Acquiring More Gold Coins and Purchasing Supplies

At that moment, Ron, wearing the alchemical mask, reached out to check Nem's breath. He found that Nem was merely unconscious and not killed by him. Thus, Ron felt relieved, put the purse into his pocket, cleaned up the traces around, and turned to leave.

It wasn't that he lacked the ruthlessness to kill; it was that his current strength was too weak. If he just knocked out Nem and stole his gold coins, it would just be a common case of banditry, not attracting a large-scale investigation. However, if he killed Nem, it would escalate into a murder case. The constable of Hippo Town, upon learning of this, would definitely dispatch knights for a thorough investigation.

Although Barto was stingy, Nem was still his own son. So, no matter what, he would try every possible means to find the murderer and take revenge.

As for Ron, even though he was wearing an alchemical mask and his whereabouts were concealed, in this extraordinary world with all sorts of incredible abilities, there was no guarantee that some magic or alchemical item wouldn't be able to find him.

Even if Barto was just a wealthy slave owner in Hippo Town, not even a knight squire, there was a 99% chance he wouldn't be able to find him. However, one must always be prepared for the unlikely. Ron considered his own life far more valuable than that of Barto and Nem. Therefore, he decided not to kill Nem for now. He could take risks, but not senseless ones.

"Moreover, compared to the cunning Barto, his foolish son is much easier to deal with," Ron sneered and vanished into the Clear Spring Woods.

Not long after, upon returning to the stone house, Ron opened Nem's purse and found inside, in addition to the gold coin given by Barto, several silver and copper coins.

"Excellent, with this money, I could afford to eat meat every day for a month and still have plenty left over," Ron thought to himself.

He quickly tidied up, pocketed the money, and headed to the outskirts of Hippo Town.

At the town's entrance, guards were still patrolling as usual. He approached them voluntarily, showed his identification, and was then allowed to enter the town.

Upon arriving at the marketplace, Ron did not go in immediately. Instead, he went to a nearby street and, taking advantage of the lack of attention, slipped into an alley.

After looking around and seeing no one, Ron took out the mask from his pocket and put it on his face. Then, he pressed his finger to his forehead and whispered, "Harrington."

In an instant, his appearance changed again, transforming into the likeness of a middle-aged man.

This was the appearance of Harrington; the alchemical mask he created could hold up to nine different faces. Two of them were Harrington and his wife, and the remaining seven faces were blank, which Ron could fill in when he had the opportunity.

"Maintaining this facial transformation requires consuming the magical energy stored in the energy stone left by Harrington. Judging by the rate of consumption, it should last for at least over twenty hours," Ron calculated in his mind.

This duration was more than enough for him to accomplish what he intended to do.

Next, he left the alley and went to the grocery store in the marketplace, purchasing a variety of miscellaneous items. Then he visited the tailor's shop and bought several sets of simple clothing. Finally, Ron went to the butcher's shop and bought a large quantity of meat.

After purchasing everything, Ron spent a total of twelve silver coins.

If Ron had made these purchases using his own face, it would have certainly attracted suspicion and trouble. After all, many people in Hippo Town were aware of the Yeager family's decline.

Even with the money Alice earned by selling herself into slavery, it wouldn't allow Ron to spend so freely.

However, with Harrington's face, the situation was entirely different. Even if others noticed, they would merely consider him a strange outsider.

Subsequently, Ron left Hippo Town with his purchases. Through several trips back and forth, he had discovered that the town guards were strict on the outside but lax on the inside. They only checked the identities of those entering the town, not those leaving.

Thus, Ron casually walked past them with his items, and although the guards maintained stern expressions, their eyes did not linger on him at all.

"Hey, working man!"

Upon returning to the stone house, Ron couldn't wait to cook the meat he had bought and began to feast heartily.

Although he had already refined nutritional potions sufficient for his cultivation of the breathing method, he was still in his developmental years. Therefore, he needed to consume more meat, eggs, and dairy products to strengthen his body.

After eating his fill, Ron practiced the breathing method for a while longer.

As the afternoon wore on and approached dusk, Ron set off again for Hippo Town.

At this time, it was the dismissal hour for the Knight Academy in Hippo Town.

After most students had left and the sky grew darker, a little girl of about ten years old walked out of the academy alone.

"Sigh, Dad is late again," the little girl pouted and muttered to herself.

This little girl was Lisa, the daughter of Dr. Liton.

Since Dr. Liton was the family physician of Barto, his income was considered quite high in Hippo Town. Moreover, as he had only this one daughter, he doted on her and spent a fortune sending her to the Knight Academy.

Of course, Dr. Liton did not expect his daughter to become a knight; he simply wanted Lisa to be educated, to learn some professional knowledge, and to broaden her horizons. At least in the future, she would not become one of those uneducated, vulgar countrywomen.

As Lisa walked home dejectedly, she suddenly heard intense barking coming from nearby.

She looked up sharply and saw a large hunting wolfhound, which had apparently escaped from someone's home, running wildly in the street.

"Ah!" Lisa screamed and then fled for her life.

She had been terrified of dogs since childhood, and now, returning home alone and encountering such a large wolfhound, her fear drove her to run blindly without any sense of direction.

When Lisa came to her senses, she realized she had ended up in a narrow, dark dead-end alley.

She mustered the courage to step outside and see where she was, but as soon as she took a step, she faintly heard the barking again.

So, Lisa quickly retreated, crouching in the alley and shivering with fear.

As the sky grew darker and Lisa became increasingly frightened, tired, and hungry, she suddenly heard a gentle voice from outside.

"Hey there, little one, what are you doing here?"

Lisa looked up and saw a teenager, around fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in coarse linen, approaching her.

"There's a dog… there's a dog outside…" Lisa said fearfully, but the young man just chuckled.

"Oh, you mean that wolfhound? I've driven it away already, you can come out now."