Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 227 The Captain Returns
“Master Barberton, thank you for your teachings over the past few days. We shall part ways here, and we will surely meet again in the future.”

"It is a blessing to have someone to share the path of cultivation with me. It is a pity that our paths are ultimately different. I hope you can find your own star."

He stretched out his arms and hugged the two fingers of the bald man, then pulled the teleportation scroll from his backpack. Seeing this, Talinda also moved closer.

“It’s a bit of a stretch to bring two people together with this scroll. Please move closer.” Zhang Yuan said solemnly.

The female elf silently took a step closer.

"It's still not safe." Master Zhang said with a righteous expression.

Hesitantly, he moved a little closer, until their shoulders were touching.

The monk's brow remained furrowed. A stern gaze swept over his new bride.

Talinda shuffled her toes along the ground, almost touching Captain Zhang this time, but awkwardly turned her head to the other side.

"Okay, let's go!"

The bark scroll in Zhang Yuan's hand quickly ignited and burned to ashes. The ashes were scattered by the wind. As the scroll was activated, the two of them felt as if the space around them was being twisted and stirred, and an invisible force was pulling and dragging their bodies.

Master Zhang felt like a cat in a washing machine, being shaken around until he was completely disoriented. Fortunately, his physical condition was good enough that he regained his balance in a short while and shook his head to come to his senses.

Looking at Talinda again, she realized that just moments ago she was only supporting herself, but now she was bound tightly like an octopus.

Zhang Yuan couldn't bear to pull her away. This girl was probably experiencing such a rough teleportation method for the first time. After all, he was a man and the captain. He would just sacrifice his looks to appease the new team member.

Just as I was about to get a clear look at my surroundings, I heard a whooshing sound and caught a glimpse of a dark figure slashing towards me out of the corner of my eye.

"Watch out! These are thorns..."

Before he could finish speaking, it was too late. Amidst Nancy's surprised and flustered reminder, Zhang Yuan reached out his left hand without flinching and grabbed the shadow.

"Long whip~"

After a moment of hesitation, Nancy finished speaking.

"What, is this how my vice-captain welcomes your captain back? Are you plotting to seize power?" The mage smiled, seemingly unconcerned.

"Is it my fault? You suddenly appeared in my bedroom early in the morning, and where's your robe? Why are you wearing this?" The female thief was not about to back down and started chattering away to her cheap captain.

Looking at his tight-fitting training clothes, Zhang Yuan didn't argue with the other person: "Sorry, I was impulsive."

"It's nothing, are your hands alright? This thorny whip of mine isn't just any ordinary vine, are you hurt?" Zhang Yuan released his hand, and Nancy took the opportunity to retract the whip, stepping forward to hold his palm and examining it carefully.

Apart from a few red marks, not even the skin was broken? Nancy's surprise was written all over her face.

"It took me a full seven days, so I should have gained something, right?" The person's relaxed smile revealed a hint of smugness.

Seven days, plenty of time, and some gains too...

The thought of how her cheap apprentice had so quickly drained her of her savings made Nancy's teeth itch with rage. "Waaah~"

The female elf recovered, first her pointed ears twitched, and then she opened her eyes.

Then he saw himself entwined with the mage in an extremely unrestrained position, and he was so frightened that he let go, stood up, lowered his head and apologized to the other party.

"It's alright, I don't mind at all." Master Zhang was always good at undressing people.

Nancy, standing beside him, hugged her arms and grinned mischievously: "You're getting a good deal and you're still acting innocent. You just want her to keep hugging you, don't you?"

"Ahem!" Zhang Yuan acted as if he hadn't heard, and asked casually, "Where are the other teammates? Did anything happen while I was gone?"

"It's so early in the morning, what's wrong with letting people sleep a little longer? They've been traveling so hard lately." The female thief stretched, patted her mouth, and yawned.
"What could be wrong? They're all busy dealing with your pile of goods. Luckily, those Golden Clover people are reliable, and Lawrence has also found the Seven Suns Merchant Alliance's branch in Deepwater City. Most of the goods have already been sold, leaving only a large portion of the precious jewelry, handicrafts, and oil paintings here."

"Thank you for your hard work. Those artworks are indeed not something you can rush to sell. By the way, how much did they sell for in total?"

Speaking of this, Nancy was wide awake: "We earned a total of four thousand two hundred gold, more than four thousand gold! And the remaining artworks can continue to be sold slowly in Waterdeep and Neverwinter through auctions. Those nobles love these things."

Four thousand gold... That's no small sum, but considering it's what I've earned through all my adventures—the looting of the goblin's lair, the treasure from the sunken ship that the sirens willingly contributed, the cargo that the survivors of the Golden Clover voluntarily relinquished ownership of—it all makes sense now.

This put my mind at ease. Apart from making a small fortune at the scene of the ambush by the Chamber of Commerce, which was split equally, I haven't had any new income for several months. However, the purchase and maintenance of various equipment, as well as the salaries of the team members, are not small sums of money.

While it may not lead to a financial crisis, having sufficient cash reserves is never a bad thing; having surplus funds at home brings peace of mind.

Under Nancy's somewhat reluctant gaze, Zhang Yuan happily accepted his storage bag from her hands.

Using the word "take" isn't quite right; perhaps "pull" would be more accurate, because the female thief's grip on the bag was rather tight.

Upon opening the bag, I found that the logs, leather, and cloth that had originally taken up a lot of space had been emptied, leaving only valuable items such as jewelry and oil paintings.

In return, they received dozens of gleaming Woking Gold Coupons.

"Our food reserves are almost depleted," Zhang Yuanqing said, counting the supplies.

"What's the rush? We've been busy with these things these past few days. We finally made it to Deepwater City, can't we even rest for a few days?" Nancy looked at the other person with annoyance, her eyes like a farmhand looking at a shrew.

“Alright! As you wish. I’ve never been here before, so it would be good for me to see it.” The mage then turned to look at the female elf beside him.

"Talinda, the Farview Forest is right next to Waterdeep. Have you been here before?"

The latter shook his head. "I'm not even sixty years old yet. I've always lived in the woodlands and have never been to a human city."

Yes, this one is so cleverly used, I have nothing to say about it.

"Nancy, you should get ready too, and call everyone over. Let's have a good look around Deepwater City today," said Master Zhang in high spirits.

Thank you to Silver Bow Black Tea and Wind and Rain Soul-Shattering Man for your monthly ticket support!

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(End of this chapter)