Chapter 210 Indeed

Xia Nan had to admit that as he followed the squad along the trail of corpses scattered across the plains to the edge of the Misty Forest, a memory from his past life surfaced—dropping grains of rice on the ground to guide baby chicks.

The mangled sheep carcasses seemed deliberately left behind by the Lycanthrope for them to find, a trail specifically meant to lure the Sea Thorn Squad into the Misty Forest.

Xia Nan couldn't help but feel a twinge of suspicion.

In reality, even without the previous night's encounter, the Sea Thorn Squad had originally planned to head deep into the forest, following the general coordinates provided by the Association once they finished their investigation in Green Wheat Village.

Now, their plan had simply reverted to its original form. Taking an extra detour across the plains made no significant difference.

He took a step inside.

As a pale gray fog quietly permeated the air, the biting winds that had howled across the plains abruptly ceased. The warm, bright sunlight dissolved into the dense canopy overhead.

It felt like stepping into another world. The only sounds left were the chirping of insects and the gentle rustle of the forest breeze.

Dangerous and serene.

Nearly a year of adventuring had ingrained this response into Xia Nan's muscle memory.

The moment the first wisp of mist brushed against his skin, he instantly went on high alert.

His body, which had slightly relaxed in the open visibility of the plains, suddenly tensed. He focused his attention, vigilant for any hidden dangers in his surroundings.

At the same time, the squad naturally fell into formation without Cash needing to issue a single command.

Cash took the vanguard to lead the way, Veris roamed the flanks, Mint was protected in the center as always, and Xia Nan brought up the rear.

Time quietly slipped by.

Between their intense focus and the Misty Forest's low visibility, it was hard to track the passage of time beneath the dense canopy unless one paid special attention to it.

Many novice Adventurers could walk into the forest in the morning, only to snap out of a daze and realize the entire day had already passed.

Fortunately, the members of the Sea Thorn Squad were all Adventurers who had legitimately earned their Class Levels; they wouldn't make such amateur mistakes.

Even without checking the sunlight filtering through the canopy, they all kept a rough estimate of the time in their heads.

At the very front of the formation, Cash suddenly stopped in his tracks. He glanced up at the sunlight piercing the dense leaves overhead and ordered, "Stop. We'll take a quick breather here. Once we find a relatively safe spot, we'll set up camp for the night."

Night fell quickly in the forest, so preparations for camping had to be made well in advance.

If they waited until it was completely dark to move, the danger would skyrocket.

Hearing this, Xia Nan didn't relax in the slightest, remaining in place while keeping a vigilant watch on their surroundings.

Compared to when they first entered the Misty Forest, his Plate-Chain Composite Armor showed no obvious damage, but the blade of his Decapitating Longsword now bore several fresh streaks of blood.

These came from the beasts they had encountered along the way: a young adult leopard, three blue-furred baboons that looked like they had starved for days, and a venomous lizard the length of a man's arm that had tried to ambush him from the depths of a bush.

And those were just the beasts he had faced while bringing up the rear.

If one included what Cash and Veris had dealt with, the total number of attacks the Sea Thorn Squad had weathered would be even more staggering.

Although there were no direct casualties, the sheer volume of enemies along this path made it the most heavily ambushed they had been in over a month.

Even Cash, with his wealth of adventuring experience, found the situation strange.

However, he simply chalked it up to the recent beast riots in the forest and didn't think much deeper into the matter.

It was worth noting that once they actually entered the forest, they found no more of the animal carcasses that had led them there.

Whether scavengers had cleaned them up overnight, or the Lycanthrope simply hadn't taken this route, remained a mystery.

Pondering this, Xia Nan felt he had caught onto a possible discrepancy.

He turned to Veris beside him and asked, "Those corpses we came across earlier, they were all left behind last night, right?"

"Of course. Why?" she asked.

"Can we pinpoint their exact time of death?" Xia Nan asked.

"Little brother Xia Nan, what exactly do you take me for?" The dark-skinned, curvaceous Half-Drow shot him an exasperated look.

"It's true I lived in the Underdark for a while, but that doesn't mean I can play with corpses and summon spirits like a necromancer."

"If your big sister had skills like that, I wouldn't be tramping around this godforsaken place with you all, going weeks without a proper bath."

Hearing this, Xia Nan could only offer an awkward smile and drop the subject.

In his past life, he had read mystery novels where the detective protagonists could determine the exact time of death by analyzing the minute details of a corpse.

He didn't have any in-depth knowledge of forensics himself, so he had just been wondering if anyone else in the squad possessed the relevant skills.

Clearly, Veris was a dead end.

And given Cash and Mint's performances along the way, they likely didn't know much more about it than he did.

As for why he asked—it was just a fleeting spark of suspicion in his mind. It wasn't overly crucial. If they couldn't figure it out, letting it go wouldn't hurt.

They set up traps and pitched camp.

The sky overhead had only just begun to dim, but a bright, roaring campfire had already been lit.

Xia Nan sat leaning against a nearby tree trunk, carefully wiping down his Decapitating Longsword with a piece of gauze.

Bit by bit, he meticulously scrubbed away the bloodstains he hadn't had time to clean during their hurried march through the day.

Suddenly, a voice reached his ears.

"You take your maintenance pretty seriously," Cash remarked from his spot by the fire, watching Xia Nan with a friendly smile. "When I first became a Class Holder, I made a decent chunk of coin. I wanted nothing more than to swap out my entire gear set after every single mission."

Xia Nan smiled without a word, though he grumbled inwardly.

'Although the Decapitating Longsword is just a piece of white-tier gear, its stats are excellent. Not only does it have an absurd 50% durability bonus, it also adds 5% decapitation damage.'

'It's sharp and durable.'

'Even for an ordinary Class Holder, it's considered a fantastic weapon. It's not something you can just buy anywhere.'

'Sure, my equipment scrap rate might be a little high, but that doesn't mean I don't cherish my gear. I never skimp on proper maintenance.'

'Just look at this Plate-Chain Composite Armor I'm wearing. It's as good as new, save for a few accidental scratches from combat. There isn't a single flaw caused by poor upkeep.'

"Speaking of which, your nickname, 'Greysword,' comes from that very blade, doesn't it?"

Hearing this, Xia Nan was instantly on guard.

Sensing that the captain was subtly probing for information, he kept his expression perfectly neutral and smoothly deflected the topic. "Nicknames are just nonsense spread by drunks in the taverns. Anyone with even a little bit of fame gets slapped with one or two. Don't tell me you don't have one?"

Cash merely burst into laughter and waved a hand at Xia Nan.

"I've spent the better part of my life out on the sea, catching fish and occasionally hauling in a couple of unlucky pirates. What fame could I possibly have?"

'Does he really not have one, or does he just not want to say?'

Xia Nan naturally didn't buy the older man's excuse, but he didn't call him out on it either. He just kept his head down and silently wiped his sword.

Across the fire, Cash continued chatting, "If we really want to get into it, I'm actually a lot like you. People don't recognize me so much as they recognize this old thing in my hands."

'Oh?'

Xia Nan raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting over.

What entered his sight was the Blue-Gray Stone Spear in Cash's grip.

From the outside, it looked dull and dusty, with nothing particularly eye-catching about it.

Even the tip of the spear lacked the sharp, cold gleam that any normal weapon ought to have.

The only things worth noting were the barely visible wave-pattern engravings etched into the shaft, and its seamless, fluid exterior, appearing to be carved entirely from a single piece of stone.

At first glance, rather than a weapon, it looked more like a ceremonial artifact used in a seaside Church.

Having spent so many days with the Sea Thorn Squad, Xia Nan was naturally familiar with Cash's primary weapon.

He knew it was far less simple than it appeared, but since Cash only ever brought it out during missions, Xia Nan hadn't had the chance to hold it and focus his system panel to appraise its stats.

Now that the captain seemed willing to share its history, Xia Nan couldn't help but feel a spark of interest.

"I mentioned to you before that I started out as a fisherman, remember?"

Xia Nan nodded.

"Looking back now, even though decades have passed, those days are still vivid in my mind," Cash reminisced.

"I remember when I was little, my family wasn't wealthy. The five of us were crammed into a rundown shack by the sea. Every fish we caught had to be sold, so we filled our stomachs every day with dark bread mixed into a bean gruel. We were rarely ever full."

"Often, before the sun even came up, my father would take my older brother out to sea in his small wooden boat, and they wouldn't return until late at night. My mother and sister would stay home, spinning yarn, mending nets, and handling the chores."

"I was young and mischievous. I couldn't sit still at home. I'd occasionally help them dry some fish or go down to the mudflats to collect shells and tiny crabs, but I never stuck to any of it for long."

"Until that day." His voice suddenly paused.

Night fell swiftly in the forest. Just moments ago, it had only been twilight, but now the woods were completely consumed by darkness.

Drifting mist and dense, pitch-black shadows mingled with the orange-red glow of the firelight, casting flickering reflections on the middle-aged man's face. His expression blurred into the gloom, leaving only the wave-shaped tattoo on his cheek sharply visible.

"I remember it perfectly. The waves were massive that day, crashing against the coastal rocks so hard it sounded like they would shatter. My father and brother decided not to set sail for safety's sake, so the whole family huddled together in our little shack."

"I actually really liked that feeling. I didn't have to go outside. I just sat on the bed, watching my siblings bicker and listening to my parents chatting about whatever. It was nice."

"And then, he came."

"A passerby. An Adventurer, just like us."

"Even though he was alone and didn't look particularly strong, he was an Adventurer, so my family welcomed him with eager, yet terrified, hospitality."

"As for what happened next—"

Cash suddenly cracked a grin, baring his stark white teeth.

"Yeah, it's exactly what you're thinking."

"Because I was small, my sister managed to shield me for a second, and I ran out of the house alone."

"I didn't go back until the cold that night became unbearable."

"They were all dead."

"Not a single one survived."

"Oh, and that Adventurer's corpse was in there too—my father had stabbed him through the neck with the Adventurer's own weapon."

As he spoke, Cash lifted the Stone Spear in his hand.

"This is it."

"That night, I was just too exhausted, so I slept in the house. I didn't get up to clean everything away until the next day. Ever since then, I've kept this Stone Spear by my side."

"Not gonna lie, it's actually pretty damn useful."

The moment his voice fell, before Xia Nan even had a chance to respond, a laugh echoed from the shadows nearby.

"Listen to him feed you his bull." Veris's face was filled with amusement. The twin Short Daggers in her hands were already coated in poison, their edges refracting a dangerously lethal, iridescent sheen.

"I've personally heard no less than three different origin stories for that broken Stone Spear of his. Oh, wait, counting the one he just told you, that makes four."

"This old geezer is just trying to dupe some poor sucker into taking that junk off his hands so he can get a new weapon. Don't fall for it."

On the other side of the fire, Cash didn't look the least bit furious or humiliated by Veris's words. He simply flashed another wide grin, like a man whose bluff had just been called.

"You just had to run your mouth! If you hadn't spoken up, I might've actually sealed the deal this time!"

"It's just a broken Stone Spear, not some piece of Magic Equipment. Even if I'd kept my mouth shut, no sane person would ever buy it!" Veris retorted.

"What about that collector last time? We practically had a price nailed down! If you hadn't—"

As the two of them bickered, Xia Nan stayed out of it, focusing entirely on cleaning his sword.

But when he suddenly caught a certain keyword in their argument, his curiosity piqued. Feigning casual interest, he asked, "Speaking of Magic Equipment, I've seen a few pieces listed in the exchange catalog on the Association Second Floor. The prices vary wildly. Is there some specific reasoning behind that?"

"Of course there is!" Veris glared at Cash, too lazy to keep arguing with him, and turned to explain to Xia Nan.

"Differences in item grade go without saying, but even among items of similar quality, the price can fluctuate wildly depending on the equipment type."

"The most expensive, without a doubt, are 'accessories.' Things like rings and necklaces. They're highly discreet, convenient to wear, and any enchanter skilled enough to weave magic into something that small usually produces a highly potent effect."

"Even those veteran Adventurers on the Association Second Floor don't necessarily own an accessory-type piece of Magic Equipment."

"You rarely see them on the open market, either. They're almost always bought up internally."

At this point, Veris couldn't help but sigh.

"Ugh, I'm getting off track."

"For low-level Class Holders like us, just buying a single piece of Magic Equipment would bankrupt us. We'd have to scrape and save for years. There's really no point in dreaming that far ahead."

"Indeed," Xia Nan nodded emphatically.

His right hand, adorned with an inconspicuous Silver Ring, gripped the hilt of his sword. He lifted the Decapitating Longsword resting across the Bone Armor on his thigh and smoothly slid it backward into its sheath, settling it right next to the Green Pine wooden sword beside it.