CHAPTER 1810: CHAPTER 31: QIAN SHEEP OIL

"I was originally auditing the shop accounts."

"At noon, there weren’t many customers, and after this bald guy entered, he wandered around for a while. When he was the only customer left in the shop, he suddenly made his move, casting a few spells to knock us out."

"Then we watched helplessly as he stuffed Dingdang Ears into his bag. It was at that moment that Dingdong Ear and a few cats, who had been in the back warehouse inventorying goods, returned and scared off this robber."

"Almost at the same time, the Doctor freed himself from the Binding Spell and chased after him..."

Fox Five quickly described his encounter in the shop to Robert Lee. Dingdong Ear and a few cats huddled next to Dingdang Ears, glancing around cautiously, looking like they wanted to leave but didn’t dare to.

Xin Fat Man somehow squeezed back into the space between Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao, holding his notebook and feather pen, with an excited expression as if he had caught onto big news.

Zheng Qing glanced sideways at the fat man, holding back the urge to punch him, and turned to Xiao Xiao: "Why did you stay so long in the shop? Weren’t you just going to check the accounts?"

"There aren’t many goods in the shop."

Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses: "Originally, we were selling the Bell Lake Fishman and Mouse Clan specialties, but you all know the current situation with the Mouse Clan; their shelves have been empty for quite some time... Today, while I was checking the accounts in the shop, I heard that the Wandering Bar across the street had a batch of Qi Yang Oil for sale, so I went over and sat for a bit, ended up spending quite some time bidding for it."

As the saying goes, the speaker is unintentional, but the listener is attentive. After hearing the Doctor’s explanation, Zheng Qing and Xin Fat Man focused on two entirely different directions.

"Qi Yang Oil?"

Xin Fat Man’s eyes lit up, and his whole face seemed to glow: "Where there’s Qi Yang Oil, there must be Qi Yang Meat! Are they selling Qi Yang Meat? How much? Is it cooked or raw?"

As he spoke, he swallowed hard, with a suspicious clear liquid glistening at the corner of his mouth.

"The Wandering Bar is still open?"

Zheng Qing, on the other hand, was intrigued by another name mentioned by the Doctor. He frowned, continuing to ask, "After the Dark Council made such a big mess on the Black Prison Battlefield, the Wandering Wizard hasn’t fled?"

Xiao Xiao leaned back, looking left and right, momentarily unsure which question to answer first.

After a moment, he carefully chose to address Zheng Qing’s confusion: "After the Black Tide ended, the Wandering Bar was actually closed for a while, but it reopened more than half a month ago... However, I didn’t see him today either; there were only a few Multi-arm Tribe Attendants in the shop... Officially, the notice issued by Beta Town states that the Wandering Bar complies with tax regulations and operates legally."

At these words, several listeners, including Zheng Qing, all simultaneously curled their lips. If the ’underground market’ Wandering Bar, famous in the whole wizarding world, was considered law-abiding, then Danghag might as well be abolished.

Perhaps feeling that this official claim was too ridiculous, Xiao Xiao shook his head, not entirely repeating it, but instead sharing his own assessment: "...But according to the information I gathered at the Wandering Bar, it’s likely that the school has reached some agreement with the Dark Council, so the Wandering Bar is allowed to continue its operations."

Xin Fat Man snorted disdainfully: "Is that why you drink Amber Light in broad daylight?"

"You can’t just ask for information with nothing to offer," said Xiao Xiao, suddenly remembering something, as he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and tucked it into Fox Five’s arms.

Fox Five was in the middle of responding to the sheriff’s inquiry and didn’t react immediately, dumbly taking it.

"What?" Zheng Qing caught a glimpse of what appeared to be the Wandering Bar’s emblem on the paper.

"Reimbursement receipt," Xiao Xiao wiped the corner of his mouth, looking serious: "Whether it’s helping with procurement or gathering information, I can’t be the only one paying... Don’t worry, I’ll raise this issue at the Hunting team meeting, it’s totally above board."

Zheng Qing had no doubt about this—although he always felt Xiao Xiao was misusing public funds, now was not the time to delve into these details.

"I also have receipts I want reimbursed." The fat man enviously watched this scene.

Xiao Xiao waved his hand nonchalantly: "No problem, as long as the reasons are sound and the uses justified, we’ll reimburse you after approval at the Hunting team full meeting."

The fat man heavily sighed, and even his feather pen seemed dispirited. He didn’t have the rhetorical skills and prestige of the Doctor, and his budding desire for publicly funded dining was squashed before it could fully form.

"Is Qi Yang really that rare?" Zheng Qing noted the fat man’s dejected expression and remembered his earlier question.

"Not really, but it’s definitely not common."

The fat man recorded the surrounding idle chatter in his notebook while simply answering Zheng Qing’s question: "It’s a magical creature originally from Money Mountain. The school introduced a batch into the Silent Forest... They resemble sheep, but have a horse’s tail. Their meat is tender, and the oil can remove wrinkles, which is why many witches love using Qi Yang Oil as a base for their cosmetics."

Xiao Xiao added: "It’s said that this batch of Qi Yang Oil from the Wandering Bar was extracted from a group of Qi Yangs that died outside the town during the recent Black Tide. Their bones and flesh have already been taken by a few prominent families in the West District."

The Beta Town West District houses many estates of wizarding families, including the Greenhill Mansion. Hearing that the Qi Yang meat had already been taken by the wizards there, the fat man sighed, knowing his chances were gone.

"No wonder it can remove wrinkles..." Zheng Qing then realized why Xiao Xiao wanted to buy this batch of Qi Yang Oil. They had privately discussed this many times before; the easiest and most profitable business on the entire pedestrian street was related to witches.

"I want Qi Yang Oil too!" Li Meng, nearby, perked up at the words ’remove wrinkles’, and unceremoniously stretched out her hand in front of Xiao Xiao: "Give me two or three pounds first, let me see the effect."

"You’re too young to use Qi Yang Oil." Zheng Qing impatiently pushed aside the little witch’s arm.

Xiao Xiao tilted his head, glanced at her, and also took a look at Su Ya holding Poseidon and Zhu Si standing bored behind the group.

"Why are they here?" He turned back and looked at Zheng Qing in surprise.

Zheng Qing rolled his eyes.

He didn’t know how to answer this question either.

Before he could figure out what to say, he heard a ’hissing’ sound similar to a deflating balloon coming from the empty space nearby, followed by four or five figures appearing one after another.

Some were wearing black robes, others grey, and a few wore red and white robes—Zheng Qing could easily identify those with the Trident Sword emblem on their chest as the ones wearing black robes, the grey-robed ones were from the School Works Committee, and those in the red and white robes were inevitably part of the school patrol team.

Though it was unclear why they had only now arrived on the scene.