Chapter 18

The bamboo forest was in the middle of the canyon, but the fruit trees were even deeper within.

After walking for half an hour, Cen An finally spotted the tree, which was so massive it occupied half the cliff face. At the same time, he recognized the fruit it bore.

[Cold-Cure Fruit:
Grade: Common
Effect: Consuming it provides a 100% cure for a cold, with a 60% chance of inducing a paralyzed state, causing muscle stiffness and immobility for 24 hours.]

Hmm... It grows on a tree and is edible; why wouldn't it be considered a fruit?

Cen An felt a bit helpless. Being able to cure a cold was great—he didn't even need to ask to know that the rainy season, especially this period of endless, gloomy rain, was the peak season for colds.

But the problem was, he didn't need it!

He had Rejuvenation Paste for both internal and external use, recovery potions, and the Rain-Dew Essence still in production. Any one of those was better than a Cold-Cure Fruit that only treated colds.

Furthermore, the side effect of falling into a weakened state... Others had family to look after them, but he was a loner. God knows what might happen if he were paralyzed for 24 hours.

He couldn't even use it to satisfy a craving...

Cen An shook his head and turned to leave, but suddenly felt something was off. He turned back, looked at the tree thoughtfully, and finally climbed the cliff to strip the tree bare.

[Congratulations, you have obtained Cold-Cure Fruit x224]
[Congratulations, you have obtained Mutated Cold-Cure Fruit x3]

[Mutated Cold-Cure Fruit:
Grade: Rare
Category: Fruit
Effect: Consuming it provides a 0% chance of curing a cold, with a 100% chance of inducing a paralyzed state for 24 hours.]

Ah, well...

Cen An carefully stowed the three mutated fruits away, making sure not to mix them up.

Emerging from the depths of the gloomy canyon, Cen An checked the sky and headed straight down the mountain. Since he had left early, it was only midday.

After returning home and eating lunch, he took six animal hides, fashioned a pouch, stuffed it full of Cold-Cure Fruits, and headed toward the small market.

Because of the rain, most people were out foraging on the mountains, so the market was nearly empty.

Cen An carried the fruit inside. At the entrance, someone at the Ability Squad’s stall looked up. Cen An didn't recognize him, but the man clearly recognized him, wearing an expression of surprise. Cen An didn't pay it any mind.

He arrived at his own stall. Tian Yuan, of course, was absent. He set the animal hide pouch down gently and set up a sign in front.

It was a wooden board roughly hewn, with "Cold-Cure Fruit for staple food, buy quickly" written in charcoal.

The few customers in the market hurried past, and his small stall didn't attract much attention.

Cen An wasn't in a hurry. The fruit didn't matter to healthy people, but for those with someone sick at home, it would be a desperate necessity.

Just as he was thinking this, someone approached the stall. Looking up, he saw it was a member of the Ability Squad from the entrance.

Having been here for a while, Cen An knew quite a bit about the squad’s situation. Although there were only 25 people, they were divided into three factions.

The first was Qu Yue, Zhao Wu, and Wang Lie. They were the highest-leveled and strongest, taking orders only from Captain Liao Yongzhi. Even with Captain Liao recuperating for nearly a year due to an ability overload, they hadn't wavered. Most of the people Cen An was familiar with were from this group.

The second was the faction of Vice-Captain Shi Long. Most of them were average in strength—after all, Shi Long himself was average. These people were mainly responsible for market order and the team's material trade. Although they weren't strong, they were numerous.

The third group didn't really count as a faction; they were simply the weakest in the squad, with abilities barely reaching Level 1, just enough to be called ability users. They didn't want to get involved in the succession of the captain, nor did they dare to interfere with the squad's finances. They just clocked in, took patrol missions, and coasted through life.

The man was naturally one of Shi Long’s people. Cen An didn't consider himself close to them and didn't understand why he was suddenly approaching, so he asked with a faint smile, "Is something the matter?"

"Cen... Brother Cen, right?" The man scratched his head. "I heard Wang Lie and the others call you that."

Cen An smiled politely. "Just call me Cen An." He repeated, "Is there something you need?"

Although the man looked honest and smiled sincerely, Cen An had no fondness for Shi Long or Shi Jie and remained slightly guarded.

The man didn't seem to have any ulterior motives. "My name is Li Wei. I just wanted to ask, what is this Cold-Cure Fruit? Did you find it in the mountains too?"

"This is the Cold-Cure Fruit." Cen An took one out of the bag. The small, green fruit was only the size of an apricot and didn't look very appetizing. "It can cure colds, but there is a 60% chance of falling into a weakened state for 24 hours after consumption."

Li Wei looked at it for a moment, then had an epiphany. "So it's an 'Apothecary Apricot'! This is good stuff! Captain Liao used to take us to find these in the mountains! With this, the death toll during this gloomy rainy period should drop!"

Cen An was stunned. "People die during the gloomy rainy period?"

"Huh?" Li Wei was also taken aback. "Of course. The period is full of continuous rain, making homes cold and damp, and temperatures drop sharply at night. It’s inevitable for weak, ordinary people to catch colds and develop high fevers, which can easily be fatal."

This wasn't his past life; there were no top-tier hospitals in every city, nor were there "angels in white" standing ready on New Year's Eve... Here, a simple cold could cost someone their life.

Cen An felt a shiver; he had underestimated this rainy period.

Li Wei continued, "You trade these for staple food? Can you trade for any kind?"

"Yes," Cen An replied. "Difficult-to-store wet grains like ground-fruit, five for one. Dry grains like rice or wheat, three for one."

Li Wei slapped his thigh. "That’s so cheap! Wait here, I’m going home to get some dry grain!"

The fruit could 100% cure a cold; for the elderly and children at home, it was equivalent to an extra life. The price was certainly not expensive.

Cen An watched him leave and, after a moment, took a piece of charcoal and added "Combustibles" under "Staple Food" on the board.

He had guessed it would be cold and damp, but he hadn't known the temperature would drop so suddenly at night. He needed to prepare more firewood and dry grass.

Li Wei soon returned. "Six portions of wheat for two Cold-Cure Fruits." After hearing Cen An say the name so many times, he found it simple and easy to remember, so he adopted it as well.

With him leading the way, others in the market finally noticed. A few customers gathered around. "Apothecary Apricot? Is it really the Apothecary Apricot?"

"It’s definitely it! I’ve eaten it before, haven't seen it for years!"

"Great! My son is sick, and I was worried about buying medicine! With this, we don't have to worry! How do you trade?"

Within moments, a dozen people surrounded the stall. Other stall owners couldn't even attend to their own businesses and joined the crowd.

Cen An’s tone remained consistently gentle. "Three portions of dry grain for one, five portions of wet grain for one. 5 units of firewood or dry grass also work for one. Other combustibles are fine, too, at an equivalent rate..."

The quiet market suddenly became lively!

Before long, a pile of dry grain and firewood was stacked beside the stall. Several other stall owners pooled some waterproof tarps to help cover it, ensuring nothing got wet in the rain.

The villagers who traded for the fruit spread the word, and soon, a large number of villagers arrived. Many were still holding their foraging tools; they probably came straight from the mountains upon hearing the news.

Cen An couldn't keep up with everything. The villagers' enthusiasm for the fruit exceeded his imagination. Before, he was worried no one would want them; now, they were scrambling forward, afraid they wouldn't get a turn.

He even saw Li Wei sneak back, calling over several of Shi Long's men to trade as well. He didn't know if they were hiding it from Shi Long, but Cen An pretended not to notice and treated it as a normal business transaction.

Half of the two hundred fruits were gone, and the traded goods had piled up around the small stall. Just as Cen An was worrying about what to do, a familiar voice rang out: "I heard someone had Cold-Cure Fruit at the market, and I was wondering who it was!"

Qu Yue was still half a mile away, but her voice carried over. When she reached Cen An and looked at the chaotic pile of items, she laughed. "I..."

Before she could finish, Cen An shoved a fruit into her hand. "Sister Qu, I saved this for Huihui."

He realized how that sounded. "I mean, Huihui is still young..."

Qu Yue sighed helplessly and patted his shoulder. "Alright, do you think I don't know what you mean? You manage the business; leave this to me."

Cen An finally relaxed. He really wasn't good at these types of intimate interactions... He was always afraid of saying the wrong thing or failing to live up to someone's kindness.

Qu Yue waved her hand and laughed. "Little ones, help your Brother Cen move these things back."

"Yes!"
"Oh, okay!"

Cen An heard the teasing and finally saw that Wang Lie and the others had followed her. "You guys..."

Wang Lie waved his hand. "Brother Cen, save us a few fruits. We’ll move your things first."

With that, they led their men in picking up the supplies and left.

With this group helping, Cen An was suddenly relieved and only needed to focus on the trading.

For the entire afternoon, excluding what he had set aside in his backpack, all two hundred-plus fruits were traded away. Not a single one was left.

Some villagers even arrived late and had to leave in disappointment. Cen An had to promise repeatedly that he would set up a stall again if he found more.

Wang Lie and the others left after helping him move all the supplies. Cen An couldn't find them to thank them, so he walked home through the rain.

Then, not far from his home, he saw a small mountain of supplies.

Piles of firewood, dry grass, and grain were stacked neatly, covered perfectly with waterproof tarps and weighed down with stones, not a drop of rain touching them.

So meticulous...

Cen An watched for a while before walking closer.

A dark shadow suddenly moved. He was startled, but looked closely to see it was Ji Yong'an.

Young Ji had been squatting until his legs went numb. He stood up, hopped a bit, and saw Cen An, waving enthusiastically. "Brother Cen, you're finally here! They told me to watch the stuff, and my legs are numb!"

Cen An looked at his silly grin and wondered if the boy had been bullied. He smiled and asked warmly if he was cold or wet.

"No, I have my raincoat on." Young Ji patted his snake-skin raincoat. "Since you're here, Brother Cen, I’m going home now!"

"Wait." Cen An took out ten Cold-Cure Fruits and gave them to him. "These are for you. You have a grandmother and a younger sister, right? Two for you, and one for everyone else. If it's not enough, come find me. Consider it... your wages."

He laughed at his own words. Hiring a group of ability users to move supplies for a few fruits... yes, that seemed reasonable.

Young Ji didn't mind at all. "Great, thank you, Brother Cen!"

He was not even eighteen yet, and he skipped away cheerfully.

Cen An watched him for a while, tucked the mountain of supplies into his backpack, and went home.