novelhk Chapter 171 The Unavoidable Experience of Gengxin City
Chapter 171 The Unavoidable Experience of Gengxin City
Chapter 171 The Unavoidable Experience of Gengxin City
The carriage finally stopped at the city gate. Along the way, Xiao Yan had changed horses at countless post stations. After all, the Heaven Dou Empire had not arranged the carriage, and Xue Ji had been renting them all along the way.
This was Gengxin City, the first stop Xiao Yan and Xue'er decided to make after careful consideration when entering Xingluo.
The reason is simple: Gengxin City is the closest major city after leaving the border of Tiandou. Rather than searching aimlessly, it is better to take care of some business first. Moreover, Xiao Yan believes that with Lou Gao's obsession with metal, he will definitely make Lou Gao take notice when he takes out the Heavenly Fire Refined Iron again.
The piece of metal that he couldn't solve was frustrating, but it was definitely a knot in his heart. His own extreme fire would be just the right thing to do. In that case, it would be perfectly reasonable for him to ask Lou Gao for information again.
Because Ning Fengzhi had compiled too much and too complicated information for Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan and Xue'er had been flipping through it for a while but hadn't found what they needed. They had only gained a general understanding of the map and terrain distribution of Xingluo.
Along the way, people pointed and whispered about the strange thing on his head.
Later, the Rolling Ball Beast simply lived in Cheryl's arms, so passersby just thought it was a plush toy.
The two slowly stepped down from the carriage. Unlike Tian Dou, the Star Luo Empire prohibited people from traveling within the city by carriage except for those of high status. After passing the soldiers guarding the city gate, the two entered together.
The difference was immediately apparent; the shops on the side and the shirtless pedestrians on the roadside all exuded a metallic vibe.
Even the air itself felt unbearably hot.
The roadside vendors also displayed scattered ores of various sizes. These ores were not sold according to their metal content, but rather with a gambling element to them. What metals were inside depended on your luck, and there was a fixed price.
This is what is known as metal gambling stones, just like the one that Chairman Shi wanted to sell to Xiao Yan that day. However, Chairman Shi's stone was a huge piece of deep-sea sunken silver, and its price was already quite high. If there were silver mother stones, it would be a sure thing to make a profit.
Compared to these minerals that are completely unfathomable from their appearance, Chairman Shi is truly a man of conscience.
As the two walked along, the roadside stalls were all sorts of strange and wonderful, but nine out of ten of the items sold were metal. If you had your eye on daily necessities or food, you could walk along another road to find the corresponding shops.
But in this metal city, you can hardly see anything else.
Xiao Yan and Xue'er walked side by side on the road. Neither of them was in a hurry to ask for directions. Instead, they found the local customs and culture interesting.
"There are almost all kinds of metals here, and corresponding industries have sprung up accordingly. The most prosperous are actually these roadside metal gambling stones," Xiao Yan said to Xue'er, thinking about the information about Gengxin City recorded in the book.
Xue'er smiled and nodded, not at all like someone who had come to Xingluo on business; the two of them acted as if they were on a publicly funded trip.
"Aren't you still looking for that niobium-tantalum crystal? Why don't you ask about it while you're at it?" The woman tilted her head and looked at Xiao Yan.
"No rush. Neither of us is Ning Rongrong, so we don't have such good eyesight." Although Xiao Yan didn't know how much money Xue Ji had, he was indeed short of money when he went out, so he didn't touch these kinds of metal gambling stones at all, preferring to buy real metal at a high price if he came across it.
This time, it was all thanks to Xue'er who paid for it without batting an eye.
Otherwise, he would have to reluctantly go to the Heavenly Dou Royal Family to ask Xue Qinghe for some start-up capital.
"That's true, these stones seem mostly to fool outsiders," the woman said, but her voice was a bit too loud, which drew a disapproving look from a stall owner on the side of the road.
Startled, Xiao Yan quickly covered the girl's mouth and forced a smile at them.
After the two had walked a distance away, he apologized to Xue'er: "I'm really sorry, Miss Xue'er. We know what these vendors are up to, but don't mess with them."
"What, are all these roadside vendors powerful nobles from Xingluo that we can't afford to offend?" Xue'er raised an eyebrow.
Xiao Yan sighed, "They're not nobles at all. If they were, they wouldn't be afraid of provoking us. Look at the cities of Tian Dou, even the busiest ones have stalls in specific areas. Unlike Gengxin City, where there's a stall every three steps and vendors every ten. I reckon these are all relatives and friends of the Spirit Hall, or at least have connections in higher places."
"The Spirit Hall?" Xue'er frowned. Isn't this Star Luo City? What does it have to do with the Spirit Hall?
"Think about it, a legitimate metal trade here would definitely have a blacksmith's association. How could it not be there? Since it's everywhere, it proves that they're competing for business with each other. And who else could be at odds with the blacksmith's association besides the Spirit Hall?"
"The reputation of the Spirit Hall shouldn't be so badly damaged." As a member of the Heaven Dou royal family, Xue'er's defense of the Spirit Hall puzzled Xiao Yan, so he had to continue explaining.
"The Spirit Hall is absolutely fine with its subordinates; in fact, they are all top-notch forces. However, the upper echelons are a chaotic mess, especially the bishops, who are used to being arrogant. As a result, opinions about the Spirit Hall vary widely among the common people and other factions."
Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Xue'er fell into thought. "So, in your opinion, the Spirit Hall is completely rotten. As we usually say, if a force starts to rot from the beginning, then it's beyond saving."
"Not entirely. Power is power, but it's not a one-man show. Even someone as powerful as the Pope of the Spirit Hall has to consider the people in the Hall of Offerings and the Hall of Elders when he speaks. So it's possible to eradicate them from the top, especially those arrogant bishops," Xiao Yan explained.
As the two walked out of a stone gambling stall and onto the flat road, the arrogant man they had mentioned appeared.
Not far away, a huge cloud of dust rose as a carriage sped toward Xiao Yan and his companion, or rather, toward their street, without slowing down at all.
Along the way, he didn't even care about the pedestrians on the roadside. The pedestrians seemed to have gotten used to it. Apart from showing disgust on their faces, they all consciously gave way, afraid that the carriage would bump into them.
However, Xiao Yan and Xue'er frowned when they saw the arrogant carriage, but since it was someone else's territory, they didn't want to cause trouble, so they followed the example of the people around them and decided to avoid it.
"Xiao Yan," Xue'er suddenly called out, gesturing for Xiao Yan to look.
It turned out that a child had tripped and fallen on the road that the carriage was about to run over, and his mother, seeing that she could not avoid the oncoming carriage, was prepared to use her own body to block it.
But the carriage showed no sign of stopping.
It's one thing for people to yield to carriages, but it's quite another for carriages to drive recklessly and disregard people.
Seeing the carriage about to crash into him, Xiao Yan quickly rushed in front of the mother and child. Four spirit rings lit up on his body, especially the last black ten-thousand-year spirit ring, which was very eye-catching. Even Xue'er, who was standing next to him, was surprised.
The purple third soul skill was activated instantly. If the carriage did not turn around, Xiao Yan was certain that the carriage would fall apart.