Reborn as a Hatrack in the Mystical Land-Chapter 809 - 59: The Dilemma

Seeing a guest arriving, the shopkeeper’s wife hurriedly wiped her eyes and forced a smile to greet them.

"Shopkeeper lady, I want to buy that dimensional map," Yue Jinghua stated her purpose.

Most items in the general store were ordinary goods, priced anywhere from a few merit points to a few dozen, still within Yue Jinghua’s price range.

Upon hearing that Yue Jinghua wanted to buy the map, the shopkeeper’s wife showed some reluctance on her face and hesitated, "Customer, that map is not for sale."

Most of the items in the general store were clearly priced and available for sale, but that map was an exception.

A dimensional map can only be drawn by someone who has wandered through the Four Great Planes. The dimensional map was a rare Four Great Planes map, and the eccentric who originally drew it was long gone; the shopkeeper’s wife acquired it by chance, and kept it hidden in the store as a personal treasure.

"If the original cannot be sold, could you duplicate a copy for me?" Yue Jinghua suggested as a compromise. She only needed a general understanding of the Four Great Planes’ basic layout and didn’t necessarily need the original.

"Customer, you may not know, drawing a map is a strenuous task, and ordinary painters cannot handle it. Take the dimensional map I have, for example, it would take several years to draw. Before, a few customers who loved traveling tried to purchase it for a tempting price, but I refused them. As they say, ’Even thousands of gold cannot buy my beloved,’" the shopkeeper’s wife said apologetically, feeling guilty as she had a good impression of Yue Jinghua but had to refuse her multiple times.

"If that’s the case, then there’s nothing to be done. Don’t worry about it, I was merely curious and wanted to take a look," Yue Jinghua said, undisturbed by the failed purchase. After browsing the store a bit more, she intended to leave.

Before she left, seeing the shopkeeper’s wife looking troubled, she couldn’t help but ask, "Shopkeeper lady, has something happened at the store?"

The shopkeeper’s wife opened her mouth and sighed, "To tell you the truth, something did occur, and I’m worried whether I should report it to the City Lord."

Lately, due to the Four Symbols Team matters, City Lord Changsun had been busy with training and could not tend to city affairs. As for the general store’s shopkeeper’s wife, she was just an ordinary resident of the Chen District, and unless absolutely necessary, she dared not disturb the City Lord.

What troubled the shopkeeper’s wife was the grain transportation issue she had previously mentioned to Yue Jinghua and others.

For most Chen District residents, due to limited cultivation, they couldn’t enter the battlefield, so they earned merit points to survive in Four Symbols City by completing various tasks published by the City Lord Mansion.

Over the years, the shopkeeper’s wife had relied on transporting grain twice a month to earn corresponding merit points.

Though transporting grain didn’t earn many merit points, it was work for the City Lord Mansion. Twice a month, it provided enough for the shopkeeper’s daily expenses. Yue Jinghua learned there were stationed troops outside Four Symbols City.

Recently, the area outside Four Symbols City hadn’t been stable. Whether the news of the stolen Heavenly Witch Pills had leaked, the tranquility of the mainland border river was disturbed, with alien boats and transmission arrays frequently appearing.

To guard against attacks, City Lord Changsun had supplemented the area with numerous Dark Arrays and Wind Concealing Bells and stationed reconnaissance soldiers to monitor movements near the mainland border river, reporting any disturbances immediately.

As the troops were set up near the border river, they only brought light rations, receiving supplies from the city every ten days or so.

For consecutive months, the shopkeeper’s wife had instructed her two hired hands and a team to transport grain through the northern outskirts of Four Symbols City to the border river region over ten miles away.

Such trips had been made smoothly over ten times, but a few days ago, an unexpected incident occurred during a usual transport.

"Someone had buried Shadow Deer Antlers in the area, hard to detect on the surface. Only Dark Practitioners trained in spiritual power could barely search for them. My helper, a Dan Realm Expert, had mediocre spiritual power skills, and was ambushed, seriously injured, the grain-transporting Dark Beast also spooked, hard to control. Now, I can only hire an expert of Great Success of Pill Realm, but they’re costly. I’m afraid I can’t afford one on short notice," the shopkeeper’s wife explained her woes.

Deer antlers were battlefield obstacles, sharpened from wood, used for ambushes and blockades.

Shadow Deer Antlers, crafted from Shadow Deer Demon Beasts’ horns, were special obstacles. Once cut at the base and dried, Wind Element Dark Arrays were drawn on them, producing Hidden Deer Antlers able to conceal underground.

Shadow Deer Antlers were incredibly sharp, piercing thick battle armor instantly, and since they were invisible and mobile, they were hard to detect.

Thus, they were extensively used on the dimension battlefield, considered among the most formidable weapons.

But outside Four Symbols City, Shadow Deer Antlers had never appeared before, making grain transport safe. It was unclear why they suddenly emerged.

The general store was a small operation, and after the incident, not only were helpers injured and unable to work, but she also had additional expenses in lost pay and medicine, and the timely grain transport was delayed for several days. Unless a suitable transporter was found, the final delivery date might be missed.

The shopkeeper’s wife contemplated reporting the discovery of Hidden Deer Antlers to the City Lord Mansion. But doing so, seeking the Mansion’s aid, even if deliveries were on time and she avoided penalties, would risk her being dismissed as a supplier due to incompetence.

If she didn’t report it, late delivery penalties would multiply by several times the reward in merit points.

The shopkeeper’s wife found herself stuck in a dilemma: should she inform the City Lord or not?

What’s certain is that, regardless of informing the City Lord Mansion, another failed grain transport would be a fatal blow to her small business, perhaps even forcing her to leave Four Symbols City.

After hearing this, Yue Jinghua thought for a moment, "Shopkeeper lady, if I can help with the transport, would you give me that map as an exchange?"