novelraw Chapter 236
Chapter 236
Chapter 236: Wrong Time
The sun couldn’t penetrate the dark alley.
The buildings on both sides were like towering giants, completely blocking the light from the horizon.
Unknown black sewage flowed by her feet, fresh blood mixed with decay permeated the air, and the scales, armor, and internal organs of freshly hunted magical beasts were piled up in the corner, dismembered.
Merchants with gloomy, sallow faces sat cross-legged on both sides of the alley. They wore hoods, their hands crossed in their sleeves, dozing off against the walls.
Pairs of shrewd, thin eyes peeked out from the slits, scanning up and down.
When they saw wealthy merchants or people in luxurious clothes, those listless eyes would become predatory, their undisguised gazes like those sizing up lambs for slaughter.
Lucia quietly followed behind Xia Li.
Her gaze was drawn to a bloody wolf’s head on the wall.
She swallowed quietly. When she saw such a bloody thing again, her first reaction wasn’t instinctive destruction or devouring, but avoidance.
It’s really scary…
She was a dragon who didn’t even dare to use a knife to kill a fish, and now this thing was right in front of her, it was a bit too much.
Shrinking her small hand, Lucia looked away and glanced at Xia Li beside her.
Xia Li looked thoughtful the whole time, as if he was troubled by something.
Lucia had been to places like the ‘black market’ before.
Most of the things sold here were mainly parts of hunted magical beasts, occasionally interspersed with scales and claws of mixed-scale dragons, and some rare magical items.
The items here were of a lower grade than those in traditional auctions, but because of the large price fluctuations, you could find bargains if you were lucky. If you were unlucky, you might also buy fakes.
Whether you buy well or badly, it all depends on your own ability.
But Lucia was very clear about one thing.
No matter how Xia Li wanted to bargain, he at least needed the common currency of this world.
She and Xia Li didn’t have any money.
Could it be that they were going to rob the place?
Gulp…
She could flatten this small town in minutes.
If Xia Li agreed, she could do it right away!
“Do you buy things?”
Lucia was excitedly looking forward to what would happen next.
However, Xia Li had no intention of drawing his sword. Instead, he squatted down in front of a chubby man with a full face, who looked richer than the surrounding merchants.
“Click.”
As soon as the chubby man looked over, Xia Li took out a square box and flicked a switch.
With a crisp sound, a string of flames burst out without warning.
There was no trace of magic activation, nor were there any magic spells on the small box.
This… This was a magic item that could completely hide magic ripples!
A rare commodity!
Lucia’s eyes lit up.
Then, as the chubby man looked almost stunned, she pursed her lips and secretly chuckled.
If it were her a year ago, she would probably have screamed: High-level fire magic!
But now, she only wanted to say three words.
Lighter.
“How many do you have?”
The chubby man folded his arms. After a flash of shock in his eyes, he pretended to be calm and said in an indifferent voice.
He didn’t intend to ask what it was. After all, if he really asked, it would mean he was lacking information.
For a transaction in the black market, this ‘I don’t know’ behavior was tantamount to showing weakness.
It was like asking to be slaughtered.
So, even though he had never seen a lighter before, the chubby man didn’t show his novelty.
“Of course I only have one of such a precious thing.”
Xia Li put the lighter in his pocket, then took out a flashlight and a can of… bubble solution?
… What kind of common household junk was this?
Lucia’s eyes were dull.
And that bubble solution, wasn’t it the junk that Xia Li had thrown away a few days ago because it was all over the house!
Xia Li displayed everything in front of the chubby merchant one by one.
Then, he gave a price.
“A total of 1000 gold coins.”
“…”
The chubby merchant paused for a moment, a complicated expression flashing across his face.
He could guess that the three things the young man had just shown weren’t offensive.
But their ornamental value and rarity were definitely top-notch.
They had extremely high collection value.
Even if they weren’t kept for private collection, selling them to those noble ladies, or even the royal family in the imperial capital, would definitely be profitable.
The chubby merchant’s gaze swept over the young man and landed on the girl behind him.
The girl looked cold and imposing, and he could sense strange magic fluctuations from her.
Judging from the clothes of these two people, they were definitely not simple.
It was reasonable for them to produce such treasures.
“50 gold coins can buy a decent two-story house in the prosperous area of Taro City. Your price is a bit exaggerated… I’m only willing to pay 500 gold coins.”
Here it comes, the ultimate price bargaining battle.
The corners of Xia Li’s mouth turned down, as if he was reluctant.
But in his heart, he was already laughing wildly.
Cutting it in half, as expected.
“950.”
Xia Li hesitated for a moment before deciding to give in a little.
The chubby merchant had to wave his hand.
“Taro City is not a wealthy place. The gap between the rich and the poor here is not as big as in the imperial capital, and the purchasing power is completely insufficient… I only have 550 gold coins on me. This is the maximum I can pay…”
“Deal.”
As if afraid that the big fish he had caught would run away, Xia Li took out the three things he had just shown without saying a word.
“…”
Seeing this, the chubby merchant pondered for a moment.
It was common to buy things in the black market, and it was also common to sell things.
Although the three things in the other party’s hands might not be of much use, they were valuable because of their rarity and exquisite craftsmanship.
Just treat it as buying a gamble stone…
With a determined heart, he took out a bag of gold coins from the iron box behind him.
Deal.
The clinking sound of gold coins was more pleasing to the ear than any other metal sound in the world.
Xia Li’s wrist sank.
It must have weighed about three pounds.
Three pounds of gold!
Even if it was low-quality gold, it could buy a lot of things on Earth!
Why bother taking the veterinary qualification certificate exam?
By buying and selling between the two worlds, wouldn’t he make a fortune?
However… on Earth, a large amount of gold entering the market would be investigated.
He still had to be cautious.
“Xia Li… We can change our lair.”
After Xia Li got the bag of gold coins, he casually threw the money to Lucia.
Let his wife manage the money, this was the standard for excellent men in Sichuan Province.
There was no safer place to put the money than with Lucia.
This dragon was very thrifty.
Lucia hurriedly tied the money bag to her slender waist, patted it, and felt satisfied.
She couldn’t wait to go home and spread the gold coins on the bed, and then she would lie in the pile of gold coins and have a good sleep.
◈◈◈
“The style of these gold coins… Where are they from?”
Xia Li took out a gold coin and looked at it over and over again in the dim alley.
The front of the gold coin was a vaguely carved lion’s head, and the back was a sunflower.
He had never seen this style before.
Glancing sideways at the chubby merchant who was also looking at him in confusion, Xia Li added.
“Oh, I’m a foreigner, I just came here across the ocean.”
“Lyon Empire? Taro City is the territory of the Lyon Empire, don’t you know that?”
The chubby merchant looked strange. In his opinion, this was common sense that everyone in this world should know.
After all, the Lyon Empire was the largest human nation now.
This foreigner lived too remotely… No wonder he could produce such rare goods.
He imitated Xia Li’s earlier movements and flicked the lighter switch a few times. With the sound of precise gears, a string of flames was reflected in his eyes, and his heart couldn’t help but feel excited.
“Lyon Empire…”
Xia Li vaguely remembered this empire’s name.
He remembered hearing this ancient empire’s name when he was studying human history…
Wait.
Ancient…
Xia Li keenly grasped the key word in his heart.
He suddenly thought of the fact that he and Lucia had left no trace in 115 years.
A bold guess arose in Xia Li’s heart.
He reached out and wrapped his arm around Lucia’s back.
Lucia thought Xia Li was going to hug her suddenly… Was he trying to celebrate the joy of their first extortion, ah no, their first successful transaction?
In this world, whether it was snatched by hand or cheated by hand, it was a kind of strength…
It was also okay to reward Xia Li.
She giggled, hugged Xia Li’s waist, and buried her soft cheek in his chest.
However, this smelly man just wrapped his hands around the back of her neck, thinking about something in his head, and whispered in her ear.
“Lend me this.”
Xia Li took off the gold coin hanging around Lucia’s neck.
This was one of the only two gold coins Lucia had on her when she traveled to Earth.
Xia Li had sold one at the time, and the other was kept as a souvenir, made into a small pendant for Lucia.
Inside the pure silver frame, the outline and carving of the gold coin were well preserved.
Xia Li took it off and showed it to the chubby merchant.
“Have you seen this before?”
The chubby merchant just glanced at it and didn’t speak.
Xia Li took out another handful of Wangzai milk candy and threw it on his stall.
“Have you seen this before?”
“…If it was an ordinary traveler asking me, I would answer I haven’t seen it.” The chubby merchant was finally impressed by the magical packaging of the milk candy.
What a generous young man!
He liked to deal with such people.
“After all, the pattern on this gold coin is indeed rare, you could even say it hasn’t become popular yet… So, it just so happens that I have actually seen it.”
“Where did you see it?” Xia Li continued to ask.
The gold coin he took out was very different from the common trading currency here.
It had a sword and shield symbol on the surface, and a luxurious crown engraved on the back.
Judging from both the carving and weight, it was much more valuable than the gold coins the chubby merchant had just taken out.
Xia Li had already made up his mind, if the other party had seen it in history books, it meant they had really gone 115 years into the future.
Moreover, 115 years later, not only was the Lachlan Kingdom that summoned him gone, but even the former overlord of the Azure Continent, the origin of this gold coin—the Orca Empire, had also vanished.
“There is an expeditionary force in the east,” the chubby merchant answered without hesitation, “It is said to be a rebel army organized by a famine-stricken town in the Lyon Empire. They went all the way west and conquered a large part of the Lyon Empire’s territory…”
“The pattern on their flag is exactly the same as the pattern on this gold coin of yours.”
Speaking of this, the chubby merchant paused for a moment, thought about it, and continued.
“Their army is called—”
“The Orca Army.”
“…”
Xia Li ended up giving the chubby merchant two more Panpan small breads.
Lucia grumbled, a little dissatisfied with this act of giving away bread.
But thinking that the other party had just paid 550 gold coins and was a big sucker, she immediately felt it was worth it.
“Where are we going next?” She pulled Xia Li’s hand and asked expectantly.
Xia Li replied, “I didn’t see any two-way teleportation scrolls around here. We might have to go to a bigger human town to have a look.”
“Oh… Okay.” Lucia nodded in agreement.
Anyway, she agreed no matter what.
“Lucia.”
“Hmm?”
Xia Li, who was walking in front, interrupted his thoughts and suddenly stopped.
Lucia didn’t have time to brake and bumped into Xia Li’s back. She rubbed her forehead and looked up at him.
“What’s wrong? You’ve been looking strange since just now.”
Xia Li rubbed her dragon head. In order not to scare the dragon, he deliberately softened his voice.
“We might be in the wrong place.”
“What do you mean wrong place?”
“Wrong time.”
“…Huh?”
“We have arrived in the Azure Continent about fifty years ago.”
“What?”
“We have traveled to the past,” Xia Li said.
“The Orca Empire here hasn’t defeated the Lyon Empire yet, and the Lachlan Kingdom that summoned me hasn’t been separated yet… ‘I’ haven’t been here yet—and ‘you’ are still in your childhood.”
“…”
Lucia stared at Xia Li blankly, for a moment she even forgot to think.
She had secretly counted on her fingers, more than a hundred years should have passed in the Azure Continent, and Xia Li’s friends would have turned to ashes.
Along the way, Lucia didn’t dare to mention this casually.
When she saw Xia Li was preoccupied, she carefully took care of his emotions, trying to divert his attention in other ways.
She had calculated everything, but she didn’t expect that they might have come to the ‘past’ instead of the ‘future’.
This was too strange.
She had never heard of any time-traveling magic.
“Why is this happening?”
Even Lucia, who was not good at thinking, frowned at this moment.
“I’m not sure…” Xia Li shook his head.
“We didn’t come back through any formal magic… And we didn’t use our own power, nor the power of the Azure Continent.”
Speaking of this, Xia Li already had a clear direction in his mind.
“This is Qin Chuan’s power…”
“And his ability is to go back to the past.”
Recommending a book, the writing is delicate and interesting, a multi-female lead daily love story~~