novelraw Chapter 438: After modification - 229 Orange Treasure Glow_2
Chapter 438: After modification - 229 Orange Treasure Glow_2
"Let’s go. Are there any particular places you want to explore? This island is huge; you can’t expect to see it all in one day."
Hearing this, Alka nodded. With a flick of his wrist, a palm-sized Golden Sail materialized in his hand.
"One Golden Sail. Will this be enough for you to guide us around the entire island?"
Bai Shi looked at the Golden Sail in Alka’s hand, smiled, and took it. "Of course, it’s enough," he said, pocketing the coin. "I must say, you strangers are quite generous."
"Is your ultimate goal to explore the entire island?"
Alka nodded.
Understanding Alka’s objective, Bai Shi said directly, "Three days. If you want to explore the entire island, it will take three days. After the third day, you’ll need to pay another Golden Sail. Is that acceptable?"
"No problem."
Although Alka didn’t know the exact value of this currency on the island, he found the price acceptable. Besides, having Bai Shi as their guide would be more advantageous than Alka had imagined. After all, he was part of the leadership. He could also better convey to the town’s leadership that Alka and his group harbored no malicious intent.
Seeing Alka nod, Bai Shi took the rough map Alka had seen the previous day from his bosom.
No way, is he really going to use *this* map?
Noticing their expressions, Bai Shi looked slightly embarrassed. "This map might be simpler than the ones you strangers use," he said, "but it’s sufficient for us islanders."
He had seen the maps these outsiders used; compared to those, their own simplified map could indeed be called crude scribbles. But what could they do? After all, they were just a small town with only a few thousand inhabitants.
Seeing Bai Shi’s slightly sheepish expression, Alka nodded and said nothing more.
Then, Bai Shi placed the map in front of everyone and gestured towards it. "If you want to explore the entire island in three days," he explained, "you’ll have to follow my lead. Otherwise, it will take longer and could be dangerous."
"We’ll start here, at the bay where you landed yesterday. That area is relatively safe."
Seeing no objections, he led them in that direction.
He then began to guide Alka and the others, taking a winding path that was different from the route they had used the previous day. The first location they reached was a ruin they hadn’t seen before. Judging from its stone material and the inscribed patterns, they could infer its origin. It was evidently from the same faction as the ruins they had seen the day before. Clearly, this was why Bai Shi had intentionally brought them here.
"These ruins must be what interests you outsiders the most," Bai Shi said. "If you’re interested, you can take a look. This one has already been activated."
The group gathered around the ruins, examining them. However, it was clear they wouldn’t understand much without Lucilia present. Their main objective this time was to survey the island for their map, so a cursory inspection was sufficient.
Alka asked curiously, "Activated? What happens after they’re activated?"
"After activation, the island’s vegetation becomes denser," Bai Shi said, gesturing to their surroundings. The vegetation around the ruins was indeed denser than in other areas, and the ruin itself was situated within a thick forest. "This place used to be quite barren."
After saying this, and seeing that the group wasn’t particularly interested, he continued to lead them around the peculiar area.
Given a full day, if they were allowed to roam freely and without restraint, they could likely explore the entire island within that single day. However, with their current method of travel, that was evidently impossible. They had also seen that the areas Bai Shi skillfully bypassed were indeed dangerous.
Before long, taking yet another different route, he led them back to the bay where they had previously landed. The footprints from their landing were still scattered across the beach; they hadn’t bothered to cover them.
"According to the elders," Bai Shi explained, "this wasn’t actually a bay a few hundred years ago. Someone activated a ruin here, and it blew this whole area sky-high."
Hearing this, Alka and the others turned to look at him in surprise. The bay showed no trace of such an event.
"Ruins can explode?" Alka asked.
"Of course," Bai Shi nodded. This implied that some of these ruins were indeed very dangerous.
After they had a look around, Bai Shi led the group onward. As they walked, he took out a type of powder they had seen the previous day from his bosom and sprinkled it over them. As he sprinkled it, he explained, "This powder repels some of the magical beasts in this area. Further ahead, their numbers increase, and pointless battles are just troublesome."
Indeed, they hadn’t encountered a single magical beast so far on their journey. Bai Shi, with his considerable experience, had skillfully guided Alka and the others around nearly every creature’s territory. Moreover, he didn’t know the true extent of Alka and his companions’ strength, so it was best to avoid combat if possible.
After walking a short distance, Alka spotted a ruin in the distance, but Bai Shi didn’t stop.
"Aren’t we going to take a look?" Matilda asked quietly, her voice tinged with curiosity.
Hearing this, Bai Shi, who was leading the way, glanced back. "That’s just an exposed segment of the old city wall," he said casually. "The ruins of this wall actually encircle the entire island, but most of it is buried underground. Nothing much to see."