Ciri was almost asleep; while eating, Slade and the witches talked about many things she hardly understood...
But now it's good, everyone has left in different directions, and in the end, only Su Ming and her are left here.
"Dragon hide... bones..."
There were too many materials; she couldn't collect them all, and honestly, with some strange spices, the dragon meat tasted really good, making her enjoy it so much that she could hardly bend down.
"Forget it, just a flying dragon; I'll have a chance to take you to see a real giant dragon, the kind that can talk." Su Ming sat on a nearby tree stump, quietly smoking and calculating the gains from this trip.
After a moment, he stood up, instructing Ciri to return to the Chameleon Inn to wait for him, as he planned to buy a saddle bag.
.............
The witches were very efficient, selling quite a lot of parts from the dragon overnight, especially the dragon head, which sold well.
Now with enough money, he planned to first take Ciri to Ferren, buy a spatial bag, then go home.
He himself could leave using his old method first, while Ciri would lag a bit, follow the map to teleport to Deepwater City Pier.
After the Wild Hunt incident, Ciri's abilities had grown significantly, now like a Mind Transmitter, she could teleport anywhere she had seen.
But when Su Ming returned to Ferren and entered the Crystal Wall, he was directly teleported to an unknown place.
The new location looked like an oval-shaped room, chaotic in appearance, filled with the essence of everyday life.
Countless scrolls or books were casually stacked on the desktop, some magic props were tossed around like garbage.
The surrounding walls were wooden, giving a sense of age with white spots from sunlight or roof leakage staining them.
Outside the window, one could see the seawater gradually engulfing the rocks and then gradually receding, the foamy beach scenery seems never to change.
This is probably the second floor of a barn because when Su Ming suddenly stepped on the floor, the reddish-brown wooden planks creaked, and some straw emerged from the gaps.
An old man with a pipe was sitting in a rocking chair not far away, smiling at Su Ming.
The old man's beard was gray and white, wearing a red cloak with a worn robe underneath, curious little bags and props hanging around his chest.
Some threads cheekily poked out from his sleeves, just like their owner.
The Mage Hat was casually thrown on the table beside, pressing down a thick family chronicle, appearing golden in the sunlight from the window.
"Welcome to my humble shed, young Peng Luoke."
The old man had a coarse voice, eyes shining with spirited light, a weathered face, all showing the marks of time.
Su Ming sighed, removing his helmet.
"No one would think the Great Sage of Shadow Valley's dwelling place would be a shed, although it looks like a barn or mill, I believe it's one of the most indestructible Mage Towers in Ferren."
As he spoke, Ciri suddenly teleported beside him, perhaps standing was unstable; she hurriedly kept balance and stomped on the floor.
The fragile floorboards broke due to the sudden appearance of two people one after the other.
Ciri stumbled, sitting down with her shoe stuck in a hole.
"Ah."
She cautiously reached for her weapon but quickly realized there were no enemies here, besides the smiling old man, just Slade, and seemingly peeking outside the window was a small blue bird.
"Hehe, just as I said, a humble shed." Elminster stroked his long beard, happily winking at Su Ming, the Elder Master, with Sea Foam Pipe back in his mouth.
His tobacco emitted light smoke, and smelled like burning mint leaves.
Su Ming helped Ciri up, trying to find a place to sit and talk, but clearly, everywhere was piled with clutter unless they sat on Elminster's lap like visiting Santa Claus.
But now they are here, evidently not for gifts. The Magic Goddess Mistral teleported the two before her chosen one, there must be something.
Su Ming walked to the window, slightly moved a flower pot, leaning on the windowsill with Ciri, who was clearly curious about everything around.
She didn't say much, just quietly awaited.
"I wonder what you called us here for, Master?"
"Hmm, I noticed when you entered our world last time, and I discussed with the goddess, if you return, I'd like to chat, create a space passage right at where you came in; the young girl is merely a coincidence, her world-crossing method is different from yours."
Elminster had no purpose, he just wanted to chat.
The older he got, the more arbitrary his actions, he might generously toss a heap of gold coins to beggars or extort wealthy folks seeking favors.
Some say he went crazy, magical power eventually drove this Legendary Mage mad.
But he always said it truly showed his nature, he's just kind-hearted and hates evil.
Su Ming understood, Elminster is the chosen of the Magic Goddess Mistral, aligned with chaotic good, his ways now seem like an Old Mischievous.
He's also the highest-level mage apart from the liches from the Neserel era.
Level 1 Warrior, Level 2 Thief, Level 3 Priest, Level 24 Mage, Level 5 Grand Mage, with a bunch of Legendary Treasures, Challenge Level as high as 39.
"Just to chat?"
"Hmm, just to chat." Elminster glanced around, seemingly looking for something: "Leo?! Where did you go? Quickly bring the guests some drinks, poor young girl looks pale."
From a pile of scrolls in the corner, his pathetic scribe and assistant, Leo emerged, not his apprentice, but a loyal servant.
And clearly, he's overwhelmed by work and exhausted.
"No need, you better let him not rest under scrolls anymore, I brought my own drink, care for some alcohol?"
Su Ming waved, signaling poor assistant to go downstairs and sleep, resembling a state after binge gaming that seemed near death.
"Alcohol from outside the Crystal Wall System? Of course, I wouldn't miss it." The Elder Master directly used Mage's Hand to grab the bottle, not the slightest hint of courtesy: "Speaking of drinking, hey, I've never lost."
Su Ming also uncapped the bottle, secretly indicating to Ciri not to act rashly, he would negotiate with Elminster.
"So, what does the master want to chat about?"
"Dun dun dun..."
Indeed, Elminster wasn't lying; his house was just as humble, and he really loved drinking.
His drinking style was not like a Legendary Mage, but more like a Legendary Barbarian or some kind of Refined Gold Construct with a water-drinking function.
He gulped half the bottle of hard liquor.
From outside, leaves and grass rustled, the old man seemed to enjoy the feeling of drinking in the sun, as he comfortably sighed when putting down the bottle.
He recalled Su Ming's conversation, fiddling with his hair: "You are Peng Luoke, I've seen a few before, travelers through Endless World and planes, I can feel the spark in your hearts already ignited, burning fiercely now."
"So?" Su Ming raised an eyebrow, probing.
"Spark holders are extremely rare, and those who can ignite it even rarer. This indicates you've had fascinating adventures previously, I'd love to hear stories from your worlds, any story would do, I can exchange spells or magic props, would you satisfy an old man's curiosity?"
Su Ming squinted, was it really that simple? It seemed off, but the intelligence available was limited, the Elder Master's words were tight-lipped, offering no more intelligence.
Mages hundreds of years old are all wise.
But if it's just storytelling, then go along with it, since there's a good reward offered, Su Ming has no shortage of stories.
The old man's favorite things are drinking and adventure; he enjoys exploring unknown knowledge.
What was Dungeon Exploration in Su Ming's former world called?
Thus, Su Ming planned to tell the old man about the Tomb Raider Captain's stories...