Chapter 2: No One Gets Rich Without Windfalls, No Horse Gets Fat Without Night Grass

Chapter 2: No One Gets Rich Without Windfalls, No Horse Gets Fat Without Night Grass
If given the choice, Rulin would’ve much preferred finding a corpse.
That way, he could avoid the moral dilemma, just claim the dead’s belongings and move on.
But discovering a living person meant killing them for profit, and that was an entirely different matter.
Though poor and desperate, he wasn’t a scoundrel or some hyena scavenging the plains.
Profiting from the dead was something he could justify, barely. But murder? That crossed a line. He knew it would haunt his nights.
Despite his conflicted thoughts, Rulin carried the mysterious girl back to his hut.
After arriving, he examined her injuries.
In his old life, he’d picked up basic first aid from camping trips, not enough to be an expert, but enough to grasp the severity.
“Sharp blade wounds across her body, widespread mild burns, blunt trauma, severe blood loss, extreme weakness… likely internal injuries too.”
The more he assessed, the deeper his frown became.
It was brutal.
Had she crawled out of a battlefield?
And yet, her face suggested she might not even be an adult.
What kind of person had he stumbled upon?
Or was this world far deadlier than he’d imagined?
Sitting by the bedside, Rulin felt adrift.
He hadn’t harmed her, but her chances didn’t look good.
Wounds that severe wouldn’t heal with bedrest and porridge.
Proper treatment required expensive medicine and high-grade healing crystals, imbued with this world’s unique magic, easily worth one or two gold coins.
Even if he foolishly spent all his savings, it wouldn’t be enough. Yet abandoning her felt just as wrong…
No one with a shred of conscience could watch someone die in front of them and do nothing.
Then, a thought struck him.
Did the girl carry anything valuable?
If so, selling her belongings might fund her treatment, allowing him to save her life and keep the leftovers, guilt-free.
Eyeing the shattered but finely made fragments of armor on her, Rulin began searching her body.
Her figure was pleasing, slender waist, long legs, but the countless wounds, burns, and bruises erased any improper thoughts.
Working carefully around the injuries, he found nothing valuable: no jewelry, only a small money pouch.
He shook it lightly, guessing it held mere pocket change.
It had to be silver coins.
The reason was simple…
Rulin had seen plenty of these pouches before. Wealthier folk often carried small purses with just a few silver coins for casual spending.
Copper coins weren’t worth much. Even the larger ones, worth ten regular copper coins, became heavy if carried in bulk.
As for gold coins…
Each was like carrying ten thousand bucks.
No one casually walked around with tens of thousands in cash.
“Huh?!”
Rulin’s eyes widened as he opened the pouch.
He immediately dumped out the contents and rubbed his eyes.
Holy crap.
Gold coins!
Five gold coins and three silver coins!
Someone had actually been carrying fifty thousand in cash!
“Maybe she’s an adventurer? The kind who keeps all their money on them?” Rulin muttered.
Her battered armor and numerous injuries made that a likely guess.
Adventurers did tend to carry their wealth, but they also burned through money fast. It was a dangerous lifestyle, most preferred to invest in gear rather than save.
Having this much meant she was either saving up for something big, or simply hadn’t had time to spend it yet.
“Dead people can’t spend money anyway. I’m using your cash to save you, don’t blame me later,” Rulin said, shoving the pouch into his coat.
After one last glance at the unconscious girl, he rushed out.
His wooden cabin wasn’t far from Earth Spirit Town. At his usual jogging pace, it took twenty minutes.
With the girl’s condition critical, Rulin pushed harder and made it in fifteen.
He headed straight for Underground Treasures without hesitation.
It was one of many Earth Spirit Clan shops in town, a typical grocery store.
Most shops here were groceries, each specializing in different goods. Even after months in town, Rulin still couldn’t keep track of every inventory.
But he knew Underground Treasures like the back of his hand.
It was where the Obsidian Alchemy Cauldron he’d been eyeing for months was displayed.
Alongside groceries, they stocked alchemy supplies and medicines, perfect for finding what he needed.
The owner, a middle-aged Earth Spirit woman with wild curls, was known to regulars as Sister Juan.
She’d just finished with a customer when Rulin burst in.
“Well, if it isn’t little Rulin!” she called cheerfully. “What’s the rush? Finally saved enough for the cauldron?”
Rulin forced a smile. “Actually… There’s been an emergency. I’m here for someone else.”
“Someone else?” Sister Juan’s eyes sparkled. “Bringing me business, then?”
“Ah… I guess so?” Rulin scratched his head.
Her grin widened, eyes narrowing in satisfaction. “Good lad! I knew I didn’t waste my efforts looking out for you. What’s the boss got you buying?”
Rulin hesitated before answering, “One advanced healing crystal, two advanced recovery potions, a large jar of wound-cleaning solution, three jars of top-grade burn salve, and extra gauze with bandages. That’s all.”
Sister Juan raised an eyebrow.
This was a life-or-death order. No wonder the boy had come running.
Still, she maintained her businesslike calm and tallied the cost aloud. “Advanced crystal’s one gold. The rest… call it another gold. I’ll toss in the small stuff for free, but that’s still two gold total. Your client pay upfront?”
“Covered,” Rulin said, slapping two gold coins onto the counter. Though he was ready, his chest still tightened at the cost, lifesaving supplies burned through funds fast.
Someday, he’d be an alchemist and brew his own potions. Then his earnings would skyrocket. His fingers brushed the three remaining coins still in his pouch.
Sister Juan inspected the gold. “Wait here.” She disappeared behind crammed shelves. With no surveillance here, valuable goods stayed locked away.
The Obsidian Alchemy Cauldron in the display case caught Rulin’s eye. Three gold coins. His hands itched to touch it.
Hundreds of sleepless nights couldn’t earn this. Yet here he was, three gold coins in hand.
Not his, technically. But compensation for saving a life seemed fair. The unconscious girl wasn’t about to question padded expenses.
When Sister Juan returned with the wrapped medicines, Rulin exhaled sharply and placed the remaining three coins on the counter.
“More orders?” she asked, blinking.
“My service fee,” he said evenly. “That discount still stands?”
“It does, but…” She leaned closer. “Play fast with coins and knives end up at your door, boy.”
“I’ve got this.” Twenty lies sat ready on his tongue. That cauldron was his.
She hesitated, then exchanged gold for silver. Finally, she handed him a scroll. “Put this wherever you want the cauldron. Activate it, it’ll appear. And…” She slid a small vial toward him. “For ambitious lads.”
Rulin took the scroll and grinned. “Great! Thanks, Sister Juan!”
She shook her head. “Remember, if trouble comes, bring it back. We can earn money slowly, but never do forbidden things.”
Hearing her concern, a warmth stirred in Rulin’s chest. He nodded solemnly. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”
After giving a slight bow, he left the shop with his purchases.
Carrying the medicine made him walk carefully. It took twenty minutes to reach his cabin.
The girl still lay in bed, her face even paler than before.
Rulin rushed to prop her up and fed her a healing potion.
Gradually, color returned to her face after she swallowed the liquid.
Once her condition stabilized, Rulin began removing her damaged armor and clothes. Though he initially felt awkward, the discomfort vanished the moment he saw her gruesome wounds, the sight alone made his skin crawl.
He spent two hours cleaning the injuries with antiseptic solution, applying ointment, and wrapping bandages. By the time he finished, the girl’s body, below the neck resembled a mummy, swathed completely in gauze. Whether this was due to the sheer number of wounds or his poor bandaging skills remained unclear.
“Used all three jars of ointment,” Rulin sighed, administering a second recovery potion. Then he placed the healing crystal on her chest.
Since he lacked magic himself, Rulin opened the small magic potion bottle Sister Juan had given him. As a few drops fell onto the crystal, a soft light began to glow from within it.
Under the gentle radiance, the girl’s lips regained color, while Rulin’s minor scrapes from herb-gathering healed instantly. Even his chronic backache faded.
“No wonder this crystal costs a gold coin,” he murmured, recalling Earth Spirit Town’s medical practices. A similarly injured person there had fully recovered after crystal treatment, this girl should too.
With the emergency under control, Rulin turned to the summoning scroll. His hands trembled slightly as he held it.
The Obsidian Alchemy Cauldron. Finally his.
He cleared space at the center of the cabin, pushing aside his few belongings. Laying the scroll on the floor, he prepared to activate it using the magic potion.
A rustling sound from the bed stopped him.
The girl’s eyelids fluttered open. Her head turned mechanically toward Rulin.
Their eyes met.
What stared back were empty voids, soulless, vacant, utterly lifeless.
“You’re awake,” Rulin blurted out instinctively. “You’re safe now…”
The girl’s pupils sharpened.
A force suddenly slammed Rulin backward. Before he could react, he found himself pinned beneath her. Her hands clamped around his throat, fingers slender yet terrifyingly strong, strong enough to crush bone.