17: Chapter 17 Who Do You Think You're Facing?

Zhang Mu scanned the goods in the display cases; most of them failed to catch his eye.

His goal was clear: items that were cheap and plentiful in the Other World, had high value back in the real world, and were easy to sell.

Only by meeting these criteria could he quickly turn a profit without attracting official attention.

Otherwise, why would he bother with this trip? He could have just sold gold coins directly.

After pacing back and forth between the display cases and the wall-mounted shelves for a long time, Zhang Mu scratched his head in frustration.

There were no goods that perfectly met his requirements.

They were either worthless in the real world or contraband that would easily draw attention and bring trouble.

"Sir, do you need any help?" After seeing off a customer, the middle-aged male Shop Owner came over to attend to him.

Zhang Mu thought for a moment and pulled a solid black quartz watch from his pocket. "Do you buy items here?"

It was an ordinary men's quartz wristwatch from Blue Star; the strap and case were made of steel, with three hands and hour markers. It cost about a hundred yuan, and the price could be negotiated for large quantities.

The highly transparent glass cover reflected the sunlight streaming in from the door, causing the Shop Owner, who had been shaking his head, to freeze.

He took it with one hand while supporting it from below with the other, carefully lifting it to his eyes to examine it. His gaze was as if he were looking at a lover.

"Gods..." The Shop Owner stared at the moving hands and gasped involuntarily. "Is this crystal? How was it polished? It's as if it doesn't even exist."

"And..." He looked toward Zhang Mu and asked respectfully, "Sir, what are these markings for?"

Glancing at the dial, Zhang Mu explained calmly, "It's how we keep time in my hometown. There are twelve markings in total, each representing one hour."

People in the Other World understood the concept of hours, but they generally used hourglasses to keep time.

Whether for carrying or using, they were quite cumbersome.

"A gift from the gods." The Shop Owner's eyes were glued to the watch. "Sir, your hometown must be a land most favored by the gods."

"It's not... well, if you say so." Zhang Mu twitched the corner of his mouth. "Are you buying it or not?"

"Of course."

The Shop Owner puffed out his chest suddenly, then slowly slumped back. "Its price won't be cheap. I'm sorry, sir, I might not have enough gold coins."

"Give me a price."

Hearing this, the Shop Owner gently stroked the watch. Fearing he might damage the glass cover, he only dared to rub the edges of the dial with his fingertips.

"Twenty—no, thirty gold coins, how about that? I'm sorry, sir, that's all I have."

Zhang Mu had a bit of a headache.

Having so many gold coins was useless to him; selling a few for emergencies would have been enough.

But this grocery store was too small, and the selection of goods was pitifully sparse. He didn't see anything suitable for selling on Blue Star.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Mu pointed to several herbs on the shelf that could be used to brew magic potions. "Give me one of each of these, and then, give me five fewer gold coins."

The Shop Owner was an honest man. His Mental Energy showed no violent fluctuations, which meant thirty gold coins was indeed everything he had.

Zhang Mu thought about it and found an excuse to leave five coins for him; otherwise, the Shop Owner's life might be affected during this period.

"Thank you very much, sir." The Shop Owner bowed excitedly to express his gratitude, clearly seeing Zhang Mu's kindness.

He first went behind the counter to find an exquisite wooden box to place the watch in, then used a drawstring pouch to pack twenty-five gold coins. He bundled up the herbs Zhang Mu wanted and handed them over.

Zhang Mu took them with one hand and turned to leave, but was called back.

"Sir, this is for you."

Turning around, he saw the Shop Owner holding up a small cloth bag. "You must be traveling across the continent, right?"

This is a specialty of Kas Town. It's not worth much, and there are many in the forest outside town."

"It would be a waste of time to go collect them specifically, but I happen to have some here. Please keep them as a souvenir."

He took it and gave it a toss. A sound like stones clashing came from the bag. Zhang Mu casually hung it on his belt. "Thanks."

He left the shop and headed toward Potter's house.

Arriving at the door, he fed Big Yellow a sausage as usual. He then prepared to enter the house, only to find that Potter hadn't left the door unlocked today. Feeling a bit strange, he raised his hand to knock.

"It's that ill-intentioned man!"

"Princess, look, he followed us! I knew I was right!"

The shouting voice sounded a bit familiar; after all, he had heard it just half an hour ago. Zhang Mu turned to the right, and sure enough, not far away were the mistress and servant he had met at the entrance of the grocery store.

The two of them walked to about a meter in front of him.

Mora clenched her small fists. "Princess, let me give him a lesson he won't forget!"

The woman addressed as Princess glared at her, and Mora's intimidating aura quickly collapsed as she stepped back.

The woman's gaze turned toward Zhang Mu. "You can call me Avril. I'm the 'interesting fellow' Teacher Potter mentioned."

The moment Avril saw him, she guessed that Zhang Mu must be the person Potter had spoken of.

In a remote small town, dressed in strange clothes, with an aura that showed not a hint of humility.

If it were just that, she couldn't be sure, but since he appeared in front of the house Potter was renting, there was no other possibility.

"Hello, I'm Zhang Mu." He nodded in response.

When they met not long ago, Zhang Mu hadn't looked closely. Now that he was face-to-face with her at close range, he discovered that even her pupils were ice blue.

"When meeting the Princess, use honorifics, you bastard!" Mora poked her head out from behind Avril, baring her teeth.

Zhang Mu's mouth twitched, and he was about to retort.

"Have you already met? It seems I don't need to introduce you." Potter's voice came from above.

The three of them looked up simultaneously to see Potter flying out of the window, landing as lightly as a feather.

"Teacher Potter."

"Mr. Potter," they both said.

His gaze swept over the three of them one by one, finally landing on Mora. "I will clear out the magical beasts outside the town tonight. You will set off back to the Royal Capital tomorrow."

Mora was stunned and waved her hands frantically, shaking her head. "The Princess needs my care!"

"What makes you think I am negotiating with you?" Potter's face was expressionless as his violent Mental Energy swept through the surroundings. "Avril is too lenient with you."

Zhang Mu, caught in the wake, felt as if a mountain were pressing down on him, and Avril's face turned even paler.

Mora, the primary target, fell uncontrollably to her knees with a boom, the bluestone slabs beneath her knees cracking into countless fissures.

Potter withdrew his Mental Energy, his eyes thin and devoid of any emotional fluctuation. "Zhang Mu is following me to learn magic potions; he is my registered student."

"Who do you think you are facing?"

"I'm... I'm sorry, Mr. Potter."

Mora stood up unsteadily, ignoring the injury to her knees as she apologized with a trembling voice.

The usually kind Potter had made her forget that he was actually the strongest mage of the Lake Kingdom. Strength represented power—the power to take her life at will.

In her fear, Mora instinctively wanted to hide behind Avril, but she pinched her own thigh and restrained the movement.

She knew that if Potter really wanted to kill her, no one could stop him, not even Avril.

"Teacher, I will discipline her strictly."

"Mm." Potter walked toward the main door. Without him taking out a key, the wooden door opened automatically. "Hurry up and start the lesson. We've already wasted a lot of time."