Vampire Progenitor of the Immortal World

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: A Wanderer Must Eat

Ethan remained before the notice board for several moments after reading the final line. The paper was not unusual at first glance. The handwriting was neat, the wording restrained, and the request carried none of the urgency that usually accompanied genuine emergencies. Yet the more Ethan considered it, the less he liked it. A dispute between settlements was one thing. A request for someone to investigate the movement of people and goods between them was another. And the mention of missing supplies, unexplained disappearances, and growing tension made the situation worse. It was not his problem.

That conclusion came easily.

Ethan stepped away from the board. He had learned enough from his recent experience to know that curiosity was not a substitute for preparation. There was no reason to involve himself in something that smelled of trouble when he had neither the strength nor the knowledge to handle whatever might be waiting behind it. He had resources. Not enough to become careless, but enough to keep moving. That mattered. A wandering cultivator who could not feed himself would not remain a wandering cultivator for long.

Ethan turned toward the market. The thought made him realize something rather mundane. He was hungry. He almost found that amusing. After everything that had happened—the journey, the fight, the injuries, the recovery, the investigation, and the effort spent making sure no unnecessary trace had been left behind—his immediate concern was food. But that was precisely how life worked.

Cultivation did not exempt him from ordinary necessities. His body still needed nourishment. His clothes still wore out. His supplies still diminished. His cultivation resources were not endless. And money did not magically appear simply because he had begun walking the path of cultivation. If anything, becoming a cultivator had made his expenses more complicated.

Ethan entered the market. The atmosphere changed immediately. The quiet of the road disappeared beneath the layered sounds of ordinary life. Vendors called out prices from wooden stalls. Customers argued over vegetables and dried meat. Somewhere nearby, a metal ladle struck the side of a cooking pot repeatedly, producing a dull rhythm beneath the chatter. Smoke drifted through the street carrying the smell of roasted meat, onions, oil, and something sweet.

Ethan slowed. He had no intention of wasting money merely because he was hungry. He studied the stalls before choosing one. A bowl of hot grain porridge cost less than the meat dishes being sold farther down the street. It was plain, but it would fill his stomach. That was enough.

He paid and found a place near the edge of the stall. The first mouthful was almost painfully hot. Ethan waited before taking another. His eyes moved across the market while he ate. People were everywhere. Merchants. Farmers. Travelers. Laborers. A few armed men. And among them, occasionally, someone who carried himself differently.

Ethan noticed them now. Not because he could identify their cultivation. He couldn’t. But because he had begun paying attention. A man wearing a faded blue robe passed through the crowd without speaking to anyone. His clothes were ordinary, yet people unconsciously shifted aside to give him space. No one had ordered them to. They simply did it. A shopkeeper who had been loudly bargaining moments earlier lowered his voice when the man passed.

Ethan watched quietly. So this was what it looked like from the other side. He remembered the settlement he had once lived in.

Whenever a cultivator arrived, people gathered around them. Some hoped to gain favor. Others simply wanted to see someone who stood beyond ordinary people. Back then, Ethan had watched from the crowd. Now he was the one carrying a weapon. The difference was strange.

Yet Ethan understood something important. He was nowhere near the level of the people those villagers had admired. He was still at the beginning. His body had become stronger, but strength alone did not make him knowledgeable. He lacked techniques, experience, and understanding. The realization did not discourage him. It clarified his position.

He finished his meal. Then he calculated. Food. Lodging. Cultivation resources. Clothing. Travel expenses. Weapon maintenance. There were too many things that needed money. His current savings could carry him for a while, but not indefinitely. That meant he needed work. Not because he was desperate. Because a wandering cultivator who wanted to continue wandering needed a way to sustain himself.

Ethan left the food stall and walked deeper into the market.

He passed several notices before stopping at a small board outside a general goods shop. Most of the work listed there was unsuitable. Heavy labor. Long-term employment. Farm work. Guarding merchants for extended periods. None of it appealed to him. He was not looking for a permanent position. He needed something temporary. Something that allowed him to move.

His eyes eventually settled on a smaller notice.

Wanted: capable hands for a short journey.

The payment was modest. But the work appeared straightforward. A merchant needed assistance transporting several ordinary goods to a nearby settlement. The journey would take only a few days. Ethan read the notice twice. Then he looked at the road beyond the market. A short journey. Food and lodging included. Payment at the destination. No obvious reason to involve himself in someone else’s conflict. That sounded considerably better.

He memorized the location written at the bottom. Then he removed the notice from the board. Not because he had accepted it. He wanted to ask questions first. Ethan folded the paper and placed it inside his clothing.

He had learned another lesson recently. Never agree to something simply because the reward looked useful. Understand the work first. Understand the people. Understand what could go wrong. Then decide.

He turned away from the notice board. His steps carried him toward the street where the merchant’s shop stood. The civil dispute could wait. If it became dangerous, he would stay away. If it became useful, he would consider it. For now, Ethan had a simpler problem. A wandering cultivator still needed to eat. And if he intended to keep walking this road, he needed to learn how to make that possible without becoming dependent on anyone.

That, Ethan decided, was a problem worth solving.

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