Chương 61: Chapter 60 — Your Water… For Sale?

For Sale?

A round, swollen sun clung to the ridgeline of the far northern desert; across the vast yellow sands, a deep red showed through, blood-colored dusk pouring down—from afar, like a sleeping sea of red. The north wind howled, lifting sheets of sand to choke the traveler's sight. This was the Northern Desert Domain. In the distance, a sky-reaching barrier sealed the wasteland. System: [Ding! Insufficient level—cannot enter the Northern Desert Domain!] At the prompt, Ryan drew out the Restriction-Breaking Scroll and crushed it. Hmmm— A milky-white energy light wrapped his arm; he reached out and traced a circle on the barrier before him. A white spiral mark surfaced, and before it faded, Ryan and Lillian slipped through, crossing the barrier into the Northern Desert Domain. System: [Ding! You have successfully entered the Northern Desert Domain!] The dusk painted the desert red as the searing heat slowly dispersed, replaced by a dark sky-curtain drawing slowly across the whole Domain. The Northern Desert Domain at evening looked all the more desolate and tragic.

"We have to find shelter before dark, or when the night sandstorm comes, we'll likely meet our end out here." This was the Northern Desert Domain, a wasteland with desperately scarce water; apart from a handful of oases, the desert's ancient cities relied on millennia-old wells for water. It was the territory of the Sword Dynasty and the Blade Dynasty—both producing experts in droves, warring for millennia over water, each winning and losing, neither yielding an inch.

The folk here were fierce, every soul a soldier; any grown NPC had the strength of a Level 50-plus elite monster. Opening the map, Ryan glanced over it and at once placed them—in Blade Dynasty territory.

"Lillian, put your sword away," he said, gaze sinking.

"We're in Blade Dynasty land, and here, swords are contraband!" Lillian nodded and stowed her blade. Ryan drew out two Silver longsabers, took one and gave the other to Lillian. This was no joke; carrying swords openly in Blade Dynasty lands would draw a fatal response the moment they were spotted. By the same token, carrying sabers in the Sword Dynasty was just as dangerous. Such was the depth of grievance between these two ferocious dynasties.

Without a detailed map, Ryan's interface showed only fog—an unexplored region. But he'd lingered here long in his last life, so he knew it well. They quickly found the nearest town and reached shelter before full dark. The Northern Desert Domain lay far from the Heaven Mystic Empire that held Dragon Blood City; dusk falling here, the sun had only just risen in the distant Empire—early morning there. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"Halt! Who are you?" As the two neared the town, a coarse-faced, thick-browed man barred their way with a tiger-head saber.

"We're merchants from afar, first time in your lands, hoping to lodge a night," Ryan said, deploying a prepared story.

"New merchants?" The man frowned, eyeing Ryan with suspicion.

"Just the two of you?"

"Sigh—we were with a caravan, but a storm swept away most of our goods and people. Only the two of us made it here alive. Please, show kindness and let us stay the night." Ryan's face was full of woe.

"Karidan, I think there's something off about this one—we can't let them in!" A stocky, thick-armed middle-aged man beside him frowned.

"Horde, I know your worry, but they carry sabers; by every measure we shouldn't turn them away," Karidan said.

"But…"

"Don't fret. I'll watch them myself tonight; if anything's wrong, I'll deal with them at once. You trust my strength, surely?"

"…Fine." Horde nodded and stood aside.

"See? If we'd been carrying anything but sabers, we'd have been turned away on the spot," Ryan murmured.

"The customs of the Northern Desert Domain really are peculiar."

"They are! Ten thousand years ago, the Blade and Sword dynasties were on good terms—it was only later, over some matter, that they turned to bitter enemies." Ryan smiled wryly, sighing at the dynasties' past and present.

"Brother Karidan, sit and chat awhile—standing must tire you."

"Thank you, but I'll stand." Karidan declined with a smile, wet his cracked lips, and carefully opened the water-skin at his waist for a small sip. Ryan smiled bitterly at the sight. In his last life he'd seen too many Blade- and Sword-dynasty experts come to blows over a single well. Water was the source of life—and in the Northern Desert Domain, that truth was carried to its extreme.

Under the seal's effect, no native of the Domain could break the barrier to the outer world; generation after generation, they lived in this vast wasteland. To survive, they trained brutally from childhood; for the children of the Domain, if you couldn't grow strong, the only end waiting was death on the sands. In his last life, Ryan had uncovered some secrets of the two dynasties—but before he could investigate further, he'd died in the War of Cataclysm.

At the thought, he drew a bottle of Farmer's Spring from his bag and tossed it to Karidan, standing a short way off.

"This is goods I brought with me—a bottle for you!" Ryan was a man who understood gratitude; since Karidan had let them lodge, he'd offer something in return.

"Thank you!" Karidan thanked him with feeling, carefully unscrewed the cap, and brought his nose to the mouth—the sweet, crisp scent at once calmed his parched, restless heart.

"This water…" His face changed; he took a small sip of Farmer's Spring. BOOM! An unprecedented refreshment welled up from deep in his chest, intoxicating him with the spring's sweet taste in an instant, unable to pull free—and his aura surged a great notch, setting the grass huts around them swaying and groaning.

"Brother! This water… is it… is it for sale?"

"For sale! Of course! Didn't I say I'm a merchant?" Ryan smiled.

"But—my water trades only for goods, not gold!"

"This… easily done! Whatever you want, just name it!"