Chapter 63: Journey to the Caravan
Soon after Chu Feng arrived back at the Crescent Moon Village, a dwarf came to see him.
“Boss, you’re back!” Hughes greeted enthusiastically.
Chu Feng nodded. “That’s right.”
“Boss, are you going to visit the merchant caravan?”
Chu Feng nodded again. He had long heard about these human merchant caravans and was eager to see one for himself.
“Boss, honestly, the caravan doesn’t have anything great. Their wine can’t compare to what you brought—it’s like heaven and earth. Their salt is coarse and bitter, mixed with gravel. And their cookware? Not even close to the quality of what you’ve brought.”
“As for things like lighters, desk lamps, motorcycles… I bet the merchants have never even seen them.”
Chu Feng asked, still curious, “So they don’t have anything good at all?”
Hughes shook his head. “Not necessarily. They might have something good—just depends on your taste.”
“Here, Boss, this is for you.” Hughes handed him a heavy bag.
“What is it?” Chu Feng opened it and was stunned. “Whoa.”
Inside were hundreds of gold coins. Though Chu Feng was wealthy, he was more of a nouveau riche, and seeing so much gold at once still shocked him.
Illya peeked over and gasped. “Ah! You’re that rich?” He stared at Hughes with wide eyes.
Chu Feng: …This guy’s been hiding his wealth all along, huh? I totally misjudged him.
Hughes scratched his head. “It’s not just mine. The gold was pooled together by many dwarves.”
Chu Feng: “…This is for me?”
Hughes nodded. “Yes!”
Chu Feng: “…You’re giving it to me?”
Hughes shook his head. “No.”
Chu Feng let out a breath of relief. As the saying goes, no reward without merit—he wouldn’t dare accept that much gold for free.
“The guys want to use the gold to trade for more of your wine.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Deal.”
Seeing Chu Feng agree, Hughes relaxed and left with a case of wine. Though Chu Feng had already brought over quite a bit of alcohol, demand among the dwarves exceeded supply.
Top-tier wines were limited, and a few master craftsmen had been hoarding them. Initially, the others tolerated it, but eventually resentment grew. The complaints forced Hughes to try negotiating for more.
Chu Feng accepted the gold and promised to bring more wine over the next month.
Hughes added that if premium liquor like Mou Tai was too expensive, mid-tier alcohol would suffice—as long as there was enough of it.
“I didn’t expect the Dwarves to be this rich,” Illya said in amazement.
Chu Feng looked at him. “You didn’t know?”
Tilting his head, Illya replied, “I knew they made weapons, and those sell for a lot, but I didn’t think they had this much money. They always act so poor. Our tribe is the one that’s actually poor.” He pouted. Those dwarves sure act innocent, but they’re not fooling anyone!
Chu Feng: …Actually, Crescent Moon Village isn’t really that poor.
On a previous trip back, Chu Feng had spent millions to purchase a sophisticated machine to analyze medicinal herbs. The results showed that the root he brought back was 99.8% similar to ginseng—essentially the same thing.
A large ginseng like that would fetch a lot of gold. On Earth, wild medicinal herbs were becoming increasingly rare—many rich people sat on piles of money but couldn’t buy what they needed.
“Recently, the shaman led everyone to cultivate more land and plant both crops and herbs. We’ll have enough for ourselves and some to trade with other tribes,” Illya said.
Chu Feng asked, “Do the other tribes also face food shortages?”
Illya nodded. “Of course.”
Soon after, Chu Feng met Fei Ying from Crescent Moon Village. He had a sharp, long nose and piercing eyes—slightly intimidating, but had a good personality.
Chu Feng mounted the giant eagle and soared into the sky, with Illya standing just behind him.
A black mist enveloped Illya as he used his ability—his body became weightless.
To the giant eagle, Illya was like a feather on its back, barely adding any burden.
Though the eagle’s beast form was quite large, its carrying capacity was still limited. One passenger was manageable, but two made long-distance flying a cHawkenge.
“How much farther?” Illya asked. To avoid drawing attention, he had dressed Chu Feng in a coarse hooded robe to conceal his clothing.
Chu Feng thought Illya was rather thoughtful—flying through the sky was freezing, and the robe helped block the wind. He had initially thought riding an eagle looked cool, but now he was just shivering.
The eagle suddenly shot up into the clouds, and Chu Feng almost got flung off.
Dangling in the air without any safety measures made Chu Feng feel terrified.
Sitting on the eagle’s back, he glanced down and vaguely spotted a leopard running through the forest.
He thought, If I fall now, even if I survive the impact, I’d probably get eaten by a wild beast.
Illya placed his hand on Chu Feng and asked, “Are you nervous?”
He suddenly remembered—Chu Feng seemed to have a fear of heights. He had shown signs of it when they lived in the treehouse.
Chu Feng stiffened. “I’m fine.”
“If you fall, I’ll catch you,” Illya said.
Chu Feng smiled. “Thanks.”
As they neared their destination, the eagle gradually descended. Once Chu Feng was on the ground again, he felt truly grounded.
In the distance, Chu Feng saw a large caravan of over a dozen cargo wagons packed with goods.
“Are those unicorn horses?” Chu Feng asked.
Illya nodded. “Yes.”
They looked like Earth horses but were larger, stronger, and had a horn on their foreheads.
“That’s the Tianlun Trading Caravan?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yep.”
He noticed the fully armored mercenaries guarding the caravan and thought, Seems like there are rich people in this world after all. The caravan people dressed far better than the villagers of Crescent Moon—definitely a sign of the wealth gap in this otherworld.
“They’re all humans, right?” Chu Feng asked.
Illya glanced sideways at him. “Of course they are.”
Hands on his hips, Chu Feng remarked, “They really do look a lot like me…”
Illya gave him a strange look.
“Let’s go over,” she said.
Chu Feng nodded. “Alright.”
“Manager Gu Nan,” Illya called out.
“Oh, it’s Illya!”
The Tianlun Caravan was run by Gu Han, who had four managers under him—east, west, south, and north—all competing with one another. Among them, Illya had a decent relationship with Gu Nan.
“You’ve brought some Hundred-Fruit Brew?” Gu Nan asked.
Illya shook her head. “The fruit harvest wasn’t good this year. We don’t have much of the brew.”
Gu Nan’s expression darkened. Hundred-Fruit Brew was a specialty of Crescent Moon Village, highly sought after by several nobles—some were even willing to pay thousands of gold coins for it. However, Gu Nan never told Illya that. He downplayed its value to suppress the price during trades. “No wine? Then it’ll be hard to trade for salt,” he said, feigning difficulty.
“I’ve brought other things,” Illya replied.
Gu Nan noticed his confident expression and asked curiously, “What is it?”
With a mysterious smile, Illya opened a bamboo container.
Gu Nan peered inside and suddenly widened his eyes. “Pepper?!”
Surprised, he looked at her. “Your tribe grew pepper?”
Illya just smiled and didn’t answer.
Chu Feng watched Gu Nan’s overreaction and thought, Isn’t it just pepper? You’re a manager, don’t be so dramatic.
Gu Nan quickly composed himself. “What do you want in return this time?”
Illya thought for a moment. “I’d like to see what you brought for the nobles.”
Gu Nan chuckled. “That’s rare. You’re interested in noble goods now?”
“Just want to see them.”
Gu Nan led them to a heavily guarded wagon and lifted the curtain.
Inside were finely crafted porcelain pieces, shimmering agates, luxurious fire-fox fur blankets, perfumes, weapons, and more.
Chu Feng’s eyes lit up.
Illya scanned the contents with a calm expression. Had it been before, he might’ve been amazed. But after everything he had seen recently, these items no longer impressed him.
Gu Nan noticed the change in his attitude and glanced at Chu Feng. From the moment Chu Feng appeared, Gu Nan had taken note—Crescent Moon Village generally rejected humans, so it was unusual for Illya to be traveling with one.
Chu Feng’s gaze landed on a painting tucked in the corner. He muttered something to Illya, who then asked Gu Nan if they could take a look.
Gu Nan obliged and pulled the painting out. “Since when are you interested in art?”
It was a landscape painting, vivid and layered, but it gave Chu Feng an eerie feeling.
“How many pepper seeds to trade for this painting?” Chu Feng asked.
Gu Nan smiled subtly. “Of course you can trade for it. I imagine you’ve realized—this painting was created by someone with a special ability.”
Chu Feng’s eyes flickered. So it’s the work of an ability user? No wonder it feels strange. Is that person’s power… painting?
Indeed, the abilities of ability-users are strange and varied.
After some negotiation, Illya traded three jars of pepper for a painting, a fire fox fur blanket, and several pearls.
Originally, Chu Feng had hoped to trade for a luminous night pearl, but the caravan didn’t have any. However, they did have regular pearls—lustrous, round, and nearly the size of pigeon eggs. Even in the modern world, such pearls would be considered rare treasures.
