Immortal Freeloader 10 (Patreon)

“Thank you for all the free food,” I said as I bowed at her, then turned, ready to leave. Her panic was too thick for her to just worry about me. They were clearly here for her. I didn’t know the story between them … and I didn’t have the time to ask that. 

“It was a pleasure for me as well,” she said as she reached under her stall, fumbling. “Don’t use Tiger Fist in any cities, they have dojos everywhere,” she said, then pushed a small bag into my hand. “Now, go.” 

I didn’t need to check the contents of the bag to know exactly what was inside. 

[Cultivation Difference Bonus - 20; Pity Bonus - 30 (Capped)]

[50x Return - Uncooked Savage Meat Skewer, Mortal High-Grade]

[50x Return - 10 Gold Pieces]

[50x Return - Carving Knife, Mortal Medium-Grade]

“Take care of yourself,” I said, and walked away. I wanted to run, but it would make people remember. They were still a distance away, and staying under the radar was the smarter choice. 

Halfway, I looked back and saw the stall was empty. 

Marana was gone. 

“A pity,” I said, but the moment I was away from people, I started running toward the general direction of Markas, stopping my hiding spot to get the Tiger Fist manual. The city was quite a bit of a distance away. It would take more than a week if I ran as long as I didn’t burn essence desperately, but I did, so I could arrive at my destination soon. 

There was no point in staying in the wilderness. It was the city that allowed me to truly act around. 

Running endlessly had a nice benefit. I could focus on replicating the sensation I had tried to capture while I had been running fast to deliver the news. The more I focused on the sensation, the faster I got…

It occurred to me that I was in the process of creating a new Martial Arts, one that had focused on running. As I focused on it, it clicked easily. In a way, it was like the sensation of breaking through when I practiced boxing during my arrival … but at the same time, it felt more profound. 

Why, I didn’t know. Running fast felt good. 

***

I didn’t slow down until the next morning, traveling all night to make sure I had put enough distance, even burning essence all the way, consuming five skewers. Her reaction suggested that they had been searching for Marana, but it only made sense that someone would babble about her regular customer, and they would try to find and interrogate me. 

I wanted to be out of the search radius in case they decided it. 

Even now, I didn’t plan to sleep. I was just resting before deciding on an action plan, whether staying in the forest was the better idea, or I should go to Markas. There were some sections that were supposed to be dangerous, but nothing that an Initiate couldn’t handle even without joining a caravan.  

And, at worst, I had the cloak and the carving knife for emergencies. 

“A good time to test those cooking lessons,” I decided, not wanting to waste the uncooked meat skewers Marana had given me. I might have better ones in my Inventory, but that didn’t mean I should waste food. 

I triggered the cooking lessons, both for ordinary and Mortal Low-Grade. They were far more detailed than the music lessons, carrying a lot of information about how to perfectly handle the meat. The ordinary one alone was enough to make me a decent cook. 

The savage meat cooking lesson was even more interesting, teaching me how to maintain the essence of a savage beast, a process that included a lot of information about how to butcher, store, and cook. 

I raised the knife she had given me, making some cutting motions, still fascinated by the way my fingers moved, as smooth as a professional chef's after a few practice swings.

The system-enhanced lessons were incredible. 

I started a fire, and soon, I had five savage meat skewers, each filling enough to allow me five Tiger Ascend punches. A significant amount of energy, but my cooking wasn’t as delicious as Marana’s. 

I would miss her. I just hoped that the warning was enough for her to get away. 

I passed by several beasts that I could have hunted, but I passed them without wasting too much time. Hunting them was a pointless affair, especially since none of them were savage beasts — something I knew from the descriptions of the others, but they were supposed to be distinctive enough. 

I pushed myself hard while I was moving through the forest, but soon, the wilderness behind me, was replaced with open fields and farmland, which running at full speed far too flashy. So, I changed kept my old clothes, and started walking. 

Being an idle scholar from a rich family was a good identity, and ultimately, I planned to change back to it. No one would expect me to fight, and while I potentially had money, the story of punishment would imply not too much. 

However, a scholar traveling alone would be remembered. A peasant would not, with many other similar-looking people walking around. If someone questioned me, I was going to the city to find better work. 

No one did, even after I found the road and came across many people. A brisk pace allowed me to cover quite a distance. I passed a few towns, but I didn’t stop by any of them. I had enough resources to make any benefit marginal at best, and disguising myself again and again would take too much time.  

As for disguising myself and buying a horse, there was a simpler problem that prevented that.

I didn’t know how to ride one. 

With that, as the darkness fell, I stopped by a town, and went to the cheapest inn I could find, which was outside the walls. But, before I even entered, a waiter appeared. “Do you have money?” he asked. 

“A bed and a dinner. How much?” I asked.

“A silver and five copper piece,” he answered, which was more expensive than Dumassa when factoring in the place's quality, but the proximity to the city made everything more expensive. I paid the money, which revealed little other stuff. “Another hopeful to the city?” he asked. I nodded. “What a waste of money,” he said. 

The city required a silver piece, or ten coins, for the entrance of a non-resident, which was not a small amount. 

“Better than getting old in a godforsaken village,” I said as I entered. 

“I hear you, brother,” someone interrupted. I looked, and saw a middle-aged man with a big, friendly smile. Too big, too friendly. “A young man has to have hope.” 

“As you say, senior,” I said with a nod, but rather than interacting with him, I went to the table the waiter had pointed. He was either a thief or a scammer — likely the latter — and I didn’t want the trouble of dealing with him. 

As for why he targeted me, it was clear. I was a villager trying my luck in the city, meaning I should have enough money to pay the entrance fee, and a little pocket money to tide me over. 

The waiter brought me my food. I wouldn’t have paid attention to him if the tankard of water he brought with me with the stew hadn’t smelled weird. And, once I paid attention to him, I noticed the waiter giving a subtle nod to the scammer. 

A good trick, I realized. The waiter’s offhand comment at the entrance confirmed that I should have money somewhere, and also created an opportunity for his partner to introduce himself casually. And, if that failed, drug their drink. It smelled weird, but only because I was a Martial Artist, which enhanced my senses considerably. 

I wanted to test my guess, and doing nothing else, I reached for the tankard, and the expression of the scammer brightened. 

I acted like I took a big sip, then I grabbed the spoon and acted like I ate, but my spoon was always empty. I smelled nothing wrong with the food, but I didn’t want to count that. My martial essence was supposed to neutralize low-class drugs, but I didn’t want to risk it. 

Once I ‘finished’ my dinner, I left the table, murmuring about taking some fresh air, but the moment I went out, I walked around the inn, and walked away rapidly, mixing into the shadows. 

“I wanted to sleep in a bed for once. Was that so much to ask?” I muttered as I found a nice hiding spot behind a tree. The scammer had appeared out a minute later, searching for me. But, after searching for a while, he admitted failure, and went inside, looking for his next victim. 

I didn’t intervene. I didn’t have the luxury of spreading justice before I understood exactly what the hell was going on. There was no way to pull such an obvious scam without the guards or the owners turning the other way, and it was better to avoid the mess altogether. 

For the rest of the night, I walked without stopping, even occasionally running. It was already morning when I climbed over a hill, and came across a walled city. 

Markas.