11: Chapter 11 Casual Chat

The Stooped Old Man was named Borton; as for his surname, Nie Ning did not know, and even this tavern was something Nie Ning only discovered by chance.

The reason he came here to trade items was actually because Transcendents were rare.

Don't let the presence of Transcendents in various large families fool you; in reality, the Transcendents from these families accounted for over sixty percent of the total number in all of Ska City.

The remaining Transcendents could be summed up in two words.

Poor bastards!

They were so scattered that it was almost impossible to see a Transcendent, which led to Transcendent items rarely appearing on the market.

Moreover, Transcendent items were expensive; ordinary shops could not afford them, and if they encountered robbers at night, it would mean a total loss.

Furthermore, each family had methods to cultivate Transcendents and their own channels to obtain the resources they wanted, so most transactions only needed to take place between the large families.

Not to mention that nowadays, various resources were scarce, and the probability of ordinary Transcendents obtaining good items had dropped to the minimum, making it even harder to find Transcendent items by comparison.

Nie Ning had learned about this tavern by chance from a knight of the Hervis Family.

If it weren't for this tavern, Nie Ning might not have advanced to an Elementary Knight even now; this was why Nie Ning was forbearing everywhere and had not flipped the table directly.

Anywhere else, the probability of being robbed after a deal would be extremely high.

By comparison, being ripped off a little was not something unacceptable.

...

While the two were chatting, Nie Ning asked about the woman he had encountered during the last encirclement of the mistress.

The incident last time had caused quite a stir; let alone the Transcendent circle, it had spread widely even among ordinary people.

Just because of the existence of that woman, Nie Ning had not dared to let the Human-Faced Balloon return for a month, fearing that she might trace the Human-Faced Balloon back to him.

Of course, Nie Ning did not know why he was afraid.

Perhaps it was his identity as a transmigrator that made him cautious; regardless, he inexplicably did not want others to know of his existence.

"I have heard of the matter you mentioned; it seems a big shot has come to Ska City. As for who it is, I don't know, but you better behave yourself recently and don't provoke people you shouldn't."

Borton glanced at Nie Ning's spirited eyes and spoke slowly to admonish him.

Nie Ning was someone he had watched grow up, from an Apprentice Knight to his current level, so he did not want Nie Ning to lose his life because of provoking people who shouldn't be provoked.

Upon hearing this, Nie Ning nodded thoughtfully.

'It seems I still cannot summon the Human-Faced Balloon back in the short term.'

Fortunately, he had nothing to do recently, but it was a pity to lose a ready-made combat force.

If the Human-Faced Balloon were here tonight, he might have been able to take down that Long-Armed Ape.

Thinking of this, a strange look flashed in Nie Ning's eyes.

This was the first exotic beast he had encountered that possessed fire-control abilities; it would be a lie to say he wasn't covetous.

If he could obtain the fire-control ability, his combat power would definitely go up another level, and it would not be impossible to rival an Intermediate Knight.

However, it seemed that was out of the question for the short term.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Nie Ning, and he looked up at Borton.

"I saw a Long-Armed Ape that could use fire in the Wantai Forest today; do you know what that is?"

"What you are talking about should be a Crimson Fire Ape; an ordinary Elementary Knight would only have a dead end if they encountered one."

Borton paused as he spoke, his gaze toward Nie Ning somewhat unusual.

It seemed this kid was not lying; his strength had truly become stronger again.

But immediately, a look of doubt appeared in Borton's eyes.

"However, there shouldn't be such an exotic beast in the Wantai Forest; could it have come from somewhere else?"

There were indeed exotic beasts in the depths of the Wantai Forest, but they almost never appeared in human sight.

After all, human firearms were now extremely powerful, and the intelligence of exotic beasts would make them instinctively stay away from this area.

Moreover, he had lived here for decades and had never heard of any Crimson Fire Ape here, so it was likely not an exotic beast of this region.

"I don't know about that; I just encountered it near the swamp. How about we..."

Nie Ning blinked at Borton.

Exotic beasts had become scarce in this era, which also meant they were valuable.

'Assisting Evil' seemed very useful, but it actually had obvious flaws; with his current strength, he could only summon one Human-Faced Balloon.

Moreover, according to Nie Ning's own speculation, ordinary souls might not possess parasitic abilities; perhaps only the Human-Faced Balloon could achieve this.

This was why he did not simply give up on the Human-Faced Balloon.

Borton rolled his eyes: "You kid are even plotting against me."

"The Crimson Fire Ape is very powerful; without three or five Elementary Knights, it's impossible to kill it. Do you want me to throw my old life away there?"

"Look at what you're saying, I'm just thinking about helping you retire early. After all, we are old acquaintances; I only want some meat, and all other materials can go to you."

Nie Ning said with an eager smile.

Some things are better done early than late; it seemed like he was taking a loss, but if the Crimson Fire Ape left this area, then there would truly be nothing left.

And as long as he obtained the flesh and blood of the Crimson Fire Ape, he might be able to obtain that magical fire-control ability, which was enough for him.

"You kid would be so kind?"

Borton looked at Nie Ning with some surprise.

They had known each other for quite a while, and he had some understanding of Nie Ning's personality.

If this kid could take a loss, he wouldn't have come directly to smash up the place after his strength improved last time.

Nie Ning curled his lips: "We're old acquaintances; could I really deceive you?"

Hearing this, Borton took a deep look at Nie Ning.

He naturally did not believe Nie Ning's words, but he was indeed a bit tempted by the matter of hunting the Crimson Fire Ape.

In terms of the value of a Crimson Fire Ape, finishing this job could indeed allow him to retire early.

After pondering for a moment, Borton spoke slowly: "I need to consider this matter, and I also need to prepare some things; don't hold too much hope."

In the end, Borton could not resist the temptation of the Crimson Fire Ape.

He had cultivated bitterly for decades to reach his current strength; if he could hunt a Crimson Fire Ape, he might be able to trade with others for items that could improve his strength.

"Fine, then we'll talk about it after a while."

A smile appeared in Nie Ning's eyes.

Since Borton could say this, there was a high probability that the hunt for the Crimson Fire Ape would happen.

Moreover, acting with an old fox like Borton would greatly increase the success rate of hunting the Crimson Fire Ape.

...

Next, the two chatted idly, and soon the flesh and blood of the Three-Colored Fox were processed.

Seeing this, Nie Ning did not stay any longer; he was already impatient to see if he could obtain some valuable traits from the Three-Colored Fox.

After bidding farewell to Borton, Nie Ning went to a pharmacy in the city, bought some pills to treat burns, and then returned to the manor, feeling satisfied.

...