tside. At least, before the people who can fight arrive on their side, there is no difference."However, your current condition isn't good, and there's no need to make you travel just for a doctor," sa...Chapter 292: Laughter in the Vast Sea 1
At this moment, Miao Tiao was no longer seen as a young master from a prominent merchant family but rather as someone foolishly spending money for a woman!
"Alright, if money is all it takes, here are three silver drafts for you!" Without hesitation, Miao Tiao took out three silver drafts and tossed them to Xiaoyao.
“Thank you for your patronage!” Xiaoyao accepted the silver drafts with a smile and then leaped onto Mao Mao’s back, unloading all the goods before patting Mao Mao's back and leaving.
Xiaoyao left without giving anyone an opportunity to say goodbye, leaving everyone looking at one another in astonishment!
Miao Tiao frowned. He wasn't frowning because of Xiaoyao but because of the items he had purchased. He couldn’t just leave these things here after spending 300 silver coins on them; he could only take a little bit and couldn’t carry everything, or else how would he go shopping with Sister Yin Wu
Fortunately, at this moment, “Sister” Yin Wu was considerate and had someone bring all the silk back to their inn. Perhaps she wasn't being considerate but simply wanted more of these items.
"Let's find an inn; we can’t stay in the Mo family’s residence now. As for visiting them, it's already getting dark, so let's do that tomorrow!"
Xiaoyao decided to stop here and look for an inn to rest!
“No rooms Even here there are no empty rooms; is there any place left with available rooms”
Xiaoyao was now at his wit's end. He had run through all the inns in Qingyun City, and none of them had spare rooms; they were fully occupied. Even if he reserved one, it wouldn't be available until days later.
What kind of situation is this
Xiaoyao quickly understood that many more people had come recently, increasing the number of residents in the city. Additionally, Qingyun City wasn’t large to begin with and didn’t have too many inns, making it easy for them to fill up.
Moreover, one of the inns was taken down by someone, exacerbating the situation!
Many people were now staying in camps outside the city, but fortunately, most of those who came this time were soldiers. Setting up a camp wasn’t much of an issue for them.
Could it be that I also have to set up a camp
No, let’s not. It's troublesome; besides, I'd need to buy materials. It’s just one or two nights—finding some place would suffice. In the past, he had encountered similar situations in remote areas, and this was at least an urban area with better conditions.
Actually, even sleeping on Mao Mao is fine; nothing else is needed!
"Forget it, let’s go to the night market, grab something to eat, then find a place to rest somewhere!" Xiaoyao patted Mao Mao's back and had him head towards the night market.
By now, the sky was darkening, and the night market was open. Xiaoyao needed to address his hunger; while Mao Mao could go days without eating after having a meal beforehand, he couldn’t.
Xiaoyao was well-versed in Qingyun City’s layout and took some turns before arriving at the night market. Dismounting—no, getting off Mao Mao—he proceeded to buy snacks along the way. Naturally, the most abundant offerings were snacks; everything else was secondary, though not so for him.
This kind of place didn’t seem suitable for Mao Mao, considering its size and how it could become an obstruction in such a crowded area.
However, Xiaoyao didn't leave Mao Mao behind because of this. It wasn't out of affection but rather due to the utility Mao Mao provided. Mao Mao could block crowds, allowing him to eat without worry; he could also push through them so he wouldn’t be blocked.
How could such a benefit not warrant bringing Mao Mao along!!
"Damn, whose cat is this! So big and in the way!" Someone was irritated at Mao Mao for blocking their path.
"No clue, this isn’t a cat; can cats be that big This must be a dog!"
“Dogs aren't that big either. This should be a妖獸!!”
“Hey hey, whose妖獸 is this Can you give way for us please”
...
"Brother, is this big dog yours"
Xiaoyao was approached by people who disapproved of his selfish behavior.
"Nope, it’s not mine!" Xiaoyao shamelessly denied it.
"Walk a few steps so we can see if you’re lying!" The crowd stared at Xiaoyao as Mao Mao followed him. If he wasn’t the owner, they would chop his head off and use it as a stool!
“Ah, I'm tired. Boss, what do you sell here Instruments” Xiaoyao shamelessly asked an adjacent stall's owner; if not for this situation, he would likely continue walking.
The stall was filled with some musical instruments, making Xianyao think naturally that it must be selling instruments. However, he noticed these instruments were quite old and seemed to have been used before. Was this a place for selling second-hand instruments
The owner of the stall was an elderly man who looked ordinary but also somewhat mysterious!
In this night market, almost everyone knew about this elderly man. He had suddenly appeared here one year ago and set up his stall every day to sell these musical instruments, yet he hadn't managed to sell a single piece till now.
This wasn’t because the instruments were too old or their sound quality was poor; on the contrary, the sound of these instruments was top-notch. Many people wanted them but failed to acquire any.
That’s because there was an extremely peculiar condition attached when he sold his musical instruments, a condition which stopped everyone dead in their tracks.
"Yes, I'm selling the instruments here. Feel free to look around!" The elderly man glanced at Xianyao and then continued closing his eyes for rest.
Xianyao didn’t care about the elderly man’s attitude. He picked up a zither and played it briefly. This made him somewhat surprised; the sound was quite good, making this instrument an excellent piece. How could such top-tier items be put on sale like this, seemingly unclaimed
Xianyao didn't know that these instruments were only ignored because nobody had the means to purchase them!
"These are pretty nice instruments. What’s the price" Xianyao asked. By now, he had already ignored those following him; some of them had left while others continued watching.
"Very cheap, a silver tael for each!" The elderly man replied without opening his eyes.
"A silver tael each This is too cheap! Let me see if all the items here are like this." Xianyao asked as he tried other instruments to check their sound quality.
After testing one after another, Xianyao found that every piece was a masterpiece. He felt very delighted; at one silver tael per instrument, it was a great deal. Even if they were priced at a hundred taels each, there would still be buyers because art is priceless.
"Yes, all are the same: a silver tael for each." The elderly man remained expressionless.
"Then I’ll take them all!" Xianyao declared.
“Hey, young man. I advise you not to think about it!” Someone immediately reminded him from the side.
"Why" Xianyao asked with confusion. He was also puzzled why such high-quality items would be ignored here; there must be a reason for this.
“Because this old man has a condition, only those who meet his conditions can obtain these things,” someone explained.
Xianyao understood now. It made sense; the condition was likely stringent, so no one had met it yet, leaving the items unclaimed despite their quality.
However, even if he couldn't meet the requirements, Xianyao still wanted to ask what these conditions were. If they could be fulfilled, that would be perfect, allowing him to obtain the instruments without a guilty conscience.
If not, it wouldn’t matter; there was no loss and nothing to fear!
"Elderly man, may I know what your condition is" Xianyao asked.
The elderly man looked at him and said, "If you can play an instrument piece for me, these instruments are yours."
“What tune” Xianyao asked. He believed this must not be an ordinary score; otherwise, others wouldn’t have failed to meet it. This old man would already have stopped selling if they had.
"Look at the book in front of you. If you don't know how to play, you can copy and practice later," said the elderly man calmly.
From his words, it seemed like those who failed could borrow the score for practice as well. No one had taken the score yet, indicating that this must be a score requiring top-notch skills. Only when reaching such proficiency would they be able to play it, making it not just about familiarity but skill.
Xianyao had come across similar scores before and studied them, unsure of what was recorded in this particular book!
Currently, the situation seemed beneficial for Xianyao; no matter how it turned out, he would gain something. If he hadn't seen such a score before and couldn’t play it, his loss would be not getting the instruments but gaining an unknown score which was still an advantage.
Xianyao now hoped that this score was one he had never seen or played; then he'd have new challenges to take on. Acquiring these instruments wasn't crucial; he himself could create such instruments, and their sound quality wouldn’t differ much, possibly even better. But the material would be a problem; it couldn't be bought for just silver taels, maybe not even with all the silver.
No matter what, Xianyao was very eager about this score!
“Laugh at the Vast Sea!” Upon seeing the name of that score, Xianyao’s face lit up with excitement. Clearly, it was a book he had wanted before but couldn't obtain; now he saw it under such circumstances.
"Can I look at this" Xianyao asked excitedly, though the elderly man already said anyone could browse freely out of respect for the score.
“Sure! Feel free to take a look!” The old man glanced at him and seemed to show some appreciation in his eyes before closing them again.
To the elderly man, people like Xianyao weren’t rare but also not common. No one could play what he wanted either; thus, he didn't hold much hope!
Xianyao ignored the old man's attitude and picked up the score to study it carefully, scrutinizing every detail without missing any.
(To be continued)nse time.Of course, he didn't need to calculate this; there was an announcement at the village entrance from Eastern Europe’s Donghai City officials stating that the small village had been looted and...