That Was No Cesspool

Amidst this heap of battered, tattered toys, he caught sight of a familiar glow flickering. It was the luster of exotic treasures. Of course! It suddenly dawned on him. Over all these years, who knew how many ghost creature corpses this crocodile had devoured? Even if the drop rate of exotic treasures was abysmal, a few were bound to drop eventually. And to the crocodile, wouldn't these glowing objects be rare, novel toys? He slowly picked up the sheer ghost skin in his hands, which shimmered with white light and was thin as a cicada's wing. - [Exotic Treasure Name]: Eternal Night Land Deed [Exotic Treasure Grade]: Green [Exotic Treasure Effect]: Must be placed within "ghost fire." Once placed, the lord will possess absolute ownership over the land within the camp domain; without permission, no one else can construct or place any structures within the camp domain. - "..." Chen Fan gazed down at the sheer ghost skin in his hands, eyes flashing with brilliance. Taking a deep breath, he looked toward the crocodile beside him, which was watching him with eager anticipation. "Hey, could you give this to me?" The crocodile nodded in a hurry, its eyes brimming with delight, clearly overjoyed that its new friend was accepting one of its toys. "Uh..." Probing cautiously, he picked up another exotic treasure from the pile of toys. "Can I have this one too?" It was a building blueprint. - [Exotic Treasure Name]: Wind Tower [Exotic Treasure Grade]: White [Exotic Treasure Effect]: A special city defense building blueprint; can conjure strong winds. - This time, the crocodile seemed a bit hesitant. After wrestling with itself for a moment, it reluctantly tore its gaze away from the white-glowing building blueprint and gave a firm, heavy nod. "Then what about this one, and this, and this..." In one breath, Chen Fan scooped up the remaining three exotic treasures in the toy pile, holding them up as he looked tentatively at the crocodile. The next moment, the crocodile's spirits visibly slumped. Chen Fan could even see a glimmer of tears in its eyes, as if it were about to burst into tears at any second. "Five hundred roasted carcasses!" Seeing this, Chen Fan hurriedly held up five fingers and gestured, "I'll give you five hundred roasted carcasses! Enough to fill an entire new storage chamber!" The moment the words left his mouth, the crocodile perked right back up. Its eyes rolled around as it pondered for a moment, and then it gave another vigorous nod, thrashing its tail with eager excitement. "Phew..." Looking at the happily appeased crocodile, Chen Fan felt a twinge of embarrassment, feeling somewhat like he had just swindled a child. "Uh, well, don't you like rare things? In the future, I'll find you plenty more toys." Who knew whether the crocodile understood. He only saw it rummage out a clump of lush green flowers from another corner, quickly gulp them down, and then signal that they could head back. The man and crocodile made their way back along the main passage and exited the cave, preparing to head down the mountain and return to camp. Just then— Chen Fan abruptly froze in his tracks. Only now did he notice another deep pit near the cave entrance, filled with a massive heap of dung and ghost stones. He stood rooted to the spot for a long while before turning his head toward the crocodile in utter bewilderment. "Brother, this is...?" The crocodile cocked its head, giving him a puzzled look, before demonstrating by stepping up to the edge of the pit and sticking its rear out over the void. A foul-smelling dollop of dung dropped into the pit. It turned back to look at him again, as if saying: *A cesspool. What's there to be confused about?* "Uh..." Chen Fan took a deep breath, suppressing the surge of excitement in his chest. "Brother, can you give these to me?" Worried the crocodile might not understand, he pulled a ghost stone from his robes, brought it to his lips to kiss it, and then tucked it back into his robes with utmost care, demonstrating to the crocodile how precious ghost stones were to him. The next moment, he read an unmistakable look of disgust and horror in the crocodile's eyes. That expression... It was exactly like watching someone eat shit. Though utterly baffled, the crocodile still generously nodded in agreement. Then it patted its belly and shook its head rapidly and emphatically. Its meaning was crystal clear: it was willing to use its stomach to help a friend haul dirt out of the canyon, but there was absolutely no way in hell it was going to transport this shit back in its belly. "No problem!" Chen Fan grinned widely. "Leave the rest to us. Come on, brother, back to camp!" Climbing back onto the crocodile's back, he rushed down the mountain, then swung atop his Skeleton Horse and galloped along the canyon back toward camp. That was no cesspool. It was clearly a mountain of gold! With this haul of ghost stones to support him, he could complete his "Meat Grinder" defense network much faster and make the camp vastly more secure! ... There was still some time before nightfall. Chen Fan, Zhou Mo, and the others had already arrived at the mountaintop in full gear. With his sleeves rolled up, Zhou Mo stood by the rim of the cesspool, laughing excitedly as he looked at the ghost stones coated in dung, completely ignoring the foul stench hanging in the air. Dirty was good. If it weren't dirty, he wouldn't even feel comfortable taking it, fearing it might shorten his lifespan from sheer undeserved luck. Everyone in the camp was present, save for Qi Chong. Each of them rolled up their sleeves, grabbed shovels and other tools, and jumped into the cesspool. They wiped the dung clean from the ghost stones and loaded them into the chests brought up beside the pit—the very five chests taken from the mourning ghost chieftains. "So many... so many..." Wang Kui looked like Fan Jin after passing the imperial exam, a goofy grin plastered across his face without fading. Standing in the sludgy, squelching muck of the cesspool, he wiped each ghost stone clean and carefully packed it into a chest. For a warehouse manager, having more ghost stones in the warehouse brought an unmatched sense of fulfillment. With a clear division of labor among the group, the nearly overflowing cesspool gradually grew shallower, while the empty chests steadily filled to the brim. "..." Standing off to the side in the rain, Chen Fan watched the scene with a broad smile. He didn't jump in himself; as the lord, his job was to command the big picture. Tedious, hands-on labor was best left to his subordinates. He turned his head to look through the heavy rain nearby. The crocodile was currently lying on the ground, watching them with a profoundly conflicted expression, the emotion in its reptilian eyes virtually indescribable. ... Time ticked by bit by bit. All five large chests were packed full to bursting. The sheer quantity looked astounding—after all, Tier 1 ghost stones made up the majority, giving one the distinct sensation of striking it rich overnight, even though the total number was actually less than what had been seized from slaughtering the mourning ghost chieftains. Once tallied up, the count stood at 4,492 stones. Meanwhile, the already sludgy cesspool had turned even softer and muddier after being thoroughly dredged. "Not bad at all." Chen Fan looked rather satisfied toward the crocodile, which had remained prostrate on the ground the entire time. Grinning, he said, "Let's go. Time to head home!" Right then, the crocodile crawled over to another patch of flat ground and scratched at the soil with its claws a few times. It unearthed yet another sealed, brimming cesspool. Who knew how long this pit had been buried—its contents had already fermented quite a bit. The moment it saw the light of day once more, an aged, pungent stench rushed right at them. The crocodile darted off into the distance, refusing to come even an inch closer. Zhou Mo and the others, who had felt a bit unsatisfied when the digging ended, stared in stunned surprise at first. Then, shaking with excitement, they grabbed their tools and charged over, their voices trembling with wild thrill: "There's more?!" "We're rich! We're rich! Stationmaster, this time we've truly struck gold!"