The next morning, Ron woke up and perked up immediately.
He gathered all his belongings and, half an hour later, arrived at the stone house pointed by the system's intelligence the night before.
The stone house was close to the mountainside, not very large, only about sixty to seventy square meters. It seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, with the door and windows tightly closed and the lock rusty.
Without a key, Ron picked up a stone and smashed the lock several times. The lock broke, accompanied by the creaking sound of the door hinge. Ron pushed open the door, and a musty and decaying smell rushed out.
Inside, the room was filled with dust and cobwebs. Ron covered his nose, waited for the dust to settle, and squinted to look around. He saw that the room contained only a stone bed, a stone table, and a stone stool, with nothing else.
"Fortunately, the windows aren't broken, the roof doesn't leak, and there's a door bolt, so I don't have to worry anymore," Ron thought, satisfied with the stone house. Previously, when he lived in the abandoned wooden house, he was always worried about wild animals or bad weather.
But now, the security of the stone house was greatly improved, and he could finally have a good night's sleep.
After putting down his pots and pans, Ron quickly tidied up and then set off for Hippo Town as planned.
At 10 a.m., Ron arrived at the town gate of Hippo Town, where several guards in uniforms with long swords were stationed. They were the town's defenders, responsible for screening people coming and going. Without the appropriate identity proof, entry was not allowed.
"Stop!" One of the guards stepped forward, eyeing Ron warily.
"Please show your identity proof."
Ron, who had been in the wild for a long time, had cleaned himself up, but he still looked tattered, like a slave refugee. Naturally, the guards didn't dare to let him in casually.
Ron calmly took out the free citizen certificate he had prepared in advance from his pocket. Although his family's property and land had been taken by Barto, as long as he paid the free citizen tax, he was still a free citizen and could enter any town.
After carefully checking, the guard's brow eased, and he nodded.
"I'm sorry, sir, but recently there have been signs of magical beasts in the wild, so the defense of Hippo Town has become stricter. I hope you can understand.Also, Hippo Town has temporarily implemented a curfew policy, and the city gates will be closed at night."
Ron politely smiled and nodded, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then left.
A quarter of an hour later.
In the civilian trading market of Hippo Town.
This was a street about fifty meters long and five meters wide. On both sides of the street were two rows of two-story wooden buildings. The rooms facing the street on the first floor were converted into trading shops, while the second floor was where the merchants lived.
Ron strolled forward, scanning the surroundings. There were grocery stores, grain shops, restaurants, tailor shops, flower shops, blacksmith shops... Although Hippo Town wasn't large, it had all the necessary shops.
Ron didn't rush. He first took a walk around, bought a few pounds of rice from the grain shop, and a small bottle of salt from the grocery store. As the sky was approaching noon, he strolled forward to the slaughterhouse.
Looking up, in addition to the fresh pork on the stall, there were also some cages inside, containing live chickens and rabbits that hadn't been slaughtered yet.
"Kid, what do you want?" A burly man with a long beard and covered in blood walked out of the store.
"Actually, I would like some fresh rabbit," Ron said. The slaughterhouse owner turned his head and pointed to the rabbits in the cage beside him.
"Do you want one that has just been slaughtered? Which one do you need?"
Ron stepped forward, his gaze sharp as he carefully examined them for a moment. Among the gray-haired rabbits, he spotted the only one with a red-tinted tail, a plump rabbit.
"This one!"
Ron's heart was pounding, but he still pretended to be calm and said, "This one is fat. I'll take this one."
The owner nodded, picked up a knife, and wiped it on the whetstone, grabbing the rabbit to start processing it. Seeing this, Ron hurriedly stopped him.
"Wait, no need to trouble you. I'll handle it myself when I get home."
The owner looked up, somewhat surprised at Ron.
"Actually, I want to buy it to keep for a couple of days and see if it can reproduce."
Ron smiled sheepishly, making up an excuse. The elemental fruit was inside the rabbit's stomach. If someone found out, it would be trouble.
The owner, upon hearing this, didn't seem suspicious. After putting down the knife, he handed the rabbit over.
"Take it if you want, as long as you've got the money."
Ron asked about the price, and the rabbit cost fifteen copper coins. So, he pretended to be a bit reluctant and took out his money from his right pocket.
"Ah, I only have fifteen copper coins, so I won't be able to buy anything else now..."
Ron muttered quietly, then turned around and left with the rabbit. In reality, he was overjoyed inside. He quickened his pace, eager to return to the stone house.
However, as he passed by a restaurant, a figure walked out.
"Ron? Are you… Ron Yeager?"
A middle-aged woman's voice asked. Ron looked up and saw a middle-aged woman dressed in luxurious clothes, with heavy makeup hiding the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, making it impossible to tell her exact age.
Ron's steps halted, and a cold murderous intent hid in his eyes behind his disheveled bangs.
"Mrs. Mirraf?"
This person was none other than Mrs. Mirraf from the exchange, responsible for the major businesses in Hippo Town and the recruitment affairs of the nobles. However, she was also secretly involved in slave trading, including free citizens! It was she who had deceived his sister Alice and sold her to the Sal family in Kula City.
"Ron, long time no see," Mrs. Mirraf said, smiling brightly and casting a flirtatious glance at Ron. Even though Ron was thin and dressed in rags, his handsome and delicate features still caught her eye.
"What a beautiful young man!" Mrs. Mirraf's eyes were somewhat fiery as she looked at Ron without restraint. In her youth, she was a famous courtesan in Kula City, having spent nights with many wealthy and powerful, handsome men. It was only in recent years, as her beauty faded, that she gradually became less promiscuous. However, when she saw a young man like Ron, who was like a budding chrysanthemum, her once sealed heart began to stir again.
"Perhaps I should enjoy him myself before handing him over to Mr. Kregi," Mrs. Mirraf mused, her smile growing even brighter.
At this moment, Ron slightly lowered his head, seemingly shy and fearful, and asked in a low voice, "Mrs. Mirraf, what do you need me for?"