Chapter 30: A Real Bunch of Talents

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: A Real Bunch of Talents

"Miss Bai Ya, I’m going to prepare dinner. Make yourself at home."

Ten minutes later, Lu Wei handed Bai Ya a cup of Pine Needle Tea, then walked out of the cabin with the ingredients he had just bought.

The cabin only had three rooms in total, so of course there was no "kitchen" to speak of.

So, cooking had to be done in the yard.

A tree stump served as a cutting board, a stove was fashioned from a pile of rocks, and to top it off, there was a large stew pot.

Although a simple wooden shed had been built to keep off the rain, the "minimalist" design, completely open on all four sides, meant that "little garnishes" like leaves, weeds, and dandelion fluff often found their way into the food.

’This is just too crude.’

Looking at the stew pot, which was as black and scorched as a crucible an Alchemist might use for experiments, Lu Wei shook his head helplessly. He first drew a bucket of water and returned to scrub the pot.

Meanwhile, chants of "HYAH! HAH!" echoed continuously from the backyard; Furen was chopping firewood.

The two of them had a clear division of labor, each hurrying to finish their tasks before nightfall. Add in a few stray dogs fighting just outside the yard, and the scene was, for a moment, surprisingly lively.

’I should probably go help.’

’If I make a good impression, maybe it will increase the chances of Mr. Lu Wei letting me stay.’

’After all, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach...’

Watching the scene outside the window, Bai Ya hesitated for a moment, then quietly put down her tea, went outside, and walked up behind Lu Wei. She volunteered in a small voice:

"Mr. Lu Wei, if you don’t mind, you can leave dinner to me."

"You?"

Lu Wei glanced back, suddenly remembering those packets of "portable seasoning powder."

These days, as long as a girl wasn’t some rich young lady, she would know how to cook. That wasn’t anything strange.

But carrying seasoning packets around meant her cooking skills were likely quite good.

"But your wound..."

"Ah, it’s completely fine now. Please don’t worry."

"Alright, I’ll leave it to you then."

With someone volunteering to do the work, Lu Wei was more than happy to take a break and immediately stood up.

"The seasonings and ingredients are here. Furen will bring the firewood soon. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Okay, okay! You go get some rest!"

Bai Ya nodded emphatically and immediately rolled up her sleeves, looking full of motivation.

Even her eyes seemed to brighten, as if "cooking" was an incredibly pleasant activity.

’Is her hobby cooking?’

Watching Bai Ya, who was already squatting and diligently scrubbing the pot, Lu Wei felt a little suspicious. He had a feeling her reason for seeking him out this time wasn’t so simple.

After all, if she had just come to express her gratitude, she should have come back another day after finding him not at home, not waited outside his door the whole time.

’She couldn’t have been waiting just to cook for me, could she?’

’So it’s more likely she has nowhere else to go and came to me for help.’

’Is she going to ask for money?’

’Or maybe she wants to ask about the Pendant?’

At this thought, Lu Wei suddenly turned back and said, feigning casualness:

"By the way, I haven’t had a chance to pawn your Pendant yet."

"Ah, then your payment for the goods..." Bai Ya looked up, stunned.

"I’ve already solved the payment issue through other means."

Lu Wei subconsciously glanced toward the backyard. "However, our agreement still stands. So, until you’ve paid back the money you owe me, I can’t give you the Pendant."

"Mhm, of course."

Bai Ya nodded while scrubbing the pot, her expression completely sincere. It seemed she really hadn’t come for that reason.

’Then it must be about borrowing money!’

"Miss Bai Ya, you know, I’m just a freelance merchant whose business is just starting out."

After a moment of silence, Lu Wei didn’t hesitate to "sell out" Furen, hinting in a low voice, "But Furen, he’s the son of a Viscount from Kalin Port. And he’s very helpful."

"Ah, the son of a Viscount?"

Bai Ya’s movements paused, her face showing only stunned surprise. "No wonder Mr. Furen is so cultured. He has the air of a true nobleman."

’Good grief, is this a matter of being cultured?’

Seeing she clearly hadn’t understood his meaning, Lu Wei could only sigh in resignation and prompt her again, "Yes, and that also means he’s very rich."

"Is that so."

Bai Ya agreed softly, "He’s the son of a Viscount, after all. He must be quite wealthy."

"..."

’Seriously, are you really this dense or just pretending?’

Looking at Bai Ya’s innocent face, Lu Wei was a little dumbfounded.

After a moment, his tone became serious. Tired of beating around the bush, he laid his cards on the table:

"Miss Bai Ya, let me be direct. You came to find me this time because you need my help with something, right?"

"I..."

Her expression finally changed. Bai Ya’s face flushed, and she lowered her head, stammering her reply:

"Yes, I do have something I need to trouble you with..."

"But can we talk about it after dinner...?"

...

...

[Power: 7]

[Agility: 12 (+2)(+1)]

[Physique: 9 (+1)]

[Intelligence: 13 (+2)]

[Perception: 18 (+2)]

[Charm: 14]

[Skills: Universal Skills — Stealth Level 0 (8/10)]

[...]

Ten minutes later, in the bedroom.

Although he didn’t know what Bai Ya was being so mysterious about, Lu Wei had agreed to her "last supper" request and didn’t press her further. Instead, he returned to his bedroom to study the "Forest Patrol Leather Armor" he had just acquired.

The effect after putting it on was immediate. His Agility and Physique each increased by 1 point from their original values.

From this, he could determine that the Leather Armor’s stats were probably [Agility +1, Physique +1].

’Unremarkable, but it fits the pattern for High Level Equipment stats.’

Nodding, Lu Wei took off the Leather Armor and put his shirt back on.

He could fully accept such a result; after all, he hadn’t had high expectations from the start.

It was only 1 Gold Coin. He couldn’t expect it to be as awesome as the Soul Pendant, which was 37 times more valuable.

Hm?

Wait.

As he fastened the last button on his shirt, Lu Wei suddenly froze.

He had just noticed a problem he hadn’t paid attention to before.

’Something’s not right. Why can Precise Identification see the stats of the Soul Pendant?’

He muttered in confusion and pulled the Pendant out from under his shirt.

Immediately, the detailed stats appeared in his mind.

[Soul Pendant]

[Species: Accessory]

[...]

[Introduction: 1. Wearer (must be in contact with skin) gains Agility +2, Intelligence +2, Perception +2.

2. Can store up to 3 (1/3) non-humanoid Wandering Souls. Prerequisite: requires mastery of the "Spirit Communication" Skill.

3. Depending on the Level of the Wandering Soul, consuming a corresponding amount of Magic Power allows you to release the Wandering Soul to fight.]

[...]

That’s right, it was extremely detailed!

Completely different from the vague description of the Forest Patrol Leather Armor!

His mouth fell slightly agape. After the initial surprise, Lu Wei was immediately lost in thought.

Two pieces of Equipment, one with a very detailed introduction, the other with only the most basic information. There was definitely something strange about this.

Considering that the effect of Precise Identification shouldn’t "vary from item to item," then...

’Perhaps the Soul Pendant has already been identified? And the Forest Patrol Leather Armor hasn’t?’

’That’s probably it.’

’After all, there’s already a Wandering Soul stored in the Pendant, which means it’s been used by someone before.’

’So it must have been identified, too.’

’As for the Forest Patrol Leather Armor... although it’s also used, perhaps its previous owner never realized it was High Level Equipment, and so it was never identified.’

After thinking for a long while, Lu Wei finally came up with a rough guess.

But this brought up another question—

If the Soul Pendant had already been identified, then why didn’t Bai Ya know its true value?

Frowning, he thought for another moment, then something occurred to him. He quickly took out the Adventurer’s Manual and began flipping through it.

Soon, he found the section on [Equipment Identification Status] in Chapter Three, [Identification-Related Matters].

[For Equipment that has not been identified (via Identification Magic, Identification Scroll, or other identification methods), its Maker’s Mark, which contains Magic Effects and special functions, is in a hidden state and cannot be viewed.]

[For Equipment that has been identified, its Maker’s Mark is in a public state, and anyone can directly view its detailed information. Note: The basic requirement of "Perception ≥ 4" must be met.]

[...]

Silently closing the Adventurer’s Manual, Lu Wei turned to glance at Bai Ya, who was still busy in the yard. He came to a final, strange conclusion—

This woman was a silly, naive sweetheart with less than 4 points in Perception, a lack of Insight, was completely oblivious, and had the situational awareness of a rock!

’Good grief.’

’No wonder she never understands my subtext and is so easily fooled.’