Chapter 58: Night-Luminous Pearl and Desk Lamp
The road from the village to the castle construction site was now complete. It had been built by the residents of Crescent Moon Village.
Many people in the village wanted to work for Chu Feng, but he didn’t have enough jobs to go around, so he asked them to build a road instead. Once the castle was complete, the road would make communication and travel easier between the two locations. The road wasn’t perfectly smooth, but it was well built overall.
With a motorcycle, a journey that used to take over an hour now took only about ten minutes.
Illya sat on the bike, watching the trees blur past in wonder.
“This vehicle is amazing. If the dwarves see it, they’ll probably want to take it apart again.”
Chu Feng thought about it and realized that was quite possible.
But if any dwarf dared to dismantle his motorcycle, he’d cut off their alcohol supply. The motorcycle soon reached its destination. A crowd had already gathered at the construction site. When the Highlanders saw the vehicle, they were stunned. Given the number of strange gadgets Chu Feng had brought before, they were surprised, but managed to stay calm.
“Boss Feng, what brings you here?” Kalan came up to greet him.
“Just here to take a look,” Chu Feng said, glancing around the site. “It’s going up so fast?”
Kalan chuckled. “It’s all thanks to your books, Master Chu.”
Chu Feng looked at him. A while ago, Kalan had complained that Chu Feng gave Duvean a bunch of rare books but only gave him a single blueprint. Was it favoritism because he wasn’t as good-looking? He argued it wasn’t fair treatment.
Chu Feng thought Kalan had a point, so he brought him some architecture books from Earth. Kalan treated them like treasure.
Of course, Chu Feng thought Kalan had misunderstood something—he wasn’t ugly at all, just not as refined as Duvean. But in Crescent Moon Village, whether they were elves or beastfolk, everyone was already exceptionally attractive. Give a few of them a makeover, and they could debut as idols.
Kalan clearly had talent in architecture. He solved most of the problems during construction and also took on the responsibility of mediating between the Highlanders and the dwarves.
Kalan glanced curiously at the motorcycle—it was certainly a novel item. But his passion for building outweighed his curiosity, so after a glance or two, he lost interest.
The dwarves, on the other hand, especially Hughes, nearly drooled over the motorcycle. Illya shot them a glare, and Hughes looked sheepishly embarrassed—he still hadn’t lived down the shame of breaking Illya’s lamp. He could only offer a silly grin.
A few members of the Highlanders were also curious but less bold than the dwarves, so they didn’t dare get too close.
“Boss Feng, it’s been a while. Want to take a look around?” Chui Shi came over to greet him.
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah, a walk sounds good.”
He handed over a bag. “Here, I brought this for you guys. Share it around.”
Chui Shi accepted the bag, peeked inside, and was pleasantly surprised. Chu Feng had sent candy before, but there hadn’t been much—only the children got some. This time, there was enough for the adults too.
As soon as Chui Shi entered the crowd with the candy, several Highlanders members swarmed around him.
Chu Feng shook his head at the scene and walked away.
The castle was going up faster than he’d expected. He thought it would take a year or two before it was livable, but at this rate, the main building might be ready in just a few months. Once that was done, they could move in. As for the surrounding buildings, they could expand gradually—there was no rush.
As Chu Feng and Illya walked away, the dwarves crowded around the motorcycle.
“How did that thing even move just now?”
“It’s unbelievable! If only we could take it apart and see inside!”
“Last time you took apart Illya’s lamp, he chased you down and beat you!”
“Illya’s temper has gotten so short lately! Back when he came to our tribe for farming tools, he was always so polite.”
“You smashed his precious lamp—of course he’s mad!”
“I really want to take a look inside! If I could understand the mechanics, I could probably build one too. That way, getting from the village to here would be way faster. Did you see how fast that thing moved?”
“Yeah, right. Last time, you broke that lamp.”
“That was an accident!”
“I wonder if there are any blueprints. Maybe we can ask Chu Feng for them.”
*
Chu Feng finished his walk-around and was quite pleased with what he saw.
“Great. Time to head back.”
He clapped his hands. They say construction sites everywhere are facing labor shortages. Young people don’t want to work in construction anymore, and older ones don’t work like they used to—just doing the bare minimum.
By comparison, his construction team and site were basic, but the speed was impressive.
“Boss, heading out already?” Hughes trotted up.
Chu Feng nodded. “Yep.”
“So soon?”
“Yep.”
“Boss, your vehicle looks amazing!”
Chu Feng smirked proudly. “Not bad, right?”
“Boss, let me take a look at it!”
“Dream on!” Chu Feng revved the engine and sped off, kicking up a cloud of dust behind him.
Hughes stared after him, sighing with regret.
“This thing is so fast—I have to study it. If I don’t, I won’t die in peace.”
Hughes said seriously.
Xiuya rolled his eyes. “Old friend, you’re still young. Stop talking about death all the time.”
The motorcycle Chu Feng brought caused a huge stir in the village.
Several villagers who were familiar with Chu Feng wanted him to teach them how to ride it. Shaya even told Chu Feng, “If you let me ride it once, I’ll work for you for a week—no, a month—for free!”
He’d heard similar offers from Shaya many times. Chu Feng figured the guy had practically mortgaged his entire life already—maybe even dipped into his next one.
Chu Feng taught Illya how to ride, and Illya quickly picked it up.
Riding a motorcycle wasn’t actually that hard; the main thing was to stay safe and avoid accidents.
Illya had quick reflexes, and soon enough, he was better at it than Chu Feng.
Chu Feng thought to himself, As expected, riding a motorcycle requires talent too!
After returning from the Highlanders, Chu Feng realized he’d been so focused on checking construction progress that he forgot about the Night-Luminous Pearl.
Still, he wasn’t too worried. The dwarves hadn’t yet received their shipment of liquor, so he knew they’d show up sooner or later. Sure enough, by evening, Hughes and the others arrived.
Chu Feng looked at the dwarves and said speechlessly, “Why do you three always move around as a group?”
They could’ve just sent some apprentice craftsmen to collect supplies, but no, these guys always came themselves. Then again, it made sense—if they didn’t come in person, who would take the fall if they got shortchanged?
“No big deal, we’re off work anyway.”
Chu Feng: …
Hughes rubbed his hands, looking a little embarrassed. “Boss Feng, how about letting me ride your motorcycle?”
Chu Feng shook his head firmly. “No way.”
“Why not?”
“Your legs are too short. You won’t reach the pedals—you’ll fall and hurt yourself.”
Hughes’s face darkened. He was so mad he looked like he might explode.
Chu Feng sighed internally. He really meant well—riding a motorcycle could be dangerous, after all.
He waved to Gray and had him bring out a crate of liquor and another of instant noodles. “Here’s this round’s supplies.”
As soon as he brought them out, the dwarves locked their eyes on the goods.
“Still got enough liquor?”
“It’s… okay,” Hughes said after thinking for a moment. He remembered Chu Feng had said one bottle of liquor could be worth dozens of bags of rice. He felt too embarrassed to say it wasn’t enough.
“I heard you guys have Night-Luminous Pearls. I’ll trade liquor for them,” Chu Feng said.
The dwarves looked at each other, puzzled by Chu Feng’s sudden interest.
“Really?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Of course.”
“But don’t you already have a desk lamp?” Hughes asked.
Chu Feng: … A desk lamp and a Night-Luminous Pearl—are those even in the same category?!
Xiuya glared at Hughes. Then he gave a sheepish grin. “Boss, how much liquor can one pearl get us?”
Chu Feng’s eyes glinted. “How much do you think?”
The dwarves muttered among themselves for a while before coming back with an offer. “One crate of liquor… plus a desk lamp.”
Chu Feng smiled. “Deal.”
He thought, Good thing I let them name the price. If I had made the offer, it would’ve cost me way more. That’s a Night-Luminous Pearl, after all!
The dwarves exchanged looks, realizing a little too late that they’d underpriced it.
“Two crates of liquor—”
“Shoo, shoo,” Chu Feng waved them off. “One crate and a lamp is already generous.”
Hughes sighed in disappointment.
“I’ll bring the pearl to you tomorrow,” Hughes said.
Chu Feng was a little surprised. “Alright!”
He had expected the dwarves to wait for their goods first. They were being unexpectedly proactive.
*
In the room…
“So this is a Night-Luminous Pearl?” Chu Feng marveled at the glowing orb in front of him. It was the size of a fist and emitted a soft greenish-blue light.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
Illya said flatly, “It’s okay.”
Chu Feng: … Just okay? This huge pearl and all he can say is “okay”? Illya really has high standards!
“I still think the desk lamp is better,” Illya added.
Chu Feng forced a laugh. “Why’s that?”
Everyone here seemed to think lamps and Night-Luminous Pearls were the same kind of thing. It made Chu Feng, who thought they were totally incomparable, feel like he was the weird one.
Illya tilted her head. “The lamp is brighter. And you can turn it off when you don’t need it.”
Chu Feng: … Fair point. Hard to argue with that.
If he sold a pearl like this, it’d probably go for hundreds of millions. That was enough to buy several million desk lamps.
“Are there many Night-Luminous Pearls?” he asked.
Illya thought for a moment. “Not many, but not too rare either. Most noble families have some. They’re graded—low, medium, and high—based on size and color. This one from the dwarves is probably a medium-grade pearl.”
Chu Feng nodded. “I see.”
Only medium grade? I wonder what a high-grade one looks like…
“Do you know where they come from?” he asked.
“Most of them come from the merfolk,” Illya replied.
Chu Feng spat out the water he was drinking. “Merfolk? You mean the ones that live in the sea?”
Illya nodded. “That’s right!”
Chu Feng blinked. Are they real?!
“Of course! Don’t you have them where you’re from?” Illya asked, puzzled.
Chu Feng shook his head. “Nope.”
“Merfolk live deep in the sea and don’t like interacting with people. But some do long for life on land and will trade sea treasures with people on the surface,” Illya explained.
Chu Feng asked curiously, “Are they far from here?”
Illya nodded and said, “It’s far. Even if the journey goes smoothly, it would still take about two years to reach the coast from here, and along the way, you’d have to cross the Beastman Continent—it’s very dangerous.”
Chu Feng thought for a moment and decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. He could casually sell a few things here and already make a fortune—no need to travel thousands of miles to the seaside, suffering through the elements. Once was more than enough for that kind of hardship.
As he played with the Night-Luminous Pearl in his hand, Chu Feng thought, As beautiful as this is, taking it back would be a hot potato. This thing is even more eye-catching than jade.
