Chapter 106: A New Companion

Wei Yi’s introduction stirred a collective impulse among the group—a yearning to explore the unknown mysteries of this world alongside him.

“Cough, cough!” Guo Hu’s cough interrupted Wei Yi’s vivid descriptions of the wondrous lands across the Central Continent. Youth inevitably comes with dreams.

He patted his storage pouch and withdrew five small booklets, handing one to each person, assigning their first task as new members of the merchant guild: “This booklet contains the rules that all peripheral caravan members must follow. More rules mean fewer troubles. I hope each of you will memorize and abide by the guild’s regulations.”

After collecting the booklets, Guo Hu approached Yun Qing.

“Yun Qing, although this recruitment is for merchant traders venturing out, Senior Xiao from the Lingyun Sect specifically instructed me to look after you. You may stay at the station as logistics personnel. Being in logistics is safe and offers a decent income—many dream of such a position.”

It was clearly due to Xiao Haoran’s favor that she had so smoothly joined the guild. Otherwise, even if she had passed the first hurdle, the second would have been impossible.

The income was decent, and the safety appealing—this was indeed the kind of work she had long desired. Yet, this was no law-bound society; personal safety depended largely on one’s own strength. As logistics staff, her opportunities to gain experience were limited, and progress slow.

“Guildmaster, might I become a merchant trader?”

Logistics positions were scarce, and without Xiao Haoran’s special instructions, Guo Hu would not have offered her this chance. Now that it was her choice, he did not press further: “Of course, but as a merchant trader, you will need to improve in many areas.”

“Yes!” Judging by the others’ levels and the second trial’s assessment, Yun Qing knew her level was low and her knowledge lacking.

All five new recruits chose to become merchants rather than logistics personnel. Even as peripheral members, they were given long robes and tokens embroidered with the guild’s emblem.

Yun Qing felt a slight disappointment—no comprehensive resource manuals were issued, nor were any details of compensation mentioned. Zhang He was also a bit disappointed—no storage pouch was given to him.

Soon their tasks were assigned: three days later, they would depart from the Xuan Iron Mine with a small caravan. The destination and specific mission would be arranged by the team leader.

The team leader’s surname was Jing—a middle-aged man with a kind appearance, his level indiscernible.

The first rule in the booklet was to work diligently without questioning, and to faithfully carry out the tasks assigned by the team leader.

For these three days, their mission was to memorize the booklet’s contents and transport ore from the Xuan Iron Ore Processing Factory to the caravan.

This task was trivial for Fang Rui and Wei Yi. After a few trips to the factory, they finished their work and agreed to investigate a recent landslide nearby, promising to return three days later.

As for memorizing the booklet’s contents? They paid it little mind.

Yun Qing generously employed her storage pouch, as did Duan Mengrou.

Fang Rui and Wei Yi had completed their tasks, and after Yun Qing and Duan Mengrou had transported ore several times, a figure arrived pushing a single-wheeled cart, arriving late—this was Zhang He.

It turned out Zhang He did not possess a storage pouch and had to rely solely on his own strength to carry the ore.

Previously, none of the newcomers had storage pouches, so moving ore together helped build camaraderie. This time, four of the five had one.

Yun Qing recalled that during the second trial, Zhang He had sat not far from her, feverishly answering questions. His knowledge of resources must surpass hers.

“Master Zhang, how about teaching me to recognize some materials? I’ll use my storage pouch to help carry the ore.”

“Zhang He’s favorability toward you +5.”

“Zhang He’s favorability toward you has risen to acquaintance level.”

Zhang He was not unwilling to haul ore; as the only one without a storage pouch among the five newcomers, he felt somewhat embarrassed asking for help. Yun Qing’s offer naturally stirred his gratitude.

“Thank you, Miss Yun. That would be excellent, though I do not recognize the rarest and most precious materials.”

“No worries, these are all part of today’s assessment.”

While collecting ore, Yun Qing sketched the items she had noted during the exam, showing them to Zhang He for identification.

Zhang He’s theoretical knowledge was solid; he not only named the items but also explained their nature, origins, and so forth.

Duan Mengrou, seeing the lively discussion, joined in. Her theoretical knowledge surpassed even Zhang He’s. She could quickly identify the preferred habitats of certain resources, their symbiotic creatures, and how to unearth treasures.

However, she usually ended with a disclaimer that much of this knowledge came from travelogues rather than personal experience.

Yun Qing knew little but recorded much and her sketches were decent.

The other two did not think Yun Qing was unfamiliar with these materials; they assumed she was merely discussing them, as anyone who passed the second trial would surely recognize them.

Time flew amidst their discussions. The three quickly completed the ore transport task but had no intention of leaving, continuing to exchange knowledge about resource habits.

Yun Qing sketched while Zhang He and Duan Mengrou debated; Yun Qing quietly stored the information in her mind.

Yun Qing and Zhang He helped Duan Mengrou lift ore from the warehouse to facilitate her storage pouch’s use. Through cooperation and exchange, their mutual favorability grew slightly.

Zhang He’s favorability toward her reached 10, and Duan Mengrou’s reached 5.

Meanwhile, the three noticed the caravan members quietly whispering, inquiring how much Xuan Iron ore each had secretly gathered.

Unable to resist curiosity, Duan Mengrou—whose appearance was considerably more striking than Yun Qing’s—quickly gleaned that the destination’s ore prices were high. Members could privately collect ore to sell later for profit, provided it did not interfere with the caravan’s affairs.

Duan Mengrou immediately declared, “I want to gather some ore. Master Zhang and Miss Yun, would you like to join me?”

Zhang He lowered his head and said, “I have no storage pouch; I cannot collect ore.”

Yun Qing replied, “I have one, but my silver is limited. If you trust me, you can store the ore I collect. I just don’t know which ore yields the best value.”

Zhang He said, “I know where to find ore.”

“Then let us report to the leader that we have completed our task.”

“Agreed!”

The group found Leader Jing to report the completion of their ore transport. Unexpectedly, each received ten taels of gold.

It turned out this merchant journey would last from half a year to a full year, with perilous routes. Peripheral members of the caravan received a fixed payment of fifty taels of gold—twenty percent upfront and the remaining eighty percent upon the caravan’s safe return.

This was Yun Qing’s first time earning gold. Though she had hardly labored yet, one tael of gold equaled one hundred taels of silver, so she had just earned a thousand taels of silver, fully recovering the hundred taels she had spent during the trial.

Yun Qing was elated, having worried about lacking silver to collect ore, only to have it delivered unexpectedly.

Her excitement was shared by Zhang He; before the journey even began, the gold was enough to fund his younger brother’s meridian opening.

The moment was one of bright promise, the beginning of a long and uncertain road ahead.