Two mornings later, Li Fan, pushing two large wooden barrels horizontally, arrived at the archway in front of Kara Village.
The commotion from the Moonlit Duet had passed, and Kara Village had returned to its former prosperity. Hunters preparing to depart and merchant caravans filled the village entrance. If Li Fan had been pushing anything else, the kind-hearted hunters would have surely offered assistance. However, upon seeing the large, full barrels, they all made way, clearing a wide path. The reason was that these barrels, within the village and settlements, were considered containers. Outside the village, their primary use was to be filled with explosives and mixed into bomb barrels.
"These aren't bomb barrels, everyone, don't be nervous," Li Fan announced, which quieted the murmuring. Just yesterday, a guild field investigator had stopped Li Fan. He had initially thought it was about his canned goods or that his whereabouts had been exposed, but the investigator merely reminded him that bomb barrels were not allowed in settlements before leaving. It was then that Li Fan realized the true reason for the attention he had been receiving.
Seeing the two large barrels rolling towards his home, the village chief Bazerli, who had been lounging in his rocking chair, cautiously stood up.
"Village Chief, don't get excited! It's Li Fan."
"And me, meow!" Li Fan and Dilu poked their heads out from behind the barrels, calling out greetings.
Bazerli clutched his lower back and sighed, "Li Fan, at my age, I can't handle scares..."
"I wasn't fully prepared this time. Next time, I'll add a label to the barrels," Li Fan informed him.
"What kind of label?"
"For frothing lubricant."
Bazerli looked at the two large barrels, then at Li Fan, and asked tentatively, "These two are filled with frothing lubricant?"
"Yes, that's what we agreed on before."
"This... it's like this, Li Fan. While frothing lubricant seeping into water can indeed create foam, it cannot be identified as frothing lubricant if the concentration is too low," Bazerli cautioned.
"Don't worry, Village Chief, my frothing lubricant is absolutely genuine," Li Fan said with great confidence, patting the barrels.
"Alright." Bazerli instructed an Felyne to notify the merchant guild. Soon, two guild members arrived. After testing and identifying the substance in the barrels, they quickly confirmed it was top-grade frothing lubricant with extremely high concentration. In the end, Bazerli, representing Kara Village, and the merchant guild jointly purchased the two large barrels of frothing lubricant for 130,000z.
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!* Four large money bags landed on the ground. Li Fan immediately felt that all his hard work on this journey had been worth it.
Entering the Hunter's Guild hall, Shireen's expression became exceptionally excited upon seeing Li Fan. She leaped out from behind the counter.
"I'm so glad you're alright! The guild only received a warning about a Nargacuga activity in the Waterlogged Forest two days after you left." Shireen grasped one of Li Fan's hands, squeezing it tightly.
"It's alright."
"Yes, it's best that you returned safely. Monsters like the Barroth posed no threat to the ecological balance, so there was no need to rush their hunt."
"Uh... I've already completed the hunt. I'm here to claim my reward this time," Li Fan said, holding up a rolled-up contract and unfurling it vertically.
"Completed?... The certification stamp is from the Shuhai Village branch..." Shireen tilted her head, observing closely, disbelief in her eyes.
"There was a Great Jagras that escaped after being captured. I happened to run into it and took care of it," Li Fan explained.
"What a pleasant surprise," Shireen exclaimed, taking the contract and heading behind the counter to process the reward.
"By the way... Li Fan, how did you manage to get only the skin around your eyes tanned? Is this a new makeup trend popular in other villages?" Shireen asked curiously as she handed him the money bags.
"This is called... panda smoky eye. It's indeed becoming popular outside," Li Fan explained, forcing a smile. He thought to himself that Shireen, wielding a light bowgun as her weapon, certainly had sharp observation skills.
"What monster is a panda?... Never mind. In any case, thank you for clearing the backlog of contracts for the branch."
"You're welcome. I wanted to ask if the branch can handle the two-star hunter assessment?"
"Yes, but you'll need to undergo training first," Jaina, the pink-clad attendant organizing the books, responded first.
"Is it similar to mentor training?"
"No, the guild sends instructors for unified guidance. The training focuses on only one aspect: the application of armor. If you are confident you can master it later, you can take the subsequent star-raising assessment on the same day. If you fail, you'll have to retake it," Jaina explained.
Armor application? Isn't armor just worn on the body? Li Fan hadn't expected this to require special study.
"When is the guidance course?"
"The day after tomorrow at nine in the morning, located on the first floor of the guild. The instructor is Chu Yan. Do you want to sign up?" Jaina replied, flipping through the records.
"Yes, please. Thank you."
"We bumped into each other again!" Shireen said unexpectedly from the side.
"That's perfect. If there's anything I don't understand, I can ask you," Li Fan thought this was a good thing.
"The two-star promotion assessment is very difficult, and besides, I don't have much time to practice..." Shireen said, lowering her head.
"It's that difficult?" Li Fan hadn't expected failing the armor application.
"The first-time pass rate is said to be only 20%. The difficulty... it actually depends quite a bit on talent," Shireen explained.
"Let's work hard together then. Bye-bye."
After bidding farewell to Shireen, Li Fan arrived at Eudora's house. Eudora was facing away from the door, gnawing on the end of a quill pen at her desk, deep in thought.
"Ah! Someone save him! My dear friend Li Fan! He's disappeared in the terrifying Sunken Forest... No, that sounds too exaggerated." Eudora rejected her own wording.
Li Fan curiously leaned in to look and his face immediately darkened. Eudora, writing a rescue contract, felt someone beside her and looked up warily.
"You... you weren't eaten by the Nargacuga?" Eudora exclaimed in surprise.
"Who said I was eaten by a Nargacuga?"
"Sorry, I thought you were in danger since you hadn't returned to the village for so long." Eudora let out a sigh of relief.
*Clatter!* Dilu, carrying four large money bags on her back, tripped over the threshold and tumbled into the room. *Swish!* Coins spilled out of the bags, scattering everywhere.
"I told you it would be tiring to carry it all," Li Fan said helplessly.
"It's okay, meow. I just wanted to deeply feel the burden of money," Dilu disentangled herself from the money bags and immediately began to tidy up.
After explaining the whole story to Eudora, she also became tense upon hearing about the encounter with the Guild Night. As a hunter aspiring to track Elder Dragons, the existence of Guild Night was not unfamiliar to her. If it were just about capturing a few three-star monsters, Guild Night wouldn't bother investigating even if they knew. However, the capture of Puff might trigger a change in their attitude.
"What are your plans regarding this?" Eudora asked.
"I want to start preparing to build an arena. With the forest nearby, there's no shortage of space, and Bear-Big has also accumulated a lot of lumber. This way, the existence of monsters will be justified. Arena performances can generate income, and if hunters come to challenge trials, the monsters can improve their strength through combat," Li Fan outlined his future plans.
"It sounds like a huge undertaking, but the returns upon completion would be substantial. However, the paperwork might be a bit tricky," Eudora analyzed.
"The paperwork might be tricky?" Li Fan hadn't really thought about this aspect.
"Yes. Before my leg injury healed, I wanted to get the investigation agency certified, but the guild said I had to form a hunting group and get a guarantee first," Eudora explained.
Li Fan then understood. The guild didn't oppose the establishment of investigation agencies; in fact, they preferred more. But at the very least, a hunting group was needed to vouch for them, proving their qualifications for investigation. Otherwise, if an accident occurred during field ecological surveys, the guild would be responsible for rescue.
"In that case, the requirements for an arena would only be higher," Li Fan speculated. An arena involves monster husbandry, containment facilities, and safety concerns, so its certification level would certainly not be low.
"Only five-star hunters can establish a hunting group. The investigation agency also has many deficiencies at present. In any case, let's just work hard for now," Eudora felt that with the most basic requirements not yet met, thinking too much was pointless.
At the Felyne Barbecue shop, the two of them and the Felyne ate a hearty meal. Li Fan stopped only when his stomach was bulging. This meal cost 4060z, which would have been a huge sum in the past, but Li Fan wasn't too concerned about it now.
In the afternoon, Li Fan wanted to look at the vacant houses in Kara Village. The Moonlit Duet had caused house prices in the village to plummet. They had slightly recovered now but were still at a low point. It was said that one could buy a pretty decent house for 20,000z. However, he then thought of his own small cabin outside the forest, where he lived comfortably and freely, unconstrained for practicing his longsword or wrestling with Bear-Big. Most importantly, he didn't have to worry about safety, so it seemed unnecessary to buy property in the village. However, he hadn't forgotten his promise to buy Dilu a house. But Dilu also expressed that she preferred the cabin outside the forest to living in the village. What was going on? Did my money have no other use besides upgrading equipment and eating and drinking...
After a moment of thought, Li Fan realized that the construction of the investigation agency seemed to have stalled for a long time. Recalling Eudora's injury, he quickly guessed the reason. So, he and Dilu counted out 50,000z and placed it in front of Eudora.
"This is?" Eudora looked at the two large money bags, puzzled.
"Funds for the construction of the investigation agency." Eudora hesitated, then closed her eyes and shook her head, "No, I'm already very grateful that you can stay and help me."
"You're welcome. This funding is not gratuitous. After the investigation agency is established, there will be a lot of information exchange with the Hunter's Guild, and this information will be very valuable to me," Li Fan gave his reason. The investigation agency might possess sufficient intelligence on a single type of monster, but on a broader level and in terms of timeliness, the guild held the absolute advantage.
"Alright, but I really have nothing to reciprocate with at the moment. I'll give you half ownership of the investigation agency," Eudora thought that Li Fan was not only helping her build the investigation agency but was also contributing a significant amount of funds. To provide such support before the investigation agency had even taken shape, only a partner would do so.
"Okay, when you plan the expansion, remember to include a beehive for Bear-Big."
After saying goodbye to Eudora, Li Fan went to the weapon shop and repaid the debt to the clerk. Then, he began a shopping spree at the village's shops. As for equipment upgrades, the guild's armor application course was about to start. Li Fan felt that purchasing equipment after learning might help him avoid some detours.
Under the setting sun, a fully loaded merchant caravan, pulled by a Yian Kut-Ku, left Kara Village and headed towards the forest cabin. From a distance, Li Fan saw Bear-Big, sitting on the ground, looking somewhat forlornly at the sunset. Beside him, Taimi stood upright, nestled by two Yian Kut-Kus.
"I'm back!" Li Fan, on the caravan, stood up and waved. Bear-Big thought he had misheard. Even when he turned and saw the caravan, he didn't react much. But in an instant, he sensed something was wrong. He dropped to all fours and, with Taimi, charged forward rapidly. The Yian Kut-Ku pulling the caravan trembled with fear. Seeing this, Li Fan unbuckled the harness and said, "You can deliver it here. Go back to the guild. Don't wander off." The frightened Yian Kut-Ku, barely listening to Li Fan, darted away and disappeared.
*Roar! Roar! Roar!*... *Goo! Goo! Goo!*... Bear-Big and Taimi reached them and expressed their intense longing for Li Fan's long absence. After Li Fan gave them the high-quality fodder and honey loaded on the cart, he attached the pulling harness to Taimi's front, completing the final leg of the caravan's transport. The small cabin was unchanged. There were signs of sweeping at the door, and the water trough was full. Li Fan guessed that Eudora must have found time to tidy it up.
"Dilu, with so many supplies, shouldn't we also build an extra warehouse?" Most of the first floor of the cabin was taken up by Eudora's bookshelves. The attic on the second floor housed the telescope and Dilu's small nest, leaving no extra space. If Li Fan forcefully crammed in the purchased supplies, it would be very crowded, and daily life would inevitably be inconvenient.
"Yes, meow. The lumber is piled up like a mountain. We can build a very large warehouse," Dilu said, raising her paws to gesture.
"I'll discuss it with Eudora tomorrow."
After dinner and strength training through wrestling, it was late at night. The fatigue from his long journey made Li Fan feel that his strength had slightly declined compared to his peak condition. He needed ample rest to recover quickly. He went deep into the forest and threw out a healing sphere by the lake. Shasha, in a crawling posture, appeared.
"Eat this beast meat first. As for the marsh you like to inhabit, there isn't one nearby. You'll have to make do with the lake for now," Li Fan informed him. The basic needs of monsters were simple: food and environment. Although Shasha's capture felt a bit like padding the numbers, Li Fan believed that within his capabilities, ensuring the monster lived as comfortably as possible was an obligation after its capture.
Shasha quickly devoured the beast meat. As it shook its body, it noticed the mud on its shell had solidified. It turned and jumped into the lake. Seeing the mud disperse and sink, Shasha let out a low hum and soon climbed ashore, forcefully slamming its crown-like shell onto the ground.
"It's just that there's no mud, it's not that serious," Li Fan tried to reason.
Seeing the mud disperse and sink, Shasha let out a low hum and soon climbed ashore, forcefully slamming its crown-like shell onto the ground.
"It's just that there's no mud, it's not that serious," Li Fan tried to reason.