novelnext Chapter 71 A new plan, a new beginning, a new...heads?
Chapter 71 A new plan, a new beginning, a new...heads?
"Coo-coo!"
The crested rooster stretched its neck and crowed. After it finished crowing, it strolled proudly through the barn, surveying its territory.
The rooster had a small wooden sign hanging around its neck, on which was written in crooked, childlike handwriting: "The best rooster in the village".
The plump farm woman carried a bucket of milk on her shoulder, huffing and puffing as she passed by the barn door, glancing at the good chickens.
"Scream, squawk, squawk! What are you yelling about? You can't even keep an eye on the henhouse! How many eggs have gone missing lately!"
The peasant woman was furious when she saw the smug rooster.
"If you throw another egg, I'll turn you into a feather duster!"
The rooster stared blankly at the peasant woman, who sighed.
"Obak, this is a terrible sight! These stupid animals... there's not a single animal on the farm that's behaving properly, not even the cows are producing milk!"
Just then, the bearded farmer walked by and touched the woman's fat buttocks.
"If the cow has no milk, then the mistress does, right?"
"You're so unseemly!" the plump peasant woman said to the man, blushing with embarrassment.
While the two were flirting, the rooster strolled leisurely into the barn and began munching on ears of wheat in the haystack.
Something moved in the haystack.
Insects? The rooster took two steps forward and pecked fiercely at the haystack.
It pecked left and right, ate a mouthful of grass, but didn't catch any insects.
There was another movement on the other side of the haystack.
The rooster crowed as it walked to the other side, going deeper and deeper until it reached the innermost corner of the barn.
Where do you think you're going, you little bug?
The rooster craned its neck and pecked at the protrusion in the haystack!
Before its mouth even touched the dry grass, an invisible hand suddenly grabbed its neck.
A green shadow emerged from the haystack, grabbed the rooster from above, and snapped its neck with a snap.
The rooster's body went limp immediately, and its head drooped.
Gebu deftly stuffed the entire rooster into the dimensional bag, glancing at its contents as he did so:
A dozen male eggs.
One can of raw milk.
White sugar, a small bag.
One rooster.
Salt, a small jar.
Flour, half a bag.
The harvest was plentiful. Gebu flashed his signature smile.
Next, we need to find another place to steal from—it's easy to get caught if you keep stealing from the same place.
There was a noise outside the barn. Gebu quickly scattered a handful of weasel fur he had prepared beforehand on the ground, then crawled out through a hole in the wooden wall and disappeared into the wheat field, vanishing from sight in an instant.
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Wisps of smoke rose from the simple chimney of the abandoned hunter's cabin.
The exterior of the house remains abandoned, but the interior is a completely different world.
Two corners of the room were transformed into herbal and alchemy workshops, respectively, with two bottles of prepared potions placed on a makeshift wooden shelf.
New recipe, new flavor.
Tree Skin Potion
You will need Winter Oak Bark and White Bronze Fermentation Agent.
This is the potion the old shaman drank, the one that makes bark grow on his body—it can replace wizard armor.
Gebu specifically looked it up in "Herbalism" and found that the other two bottles the old shaman drank were "Dragon's Breath Potion" and "Mountain Giant Potion".
The materials required for the latter two bottles of medicine are quite rare: [Dragon's Breath Rose] and [Giant's Foot Skin], which cannot be made at the moment.
Uh... does "giant's foot skin" mean foot skin literally? Ugh.
The other bottle contains an [Energy Potion].
The ingredients are coffee extract, square sugar crystals, and fresh milk.
It's refreshing and invigorating... In the original world, was this called... a latte?
The goblin was busy in front of the stove. The wooden table behind him was a mess.
Egg yolk remained in the earthenware bowl. A thin layer of milk skin had formed on the milk in the pot.
The Book of Sand lay askew on the table, and on its open page were written:
Camping Meals: 100 Easy Recipes
Kingdom Egg Tart
Gebu, his hands covered in flour, rushed over and glanced at the recipe.
"Should I put the eggs in first or the milk first...? Should I put the eggs in first or the milk first?"
"Pull the water out first! Magnubie's ass!"
After a flurry of activity, Gebu finally put the mixture into a container and then stuffed it into the makeshift earthen stove.
The egg tarts are in the oven; finally, I can rest for a while.
The room was a complete mess.
Gebu had no interest in tidying up. He plopped down on the bed, leaned back, and buried his head in the pillow stuffed with wheat ears.
The aroma of wheat.
The goblin took a deep breath.
This abandoned hunter's cabin is Gebu's new secret base.
The hut was located a few kilometers away from the edge of the village, hidden in the shade on the uphill slope. Just a few steps away, one could see everything happening in the village. Due to a landslide, the road to the hut was cut off, and no one came, which provided the goblin with a perfect hiding place.
In two weeks, Gebu figured out the rhythm of life in the village.
Farmers' activities are very regular—they work at sunrise and rest at sunset. Gebu, however, avoids their activity times, staying up during the day and going out at night.
I would go out to cook from midnight to early morning, and spend the rest of the time studying and meditating in the cabin.
They live a pretty comfortable life, sneaking around and doing nothing.
Geb's little head was buried in the pillow, and sunlight shone through the cracks in the roof onto the goblin's eyelids, making it impossible for him to open his eyes.
More than ten days have passed since that night, but I still can't forget it...
Gebu realized that after leaving the wanderer's market, he had become hot-blooded and eager to fight the old shaman and seize control of the tribe, losing his rationality.
How to put it? It's narrow-minded.
If Geb's experience at the wanderer's market taught him one thing, it was this: the Broken Tooth Tribe really is nothing.
Fifty gold coins are a lot of money for goblins, but in the human world, they can't even buy a single potion.
Why should I go back and fight the goblins for the leadership?
After calming down, think about it carefully.
Ultimately, it's because of the narrow-minded nature of goblins: when bullied by their own kind, they want to go back and ride on their heads.
Gob, oh Gob, never forget your original intention—everything is for the purpose of becoming a wizard and turning back into a human! Not for being the leader of goblins—what's the point of that?
In retrospect, the most sensible course of action would have been to establish a foothold in the wanderers' market—where one could obtain far more resources than the Broken Tooth tribe had provided.
Unfortunately, after angering Lady Peacock and the Gray Raven Society, the black market won't be back to normal for a while... I blame myself for being too impatient.
Thinking about this, Gebu's ears drooped, and he felt somewhat frustrated.
The aroma of egg tarts began to fill the room, wafting into the goblin's nostrils and enticing him—
It smells so good!
Gebu wrinkled his nose, greedily inhaling the milky aroma... his mood brightened a bit.
Hey, don't be too hard on yourself. If you find a mistake, just correct it promptly. Don't let it happen again.
Gebu walked up to the stove, reaching out to grab it... His hand suddenly stopped. After a few seconds of thought, he squatted down, checked the doneness of the egg tarts, and, finding the color to be about right, carefully took out the container using a thick cloth as a pad.
Yes, you should be cautious in whatever you do and not be impatient.
Cultivating one's character is also part of becoming a wizard.
He placed the egg tarts on the table to cool; they were golden and had a slightly brownish surface—they were cooked perfectly.
While waiting for the egg tarts to cool, the goblin's gaze drifted to the Book of Sand spread out to the side.
Wizard level 1, nodes 3/6.
Yes, we're stuck again. Just like before, when we reach 50% progress, we need to meet new conditions to make further progress.
The Book of Sands tells Geb that to break through the fourth node, he needs to meditate continuously for at least 24 hours.
Such a long period of meditation is definitely not something Gebu could do on his own; eight hours is the limit, and he would naturally wake up.
Requires the following aid: [Anchor Point Potion].
The Book of Sand describes this potion as: like an anchor in a dream, fixing consciousness in the world of meditation.
To craft this potion, you need a Deep Sleep Potion and a Basic Alchemy Stone.
Transforming a basic alchemy stone requires a gem worth 500 gold coins or more!
As for gemstones, red, blue, orange, yellow, green, and black diamonds are all acceptable. Isn't that a very lenient requirement?
Bullshit... Where are we supposed to find gems?! These things don't grow in the ground!
Gebu had never seen a gemstone in his life, not even one worth 50 yuan, let alone one worth 500 yuan.
Sigh... Being a wizard is really expensive. I can't live this comfortable life in the countryside anymore. I need to go to a more prosperous place.
Gebu overheard the villagers' conversation and learned that there was a town called Chifang Town dozens of miles away from this village.
This town is the economic and political center of the human kingdoms in this region. Villagers have to go to this town to buy and sell things or pay taxes.
If you're looking for a place to get gems, this is it.
Gebu thought for a moment and made up his mind:
The next plan is to infiltrate Chifang Town... Although I don't know how to do it yet, there will always be a way.
If we can't steal it... what if we have to buy it? We absolutely must get our hands on the gem.
Gebu opened his dimensional bag, and after all the fuss he had gone through, he had exactly 1000 gold coins left in his pocket.
I have to say goodbye to you all again, my precious gold...
Gebu fiddled with the small pile of coins in the bag, his heart bleeding.
As he was fiddling with it, his fingers suddenly touched something slippery and cold.
What the heck?
Gebu pushed aside the gold coins, revealing a white porcelain mask at the bottom of the bag. The mask had a half-smile, bright eyes and white teeth, and looked somewhat frightening.
...Did I steal this before? I don't remember.
Gebu picked up the mask, completely bewildered. Beneath the mask, a smiling human face was revealed!