Chapter: A Profitable Detour
Over twenty bandits lay dead. Cheng Yu's clothes were soaked with blood.
High risk, high return. If you made a living robbing people, you had to be mentally prepared to face death.
Covered in blood like a devil crawling out of hell, Cheng Yu approached the bandit leader. The man's soul nearly left his body from fear.
The bandit leader dropped to his knees and begged for mercy. "Brother, don't kill me! I have an eighty-year-old mother to support!"
"You have an eighty-year-old mother. What does that have to do with me? She's not my eighty-year-old mother."
Cheng Yu wasn't about to fall for moral blackmail.
Moral kidnapping didn't work.
The bandit leader burst into tears, his voice pitiful. "I have an eighteen-year-old wife waiting for me to make money to support her!"
"Eighteen-year-old wife? Haha. Are you begging for mercy or bragging?"
A flash of murderous intent crossed Cheng Yu's eyes.
Cheng Yu had lived for twenty years and was still single. This bandit leader was in his fifties and had an eighteen-year-old wife. It was infuriating.
"Bragging?"
The bandit leader looked confused. He didn't understand what Cheng Yu meant.
"Tell me. Where's the money you robbed hidden?"
Cheng Yu's tone was threatening.
The bandit leader hesitated, then asked weakly, "If I tell you, will you not kill me?"
"Sure. I promise. As long as you tell me, I won't kill you." Cheng Yu spoke earnestly.
"Follow me."
To survive, he had to hand over the money.
The bandit leader walked ahead, leading Cheng Yu and Mina to where he'd buried the loot.
"Wait here a moment. We'll be back soon," Cheng Yu said to the coachman.
"Understood, sir."
The coachman returned to the carriage to wait for Cheng Yu and Mina's return.
The three of them passed through a forest. A small hill appeared ahead, with a narrow hole beneath it—just wide enough for one person.
The bandit leader led Cheng Yu and Mina inside.
The light was dim. The air was damp and musty. The interior space gradually widened.
The bandit leader pointed to a large stone weighing dozens of kilograms. "Push that stone away. All the money our gang robbed is hidden underneath."
Cheng Yu kept his eyes on the bandit leader while Mina shoved the stone aside.
Beneath the stone was a pit. At the bottom of the pit sat a medium-sized black wooden box.
Mina pulled the box out and opened it. Golden light gleamed from inside.
"Wow, so much money!" Mina's eyes went wide. She'd never seen this much money before.
Cheng Yu estimated there might be five or six hundred gold coins in the box.
Sure enough, the fastest way to get rich is written in the criminal code.
The bandit leader's heart ached. Their gang had spent the entire year robbing houses and ambushing travelers, saving up this fortune with great effort.
After working hard for a whole year, they'd returned to poverty overnight.
"Brother, I've given you all the gold coins. Can I leave now?" The bandit leader looked dejected.
"You can leave. But only to hell."
His tone was cold, murderous.
Cheng Yu handed a machete to Mina. "Mina, go kill him."
The bandit leader's eyes widened in horror. "You... didn't you say you wouldn't kill me?!"
"That's right. I won't kill you. She will." Cheng Yu pointed at Mina.
"What?!"
The bandit leader was shocked. This guy doesn't play by the rules!
Before the bandit leader could react, Mina rushed forward and drove the blade through him.
The bandit leader's head split in half. The scene was gruesome enough to warrant a mosaic.
After killing the bandit leader, Cheng Yu placed the box of gold coins into the system warehouse and left the cave.
They passed through the woods and returned to the carriage.
"Sir, thank you so much for eliminating those bandits!"
The carriage driver frequently traveled between Bailu Town and Snow City transporting goods. His greatest fear was encountering bandits.
With Cheng Yu wiping out this gang, the road would be much safer in the future.
"Don't mention it. It was nothing."
Sitting in the back of the carriage, Cheng Yu began counting the gold coins in the box.
After tallying everything, there were 509 gold coins total.
Adding the original 255 gold coins, Cheng Yu now had 764 gold coins—equivalent to 7.64 million yuan back on Earth. A genuine tycoon.
The carriage continued creaking toward Snow City.
When they passed a stream, Cheng Yu asked the driver to stop. He washed the blood off his body and changed into clean, tidy clothes—white cloth, just like an NPC villager in a game.
At night, Cheng Yu and his group rested in the carriage. Early the next morning, they continued their journey.
Around nine o'clock in the morning, the carriage finally arrived at Snow City.
Looking up, a ring of tall walls surrounded the entire city.
Two rows of heavily armored guards holding spears stood watch at the gate.
Many caravans were entering Snow City, bringing silk, spices, gems, metal products, and other goods from distant places to sell in the city.
Pedestrians on the road wore all kinds of clothing—some were farmers from the surrounding areas, some were city residents.
There were also travelers and adventurers from other places, talking at the city gate and exchanging news.
The carriage stopped at the gate of Snow City.
Cheng Yu and Mina got off and walked into the city.
On both sides of the street, many small vendors had set up stalls selling fruits, cheese, bread, and other foods. They shouted loudly to attract the attention of pedestrians.
The scene was busy yet orderly, full of life.
Walking through the streets, Cheng Yu sighed internally. Worthy of being a major city. Much more prosperous than Bailu Town.
This trip to the city had three purposes: 1. Buy a mage slave. 2. Buy a greatsword weapon for Mina. 3. Buy the black pine nuts and wind-thunder fruit mentioned in the special recipe.
First, he'd buy a greatsword for Mina. That was the easiest task.
The two walked along the street, asked passersby for directions, turned a few blocks, and arrived at the door of a weapon shop.
Weapon shops were favorites of mercenaries and adventurers. The shop sold all kinds of weapons—greatswords, longswords, heavy hammers, battle axes, magic staffs, bows and arrows, shields, spears...
A young female attendant politely asked, "Hello, sir. What do you need?"
"I want a greatsword." Cheng Yu got straight to the point.
"The greatswords are this way. Please follow me."
The attendant led Cheng Yu to the innermost shelf, where many greatswords of different styles hung on the walls and racks.
"Mina, pick one yourself."
"Okay."
Looking up at the dazzling array of greatswords on the shelves and walls, Mina carefully browsed.
These greatswords had wide, thick blades and all weighed over a hundred kilograms. Ordinary people couldn't swing them at all. They were typically used by warriors.
After browsing for a while, Mina took two greatswords from the shelf.
Aside from different colors, the two greatswords were exactly the same.
The white sword cost 399 silver coins. The black sword cost 400 silver coins.
"The weight and style of these two swords are exactly the same. Why is the black one 1 silver coin more expensive?" Mina asked, confused.
The attendant smiled. "The two swords are indeed exactly the same, but the black one is more resistant to dirt, so it's more expensive. Very reasonable."
Is this for real?
That's ridiculous.
Cheng Yu laughed despite himself.
"Then I want the black one."
Mina also thought the dirt-resistant sword was better.
Four hundred silver coins equaled 4 gold coins.
Cheng Yu pulled out 4 gold coins and paid the attendant.
"This year, our shop has launched a weapon maintenance package. Professionals will provide comprehensive maintenance for your weapons. The basic package is 20 silver coins per year, and the deluxe package is 70 silver coins per year. Would you like to order one?"
The attendant enthusiastically pushed the add-on.
"No, thank you."
Cheng Yu and Mina left the weapon shop.