pertwk Chapter 83 Treasure Pouch
Chapter 83 Treasure Pouch
Before long, three blurry figures appeared in the darkness in the distance.
As they approached, the firelight illuminated their faces—three burly adult men, dressed in rough animal hides, with stone knives at their waists and wooden spears in their hands. The leader had a long, diagonal scar on his face, running from his forehead to his cheekbone, which looked particularly ferocious in the firelight.
The three men were taken aback when they saw a group of little girls by the campfire, and then they revealed a malicious smile.
"Hey, where did these little kids come from, setting up camp in this desolate wilderness in the middle of the night?" Scarface grinned, his gaze sweeping over the children.
"This is our campsite. If you want to camp, please go somewhere else."
Cai Xuan stepped forward, blocking Xi'er and the others, and said in a calm tone.
Scarface then noticed Cai Xuan, sizing him up before his smile deepened: "A man with eight girls? Tsk tsk tsk, you've got some nerve. There are plenty of cannibals on this desolate land. Want us to protect you? Of course, you'll have to pay us."
The two people behind him also laughed, their laughter tinged with contempt.
"No need," Cai Xuan said calmly.
Scarface's face darkened, and he was about to explode when he suddenly noticed several baskets placed by the campfire. Those baskets contained the items Cai Xuan had prepared for the trade. His gaze fell on several neatly folded sword-backed crocodile skins, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
Swordback crocodile skin, that's a real gem.
Unbreakable by swords and arrows, this leather armor could be made and worn to save one's life in a crisis. A single adult sword-backed crocodile skin could fetch a high price at the market. And here, there were several.
"Friend, these things of yours are pretty good."
Scarface licked his lips, took a step forward, and said, "Friend, we are from the Pig Clan. How about we become friends? Give us two hides, and we'll escort you to the market. What do you say?"
Cai Xuan threw his spear, which landed in the ground in front of Scarface. He then took out his bow and arrow, drew the bowstring, and pointed it at Scarface, shouting, "If you want to camp, go somewhere else. Anyone who takes another step forward will die."
Scarface's face immediately darkened, but seeing the bow and arrow in Cai Xuan's hand, he dared not make a move.
Suddenly, he felt a chill run down his spine. Looking up, he saw one of the girls staring coldly at him. Her eyes seemed to pierce through his soul, sending shivers down his spine.
On the other side, a girl with a vertical line between her eyebrows slowly raised her hand, and a bright white arc of electricity pulsed in her palm.
Another girl, a wisp of crimson-gold flame flickered from her fingertips, shining in the darkness.
Scarface's expression changed drastically. He whispered to the two men behind him, "Let's go." He then turned and left. Although the two men didn't understand why, seeing his serious expression, they followed him. The three figures quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Cai Xuan put away his bow and arrows, and frowned slightly as he looked in the direction where the three men with the scarred face had left.
We were robbed before we even reached the market. It seems this primitive world of survival of the fittest is indeed very barbaric.
To prevent attacks from tribespeople or wild animals at night, Cai Xuan divided them into three teams to take turns keeping watch. The women of the tribe did not object, as this was their usual practice when traveling.
Silent all night.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the group packed their things and continued their journey. Aya led the way with her people, while Cai Xuan followed behind with Xi'er and the others.
In the desolate land, the mountains rise and fall, and dense forests composed of towering trees cover the earth. Humans walking among them appear extremely small.
Along the way, the group encountered ferocious beasts and tribesmen. Fortunately, with Xuan'er by their side, they managed to avoid the beasts and the menacing-looking tribesmen without serious incident, thus avoiding a lot of trouble.
After walking for another two days, climbing over a mountain ridge and passing through a dense forest, Cai Xuan and his companions stepped onto a wide dirt road.
As I walked forward, I gradually saw more and more pedestrians on the road.
The pedestrians were all from the tribe, some in groups, some alone, but without exception, each person carried a large amount of goods. Upon arriving here, everyone seemed to lower their guard and began to greet each other.
These tribespeople, some walking, some riding beasts, some sitting on large birds, all kinds of transportation, made Cai Xuan extremely envious.
A group of people gathered from all directions, walking on the same road and heading in the same direction.
"We're almost there," Aya said, pointing ahead.
Cai Xuan followed her finger and saw a large cluster of animal-hide tents and wooden huts scattered across a distant valley. At the entrance to the valley stood a tall stone pillar, on which a flag made of animal hide fluttered in the wind, bearing a very wild and untamed pattern, the nature of which was unknown.
"That's the clan mark of the Longarm Tribe. Seeing that mark means we've arrived in the Longarm Tribe."
Aya explained, then added, "Although this trading market is jointly organized by more than a dozen nearby tribes, they always elect one tribe to preside over it. This time, it's the Longarm Tribe. The market is held every six months, lasting seven days each time. Today is the first day; there will be even more people in the following days."
As you enter the market, a primitive and wild atmosphere hits you.
The roadside was lined with stalls, some covered with animal hides, some with wooden planks, and some simply with a cloth on the ground. The stalls were filled with all sorts of goods: animal hides, medicinal herbs, dried meat, pottery, ironware, stone materials, cloth, and so on—a dazzling array of items, everything imaginable.
The tribespeople were clearly very simple and honest; they wouldn't do anything like shouting or hawking.
They simply displayed their own items for people to view and exchange.
Besides bartering, the market also allows people to take their goods to the host tribe's headquarters for appraisal and sell them to them in exchange for currency to buy things. In the Xuanhuang region, there is a unique currency—jade shells.
It is said to come from the sea and carry a trace of innate Gui water energy, which can nourish the body.
You can also buy them with spirit stones or beast treasures. Both of these are hard currencies and can be used to buy things anywhere.
Aya led Cai Xuan and the others to a secluded spot and started setting up a stall to sell their goods. Cai Xuan, however, didn't set up immediately. Instead, he told Aya and then led the group of children to stroll around the market.
He didn't care about animal hides, medicinal herbs, dried meat, pottery, ironware, stone materials, or cloth; he only liked looking at strange and unusual things.
As Cai Xuan walked past the stalls, an item displayed in front of a burly, rugged man caught his attention.
The man's stall displayed nothing else but a palm-sized, black, stomach-like object, which looked quite strange. Most passersby glanced at it and moved on, with no one paying any attention.
"Friend, what are you selling?" Cai Xuan squatted down and asked, pointing to the stomach-like thing.
"The treasure pouch," the burly man said in a deep, muffled voice.
"What treasure pouch? What treasure pouch?" Cai Xuan asked curiously.
"A storage pouch for storing things."
"Isn't this a storage bag?" Cai Xuan's eyes lit up. "How big is it?" he asked.
"That's as big as four houses," the burly man said, pointing to the wooden house next to him.
Cai Xuan glanced at the wooden house, which was about 100 square meters. The space inside the treasure pouch must be 400 square meters, which seemed quite large. He couldn't help but ask, "How much?"
"Not for sale, exchange for a beast treasure."
Upon hearing this, Cai Xuan immediately lost interest. Wouldn't it be better to keep the beast treasure to improve his strength? Why exchange it for this thing? Although he really wanted it, to be honest, at present, this thing was dispensable to him.