearing his head while looking for suitable test subjects.
He hadn't gone more than a hundred paces when, on the edge of town, he saw a butcher shop that hadn't opened yet. In a small alley, on an oxcart, a fat pig was looking at a halfling with its small eyes.
Geb looked at the pig.
The pig looked at Geb.
Geb glanced at the bottle at his waist.
The pig snorted and exhaled through its nostrils. From the other side of the door, the sound of sharpening knives could be heard coming from inside the house.
Alright, fate has brought us together—I'll give you a quick death, you pig.
Gebu affectionately stroked the pig's head, cast a poison protection spell on it, and then fed it a sample of poison—soon, the pig was gone, without any pain.
Piglet passed away so peacefully that the butcher noticed nothing amiss, assuming the pig had been frightened to death by the sight of the butcher's knife, and quickly butchered it. Gebu, through his magical pet, observed the pig's internal organs: all parts appeared healthy, showing no signs of poisoning.
After waiting for half an hour, the butcher shop opened, and Gebu rushed to buy a pig's stomach to feed to the stray dogs on the street. The dogs ate it with relish and wanted more.
The dog didn't leave.
This means that the poison can penetrate magical defenses, is colorless and odorless, undetectable, and leaves no residue in the body.
The experiment was a great success. Geb was very satisfied—he could finally relax.
The half-man had a good meal in town, returned to his tent and slept soundly until nightfall, when he woke up and had another big meal.
Geb gave Dulin some instructions, telling him to sell the wine for worshiping the gods as planned during his absence, and then he and the swordswoman embarked on their journey that very night.
One man and one horse galloped through the night.
Gebu held onto the woman's waist from behind, and the jolting of the horse made his teeth chatter.
"Slow down—slow down, my butt—my butt is going to break."
"Do you even want to get there on time? Just bear with it!" The swordswoman ignored Gebu's complaints and lashed her riding whip.
On the morning of the fourth day after reaching an agreement with the Golden Mask, the two arrived at a village after a night of travel.
The swordswoman went to the local tavern to get some food, let the horse rest and drink water, and Gebu was so exhausted that he lay on a pile of hay by the roadside, rubbing his buttocks and groaning.
This swordswoman is tough, and her horse is even tougher! It's killing me!
Gebu changed his previous plan, traveling at night and resting during the day, so that he could reach the town in the early morning of the sixth day, rest for a morning, and then use some time to explore the town.
Geb had a feeling that the Peacock and the Gray Raven gang wouldn't let things go so easily. He was confident in the Swordswoman's and his own fighting abilities, but it was always better to be prepared.
After all, the possibility that the man in the golden mask killed him to silence him cannot be completely ruled out.
As Gebu rubbed his backside, he pondered that he should hire a few thugs in Matiana to make things more impressive.
Just then, the swordswoman returned. Seeing Gebu's unwell appearance, she mocked him, "What's wrong? Already feeling weak after just one night? You're exhausted."
"Who can stand it if you ride like this? Can't you ride a little more gently? If you insist on forcing it, even if the horse can take it, I can't."
"—Enough nonsense." The swordswoman seemed to realize that something was wrong with the conversation and stopped her in time. "There's only one room left in the tavern. Let's squeeze in. We'll just be sleeping for a day anyway."
"I don't mind being squeezed. Are you sure you don't mind?" Geb asked.
The woman with the sword paused, taking a few seconds to realize what Geb meant. A barely perceptible blush appeared on her face as she scolded, "What are you thinking, goblin? I said squeeze in, I meant squeeze in a room, not on a bed—you get out of here and sleep on the floor!"
"Hey, I wouldn't even want to sleep in your bed. You're too stiff. Sleeping with you would shorten my lifespan by several years."
"I'll shorten your lifespan by a lifetime right now!"
Seeing that the woman was getting anxious, Gebu quickly rolled off the hay and said several times, "Just kidding—just kidding—" to get away with it.
The two entered the tavern, which was not very lively in the morning. Only a few travelers were eating meager oatmeal porridge for breakfast.
Gebu frowned as he looked at the unappetizing grayish paste. He went straight into the tavern's kitchen, slipped two silver coins to the proprietress, and asked her to cook for herself, mixing flour, eggs, and sugar to make small round pancakes.
"You seem to enjoy yourself wherever you go," the swordswoman said with a chuckle, glancing at the goblin and then at the mountain of pancakes piled up in front of her.
Despite the mockery, the aroma of pancakes wafted into her nose, and Dao Nu couldn't help but swallow hard.
Gebu poured rich maple syrup over the pancakes, letting it seep into the small holes in the pancakes, filling the air with a sweet aroma.
"The journey has been arduous, we can't skimp on our food," Gebu said. "You're welcome—let's eat!"
Awooooo!
The woman with the knife was already used to Gebu's eating habits—her knife and fork flew about, and she shoved the pancakes into her mouth just as quickly as Gebu. In less than three minutes, the two of them had devoured a whole plate of pancakes, leaving everyone in the tavern speechless.
Geb, holding the plate, licked the remaining syrup clean, then put his fingers in his mouth and smacked them. Suddenly remembering something, he ignored the syrup on his lips and said to the swordswoman, "By the way, do you know anyone in Matiana? Someone who takes money, is reliable, and can fight."
The swordswoman paused for a moment, then replied, "I do know a few freelance mercenaries, but I don't know if they're still around. The well-known mercenary groups in the New Kingdom should all be near Shanhaiguan, hired by the Rose Queen to bolster the peace talks. Freelance mercenaries, of course, go where the money is. I wonder if any of them are left behind."
"Then I'll leave it to you," Geb said. "I'd like to hire a few more mercenaries. With just the two of us, we might not have enough manpower."
Upon hearing this, the swordswoman's expression turned serious.
"So what exactly are we going to Martina for?" she asked. "Is it related to that golden mask? I told you, dealing with the Empire's wizards is extremely dangerous. If that person is lurking within the kingdom, they must be plotting something. Are you sure you want to get involved?"
"When did you become a witch hunter, Michalice?" Geb knew that Michalice distrusted the golden mask intensely and didn't want to make her too wary, so he pretended to be relaxed and said, "I'm just going to deliver a shipment and get more people with me. It's purely to make a big show of things—that way, I won't be looked down upon and I'll reduce the chances of being scammed."
"Don't change the subject," Doffin said bluntly. "Let me tell you, if things get ugly, I'm not stupid enough to fight a wizard to the death. You'd better watch yourself."
"I'm not stupid enough to fight a wizard to the death, okay—I'll definitely get ahead of you then."
"You short legs can't outrun me."
"I can freeze you with magic. If I can't handle the Golden Mask, I can certainly handle you!"
"You son of a bitch—" The woman with the sword was so angry that her teeth ached, and she glared fiercely at Gebu.
"No joke. We went into the city ahead of time to scout things out. If there are any bad signs, we won't even go; we'll just run away," Gebu said, becoming more serious. "Don't worry, I won't let my companions take unnecessary risks—you're not a stupid woman, Dove. If things change, protect yourself. Don't worry about me; I have plenty of ways to escape."
Seeing Gebu's serious and sincere expression, the woman with the sword felt some of her unease subside.
"Is it worth it? To take such a big risk?"
"The greater the risk, the greater the reward—you're a mercenary who lives on the edge of a knife, you should understand what I mean."
The woman remained silent for a moment, unable to refute Gebu's words. Seeing that the woman had tacitly agreed to his plan, Gebu felt somewhat relieved. To complete the deal, he at least needed the support of his companions; after all, he was entrusting his back to this woman, and he couldn't afford to be half-hearted.
After a moment of silence, Gebu seemed to remember something and asked the woman in front of him, "By the way, you've been to Martina—do you know what the 'Silver Moon Corridor' is?"
When Dove heard the name, he paused in surprise for a moment.
"Silver Moon Corridor?"
"What, you've been there?"
"—I, of course I haven't been there?!" The swordswoman blushed and hurriedly said. "Why would I go to a place like that?"
Gebu was puzzled for a moment, but seeing the woman's reaction, he suddenly understood something.
Damn it—Gold Mask, you hypocritical bastard!
The Silver Moon Corridor... is it perhaps a brothel?!