Hourglass

At the sight of Dentist and Chen Miemie, the masked stall owner shrank back uneasily.

Dentist studied the stall owner’s figure, then glanced at the various kinds of salt displayed on the stall. She recognized the owner but said nothing.

Chen Miemie failed to notice their little exchange and focused on the rows of small compartments spread across the stall.

Each compartment held a different kind of powder, varying in color and grain size.

The stall owner was surprisingly conscientious. Beneath every compartment was a small note providing a basic description of the powder inside.

For example:

The first compartment contained sharp, coarse grains.

The note read: Needle Salt. The grains are pointed, like needles—hard and sharp. Scatter it on the ground and it will prick people’s feet, like stepping on needles. Useful for guarding your home; thieves won’t dare come near.

The second compartment contained black powder.

The note read: Black Salt. Bitter, like medicine. Boil it in water and drink it to treat coughing, asthma, and rheumatism. One person drank a bowlful, coughed for three days, and hacked up a mouthful of black blood. More effective than medicine.

The third compartment contained red powder.

The note read: Red Salt. Extremely salty and fishy. Use it to pickle fish; the fish won’t stink or rot, and will grow redder the longer it is pickled. Someone once used it to pickle an entire vat of fish. In the end, the fish turned completely red, like blood.

The fourth compartment contained a milky-white powder.

The note read: Bone Salt. Extremely hard, like bone. It can be ground into needles, and the needles will be as hard as bone.

Chen Miemie was fascinated by every kind of salt and examined them one by one.

The stall owner did not urge him along, allowing him to satisfy his curiosity.

After looking through the entire selection, Chen Miemie decided to buy something.

“Boss, I’ll take all the salt in the seventh compartment. How much is it?”

The seventh compartment contained small, rounded crystalline grains.

The note read: Sweet Salt. In addition to its salty flavor, it is also sweet, like sugar. Food cooked with it will taste sweet, like honey.

The stall owner said nothing and simply held up two fingers.

Chen Miemie was very cautious in situations like this. He wasn’t about to immediately guess two hundred years.

“Two years?”

The stall owner shook his head.

“Twenty years?”

The stall owner nodded.

“I’ll also take the salt in the ninth compartment. Add it to the price.”

The ninth compartment contained pink powder.

The note read: Flower Salt. The salt resembles flowers, blooming one cluster after another, and is very beautiful. It can be made into a bouquet with a floral fragrance that never fades.

The stall owner held up four fingers.

Chen Miemie did not haggle and transferred forty years to him.

The purchase had not required any prompting from Xiao Hong. The uses of the salts at this stall were clearly labeled, making them a straightforward, clearly priced purchase—he was buying them simply because he liked them.

Only after they left the small stone cave did Dentist speak.

“This owner is quite honest. For that quantity, twenty years for the Sweet Salt is a bit of a bargain, but Flower Salt usually costs thirty years. He gave you a direct discount.”

After hearing her praise the stall owner, Chen Miemie naturally realized that Dentist probably knew him. However, he was not curious about everything.

“The notes on his salt are very thoughtful. If I get the chance, I’ll come back and patronize his business.”

Chen Miemie’s enthusiasm came quickly and went just as quickly.

They continued through several stone caves, but he did not make another purchase.

It wasn’t that they had found no useful raw materials. Rather, he lacked the skills to process them, and the whole thing seemed like too much trouble. Instead of exhausting himself and gambling on the strength of the finished product, he would rather buy a high-strength mysterious item outright.

Just as he was preparing to head home, Xiao Hong delivered some good news:

【A high-strength mysterious item has appeared inside the stone cave ahead.】

Without betraying the slightest change in expression, Chen Miemie altered his path and headed toward the stone cave indicated by Xiao Hong.

Dentist helplessly followed her willful benefactor. Just moments ago, she had received instructions to stop browsing and leave.

Chen Miemie entered the stone cave first.

The moment he saw the stall owner, he immediately called out her identity.

“Mermaid, what are you doing here in Wavefoam Harbor?”

The stall owner had been spacing out. Caught off guard, she panicked.

“You… Don’t make things up! I’m definitely not that beautiful and kind Mermaid.”

“It’s me.” Chen Miemie walked fully into the cave and approached her stall.

Only then did the stall owner get a clear look at him.

“Oh, it’s you, Chen Miemie! You startled me. I was planning to keep my identity hidden and wait for some big, fat sheep to come along. How did you recognize me?”

Chen Miemie pointed toward the lower part of her robe.

No matter how loose the robe was, it was difficult to conceal the outline of her fish tail when she sat down.

“Oops, I was careless. But you’re pretty impressive too, Chen Miemie. You noticed such a tiny flaw.”

Chen Miemie’s face was covered in exasperation.

“Tiny? There are no eyes beneath your mask, and you’ve even placed a huge water tank at your feet. It’s obvious you don’t want to be away from water for even a moment. You have way too many tells. Anyone who knows you could see through you at a glance.”

Mermaid was not embarrassed in the slightest. Instead, she looked rather pleased with herself.

“You just said that the prerequisite is knowing me. Hardly anyone here knows who I am.”

“You still haven’t told me why you’re here.”

“The Call to Arms, of course. I’m the Moon Library’s number-one underwater combatant, so naturally they sent me.”

“Really? They sent you here to help with the battle, and you ran off to make a profit. Just wait until I report you when we get back.”

Chen Miemie tried to scare her a little.

“Hmph! I’m helping the locals circulate supplies. Besides, do you have any evidence? I’m not afraid of you.”

Chen Miemie gave a cold laugh.

“Why would I need evidence? Do you think my word doesn’t carry weight in the Moon Library? I’ll just write a report to the law scholar, The Withering Poem. Let’s see whether it believes me.”

Mermaid immediately wilted. Everyone in the Moon Library knew that the book anomalies listened to Chen Miemie.

“Hmph. You win.”

Dentist entered the stone cave at that moment.

Chen Miemie stopped joking with Mermaid and began selecting the items he wanted.

‘Xiao Hong, which one is it?’

【The glass-like item on the left side of the stall. Strength: 8. Due to its damaged state, it is currently unable to function.】

Chen Miemie looked to the left.

Amid the large assortment of bizarre objects was something that looked like an hourglass.

It only looked like one in terms of its structure: two glass bulbs connected by a narrow tube. The entire object was transparent, with a material resembling glass. It was empty inside, containing neither sand nor anything else.

‘Even the damaged item has a strength of 8?’

【Yes. In perfect condition, its estimated strength would be 9.】

To be honest, Chen Miemie was not very interested.

Just like raw materials, he preferred finished products and had no interest in things that needed to be processed or repaired. The mysterious world was so vast—who knew how long it would take him to repair this thing?

‘Xiao Hong, do you know how to repair it?’

【Yes. You need to find a way to put something inside it. The item inserted must have a strength no lower than that of this item, but it also cannot be stronger than it.】

Chen Miemie reacted quickly and immediately grasped what Xiao Hong was getting at.

‘You mean, whatever goes inside has to have a strength of 8 beforehand, but once inserted, it will raise this item to a strength of 9?’

【That is a very accurate interpretation.】

Although he had just been praised, Chen Miemie was not happy at all.

‘That requirement is far too harsh. Where am I supposed to find something like that?’

Even so, now that he had encountered it, Chen Miemie had no intention of passing it up.

“I’ll take that glass item. Name your price.”

[Mermaid] timidly named her price: “How about 1,000 years?”

Chen Miemie was speechless. “Do you even know what it is? You just blurted out a price of 1,000 years.”

“I don’t know, but I do know that anything you want must be extremely valuable.”

Chen Miemie paid no attention to her ridiculous logic. “I’ll make you an offer: 99 years.”

“That won’t do. At the very least... at the very least, it has to be 120 years.”

“Fine. But you have to tell me where you got it.”

“I found it in a ruin in the East Sea. I barely survived that time—I had to go through hell and back to obtain it. Even after all these years, I still haven’t figured out what it does.”

Chen Miemie found her words oddly familiar. After thinking for a moment, she realized this was exactly the story the shopkeeper in the first stone cave had made up.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re making up stories for me too?”

[Mermaid] shook her head.

“We’ve already agreed on the price, so why would I make up a story? It’s the truth.

“I nearly lost my life that time. The moment I escaped, the ruin vanished right before my eyes—reduced to nothing, without even a trace of ash left behind.”