Translator: AnubisTL
Garos didn't trust Nick's words.
Honesty? Trust? These words didn't exist in a merchant's vocabulary, especially not for a shrewd businessman like Nick, who dared to boast even in a wolf pack. If Nick were truly honest, Garos might as well claim to be a benevolent dragon.
Through the old shaman, Garos relayed his message:
"Your caravan consists of only five rickety steam wagons carrying a few worthless chicken blood stones. How can I believe you'll bring me black oil and magic energy stones?"
After a pause, he added, "Think carefully before answering. You only get one chance."
The lives of Nick and his companions depended on his response.
Nick's breathing quickened under the immense pressure.
The old shaman before him, though stooped and gray-haired, exuded no outward authority. Yet Nick felt as if a giant dragon lurked within those ancient, clouded eyes, crushing him with a mountain-like weight.
He initially wanted to weave his usual lies to gain the man's trust.
But as the falsehoods formed on his lips, Nick stopped himself.
No lie could be more trustworthy than the truth.
After a few seconds of silence, Nick took several deep breaths and began to speak, sharing his story.
At eleven, Nick clutched a stolen half-bag of pepper, bartering it with a fisherman for a stinking herring. He resold the fish to a drunken sailor, earning his first copper coin.
By twenty, Nick had become the youngest trader in the Emerald Merchant Guild. Through his knack for repackaging moldy oats as "Northern Territory Special," he accumulated his first fortune, assembled a large merchant caravan, and reached the pinnacle of his life.
At twenty-five, Nick met Eileen at an auction—a silver-rimmed-glasses-wearing Female Mage who utterly captivated him. Like a moth drawn to a flame, he pursued her with reckless abandon, ultimately winning her hand as a merchant.
At thirty, Nick woke up beside a sewer, his divorce decree arriving more suddenly than a blizzard. Because of a prenuptial agreement with the Female Mage, he lost everything. Ordinary people and noble spellcasters, after all, belonged to different worlds.
At thirty-two, in the territory of the graymane werewolves, Nick told his story to survive and rise again.
"There's no better, more exceptional merchant in this world than I."
"I even sold pleasure toys to the most rigid nuns, offering them solace in the quiet of the night."
"The only mistake I made in this life was overestimating myself and believing in love."
"But please believe me, I will never make the same mistake again."
Nick, for the first time, suppressed his smile and spoke in a serious, solemn tone.
Across from him, the old shaman scrutinized him.
Under the werewolf's gaze, Nick felt his legs weaken, an inexplicable sense of oppression and fear washing over him.
Unbeknownst to him,
a dragon was silently observing him. The source of his oppression and fear was the dragon's gaze—invisible yet carrying a tangible weight of pressure.
After a dozen seconds,
The old shaman bared his less-than-sharp wolf fangs and said to Nick, "I believe your words, but it's not enough."
He produced some ink-black pills. "This is a poison I concocted. Swallow it, and only then can we establish true trust between us."
Nick smiled faintly, took the pills, and swallowed them without hesitation.
The others hesitated, but ultimately, to save their lives, they also swallowed the poison.
Immediately, the old shaman beckoned, and the burly werewolves carried two cargo crates to Nick, placing them before him and opening them.
Nick recognized the crates that had previously held chicken blood stones. But the inferior stones were gone, replaced by a crate of dark green scales and another of herbs of the same hue.
"What are these?"
Nick picked up a scale, uncertain. With his experience, he couldn't identify its origin.
"Scales of the cliff serpent dragon, and the finest poisonous herbs that grow in its habitat," the old shaman said.
He wasn't lying. The dragon scales were shed during the creature's growth, and the herbs had flourished under its influence.
Hiss. Nick shivered and tossed the dark green scale back. He had heard of serpent dragons.
These were terrifying creatures whose very blood was venomous; a single drop could kill an ordinary person.
Yet any dragon material meant wealth.
"A month. In a month, I'll return to Scaly Earth Rift Road with the black oil and magic energy stones you want," Nick said, his face beaming.
After discussing the details, the werewolves knocked Nick and the others unconscious again and carried them away.
When they awoke, they were back where they had first encountered the werewolves. The steam truck stood intact, two crates of precious dragon scales and poisonous herbs resting on it.
"Nick, are you sure about trading with these werewolves?" Maggie, the tiefling, asked hesitantly. "When we were in their territory, I felt an overwhelming sense of dread. That's not normal. There must be a major secret hidden within their territory."
Nick chuckled, "The wilderness is full of dangers. It would be strange if they had no secrets or any means of defense."
He paused, then turned to Maggie. "Maggie, once we've made enough money, I promise I'll take you to a place without discrimination or prejudice, where you can enjoy a peaceful life."
Nick had been burned by a spellcaster and swore he'd never fall for one again.
Yet, he'd found himself infatuated with a Sorceress.
The Sorceress spat. "I never agreed to live with you."
The caravan resumed its journey. Unseen in the night sky, Garos circled silently, his gaze fixed on the vast, untamed wilderness below.
Werewolves lurked in the Scaly Earth Rift Road, awaiting the next caravan.
Small merchant caravans were common in this wilderness.
Garos refused to put all his eggs in one basket. He planned to control multiple caravans, establishing trade routes with the Southern Kingdoms to acquire the resources he needed.
Dragonkind were walking treasure troves of valuable materials.
Even the scales shed from Garos's body, or his very saliva, could be traded for resources that accelerated his growth.
However, to prevent spellcasters or sorcerers from using materials from his body for tracking or other magical purposes, he would never trade them.
The Scaly Earth Rift Road is surrounded by more than just graymane werewolves.
If the Howling Moon Clan acts too frequently, it will attract trouble and be noticed by other monster clans.
Garos narrowed his eyes, thinking, I'll set aside the others for now. The intelligent creature clans near the Scaly Earth Rift Road must be under my control.
He intended to bring this branch of the Thousand Serpents' Trace under his complete command—for security and future development.
As the night deepened, Garos ordered the werewolves to gather and organize more intelligence on the surrounding clans, then flew to Needleleaf Valley.
As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows.
Garos frequently visited Crescent Moon Valley, his second territory. However, the werewolves there remained unaware of his whereabouts at other times.
This way...
In case the werewolf clan ever faced retribution from the Lothurn Federation for attacking merchant caravans, he would have a better plan to deal with it.
Recommended book: Cultivation of Intelligence: Why Is My Head Missing?
On the first day I transmigrated and became a servant in the Xie Manor, I discovered I could obtain one piece of intelligence each day.
Third Miss Xie has lost a jade pendant for some reason and is now extremely anxious. This pendant was Second Miss's birthday gift to her. The jade pendant is located beneath the fifth peach tree to the left of the north gate of Spring Peach Garden.
A wounded snake has secretly hidden under your bed. It possesses the bloodline of a Tengshe.
Second Miss Xie, forced by her engagement, plans to leave the Xie Manor at midnight tonight and throw herself into the river in the western city.
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Some intelligence concerned the past, while others predicted the future.
As days passed, one morning a piece of intelligence left me deep in thought.
Second Miss and Third Miss Xie will ascend to immortality by holding your head.
(End of the Chapter)
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