Chapter 79

"Someone there?"

Wen Long turned around and saw a short old man standing on a small mound.

The old man's face was full of wrinkles, and he carried a backpack and held a hiking stick, looking like someone who often engaged in outdoor activities.

"How can this old man still be wandering around in the mountains at his age?"

Just as Wen Long felt a bit strange, he suddenly remembered an NPC he often encountered in the hunting grounds when he used to play the game.

"Wait, this old man looks familiar. Those sharp, long ears are clearly those of a Dragonman... Could this old man be...?"

"Grandpa Mountain Herb?" Wen Long couldn't help but voice his thoughts.

"Hehehe, I didn't expect a young person to recognize me!" The old man laughed.

"Damn, it really is Grandpa Mountain Herb..." Wen Long thought to himself.

In the past, when he was hunting in the game, it was possible to encounter Grandpa Mountain Herb in certain maps. If you talked to him, he would usually ask to take a certain item from the player and then give another item as a thank you.

In short, he would exchange items with the player, and if you were lucky, you could get some good items. Of course, most of the time, they were just mediocre items.

Just as Wen Long was recalling the information about Grandpa Mountain Herb in his mind, the old man spoke up.

"Hey, young man, meeting you here is quite a coincidence. Do you have any Recovery Potion G? If you do, I have something good to exchange with you."

"Something good? What kind of good thing, meow?" Wen Long naturally became interested when he heard about something good.

"Hehehe, rest assured, I wouldn't let a young person like you lose out. So... what do you think about exchanging this for it?" As he spoke, Grandpa Mountain Herb took out a bottle containing red liquid.

"What is this potion, meow?" Wen Long asked.

"Hmm, this is the Demon Man Potion! How about it, are you excited?" Grandpa Mountain Herb clearly looked proud, as if the bottle of potion in his hand was a rare treasure.

"Ah? Demon Man Potion? I don't want it... meow." Wen Long waved his hand, showing no interest.

"Eh? Young man, why don't you want such a good thing? The Demon Man Potion is much more valuable than Recovery Potion G. It's quite expensive on the black market!"

"Don't want it, don't want it. I thought it was something good, but it's just a bottle of Demon Man Potion, meow."

As an experienced hunter, Wen Long was very familiar with the red Demon Man Potion. Simply put, it was a potion that could increase a hunter's attack power for a day. It was a necessary potion for many hunters.

Indeed, from the perspective of the materials needed for the Demon Man Potion, it was slightly more valuable than Recovery Potion G, but it wasn't enough to make Wen Long excited. Moreover, Wen Long already knew how to mix all the potions, so getting the materials and mixing the Demon Man Potion wasn't difficult for him.

Seeing that the Demon Man Potion he took out couldn't attract Wen Long, Grandpa Mountain Herb's face turned red. It felt like the thing he considered a treasure was seen as worthless by the other party, which was a very embarrassing situation.

In the past, as long as Grandpa Mountain Herb took out his Demon Man Potion to exchange, no hunter would refuse. Even from the perspective of the recipe, the Demon Man Potion's recipe was harder to obtain than that of Recovery Potion G. Moreover, one of the materials needed to mix the Demon Man Potion was not available near the Mirado Village, which further increased its value.

"Since the Demon Man Potion can't move you, young man, how about I add another bottle of this to the exchange?" Seeing that the Demon Man Potion couldn't attract Wen Long, Grandpa Mountain Herb took out a bottle of orange liquid.

This time, Wen Long quickly guessed the nature of the orange liquid: "If the previous one was the Demon Man Potion, then this should be the Hardening Potion, right? Meow?"

"That's right, this is the Hardening Potion. It can enhance the strength of the body's bones and skin for a day, increasing defense. How about it? One bottle of Demon Man Potion plus one bottle of Hardening Potion in exchange for one bottle of Recovery Potion G. You'll make a big profit this way!"

"No deal, meow!" This time, Wen Long rejected it even more decisively.

"Why, why not?" Grandpa Mountain Herb was even more surprised.

"No reason," Wen Long didn't bother to explain to the surprised Grandpa Mountain Herb and continued, "Oh, right, old man, I'm not interested in your Demon Man Potion or Hardening Potion, but if you can answer a few questions for me, I'm willing to give you a few bottles of Recovery Potion G, meow."

Saying this, Wen Long took out a few bottles of Recovery Potion G and waved them in front of Grandpa Mountain Herb, showing that he was serious.

"Really, you'll give them to me?" Grandpa Mountain Herb's eyes widened, and the wrinkles on his face became more pronounced.

After all, in Grandpa Mountain Herb's memory, he had traveled to many places and exchanged items with countless hunters, but very few hunters were willing to give him items for free, especially valuable items like Recovery Potion G.

"Then I'll ask, " Wen Long said, "The first question is, why do you always exchange items with others, meow?"

In fact, this question had been a long-standing confusion for Wen Long.

When he used to play the game, Wen Long wondered why this old man would exchange items with people all over the world, and the types of items he exchanged were diverse, even more so than what the village's general store sold. Was he just bored?

Now, Wen Long finally had the chance to ask this question to the person involved, and Grandpa Mountain Herb didn't seem to mind, explaining slowly.

"Well... actually, it's because I often travel around, so many items run out halfway. For example, this time, I had enough Recovery Potion G when I set out, but I was recently hit by a large wild boar, which really hurt my old bones. So I drank all three bottles of Recovery Potion G at once."

Speaking of being hit, Grandpa Mountain Herb smiled awkwardly and continued, "Fortunately, I have some knowledge of potion mixing and have some materials for the Demon Man Potion and Hardening Potion that I collected in the past, so I mixed some to exchange with hunters I meet."

"I see, that makes sense, meow." Wen Long nodded and then asked, "The second question, you said you mixed some Demon Man Potion and Hardening Potion with the remaining materials. Do you still have these materials on you, meow?"

"Well, I do have some, all collected during my recent trip through the Thundering Sand Sea..." Halfway through, Grandpa Mountain Herb seemed to realize something and suddenly asked, "Could it be that you, young man, want the materials for the Demon Man Potion and Hardening Potion?"