Chapter 2

In the morning, the sun bathed the earth in its light.

A large and a small child, who did not think there was anything wrong with killing people or desert beasts, set up a water-selling stall again because Narasha said that there were adventurers coming from the direction of Sasa Town, five miles ahead.

Gongsun Murong and Narasha set up a tent, which some adventurer had 'gifted' to them. Murong was responsible for roasting meat, while Narasha placed her hand on the sand. When she lifted her hand, two balls of water appeared.

"Brother Murong, getting water in the desert is harder than getting it from our base underground. There's really too little water in the air," Narasha mumbled. The base she referred to was Gongsun Murong's survival pod.

Although it was called a survival pod, it was actually a spaceship that had crashed fourteen years ago, drilling down to a depth of over 700 meters underground, where there was an underground lake.

Due to its large size, Gongsun Murong could not fit it into the soul space of his family members, so it remained there. The butler was an intelligent chip that he carried with him after it lost power.

To other members of the Gongsun family, the intelligent butler system was just a useful tool, but to Gongsun Murong, it was family. One day, when he returned home, he would recharge the chip, but he didn't know how long it would take. As long as he was alive, there was hope.

Narasha changed the spot where she placed her hand in the sand and had already collected two cubic meters of water in a short time. She placed the water in a pit dug in the sand. The pit, each half a cubic meter, was lined with tightly connected animal skins, forming a large open water sac.

Gongsun Murong's hands did not stop moving as he occasionally sprinkled plant powder, which he had collected, onto the meat as seasoning.

Collecting plant powder was a habit taught to him by the butler. Compared to the delicious food described by adventurers, this was truly good food.

Through interaction, he had learned about the diet of the people in this world, which differed greatly from what the butler had taught him, even to the point of being worlds apart.

According to the butler, making delicious food was a necessary skill for their race. Many, many years ago, when they were still on a certain planet, their race was unparalleled in culinary skills.

They could survive by making food wherever they went, regardless of the race.

So, Gongsun Murong learned. Of course, the food-making system was enormous, with hundreds of thousands of dishes. He only learned the basics, but what amazed him was that anything could be used as an ingredient.

Gongsun Murong even suspected that his race was a food-loving race, with many food enthusiasts.

"Narasha, what do we need to do when we get to the town?" Narasha stopped and stood by the barbecue, swallowing her saliva.

Murong flipped the meat and replied, "First, we earn money, then we receive the education of this world."

"But haven't we already been educated by the butler? I've been learning for three years."

"That's why we need to receive education. The butler said, 'Mountains do not reject small stones, so they can become high; seas do not reject small streams, so they can become deep.' Each civilization has its unique aspects. I was originally supposed to be placed on a planet to adapt and learn. Since there was a deviation, I will learn here."

"Oh, Narasha will learn with Brother Murong. Brother Murong will make good things for Narasha to eat, and when Narasha grows up, she will marry Brother Murong."

Sofia Narasha, who had existed for an unknown amount of time, still had the simple mind of a child.

Five miles in the desert was a long distance for ordinary people, but the adventurers were strong. Just as the meat was about to be fully cooked, a group of seven people arrived near the tent.

Accompanying the seven people was a valuable dromedary, with wooden frames on both sides of its hump, covered by a white hemp cloth, likely containing food and water.

Each of the seven adventurers carried a backpack and a weapon, with dark brown bloodstains on the weapons, indicating that their journey had not been smooth.

Compared to the calm expressions of Gongsun Murong and Narasha as they waited for the adventurers, the adventurers were surprised to see the tent.

They had seen people who traveled during the day to avoid dangers at night and those who traveled at night to avoid the heat of the day, but they had never seen anyone waste the good morning hours on a barbecue.

Moreover, it was a big boy and a little girl.

"Selling water! Who wants to buy cool fresh water? And roasted meat, very fresh sand-swallowing beast meat. Ten pounds of water for five copper coins, a half-pound skewer of sand-swallowing beast meat for two copper coins. Today, we also offer a free cup of sand-thorn fruit wine. Buy it!"

The cry came from the little girl.

The seven people were stunned. The one in the lead, a man with a beard, asked tentatively, "Murong, Nana... Narasha?"

"Yep!" Narasha nodded vigorously.

"Heavens." The bearded man slapped his forehead. "You two are still alive? Oh, omnipresent God of War, you are all-powerful, you represent justice, you protect the weak, you blow like the wind through my disheveled beard, you are like..."

"God of War, sir, do you want to buy water? And roasted sand-swallowing beast meat? Narasha and Brother Murong specially picked the meat from behind the hard shell of the sand-swallowing beast to sell. It's fragrant and tender, just two copper coins for half a pound."

Narasha earnestly promoted the products, pointing to the sand-swallowing beast, whose body, one meter thick and twelve meters long, could be seen clearly from other angles of the tent. It had not been worn out by being dragged nearly 300 miles, and its light yellow body was covered with segmented scales.

The seven adventurers stared with wide eyes. They saw the clear water in the four pits and the corpse of a third-level, seventh-grade sand-swallowing beast, but what surprised them even more were the fourteen-year-old Gongsun Murong and the four-year-old Sofia Narasha.

These two names had become well-known in Sasa Town. Adventurers returning from the ruins had spoken of them, and every day, more adventurers mentioned them.

Many people had lamented and speculated about how the two children would die.

But who could tell the seven people why the two were still happily selling water? Did all adventurers have a kind heart for the young? Were they from a charity organization?

"Buy it?" Narasha asked hopefully. "Buy more, and you get a discount. I and Brother Murong want to receive education, and we need money."

The seven people looked at each other. The bearded man tried to smile warmly and nodded. "Miss Narasha and the handsome young Master Murong are going to study, and we are honored to help. Two hundred pounds of fresh water, fifty pounds of sand-swallowing beast meat. Miss Narasha, this is your payment. Oh, please call me Moses, Todd Moses."

The man called Todd Moses reached into his chest and pulled out three silver coins with the image of a person and patterns on them.

Three hundred copper coins were equivalent to three silver coins, but generally, it was easier to exchange silver for copper than copper for silver.

"Thank you, Uncle Moses. May the glory of the God of War shine upon you. Narasha and Brother Murong will provide twenty pounds of thorny narrow-leaf grass and a handful of salt for your dromedary for free."

Narasha did not give a discount on the money but offered food for the dromedary instead. She and Gongsun Murong had owned four dromedaries, 'gifted' by adventurers. One was eaten by the two to taste it, and the other three were sold to kind adventurers, each for six gold coins.

Although a dromedary could be bought for about four gold coins and twenty silver coins outside, near the ruins, adventurers were willing to pay a little more.

The three silver coins were added to their earnings, and Narasha happily handed them to Gongsun Murong. The two had already saved 231 gold coins, 29 silver coins, and 40 copper coins.

Selling water and food together had earned them less than twenty gold coins, but most of the money came from 'gifts' from adventurers, who carried money.

There were also armors and weapons, but the two did not sell them, fearing that if they sold too much, no adventurer would 'gift' them anything and would just buy water, reducing their income.

The seven people, including Moses, did not know that when they appeared, Narasha had hoped they would directly rob them, which would have given her and Murong another dromedary.

Hearing that they would provide food for the dromedary, Moses and his group were pleased. They first drank a lot of water, then poured out the water in their water bags and refilled them with new water.

The water in the water bags had changed taste after ten days of travel, and buying ten pounds of water for five copper coins in the depths of the desert was really cheap.

Gongsun Murong took out a table and chairs from the tent, placed the roasted meat on the table, and poured a large bucket of sand-thorn fruit wine into the large cups in front of the seven people. Each cup could hold at least five liters, and the free items were substantial.

The dromedary happily ate its food, and no one would eat a handful of salt directly in the desert except for it. It was not picky about water, but cool fresh water was better.

Todd Moses took a bite of meat and a sip of wine, let out a comfortable belch, shivered from the alcohol, and exhaled, praising, "A cup of sand-thorn fruit wine in the town costs six copper coins, and that damned old Moti would charge even more."

"Still diluted with water," the adventurer beside him added.

"Yes, yes, he should stand in front of the lovely and beautiful Miss Narasha and say, 'Brave adventurer, you know my honesty,' his face would turn red," Todd Moses continued.

"Old Moti's face is always red, and so is his nose, probably from lying too much," the other person said.

Narasha listened with a smile. She had already learned about old Moti from other adventurers, just as he knew about her.

After eating a few bites of meat and drinking a few sips of wine, Todd Moses and his group relaxed and began to carefully observe the big boy and the little girl.

The two were dressed in clean clothes. Murong's clothes were a bit loose, likely from an adventurer, while Narasha looked like a little princess. Their skin was very fair, and the wind and sand had not left any marks on their faces.

It was hard to imagine that these two had been selling water in the desert for a long time. They looked more like a noble young master who had stolen a servant's clothes and brought his sister to play, just arriving in the desert.

The two children had a tent, water, wine, a table, chairs, a barbecue, and feed, and where did that sand-swallowing beast come from? There were obvious drag marks leading to the tent. Everything was like a dream.

Yes, like a dream. This was not a noble's estate but a dangerous desert. What the hell was going on?

"Dear Miss Narasha, may I ask where these things came from?" Todd Moses asked, full of doubt.

"Ah? Things?" Narasha was taken aback but then smiled. "We found them."

"Can you find clear water too?"

"Yep!" Narasha nodded firmly. "For example, there's a lake, and the lake is full of water."

"What about the sand-swallowing beast?"

"It? It suddenly couldn't move anymore, and then it dragged itself here, and we found it," Narasha said with sincere eyes, her long lashes blinking, as if to say, "You must believe me."

Todd Moses and his group wisely chose to believe her. They did not want to die out of curiosity. A third-level, seventh-grade sand-swallowing beast, if they encountered it alive, they could escape by leaving the dromedary, but they had never thought it would drag itself to their feet and die, waiting for them to pick it up.

Narasha waited a moment, saw that they were not asking anymore, and inquired, "Uncle Moses, do you want ice?"

After speaking, she ran to a corner of the tent, rummaged through a box, and returned with a tray. On the tray was a large crystal bowl filled with clear ice, emitting white mist.

The ice was cold, and the hearts of Todd Moses and his group were also cold. So, he said, "Beautiful Narasha, we have already taken a great advantage from you. We cannot take the ice for free. Oh, the God of War would punish us. Please allow us to pay for it."

The other six people nodded. They had decided to spend money to avoid trouble. If someone could produce ice in the desert, even a little bit of malice...

"No money," Narasha shook her head, paused, and pointed west to Gongsun Murong. "Brother Murong, more people are coming. Three of them, very fast. Two thousand six hundred meters, two thousand five hundred forty meters, two thousand five hundred twenty meters. Hurry, roast the meat, and I'll call out."

Todd Moses and his group looked at each other in confusion, stopped all their actions, and looked in the direction Narasha had pointed.

Three minutes later, the seven people saw dust rising in the western sky. Half a minute later, three figures appeared in front of the dust. Five seconds later, the three stopped, standing less than ten meters from the tent.

The sound of weapons rang out, and Todd Moses and his group stopped eating and drinking, holding their weapons in fear. Moses, his voice trembling, asked, "The Three Blade Hands of the Yellow Sand Blood?"

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