You're welcome, just give me money.

After testing the effect, Liu Xuan had no intention of staying in Orenburg any longer.

The [Destroyers] gave far too little experience. Fighting them was hardly satisfying.

Besides, with the aura in place, there was no need for him to remain in the city. The others could handle things on their own.

He granted the captain of each squad the authority to invite members into their respective squads.

The only slight inconvenience was that Liu Xuan was now considered to be in combat at all times, which meant [Fleet of Foot] could no longer activate.

Still, it wasn’t a major problem. For one thing, his Agility was already high enough—248 points. For another, [Light and Nimble Body] also provided a speed boost.

Besides, whenever he encountered monsters on the road, he could deal with them along the way. With experience pouring in like this, there was no reason not to take the opportunity.

So even if [Fleet of Foot] had been available, it would have been difficult to keep it active for the entire journey.

Just then, Zhang Meng sent him a message.

Someone had found a lead concerning an NPC. If nothing unexpected happened, the NPC was probably related to leatherworking.

However, the monsters in that area were too high-level, and they hadn’t dared to go there.

Liu Xuan immediately took the task upon himself.

A leatherworker was still extremely important. The sooner they found one, the sooner they could start crafting better equipment.

Besides, he still had four hides dropped by the [Monstrous Salamander] that he hadn’t used yet.

After hurrying to the destination, Liu Xuan met the person who had discovered the clue. His name was Zhang Hang.

“Boss, you’re here.”

Zhang Hang looked rather excited and greeted him as soon as he arrived.

“Hello. What was the clue you found?”

“Oh, it’s over here. Come with me, Boss.”

Zhang Hang led Liu Xuan behind a nearby tree. A dead wild wolf lay there, its hide already stripped away. A skinning knife had been discarded beside it.

Zhang Hang explained, “My teammates and I were passing through earlier when we saw someone processing the wolf’s carcass. We thought it might be an NPC. But just as we were about to get a closer look, the NPC panicked and ran away, leaving the wolf and the knife behind. The monsters in these woods are fairly high-level, so we didn’t dare go any farther in. We reported it right away.”

Liu Xuan picked up the skinning knife and examined it. It seemed to have been around for quite some time, and the signs of use were unmistakable.

The blade had been dulled and sharpened over and over again.

That alone wasn’t enough to prove that its owner was a leatherworker. It could just as easily have belonged to a hunter.

As for an ordinary civilian, however, they probably wouldn’t own such a well-used professional skinning knife.

Regardless of what kind of NPC it was, since he had come all this way, he might as well find them first and ask questions later.

After asking Zhang Hang which direction the NPC had fled in, Liu Xuan took the skinning knife and gave chase.

The farther he went, the more convinced he became that the person wasn’t a hunter.

The traces of their flight were simply too obvious. Footprints, broken branches, flattened grass—every sign made it clear that the person was no expert at surviving in the wilderness.

If they had been frightened by Zhang Hang and his teammates at first and fled in a panic without having time to conceal their tracks, that would have been understandable.

But they had already run a considerable distance, yet were still leaving behind so many obvious clues. A seasoned hunter wouldn’t have been this careless.

Of course, without all those traces, Liu Xuan wouldn’t have had an easy time tracking them down.

Perhaps the clues had been deliberately designed that way.

Following the trail, Liu Xuan eventually arrived outside a small valley.

Two low hills stood on either side. He was just about to enter the valley when an arrow suddenly struck the ground nearby.

The shooter’s aim wasn’t very good, though. The arrow had landed two or three meters away from him.

Liu Xuan looked up toward where it had come from. The shooter was on the hillside to his right, but after firing, they had immediately ducked behind a tree, leaving only an indistinct silhouette.

A voice came from behind the tree. “Leave now! Otherwise, the next arrow will be aimed at your head!”

The voice trembled slightly. It was obvious that the speaker was extremely nervous.

These survivors really were more cautious than the last. None of them seemed willing to interact with other people.

Liu Xuan could only repeat the same explanation he had given Gina and the others:

“Don’t be nervous. I came from the other side of the Orchid River. I’m here to tell everyone that we’ve retaken Orenburg. You can all go home now!”

There was a long silence behind the tree, as though the person were struggling to process the information.

Nearly half a minute later, they finally asked timidly, “Is that really true?”

“Of course. Didn’t you hear the bells earlier?”

“I heard them, but I didn’t dare go there alone…”

The figure behind the tree finally seemed to make up their mind and slowly stepped out.

Liu Xuan saw a young man who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old. His face was smudged with dirt.

[Eye of Insight] revealed that his name was Parker.

At that age, he certainly didn’t look like a master leatherworker.

Liu Xuan raised the skinning knife and waved it from a distance. “Is this yours?”

“Ah, that belonged to my father!” Parker scratched his head awkwardly. The moment he saw another person, he had been so terrified that he’d fled without thinking, actually leaving behind something so important.

“May I ask what your father used to do?”

Parker looked extremely proud when he spoke of his father. “He was a leatherworker—and a very skilled one at that!”

Liu Xuan’s eyes lit up. Then there was no mistake!

“May I ask where your father is now?”

Parker’s expression fell. “He’s dead. Three years ago, he went hunting and died out there.”

Liu Xuan: “…”

Wait. The leatherworker could actually die?

He had assumed that such an important NPC would definitely be safe.

What were they supposed to do now?

Who would make their leather armor in the future?

“Can I ask you something else? Did you inherit your father’s skills?”

Parker shook his head. “When those monsters attacked, I wasn’t even ten years old. I had only just begun learning how to skin animals from my father. He said that only the finest hides could be made into the best equipment, so a good leatherworker had to learn how to skin animals properly for himself. But then…”

Liu Xuan understood.

Once the monsters attacked and they were forced to wander outside, Parker had had no further opportunity to learn the art of leatherworking.

Besides, Parker’s father probably never imagined that he would suddenly die.

But if that was the case, where were they supposed to find a leatherworker?

“Were there any other leatherworkers in Orenburg back then?”

Parker nodded. “Uncle Oli, who lived on the next street, also knew how to work leather.”

Liu Xuan’s heart lifted. Could it be that there really was a way out after all?

Then Parker continued, “But I saw him get killed by monsters with my own eyes.”

“…”

Couldn’t he finish saying everything in one go?

Parker wasn’t stupid. Seeing how many questions Liu Xuan had asked about leatherworking, he couldn’t help asking, “Do you really need a leatherworker?”

“Our group’s goal isn’t just to take Orenburg. We also plan to reclaim more land to the north. We’ll need proper equipment to do that, which means we need leatherworkers, blacksmiths, and other craftsmen to make better gear for us. But your father and Uncle Oli are both gone, so…”

Parker quickly said, “That’s not a problem. I may not have learned my father’s craft, but I’ve kept all his notes. You helped us reclaim our homeland, and you’re even continuing your Northern Expedition. I can teach you what’s in the notes. With them, you should be able to learn leatherworking on your own.”

Liu Xuan was overjoyed.

So that was how it worked!

After taking Orenburg, they had unlocked a life profession.

Now they could learn leatherworking themselves.

“That’s wonderful! Thank you for supporting our Northern Expedition!”

Parker bashfully scratched his head. “No need to thank me. Just pay me.”

“...”