"You mean... you are from the Water Tribe?" Viva nodded. "Are these fellows giving you a hard time? Do you want me to deal with them on your behalf?"
Lily was rendered speechless. "This guy's IQ…" She was trying very hard to suppress the urge to roll her eyes and remained silent.
Hearing no response from Lily, Viva was about to say more when suddenly the air turned chilling, and a suffocating presence arrived. Everyone felt the chill and started shivering out of fear.
Viva's gaze fell on the snake tattoo on Lily's neck, which looked alive and seemed to be staring at him with deep grudge.
Viva was shocked and took a step back out of fear; his face turned pale instantly.
Lily seemed to not have noticed the change in the atmosphere, as she had a confused expression on her face, looking at the shocked Viva.
"First Chief's son Viva, please excuse us; we are heading to the market," Berry, sensing the tense atmosphere, immediately took the initiative to flee.
"Enjoy your day," Viva quickly replied, and both Berry and Lily left.
"First Tribe Chief's son Viva, you have clearly taken a liking to that female. Why don't you approach her?" a male cat beastman inquired, looking at Lily's disappearing figure.
"The change in atmosphere just now belongs to her snake mate," Viva responded.
The cat beastman was stunned. "He's so powerful!" he exclaimed.
Viva's brows knitted together. "No matter what, I must be her mate. It seems I will need to see my grandfather," he contemplated, turning around immediately.
.....
Lily and Berry continued their journey and spotted the moldy gutter. Seeing it, an idea popped into Lily's head.
"Berry, you wait here."
"Huh? What are you up to?" Berry asked, slightly confused.
"Just stay and watch," Lily replied as she went inside the mold. She buried herself inside as if she were bathing, and when she emerged again, her beautiful features were all masked by mold, leaving her beautiful ocean blue eyes to stand out more. Even though she wasn't entirely ugly, at least she wouldn't be the center of attention. "How do I look?" She flashed Berry a sweet smile.
Berry was stunned. "Beautiful sister, why are you hiding your beauty?" she questioned in confusion.
"You don't know... being too beautiful will attract more trouble for me," Lily replied, walking toward her.
Berry frowned. "That's not it! Beautiful sister, beauty will attract more powerful males just like that snake beast mate of yours. Isn't it a blessing?" she remarked.
Lily chuckled. "Only you would call it a blessing. To me, it's a disaster," she responded. "Even in my world, I hide my beauty to avoid trouble. What assurance do I have that there won't be trouble if I don't hide it early in this world?" she thought.
"This is the first time I'm seeing someone willing to hide her beauty. Even though no one is as beautiful as you, they are still proud of it," Berry commented.
"Not everyone is the same," Lily smiled.
"Indeed... you are really different. Perhaps you're a rare treasure," Berry thought.
"I should be able to avoid future trouble. I just need to conceal my appearance every day," Lily pondered, but little did she know that real trouble was about to start, even after concealing her remarkable beauty.
.....
The market was bustling with various beasts selling and buying. It was very lively, and Lily's eyes widened in wonder.
"Wow!" Lily exclaimed.
"Why does beautiful sister look so surprised? Is it your first time visiting the market?" Berry inquired.
Lily nodded in excitement. "It's quite lively and peaceful," she commented, glancing around with enthusiasm.
Berry chuckled and grabbed her hand. "Come, let me take you to the treasure shop," she said, dragging her toward an even more lively spot.
There were many natural items for sale, and Lily couldn't help but exclaim another "wow" as she looked at everything. "All the things sold here are very valuable. Huh, isn't that gold?" she murmured as her gaze fell on the stones displayed on a table for sale. Without a word, she walked forward to pick one up and examine it. "It's indeed gold!" Her eyes widened in excitement.
"Beautiful sister, what do you want to do with this ordinary stone? Let's go check something else," Berry suggested.
Lily looked at Berry. "Aiya... this naive girl, you call this an ordinary stone? If I were to sell this in my world, it would exchange for millions," she thought. "I like it," she replied.
Berry had a confused expression on her face. "What's there to like? What type of weird taste does she have?" she thought.
"Female, do you want stones?" a male cat beastman asked in excitement. "I have bigger stones. Would you like some? I have more that are bigger than this." He stared straight into her beautiful blue eyes. "What beautiful eyes," he thought.
Lily raised her brows. "Usually, big stones are not always real. Will it be the same in this world?" she pondered. "Let me have a look."
Immediately, the cat beastman ran inside, and not long after, he rolled out a very huge stone. "This is it!"
Lily's eyes widened. "Pardon! Why is it so huge!" She screamed inwardly and immediately bent down to examine it carefully. "Goodness! It's gold! Ah! It's gold! I am fucking rich!" She was so overjoyed that she burst into laughter.
"Err... beautiful sister, why are you so excited over this worthless stone?" Berry asked in confusion.
"Don't call it worthless... don't call it worthless, okay?" Lily chastised, still grinning like a child. "How can you call trillions of money worthless, huh?" she screamed inwardly. "Buddy, how much does this cost?" she asked the cat beastman in English.
Both Berry and the cat beastman exchanged confused glances.
"Damn it, I was too excited that I blurted out the wrong language," she coughed lightly and said, "I'm asking for the price."
"Oh... give me two scent leaves in exchange," the male cat beastman replied.
"They don't use currency, but natural items for exchange. If my world were as simple as this, how great would it be!" Lily thought excitedly. "Um... I don't have that with me now. Can you keep this for me? I will definitely come back for it," she stated.
"Since beautiful sister loves it so much, then it's on me. After all, I was the one who brought you here," Berry remarked, looking at the cat beastman. "We're taking this with us; you can come to my house to collect your payment," she declared simply.
"Err... things are also done like that?" Lily thought.
The male cat beastman looked at Berry and nodded. "You can take it away," he said and summoned a wolf beastman.
The wolf beastman was a handsome young man dressed in sackcloth. His hair was long and white, and atop his head were a pair of wolf ears, which were his own. His irises were pitch black and emotionless, and behind him swayed a mighty tail. He look just perfect and wanting.
Seeing the wolf, Lily was taken aback. "There's a wolf in the cat tribe?" she wondered.
As if reading Lily's thoughts, Berry chuckled. "This market is the only market we cats own. Many people from different tribes always visit here to buy their needs. A seller can demand anything in exchange for the goods they sell, and the buyer can offer something they think is valuable. If what the buyer offers satisfies the seller, the seller can accept it; if not, he can reject it. This wolf here is from the wolf tribe, and he was exchanged for the stone," she explained.
"Oh," Lily nodded. "So this is the only market in this world. Their exchange rate is a little bit strange. In my world, only money is used to exchange for anything," she thought.
"You... help the two females with this stone," the male cat beastman ordered.
The wolf locked eyes with Lily. His emotionless gaze showed glimmers of interest as he readily grabbed the huge stone, raised it effortlessly, and gestured for Lily to lead the way.
Lily was astonished. "He carries it just like that?" she thought, clearly amazed.
Berry smiled. "Beautiful sister, even after hiding your beauty, you are still attractive," she mused.
"Berry, I think this is enough for today. Let's go home," Lily suggested.
"No clothes?" Berry replied, slightly taken aback.
"We will buy them next time," Lily answered excitedly.
"Alright, let's go," Berry agreed, and the trio left.
....
Back at Berry's house, the wolf placed the stone down, his eyes fixed on Lily from the beginning to the end.
"Let me get the scent leaves. You can deliver it to him and tell him not to bother coming again," Berry instructed the wolf as she entered the house.
Lily noticed that the wolf's gaze didn't shift from her, and she felt a flutter of nervousness. "Um... will I pay you?" she asked hesitantly.
The wolf shook his head.
"Oh," Lily nodded.
Berry emerged, presenting the wolf with the two scent leaves. "That's it, you may leave". She stated.
The wolf looked at Lily, a little hesitant, before he finally departed.
As she watched him disappear from view, Lily let out a breath. "What a strange wolf," she remarked.
Berry chuckled but didn't elaborate. "Beautiful sister, what do you plan to do with this stone? Do you want to use it for sitting?"
Lily turned to Berry, surprised. "You use this for sitting?" she questioned.
Berry nodded. "It can be used for sitting or to build a house or a bed."
Lily's mouth dropped open. "Such a treasure is being wasted like this while I'm so poor," she lamented inwardly. "You know what? I won't use this stone for a bed or sitting. I want to create something unexpected from it," she replied. "I can't just sit still in this world; I should start a business and gradually become rich!" she exclaimed inwardly.
Berry appeared confused. "What unexpected things are you going to make out of it?" she asked.
Lily smiled charmingly. "Just you wait and see. I'm in a good mood! Let me tell you how that reverse cowgirl style is done; come closer."