Chapter 52 Tang San Returns to the Blacksmith Shop
"Old One-Eyed Trumpet Vine is indeed one."
"But what you've described are either illusions, attacks, or, like the Sound Transmission Flower, require a specific carrier. If we're talking about a plant-type spirit beast that can reliably transmit information, I do remember one..."
The old man with the goatee paused, making sure everyone's attention was drawn.
"The Mother-Child Lotus in the Starry Sky Forest".
"Mother-and-child lotus?"
Tang San held his pen tip hovering over the paper: "Grandpa, what do you want to say?"
"Um."
The old man with the goatee had a look of reminiscence in his eyes: "I went with a team to hunt souls deep in the Star Dou Great Forest in my early years. I heard it from the local mercenary group leader."
"But I've actually seen it!"
"This lotus flower with its mother and child seeds!"
"It grows in a pure pool in the Starry Sky Forest. There is only one mother lotus in the pool, and it produces one seed lotus every year or so. The one I saw had tens of thousands of seed lotuses..."
The old man with the goatee tapped the table, his gaze drifting towards the night outside the tavern, as if he were seeing the pool in the Starry Forest again.
"The mother lotus of that mother-child lotus is hidden at the very bottom of the pool. Its petals are dark black and it looks inconspicuous."
"But if the mother lotus shakes even slightly, all the seed lotuses within a hundred miles will light up."
"It can light up no matter how far away it is?"
A young mercenary nearby couldn't help but ask, "If we take it out of the Star Dou Great Forest, will it still be able to shine?"
"no."
The old man shook his head, took a sip of iced tea to moisten his throat: "This Mother-Child Lotus is territorial; it only works within the Star Dou Great Forest. Once outside the forest, the Mother-Child Lotus becomes dead."
"But the light shines through the woods, no matter how far away it is—that's the most eerie thing about it!"
He paused, then lowered his voice: "The local mercenary leader told me that in the Star Dou Great Forest, many soul beasts would let their cubs take Duozilian with them when they went out to play."
"No matter how far the cub runs with it in its mouth, it will know it's time to go home as soon as it sees Zilianliang."
"That's so sinister?"
"Absolutely!"
"The local mercenary groups have long since figured out this rule, and they specifically seek out ponds with lotus flowers to fish for soul beast cubs."
"They will use their soul power to force the mother lotus to light up. When the mother lotus lights up, the child lotus will light up. The soul beast cubs don't understand this. As soon as they see the child lotus light up, they will stupidly run towards the location of the mother lotus and run right into the trap they have set up."
"What kind of cubs can you catch?"
Tang San found it intriguing and couldn't help but ask.
"They have all kinds!"
The old man chuckled: "A hundred-year-old Swiftwind Rabbit or Azure Flame Fox, and if you're lucky, you might even catch a Thunder-Patterned Leopard cub. Those things can sell for over a hundred gold soul coins at the Heaven Dou City auction house!"
"I once saw a mercenary group catch nine soul beast cubs in one night, and I was so envious!"
"Is it really that easy to make money?"
The dark-skinned mercenary clicked his tongue: "I've been to the Star Dou Great Forest quite a bit, how come I haven't heard of many people doing this kind of business?"
"Easy to make money?"
"Then you haven't seen the losses!"
The old man's face suddenly darkened, and his tone became tinged with lingering fear: "Do you remember that mercenary group called the Black Wind Team from a few years ago?"
"The Black Wind Team?"
"I think I vaguely remember it."
The surrounding mercenaries recalled, and one with spiky hair spoke up: "Was it the Black Wind Team that was chased to Soul Hunter Town and killed by the 70,000-year-old Fiery Sun Tiger?"
"I remember now!"
"I heard that the Black Wind Team had more than twenty members, and they were quite strong. Among them was a level 68 Soul Emperor vice-captain. They were all killed by the enraged Blazing Sun Tiger. Not a single one was left, all of them were wiped out!"
"That's right!"
The old man's voice trembled: "It's this Black Wind Team!"
"They used the Mother-Child Lotus to successfully catch a cub of the Fiery Sun Tiger, but before they could even take it out of the Star Dou Great Forest, the 70,000-year-old Fiery Sun Tiger came knocking on their door, chasing them relentlessly until they died a horrible death..."
After these words were spoken, no one in the tavern spoke again. Even the young mercenary who had been clamoring to give it a try shrank back.
Tang San silently added to his notebook.
[Mother-Child Lotus, a pure water pool within the Star Dou Great Forest. Its transmission range is limited to the Star Dou Great Forest; it can be considered as an alternative.]
Then I put a checkmark next to it.
So that's why.
The old man sighed, picked up his wine glass and took a sip: "This Mother-Child Lotus is a good thing, but it's also a death warrant. The money earned from it is all about taking lives."
Tang San put away the notebook, cupped his hands in thanks to the old man, and said, "Thank you, Grandpa!"
Then, he sincerely bowed to those around him to express his gratitude, and offered each of the mercenaries who had provided the information a cup of iced tea.
"Thank you all for your guidance, I've learned a lot today!"
"If any of you gentlemen want to drink iced tea in the future, you can go to the gate of Nottingham City. There is a stall there where we sell iced tea."
The mercenaries laughed and agreed, then chatted noisily about other things.
Just then, footsteps sounded from the stairwell. Zhao Hu followed Boss Sun down the stairs. Boss Sun had a smile on his face, but he didn't forget to remind him, "Make sure to deliver it early tomorrow, my customers are waiting for their drinks!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Sun, it can't be wrong!"
Zhao Hu responded and walked to Tang San's side, lowering his voice: "Third Brother, it's settled."
"We deliver 300 cups every day, totaling 280 copper soul coins. The boss even said that if it sells well, we'll increase the quantity later."
"good."
Tang San nodded, greeted the mercenaries, and walked out of the tavern with Zhao Hu and Ali, carrying rattan baskets on their backs.
Night had fallen, and the lanterns on the street cast a warm glow.
Zhao Hu was still talking about the boss trying to lower the price, while Tang San touched the notebook in his pocket, thinking to himself: "Windbell grass, mirror bamboo, hyacinth dandelion... I have to tell my brother about these and let him analyze them again."
Halfway there, the three separated.
Zhao Hu scratched his head: "Third Brother, I'll go back and deliver iced tea to the two taverns in the east of the city. Weren't you going to the blacksmith's shop?"
"You can just go directly; Ali and I can handle the delivery."
"Okay, thank you for your help."
Tang San didn't refuse and nodded directly: "It's dark and the road is slippery, be careful."
"Third Brother, you're too kind!"
Zhao Hu waved goodbye, carrying a wicker basket on his back and heading towards Notting College with Ali.
Tang San then turned and headed towards the blacksmith shop in the west of the city.
The blacksmith shop was still lit up, and the clanging of hammering could be heard from afar. The firelight shone red through the wooden door onto the road.
"Uncle Li, I'm here."
Tang San pushed open the door and saw Uncle Li holding a sledgehammer, smashing it against a red-hot iron ingot, sparks flying everywhere.
"The mistress is here?"
Uncle Li stopped hammering, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and smiled when he saw it was him: "Why did you come here again today?"
"I thought you were too busy with school to come!"
"Besides, your brother makes money selling iced tea, and the wages we're paying you here are meager, plus the work is hard..."
The other craftsmen also stopped what they were doing and greeted Tang San.
For the past two days, Wang Sheng has been bringing iced tea and roasted meat. Everyone knows that Tang San is now studying at Notting Academy and helping his brother manage the business in the Notting Academy cafeteria, so everyone thought he wouldn't be coming to forge iron anymore.
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[end of the chapter]