Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 153 The Little Money-Grubber in the Tree Hole

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On the bustling streets of Panjiao Town, Cheng Lang suggested, "Also, shouldn't we find a place to stay for now?"

"Golden Hoof Inn! Of course, it's the Golden Hoof Inn!"

Gerta answered in a loud voice loud enough for Yun Ji to hear, "I heard that's the best hotel in Panjiao Town, let's stay there!"

“Let’s go!” Cheng Lang said immediately. “I don’t want to keep shopping with all this stuff on my back.”

"Come with me! If I remember correctly, this is the direction!"

As Gerta spoke, he led them to turn right at the crossroads, heading in the exact opposite direction from Yun Ji.

They hadn't walked more than a few steps when they saw a four-story stone building. The building occupied a large area and was very lively inside. There were even many oily wooden tables placed outside the door.

These tables were surrounded by diners, and the people serving them food and drinks were all beautiful girls with long rabbit ears on their heads, slender figures, and especially long legs on each of them.

"No wonder it's so popular; the pure version looks even better than the mixed-race version."

A captain who had once been fortunate enough to see a half-rabbit and half-siren girl at an auction thought to himself, "Indeed, this is the otherworld I've been looking for!"

Of course, while the bunny girls coming and going were indeed pretty, the golden horseshoe hanging on the wall of this shop, which was as big as a cartwheel, was much more eye-catching.

"That can't be made of gold, can it?" Shenba asked, looking up at the huge symbol.

“It’s just some broken crystals with lots of oil lamps buried inside,” Gerta said, also looking up, “but it’s really beautiful.”

"That's right!"

Yafso nodded repeatedly, but didn't notice the helpless look on Yun Lan's face. As an expired princess, what hadn't she seen? How could she be shocked by such a piece of junk?

As for Cheng Lang
"Isn't this just McDonald's missing its central pillar?" Cheng Lang thought to himself.

Of course, he had to admit that the real McDonald's wouldn't hire so many real, adorable bunny girls as waitresses.

Led by Gerta, the group, carrying large and small bags, entered the packed Golden Hoof Inn with great enthusiasm.

The first floor of this stone building was also filled with tables, and the area directly beneath the second-floor corridor was covered with oil lamps, making the place exceptionally bright.

"I heard that the first and third floors are restaurants."

Gerta said in a low voice, "The second floor and the top floor are both guest rooms, but the rooms on the top floor are much more expensive."

"How expensive?" Cheng Lang asked curiously.

"how could I know"

Gerta shrugged. "I've only ever eaten at the tables outside; I haven't been able to bring myself to eat inside the inn."

"Dear Miss Bunny, how much is your best room per night?"

While Cheng Lang and Gerta were whispering to each other, Shenba had already walked to the bar in the middle and started asking questions.

"The best room on the fourth floor costs two gold coins each night."

The rabbit bartender behind the counter stroked his long ears and said, "Also, beautiful elf lady, I'm a man."

"What a coincidence, I'm a man too."

Shenba's embarrassed and foolish appearance immediately made Cheng Lang and the others turn around and find a table to sit down. They didn't recognize that big, dumb guy.

Where are the people in the upstairs rooms?

Shenba looked around, then eagerly sat down next to Cheng Lang and the others, saying in a loud voice, "We need every room upstairs."

"Shut up, we're here to eat."

Cheng Lang slapped his forehead. He should have gone with Yun Ji to chase after that sound and see what was going on.

Although Shenba's performance was rather foolish, it wasn't without its advantages. For one thing, at least several pairs of eyes were no longer fixed on them.

"I'll go."

Yun Lan shook her head helplessly, got up and walked to the bar. After exchanging a few words, she came back and said, "Let's stay on the fourth floor. A regular room that can accommodate three people costs 25 silver coins. I've already booked two rooms."

"Hurry up and get some food!"

Cheng Lang urged impatiently. They had been eating the meals that Ronnie had helped prepare for them for several days on the way.

Yafso, who had also been craving the food for a long time and had already finished the barbecue in her hand, immediately called over a rabbit girl and ordered a whole table full of sumptuous dishes with a meat content of over 99%.

When all the food was served, and the two rabbit girls even brought out a bucket of beer that had been buried in the snow, Yun Ji walked into the Golden Hoof Inn and immediately saw the table full of various foods, as well as her companions around the table who were drooling with envy but were still waiting for them.

"Come on over here! Everyone's waiting for you!"

Shenba hurriedly greeted them, swallowing hard as he did so; the food smelled so delicious!
When Yun Ji leisurely walked over and sat in the seat reserved for her, Shen Ba immediately poured everyone a full glass of beer.

"Did you find it?" Cheng Lang asked as he raised his pitcher and clinked glasses with Yun Ji, who was sitting next to him.

Holding her cup, Yun Ji clinked it against Yun Lan's cup on the other side before whispering, "Found it, but it's very strange."

"What's wrong?" Yun Lan immediately asked.

"The whispering spirits of the dead came from a little beggar."

Yun Ji said in a low voice, "He's a little beggar from the wolf clan, and he looks to be somewhere between the age of Wuying and Yafuso. I followed him all the way, and the whispers came from him."

"Why didn't you bring him back?" Yun Lan asked in a low voice.

"I feel like it's a trap."

Yun Ji said in a low voice, "It seems that someone has been watching the beggar's surroundings the whole time. I didn't dare to follow him for too long, and I came back after confirming where he was resting."

"Let's eat first, and we'll talk about this after we've filled our stomachs," Cheng Lang said, already picking up a piece of meat patty soaked in rich broth and taking a big bite.

He had to admit that not only was the rabbit girl beautiful, but the food here was also quite delicious!
"Try this! This is delicious!" Shenba shouted, pointing to a plate of food that looked like pork knuckle.

"sit down"

"Snapped!"

Before Yun Ji could finish speaking, the well-trained Shenba obediently sat down, and even his eating movements became much more proper.

With such a giant, lively creature around, there was absolutely no waste of this delicious dinner.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill and paid the bill, the group, led by the rabbit girl, went up to the fourth floor and found their two adjacent rooms.

After putting their luggage back in the room, everyone gathered together again.

"Shall we go take a look now?" Yun Ji suggested. "Darkness gives us an advantage, so let's go take a look."

Cheng Lang made a decision: "The two of us are enough. The rest of you can stay and watch over the luggage. It's best not to separate for the time being."

"You're worried?"

“If you’re worried it’s a trap, then someone’s probably already watching us.” Cheng Lang said, already walking to the door. “Let’s go.”

"Come with me"

After Yun Ji finished speaking, she also got up and led Cheng Lang downstairs, leaving the still bustling Golden Hoof Inn. They walked along the equally lively street towards the heart of the town.

Although this small town, full of stone buildings, has only a few main streets running horizontally and vertically, it has an unexpectedly large number of alleys.

At this moment, Yun Ji led Cheng Lang through these alleys with great speed.

Whether it was his imagination or not, the further Cheng Lang walked, the stronger the aroma of spices became. Moreover, even the noisy voices of people seemed to have quieted down considerably.

Continuing forward, Yun Ji stopped at the entrance of a dimly lit alley and then pointed to the sky above.

Having received the hint, Cheng Lang swung his whip and wrapped it around the roof. Then he grabbed Yun Ji's wrist and used the whip to pull the two of them to the roof of a stone house.

"That little beggar is the one who went into that alley ahead."

Yun Ji pointed to the original direction of progress below the house and said in a low voice, "But something seemed off, so I didn't continue following."

"What's wrong?" Cheng Lang asked in a low voice.

Do you think the spices here are too strong?

As Yun Ji spoke, she reached out and grabbed a handful of seemingly ordinary dried fruit from the roof where the two of them were hiding. “These are spices. Spices are dried on the roof of every house. They must have gotten damp on their way here by sea, which is why they need to be dried.”

Seeing that Cheng Lang still didn't understand, Yun Ji continued in a low voice, "Most of the orc races, except for the bird race which has the ability to fly, have a fairly good sense of smell. However, the orcs' sense of smell is not very useful in a place full of spices like this."

"You mean, someone is hiding here?" Cheng Lang asked in a low voice, "ambushing the people who are chasing us?"

"Who knows?"

Yun Ji asked in a low voice, "Should we continue searching?"

"Can we find it?" Cheng Lang asked.

"certainly"

As Yun Ji spoke, she nimbly and silently jumped onto the roof of a neighboring building, then pointed to the alley below the building.

After several months of working together, Cheng Lang and his sailors had developed a certain understanding, so there was no need for explanation. He simply grabbed his whip and jumped back to the ground, continuing to walk through the dark alleyway, guided by Yun Ji above his head.

Who knows how Yun Ji found the traces left by the little beggar she mentioned? Cheng Lang only knows that when Yun Ji signaled him to stop, he was already at the end of a box.

This place is actually a dead-end alleyway that resembles a courtyard, surrounded by stone houses.

In this fairly square courtyard, the ground is paved with flat stone bricks, and in the middle stands a large tree that has lost all its leaves.

The tree wasn't very tall, but it was quite thick. Interestingly, on one of the branches hung an oil lamp, and directly below the lamp were four or five enormous stone millstones that emitted a strong aroma of spices.

On the other side of this tree, not only did extra light shine through, but the incomplete ball of light also carried the aroma of roasted meat and the laughter and playful sounds of children.

Is this a trap?

Cheng Lang and Yun Ji on the roof exchanged a glance. After a moment's hesitation, the latter circled the surrounding rooftops before silently jumping to Cheng Lang's side and whispering, "There's a tree hole on the other side of that tree, and it seems there are many children inside."

"child?"

“They’re probably all little beggars,” Yun Ji said. “Shall we go take a look?”

"Perhaps we should change our faces."

Cheng Lang whispered a reminder, "If it really is the spirit of a dark elf, the thought of the two of us showing up with elf faces is terrifying."

"We've already wasted a lot of Poseidon's blood in Frostflower Town," Yun Ji reminded helplessly.

"These two cups won't make a difference."

As Cheng Lang spoke, he took out a cup of Poseidon's Blood from his pocket and handed it to the other person.

"Come with me"

Yun Ji shook her head helplessly. What she, Shen Ba, and even their parents had desperately wanted was being used in such a wasteful way by this captain.

This all made her feel inexplicably bored, and she even subconsciously thought of the Green Hunters, who were almost a childhood nightmare for her; they were equally boring.

Taking Cheng Lang back to the busier main streets, Yun Ji and Cheng Lang randomly found a tavern. The former found a drunken deer girl and, under the dim light, peeled off her hypocritical mask, poured Poseidon's blood on it, and smeared it on her face.

As for Cheng Lang, things were much easier for him; there were plenty of drunkards outside the tavern for him to choose from.

When the two returned to the end of the alley, one of them had grown the small antlers that were the hallmark of the deer tribe, while the other had grown fox ears like Gerta's.

Walking around the two ends of the big tree to the other side, Cheng Lang could clearly see a small wooden door between two thick tree roots, and above this door was a small glass window about the size of a palm.

The light they had just seen was coming from the window.

"I'll do it," Yun Ji said, already walking to the door and bending down to gently knock.

"Clang clang clang!"

With a gentle knock on the door, the laughter and chatter inside the room stopped abruptly, followed by a flurry of furniture being moved around.

Immediately afterward, a little guy with wolf ears cautiously looked out through the glass window and saw Yun Ji waving at him.

"Your Excellency, Madam"

The little guy inside the door suppressed his panic and said, "We...we don't work at night. If there's anything you need us to do, you can come back tomorrow during the day."

"What if I insist on hiring you now?"

As Yun Ji spoke, she took out her money pouch, untied it, and poured out more than a dozen coins with a clatter.

"Wow!"

Amidst the gasps of the other little creatures in the tree hollow, the not-so-large wooden door was pushed open by the little one who had just opened it.

"Beautiful sister, what do you need us to do? We can do anything!"

The little guy, who was still stuttering when he spoke, ran out enthusiastically, put his hands behind his back, looked up and asked, while secretly stepping on a gold coin right next to his feet with his tattered boots.

(End of this chapter)