Van woke up feeling chipper and alert. He donned his robes and combed his hair. The Lantern Festival was a day in which everyone took care to look their best and most presentable, so he was putting in extra effort into his appearance.

After Van put on his shoes, he wrapped his harpoons around his arms and hid them with his sleeves. Then he slung his axe on his shoulders.

Van left the room and went to grab breakfast with Ryan. When he saw the other boy, Ryan was beaming from ear to ear. Van smiled.

"Congratulations!"

The grey-haired boy shook his head, "I should be thanking you. The five Brown King Ant beast cores allowed me to push straight to the 3rd level of Qi Distillation!"

"It was like you said. If you swallow them the spiritual power a.s.similate faster, but you will also get a lot of demonic impurities. If you hold them in your hand while you cultivate, the results take longer but the energy is much purer. Due to that, I progressed smoothly. Thank you, Van. Becoming an outer disciple… You have changed my destiny twice."

Ryan knelt to the ground and tried to kowtow, but Van quickly pulled him up. Van felt slightly embarra.s.sed.

Van scratched his head. What to say? How did people have friends?

"It's fine. Um. I will be glad to have someone I trust in the outer sect," he scratched his head again, "Get strong quickly and fight by my side."

Ryan felt as if there were a burning flame inside him, "I will train harder so that I can fight at your level."

Once Ryan spoke these words, he felt immensely relieved. As if a knot within him had loosened. His goals now were simple.

Van smiled, "I am going to the Mystery Object Sale today. Fortunes are changed there. An item bought for even three coppers may turn out to be an ancient treasure worth millions of spirit stones."

Ryan looked intrigued, "Really? That sounds… almost like a scam…"

Van shrugged, "Probably will be. But it'll be fun to have a look anyway."

Ryan smirked, "Sounds like a plan."

Van smacked his head, "First things first, I need to pick something up!"

____

[Goldman's Forge, Leyra District, Dragon City.]

Van left Ryan at the small restaurant they were having dinner at and headed for Goldman's Forge. It was a large, hulking affair with ma.s.sive plumes of black smoke emitting from it. The door was lined with silver and gold – but no one dared to chip pieces of it off for the money. Afterall, the forge was protected under Imperial Decree.

Van pushed his hand against the s.h.i.+ny metallic door and entered a blazing forge.

Inside, hot air a.s.saulted him. Van, due to his affinity for fire, felt extremely comfortable in this type of environment. He breathed in the fumes unique to a place that smelted and shaped metal daily.

A wiry young man saw him and nodded to a female shop a.s.sistant standing near the door. Then he resumed his work hammering at something inside the forge.

The young girl walked up to him, "How may I help you, sir?"

"I am here to pick up an item," Van replied.

"Then may I have your order number please, sir?"

Van raised an eyebrow, "I don't have one!"

The girl stuttered, "Umm… that is… If you do not have an order number, I cannot help you!"

Van tried to remember what the shopkeeper at the trade store had told him but did not recall an order number.

The young girl became fl.u.s.tered. She looked pointedly at the wiry young man at the forge.

The young man saw her look and took his mitts off. When someone replaced him at the forge, he approached Van and inserted himself between Van and the young girl defensively.

"What is the problem here?"

Van looked at the other young man, "I am here to pick up a promised item, but I do not have an order number!"

The wiry young man was angered, "This is a famous and reputable armoury, and my grandfather is the Royal Armourist here. If you do not have an order number, we do not owe you any items!"

Despite wanting to be calm, Van was beginning to get ticked off.

"May I talk to someone more senior, please."

The young man did not like Van's attempt to diminish his authority, "There is absolutely no need for that! If you want something you must order it, pay and then wait a few weeks. Since you cannot divulge your order number, do not make this difficult for me."

Van replied simply, "I am simply asking that I be able to speak to someone more senior. I am not making this difficult for you."

The wiry young man's face grew red, "Still talking back?"

He puffed up and was about to angrily push Van away, "Leave! Before I call security on you!"

Van sidestepped his pus.h.i.+ng motion and simply walked away. The wiry young man's face went livid purple.

"You! Stop!"

But Van was too fast. In a few seconds, he was very close to the inner forge where more experience masters were working on pieces of armour. As he closed in, shadows dropped down from the ceiling. They restrained him, but Van called out loudly in a calm voice.

"Let me see the Royal Armourist! His grandson is trying to kick me out, but I am only here to pick up an item that was promised to me!"

No one responded. The security guards tried to drag him away.

Van took a harder stance, he yelled to the back: "Is this how you treat your benefactors? Your friend told me you desperately needed the sh.e.l.l of the Queen Brown King Ant and I generously sold it for a higher price in exchange for a set of armour! Are you ignoring a promise that you made to your old friend?"

The security guards continued to drag him. However, for some reason this young man felt heavier than a hundred ingots of steel! Their progress was extremely slow.

The wiry young man was glaring at Van with hatred in his eyes.

At that moment, a very tall and round shape emerged from the back forge. When they removed their breathing mask, Van saw a wrinkled but jolly face.

"What is this commotion about? Is my grandson making trouble again?"

Van saw his opportunity. He immediately adjusted his att.i.tude and performed a full bow.

"Senior! This disciple here is from the Cedar Sect. Last week, I sold a large segment of a Queen Brown King Ant's sh.e.l.l to a friend of yours, who informed me that you were urgently seeking this material would be happy to supply me with some plate armour in exchange for a lower buying price. He told me his name was Luther!"

The old man's blue eyes widened, "So, it is you the armour is intended for, young chap! I am Reginald, but everyone calls me Reggie. I am Cloud River's Royal Amourist, and you indeed saved me from a pinch by quickly supplying me with that quality specimen. Come, come!"

Reginald beckoned for Van to follow him to the storage room.

Van nodded and followed.

Behind him, the wiry young man's face paled, "W-what?"

Reginald chatted happily about his memories with his best friend Luther as he and Van walked to the storage rooms.

"You know, that fella has saved me more times than I can count now. It is really great you know, when you are an armourist and your best friend trades materials, really convenient! Plus, he's a great fella. Did he tell you about the time we were chased by an angered tiger across three mountains? We both thought that was the end of the rope you know, we were going to die…. Oh, we are here!"

Reginald, despite the significant fat he had around his body, also had some serious strength and physique. He pulled open an immense-looking steel door with a complex locking mechanism on the front.

Reginald walked in quickly and soon returned with a set of gleaming red armour.

"I did a good job," Reginald said, admiring his own handiwork, "This is just as good as the larger set I sent to the general's son! I am calling it the 'Crimson Monarch Plate Armour.'"

Van was immediately taken with the Crimson Monarch plate armour. It looked magnificent!

"It is just thin enough that you can comfortably wear this beneath your robes," Reginald said, beaming, "You might want to try that out!"

Van nodded enthusiastically, "May I put this on now?"

Reginald laughed with great booming sounds, "So pa.s.sionate! I like that you like it so much, young man! There is a s.p.a.ce where you can change back in the front of the store, I will take you back there."

They returned to the front of the store. There were several fitting rooms to one side.

Van went into a secluded room and changed into the Crimson Monarch plate armour.

It fitted perfectly like a second skin and moved fluidly with him. Its weight was barely noticeable to Van.

Satisfied, Van directly threw his robes over the top and left the store.

Behind him, the wiry young man was gnas.h.i.+ng his teeth.

[That b.a.s.t.a.r.d!! He made me embarra.s.s myself in front of the girl I like!]

SMACK!

A strong force suddenly hit the young man on the b.u.m! He turned around angrily but came face to face with the stormy face of his grandfather.

"Grandad, he-!"

Another strike to his b.u.t.t.

"Still making excuses! Haven't I told you countless times to try to understand a situation more thoroughly before you begin to angrily shout again? Can't you be a little more patient? Or were you too busy worrying about how good you looked in front of that girl? Well guess what, you look a right fool right now!"

The young man was mortified. He ducked his head down and could do nothing but helplessly take his grandfather's verbal las.h.i.+ng.

___

Van retrieved Ryan from the small restaurant and they emerged onto the street. The sound of hundreds of people's chatter filled the evening air.

Van walked around the streets with Ryan, sampling a few snacks for dessert here and there and buying tiny lantern-holding figurines for Finn.

Eventually the sun set and the only source of light were the thousands of glittering lanterns in the sky.

Van perked up, "The sun sets at six. That means the Mystery Object Sale is starting in half an hour!"

As the duo walked to the street the Mystery Object Sale was held in, Van spotted a very familiar figure up ahead. Wearing pink robes, her distinctive buns had been changed into a flying fairy's knot. Two dangling pearl earrings added an elegant and mature aura to her childish face.

Van was curious, "Is that Delphine girl going to the Mystery Object Sale as well?"

It seemed to be true, for she seemed to be ever-present as they navigated the streets.

Van pulled out a ragged map he had bought from a street vendor and checked the address, "That's strange. It should be really close by now… Ooft!"

There was a girlish scream. Then the sound of two bodies. .h.i.tting the pavement.