Chapter 160: A Real Disaster This Time

“Did you hear? The Dome Pillar was on fire last night!”

“Huh? For real?”

“Of course, it’s real! A lot of people saw it! It burned for a long time and was only put out in the middle of the night!”

“Phew, thank goodness. As long as it’s out, it’s fine. It would’ve been a huge problem if it had spread.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Gelan Forest is the territory of the great God of Nature, after all.”

“That’s right. We have Him to thank for His protection…”

“…”

By noon the next day, in just the span of a single morning, news of the fire in the forest had spread everywhere.

After all, many of the parties that had camped in the forest last night and returned this morning had seen it with their own eyes, making the reports highly credible.

According to the descriptions, the fire started near the Dome Pillar. The blaze was mostly under control and didn’t show any signs of spreading.

This came as a relief to everyone.

And they clapped their hands in glee.

“Yes! That crooked shop must be getting its comeuppance!”

“Hahaha! The God of Justice has delivered Divine Punishment! The Flames will purify all evil!”

“I wonder how that Crafty Merchant is feeling right now. He must be in absolute agony.”

“I hope he’s not okay!”

In the Little Central Plaza, in front of the quest board, many people were discussing the fire.

Among them, a three-person adventurer squad was particularly excited.

They were all smiles, practically celebrating a promotion. It looked like the only thing missing was a bottle of champagne to pop.

As you know, there’s no such thing as hate without reason.

The reason these three were acting this way was that they had just been scammed by that very grocery store the day before.

It claimed to offer special services, but it turned out to be… singing!

And he sang “Merciful Slave Master” of all things… Is that any way to behave?!

It was blatant humiliation!

“It’s outrageous!”

“A crooked shop like that deserves to be burned down!”

Recalling yesterday’s scene, the three couldn’t help but reveal looks of grief and indignation, loudly venting their built-up resentment.

Most of the people around them hadn’t had such a tragic experience, so it was hard for them to empathize.

However, many had heard some rumors about the Golden Sword Hu Grocery Store.

Exorbitant prices, taking advantage of people in need, high-pressure sales tactics… In short, almost all of it was negative.

The only “positive evaluations,” so to speak, were probably the bits of gossip about Lu Wei himself—

They said this black-haired, black-eyed, black-hearted Crafty Merchant had a significant background.

Some said he was the illegitimate son of a certain Count from the south.

Some said he was the incarnation of a Demon.

Some said he was a peripheral member of the Dusk Shadow Association.

The most outrageous theory was that he might be a goblin under the effects of Transformation Magic.

After all, it was hard to imagine that a place with such simple and honest folk as the Northern River Valley could produce such a greedy merchant.

Well… aside from that “Skeleton Viscount” from Kalin Port.

In any case, thanks to a “friendly reminder” from Marcus, all sorts of rumors about Lu Wei’s identity were now circulating throughout Heitai Town.

And aside from the goblin theory, whether it was a Count, a Demon, or the Dusk Shadow Association, none of them were people the common folk could afford to offend.

So, upon hearing the trio’s tearful accusations, most of the crowd chose to ignore them and went back to their own business.

But one young woman stood frozen in place, utterly shocked.

“How could this be…”

Eyes wide and stunned, Aryan stood in the crowd, her face a mask of astonishment. She couldn’t believe her ears.

She had originally come this morning to post a commission for Elder to collect some medicinal herbs.

But she had just arrived and hadn’t even entered the Adventurer Association’s gates when she heard the terrible news.

“The grocery store… burned down…”

‘Then Brother Lu Wei…’

The unease in her heart grew stronger. A moment later, Aryan forgot all about the commission and turned to run back the way she came.

The morning sun had not yet fully risen, and the night’s dew on the stone path soaked her old leather boots. The young woman’s worries all melted into the sound of her hurried footsteps as she quickly disappeared from sight.

Meanwhile, in the largest guest room of the Silver Moon Corridor, Gante stood in the center of the room with his head bowed, reporting to Freya with a grim expression:

“Miss, it seems Young Master Furen has truly met with misfortune this time.”

…

…

‘Fucking hell. I’m the boss, and I still have to do manual labor.’

‘I wonder if Theodore and the others can make it back before tonight.’

‘Tomorrow’s the day I’m supposed to meet Sebas. Can’t afford any delays…’

The Dome Tree awoke once more in the dawn’s light. The scent of blood in the air had faded significantly, as if the previous night’s massacre had never happened.

Just as Aryan was frantically running to find Theodore and deliver the news, Lu Wei and Furen were silently dealing with the ashes of over 200 goblins and kobolds.

The three of them had been too exhausted last night; they went to sleep as soon as the fire died out.

They only started on this task after waking up this morning.

Although most of the material had already returned to the natural cycle through the Flames, there were still many unburnt skeletons and charred remains left over.

Adhering to the principle of waste utilization, Lu Wei decided to bury everything in the area originally designated as the “recreation zone.”

Since the tavern and brothel weren’t needed in the short term, they could use the land to grow vegetables for now.

Being able to eat fresh vegetables in the forest would, he believed, greatly increase the appeal of the “Golden Sword Hu Commercial Complex.”

“But I still feel like this is a bit unnecessary.”

Beside him, Furen shoveled another spadeful of ash into a wheelbarrow used by the construction team for hauling materials, muttering his opinion.

“It’s just too much trouble.”

“Not only do you have to water and fertilize, but you also have to deal with pests and harvest. Someone would have to be dedicated to managing it.”

“My family’s garden requires ten gardeners. A vegetable patch this big would need at least three or four people.”

“With such high costs, I feel like the profits won’t justify it.”

Seeing that the wheelbarrow was full, Furen put down his shovel and started pushing it toward the south side of the Dome Tree.

At the same time, he stated his reasoning.

In response to this, Lu Wei could only say that the man truly didn’t understand business.

Or agriculture.

‘Ten gardeners for your family’s garden, my ass…’

“It will definitely need people to manage it, but it won’t be as troublesome as you say.”

Carrying his shovel, Lu Wei followed behind the wheelbarrow and patiently explained:

“For watering, we can wait for rain. For fertilizer, we can use excrement. For pests, we can just sprinkle poison. It’ll only get a little busy during the harvest.”

“So as long as Anna and Zovir handle it a bit when there are no customers, there’s no need to add any extra costs at all.”

“Huh?”

Furen’s jaw dropped. “Sprinkle poison?”

Lu Wei nodded. “Yeah. Don’t worry, we’ll dilute it, of course. It won’t kill anyone.” ℯℓ.

“Er…”

Furen stared at him blankly, clearly unconvinced. “But even if it doesn’t kill you, it must be harmful to your body.”

“It’s fine. The portion we eat won’t have any poison on it, obviously.”

Lu Wei yawned nonchalantly, acting as if this was completely natural.

“…”

‘So the stuff you sell to customers will have poison on it?’

Furen’s eyes widened in a stunned stare. He never imagined that Lu Wei would go so far as to poison customers just to make money!

‘Even though it would be diluted, and further washed away by wind and rain, the final amount ingested would certainly be small and wouldn’t cause much harm… but isn’t this still just too greedy?!’

‘What’s the difference between this and a weapon shop that sells defective goods to customers, a tavern that waters down its wine, a clinic that gives patients addictive narcotics, or a restaurant that uses rat meat in its soup?!’

‘Huh?’

‘Come to think of it, maybe it isn’t such a serious thing after all.’

‘It seems like everyone does stuff like this…’

A moment later, after some comparison, Furen suddenly felt that Lu Wei’s actions weren’t so unacceptable after all.

Besides, he was never one to judge another’s character, so in the end, he just muttered helplessly:

“But even so, there won’t be much profit in it.”

“Fresh vegetables aren’t exactly a necessity for adventuring. If they’re too expensive, no one will buy them.”

“I still feel like it’s not worth the effort.”

That part, at least, was true.

The profits certainly wouldn’t be very high.

However…

“You don’t get it.”

Lu Wei shook his head at Furen’s confused gaze.

“Growing vegetables is an obsession.”

“It feels damn good.”