Book 1 Chapter 16 The Thief, The Liar, and The Missing Manager
…
The sign above the doorway, a simple wooden plaque carved with a stylized Green Herb, looked remarkably unbothered, which was more than Han Rowan could say for the rest of the shop. He pushed the remaining half of the front door open, the splintered wood scraping a mournful dirge across the stone floor. It had been barely a few hours since the ridiculous, blindingly fast battle with Master Cui, and the after-effects were... visible.
"Well," Rowan sighed, running a weary hand through his hair. "I guess a Martial Body level 2 lunatic with a death wish and a penchant for throwing things does tend to leave a mark."
The Green Herb shop, which had been Elder Jing's tidy little haven of traditional medicine, now looked like a disaster area that had briefly played host to a very confused tornado. Shelves were overturned, jars of dried herbs lay smashed on the floor in fragrant, colorful piles, and the counter was split down the middle as if struck by a lightning-fast (and surprisingly weak) martial art.
Han Rowan (Level 2). HP: 3/3/3/3/3/3. Qi: 5. Status: Normal.
He felt fine, thanks to the Strange Bag's immediate post-battle reset, but the shop certainly didn't. He was also still wearing the plain, thick, mysterious vest he'd snagged off Ro Fung, which lay inside his robe, blending under his simple tunic. It offered a paltry 2 defense, but in a world where a basic fist could be a lethal weapon, he'd take it.
"Right. Operation: De-Lunatic-ify," he muttered, grabbing the nearest broom—an ordinary, real-world broom that was decidedly not the 4-coin, 1x3, 2-4 damage 'broom' weapon from his shop. He started with the biggest pile of debris, which smelled vaguely of burnt sage and regret.
…
The clean-up was tedious, but it gave Rowan time to think. He worked for hours, gradually restoring some semblance of order. He swept the pungent mix of medicinal herbs and broken pottery into a huge pile, righted the shelves with a groan, and somehow managed to prop the counter back into a somewhat functional position.
It was the splintered door and the loud clatter of his final sweep that drew attention.
A few curious townsfolk, and soon after, two of Slow Turtle Town's slightly-too-jovial, moderately-paunchy town guards, ambled into the shop, their eyes wide at the wreckage.
"Heavens above, young master Han! What in the nine hells happened here?" the one with a patchy mustache, Guard Lin, exclaimed.
Rowan leaned on his broom, affecting a look of deeply wronged exhaustion. He had already practiced his story. It was simple, plausible, and mostly true, minus the parts involving his 'game system,' glowing weapons, and Master Cui's sudden, dramatic, and permanent de-limbing.
Of course, he knew that some townsfolk were there before, but most of them were judging the situation by their own theories and not what they were really seeing.
"A thief," Rowan said, his voice grave. "A desperate, strong, and clearly unhinged thief. He tried to break into the back room, looking for the shop's small safe box. Master Cui—"
Guard Lin's eyes immediately narrowed. "Where is Master Cui, then? Shouldn't he have raised the alarm?"
Rowan cleared his throat, pulling out the second lie. "Master Cui left on an errand just before dusk. A sudden, very urgent matter for Elder Jing, which couldn't wait. He only left me a note saying he'd be gone for a few days, heading south towards another village."
South, toward another village? Bright Stream village or any other village in that direction, Rowan mentally repeated. A nice, long distance away from Slow Turtle Town. May his journey be long and filled with inconvenient hills.
"When I arrived, the door was already smashed," Rowan continued, pointing to the structural damage with the broom's handle. "There should have been a real loud commotion. I'm afraid the thief made quite a mess before realizing the safe box, which Elder Jing uses for the shop's funds, was already empty. Nothing of the shop's herbs was touched, thankfully."
The guards exchanged a knowing glance. Everyone in town knew Elder Jing had ties to a reputable herbalist organization outside of town—Rowan's story was just the town-friendly cover story.
"A thief, you say," Guard Lin muttered, scratching his mustache. "Well, that's a disappointment. We've had a clean record for months. We'll post a notice. Young master Han, are you hurt?"
"Not a scratch, gentlemen. Just furious about the waste of good lumber," Rowan replied, forcing a polite, slightly weary smile.
The guards offered their useless condolences, made a few perfunctory notes, and then lumbered out, leaving Rowan in the damaged but now somewhat clean shop.
Rowan's shoulders immediately slumped with relief. He knew Master Cui was a crafty, vengeful man, and his escape was a loose thread that needed immediate tying off. Now, at least, the local authorities were looking in the wrong direction for the damage, and the 'Manager' was conveniently 'away.' He had bought himself time.
Rowan suddenly had a realization. If Master Cui had those talismans on him, maybe he would have more in his room. With this thought, Rowan suddenly rushed towards Master Cui's room and began to rummage through the guy's things.
After an hour or so, Rowan sat in disappointment as he did not find any talismans. However, sitting on the table were a few items he deemed useful. He got a lot of silver, enough to last him for a long time, and several strange things.
After checking the things he put one of them, a manual, in his unlimited storage and went back to work.
…
With the immediate chaos contained, Rowan locked the remaining fragments of the front door with a heavy wooden bar and retreated to the back room.
He needed to check his system, his true lifeline in this bizarre world.
He settled onto his cot, raised his head, and the holographic image of his 9x9 floating grid and the smaller pane for his unlimited storage shimmered into his view.
Inventory Grid (Strange Bag):
2x3: Sackcloth (Accessory: free/ 2x3 square/ if Thorns is inside, it produces 1 Thorns after battle. The user can only equip 1 Sackcloth.)2x2: Travel Bag (Accessory: 4 coins/ 2x2 square/ 10% chance of healing 5HP every 20 seconds.)1x1: Malignant Marble (rock)1x1: Malignant Marble (rock)1x2: Stone knife (Basic Weapon: 4/ 1x2/ 2-4/ 1.2/ 2.1/ 3/ 12 seconds of use before disappearing)1x1: Thorns (Accessory: 2 coins/ 1x1 square/ +1 damage to attackers when attacked)Coins:0.2
Unlimited Storage:
Thorns (x6)Raging Tiger Claw (Cultivation Manual)Qi Breathing technique (Cultivation Manual)Basic Alchemy (Manual)
Rowan's eyes scanned the storage section, and his jaw slackened.
"Wait... what the hell is all this?"
In the bottom right corner of his unlimited storage, where he usually just dumped the three manuals he couldn't fully use, lay a small pile of shimmering plants. He counted them, blinking.
There were six Thorns.
"Six… six Thorns?" Rowan whispered. "I only had one in the grid, inside the Sackcloth."
He quickly reread the Sackcloth's description, a familiar phrase now jumping out at him like a spooked frog:
Sackcloth: free/ 2x3 square/ if Thorns is inside, it produces 1 Thorns after battle.
"After battle?!" Rowan's eyes widened to saucers. "I guess these things appeared while I fought with the beasts outside while gathering herbs. But why are there six of them?"
He recounted the pile. Six.
He thought back and recalled the beasts that he had killed in the forest.
"So I guess, I already killed five beasts, and the last one was after my battle with that Cui guy." Rowan muttered to himself. The system must have been producing the Thorns silently, battle after battle, and dumping them into the unlimited storage.
Wait a minute…
Thorns:2 coins/ 1x1 square/ +1 damage to attackers when attacked.
"Two coins each," Rowan breathed, the light dawning. A gold rush sensation, bizarrely digital and yet intoxicating, flooded his system. He immediately dragged one of the new Thorns accessories from the storage to the 'sell' slot in the Strange Bag's shop interface.
Thorns (Accessory): Sell for 1.0 coin (Half original price: 2 coins)
The transaction was instant. His coin count ticked up.
Coins: 1.2
Rowan started to laugh, a slightly hysterical, tired sound. "I'm generating passive income through the accidental slaughter of aggressive vermin and vengeful cultivators! This is the most ridiculous side hustle in the history of transmigration!"
He quickly sold three more, bringing his total to four. He had started with 0.2 coins, bought the Travel Bag for 4 coins, and was now back up to a respectable 4.2 coins after selling four Thorns.
He left two Thorns in the unlimited storage for future stacking if he ever needed to create a tiny, spiky porcupine of an accessory, and one remained equipped in the Sackcloth to continue the glorious, pain-based production.
…
With his newfound wealth, Rowan accessed the shop pane of the Strange Bag.
Shop Items:
Yellow fruit: 4 coins/ 1x3/ Heal 3HP & recover 1 Qi every 5 seconds. Springwater: 4 coins/ 1x1/ Automatic use when HP is below 50%. Heal 5HP & removes fire effect. Thorns: 2 coins/ 1x1/ +1 damage to attackers when attacked. Leather Cap: 4/ 2x2/ 5 defense/eye protection (cannot be blinded). Wooden sword: 4 coins/ 1x2/ 1-3 damage/ 0.8 Qi/ 1.8 cooldown/ 3 range/ 6 seconds of use before disappearing
"Excellent," Rowan murmured. "A new selection, and some good ones."
He looked at the Springwater. A reusable healing potion, even if it only worked when his HP was low, was a critical survival tool.
"I'll buy the Springwater," he decided, clicking the purchase button.
Coins: 0.2
The Springwater vial appeared in his inventory, a simple glass bottle with a clear liquid, occupying a 1x1 square. He immediately placed it in an empty slot in the grid of the Travel bag since the sackcloth grid is not full.
Next, the Leather Cap and Wooden Sword. The cap was better protection than his vest, and eye protection was priceless. The Wooden Sword was a good additional weapon with a slightly better cooldown.
"I don't have enough coins, but I do have the reserve function," he said, nodding to himself.
He clicked the Reserve option on both the Leather Cap and the Wooden Sword. A tiny lock symbol appeared on their icons. They would remain in the shop slot, guaranteed to be there after his next battle, or until he could afford them.
"Now, the important part," he said, turning his attention to the storage.
…
Rowan pulled the three manuals out of his storage and placed them side-by-side on the cot.
Raging Tiger Claw (Martial Art)Qi Breathing Technique (Foundation for cultivation)Basic Alchemy (Crafting/Herbalism)
He ran a finger over the title of the Basic Alchemy scroll. "I can't cultivate. I can't use Qi. I can't be a warrior. But I am a mortal with knowledge of science, and I wanted to be a pharmacist."
The book was a good two inches thick, tied with a simple, rough string. He flipped it open. The script was ancient, but for some reason, he could actually understand it. Ever since coming to this world, he had already noticed that the language had become easy for him.
"Maybe I'm gifted with the knowledge of language…" Rowan muttered with a grin.
He then shakes his head and turns his focus back to the manual.
—The art of the cauldron is the art of balance. Qi is the binding agent, the fire the catalyst, and the herb the substance. Without the true flame of Qi, the elixir will fail. Start with the simplest: the Basic Wound Salve...
Rowan sighed. "Cultivation again. Always cultivating. But wait, the Basic Wound Salve only requires five common herbs... and water."
He tucked the two manuals away and started to read the Basic Alchemy manual in earnest.