Chapter 21: Shaman Qiu Luo
As soon as Ilya and the others returned to the village, they were surrounded by the villagers.
Gray basked proudly in their attention.
“Gray, your clothes look amazing!”
“Right? I think so too.”
Gray showed off the zipper on his jacket, eliciting gasps of amazement from the crowd.
“Ilya, where did you find those clothes?”
“Are all clothes outside like this now?”
Several villagers came up and tugged at Ilya’s clothes.
Being pulled at from all sides, Ilya suddenly recalled the scene where he had helped Chu Feng undress—and couldn’t help but blush.
“They’re just ordinary clothes,” Ilya said a bit awkwardly, tidying up his jacket.
“Ilya, your outfit’s great. Take it off and let us see it better,” said A-Ling.
She had nimble hands and had sewn clothes for many villagers. Most of the robes Ilya wore on his travels had been made by her.
Embarrassed, Ilya took two steps back.
“Not right now. I’ll show it to you later after I change.”
A-Ling chuckled.
“My, little Ilya’s grown up—he’s getting shy!”
“What are you all doing?”
A calm voice rang out—Qiu Luo had arrived.
The moment the shaman stepped into view, the once noisy crowd instantly fell silent.
As the village shaman, Qiu Luo held immense respect among both half-elves and half-beasts.
Ilya bowed respectfully when he saw him.
“Shaman.”
Qiu Luo looked at Ilya.
“You’re back. I’m glad you returned safely.”
Ilya smiled.
“Shaman, I brought back something very good this time.”
Qiu Luo glanced at Ilya’s clothes and smiled.
“I can tell. You must have had quite the encounter out there.”
Ilya nodded.
“Yes, I had a stroke of luck.”
“Come to my place and tell me about it,” Qiu Luo said.
Ilya nodded, dragging his large box behind him as he followed the shaman to his wooden hut.
Qiu Luo sat down and looked at Ilya.
“Go ahead.”
Ilya opened the box he had brought with him.
“This is all salt.”
Qiu Luo’s eyes flickered with surprise.
“How can that be?”
The village could barely support itself with food, but salt was a different story. The supply of salt was tightly controlled by nobles who sold it at outrageous prices. For outcasts like Ilya, obtaining salt often meant being ruthlessly overcharged.
“It’s really all salt?” Qiu Luo asked.
Ilya nodded.
“It is.”
Qiu Luo nodded slowly.
“If we really have salt, we won’t need to trade fruit wine for it anymore—and you won’t have to risk yourself doing tasks outside.”
Fruit wine was an elven specialty, difficult to produce and very popular among human nobles. The village could only make a limited amount each year, and most of it had to be traded for essential supplies—meaning villagers rarely got to enjoy it themselves.
“Actually, I met someone with powers on this trip,” Ilya said.
Qiu Luo frowned.
“What race?”
“A human,” Ilya answered after a brief pause.
“A human?”
Qiu Luo’s expression turned sour.
Ilya nodded. Most villagers didn’t know about Qiu Luo’s past, but Ilya knew a bit.
Qiu Luo had once been in love with a human. The relationship had been good—until Qiu Luo awakened his powers. At the time, there weren’t many gifted people in the world, and their abilities were considered rare treasures.
That man had sold Qiu Luo to a human noble.
The noble forced Qiu Luo to use his powers to grow exotic flowers and plants to impress guests at aristocratic banquets.
Back then, Qiu Luo’s powers were unstable. If he couldn’t control them properly, some of the rare plants would die—at which point he’d be beaten severely.
Qiu Luo was trapped in the noble’s estate for three years. Over time, his mastery over his ability grew. Eventually, he extracted a sedative from certain herbs and used it to escape, fleeing deep into the forest.
Later, he met the former shaman of Crescent Village, who taught him medicine and healing.
With the ability to accelerate plant growth, Qiu Luo learned healing arts at a staggering pace.
Qiu Luo looked at Ilya.
“Do you trust him?”
Without hesitation, Ilya nodded.
“Yes.”
Qiu Luo sighed.
“Some humans might be decent, but most are full of schemes. Don’t trust too easily.”
Ilya replied, “He has so many valuable items. There’s nothing in Crescent Village that he’d be after.”
Qiu Luo’s expression shifted subtly. After a moment, he sighed.
“You’re right. If he can casually give away a whole box of salt, there’s likely nothing here worth coveting. But still—why is he being so generous?”
Ilya: …Why is he so generous? Maybe because, to him, salt isn’t a big deal at all.
“Do you know what he wants?” Qiu Luo asked.
“He wants to build a house,” Ilya said.
Qiu Luo nodded. “That’s not too hard. We can ask people in the village to help build one.”
Ilya shook his head. “I don’t think it’s that kind of house he wants to build.”
Shaman Qiu Luo frowned. “Does he want to build a castle? Well, nobles do love living in castles.”
Ilya thought about it. “Maybe.”
“If he really wants to build a castle, we’ll probably need help from the Highland Tribe. Our own people aren’t enough,” Qiu Luo said.
Ilya considered it. “He can pay for it himself. We just need to help make the connection.”
Qiu Luo nodded. “Having that much salt really helped solve the village’s urgent needs. We owe him a huge favor. Helping him a little is the least we can do. Let’s wait until he returns to discuss the details.”
Ilya nodded. “Alright. It shouldn’t be more than a few days before he comes back.”
