Chapter 563 Al-Adha
Ihailes City,
Li Si and Taiya stood outside the gate of this oasis town, looking at the small town in the environment.
After learning that this small city was shrouded in a legendary illusion, although Li Si wanted to complete specific tasks in this area and get the final reward, he still carefully collected information about the city.
Li Si let the mirror clone go into the city to explore for a while, but did not notice anything wrong.
From what the clone saw in this small town, Li Si felt that this small town seemed to be no different from the oasis town he had encountered on his previous journey.
There is not even anything special, it seems to be just an ordinary, unremarkable small town.
What's wrong?
Li Si was a little confused, but he was still ready to go to the city to take a look.
Anyway, this secret realm cannot prevent Li Si from leaving. If he finds something wrong after entering the city, Li Si can take Taiya away at any time.
When they arrived at the city gate, the guard standing at the city gate looked at Li Si and Tai Ya, and said to Li Si:
"The city entrance tax is two gold coins."
"So expensive?"
Li Si frowned and said to the guard:
"We are bards from the city of Armandu and don't have much savings."
"And it's just for entering the city. Why do you need two gold coins? Other oases only cost about ten copper coins at most, right?"
"This is a rule. You are not allowed to enter the city of Ihailes without paying the city tax. .”
"This is too expensive. Can it be cheaper?"
"How about I play a song for you guys?"
Li Si looked pained and seemed reluctant to part with two gold coins. Regarding the city entry tax, I haggle over the price with the city guards.
At this moment, there seemed to be a caravan on the other side who also wanted to enter the small town in front of them to replenish supplies, but they were also shocked by the expensive city entry tax.
“There are so many people in our caravan. If the city entry tax is one gold coin per person, wouldn’t it mean that we have to pay more than a hundred gold coins for this alone?”
“There is no such thing anywhere. What’s the price?”
“We just want to go to the city to purchase supplies. Is it the same price?”
The caravan steward looked at the serious-looking Cheng in front of him in disbelief. Guard, his words were filled with unconcealable surprise.
"If you are willing to pay, then pay. If you are not willing, leave now."
"Am I asking you to enter the city?"
Another city guard stood in front of the caravan manager. Not willing to explain anything more, he said coldly.
“I’m really crazy about money!”
“Does the city lord here not care about it?”
The caravan manager was a little angry, and his face was extremely ugly.
He felt that these city guards were deliberately making things difficult and wanted to exploit money by doing business without capital, but there was nothing he could do.
The other party is a local snake here, how can he really confront him?
Even the lord of this city might protect his men immediately, right?
The steward wanted to take the people away now, but thinking that there were really not many supplies in the caravan, he was a little surprised to see this unmarked oasis on the map, but now it seems that it is no different than a bandit. How much.
If it is just water, it can be obtained directly from the small lake outside the city, but food is not so good.
After thinking about it, the caravan manager had no choice but to let the rest of the caravan rest outside the city. He took a few people with him and paid the city entry tax before going into the city to purchase.
"Hmph!"
The tall city guard in front of Li Si seemed a little impatient. He didn't say anything more to Li Si. He shook the stainless steel spear in his hand and snorted coldly.
Li Si hesitated for a moment and had no choice but to take out two gold coins from his pocket and hand them to the city guard in front of him hesitantly.
The city guard looked at Li Si with some surprise, as if he didn't expect that the person who was so fussy just now was actually willing to pay such an expensive city entry tax.
However, since they are from the city of Armandu, the appearance and clothing of these two people also look quite good, maybe they are a bit stingy.
The city guard waved his hand and allowed Li Si and Tai Ya to enter the city.
Li Si walked into this small town with Taiya, and the pained look on his face disappeared instantly.
When he used the mirror clone to enter the city just now, he used his stealth ability, so he really didn't know about the city tax.
Of course, Li Si was not distressed about the two gold coins, but was a little curious about the anomaly of the city entry tax.
If it were just an oasis he encountered during the journey, Li Si wouldn't care so much. After all, with his financial resources, it would be no problem to pay it as many times as he wanted.
But in the cooperative town in front of him, Li Si was sure that there were big problems.
Otherwise, this secret realm would not be called [a small town stuck in time].
Did time stop in this small city called Ihailes, or was it because of other anomalies?
Such an expensive city entry tax is really hard to accept for normal desert travelers.
Even for a caravan that specializes in traveling between desert oases, this price is difficult to accept.
However, the few city guards just now were only silver-level professionals, and the entire town did not have any special defense arrangements.
Otherwise, Li Si's mirror clone wouldn't have been able to get in so easily before, without even noticing any defensive or early warning measures.
So, is the "expensive" city entry tax an attempt to actively dissuade those who have nothing to do with it?
Li Si had some guesses in his mind, but he was not too worried, but rather excited.
We are not afraid of exceptions, but we are afraid of not being able to find the problem.
As long as you follow the clues, you will definitely discover the problems in this city.
Li Si took Taiya to walk along the streets of the small town, carefully looking at the small town called Ihailes.
The name of the area-specific mission he received is [Ihailes’ Persistence]. The introduction is that because of Ihailes’s persistence, this small town will always be stagnant in time.
Although other reasons cannot be ruled out, this Ihales should be a person's name and the reason why this secret realm was formed.
The first thing to do is to find this man named Ihailes.
The name of the small town is Ihailes, and it is very likely that the lord of this small town is Ihailes.
This is Li Si's guess, but there shouldn't be too many problems.
Despite this, Li Si did not go directly to the city lord's mansion to find the target rashly.
If it were that simple, this area-specific mission wouldn't be legendary.
At least judging from the information Li Si observed, the secrets of the small town in front of him seem to be hidden deep in the depths, and now it looks quite normal on the surface.
Better observe more!
Li Si made a decision in his mind. After all, this small town must have a legendary force involved, so it was better to be cautious.
Immediately, Li Si and Tai Ya started walking around the small town. The houses in this small town are generally built low and strong, as if they are crawling humbly on the ground to reduce wind resistance and invasion
The windows are designed to be small and delicate, like chess pieces embedded in the thick wall. This design not only effectively blocks the invasion of wind and sand, but also makes the indoor light soft and warm. Whenever the sun sets or the morning light shines, beams of light shine through this narrow window and shine on the simple ground, creating a An atmosphere of quiet time.
As the mountain slowly rises, these low buildings spread upward layer by layer until the mountainside, which is quite harmonious with the surrounding oases and small lakes. Viewed from a distance, the entire town is like a carefully laid out oil painting, simple yet rhythmic, and every part is an indispensable part of the painting.
There are not many people walking in the small town, and Li Si feels that he can easily tell who is an outsider and what is a local living here.
Li Si carefully looked at the people living in this small town. They usually wore white clothes. What was different from other oases was that this kind of clothes looked simpler and only covered most of the body. area, arms and calves are exposed.
You must know that the reason why people in desert areas like to wear robes to cover their bodies is because compared to the heat, the direct rays of the scorching sun are more unbearable. Ordinary people may even get sunburned accidentally.
In addition, people living in this city are generally a little thin, and their faces are pale, as if they are malnourished.
But there was nothing unusual about their expressions, and they even showed some joy and happiness.
Although there are not many pedestrians, the stalls on both sides of the market are also filled with many commodities and goods, most of which are grains and fruits produced in the oasis, as well as some handicrafts.
Just like a normal oasis town.
After all, the products produced in most oasis towns are very similar, and smaller oases do not have any special goods. Instead, food and fruits are the most favored by travelers.
Li Si bought some grapes from a stall nearby for fifteen copper coins.
Picking up a grape and putting it into his mouth, Li Si nodded slightly as he felt the sweet juice bursting in his mouth.
Hmm.
There is nothing unusual about the food. There is no problem if passing travelers want to replenish their supplies here.
Feeding the grapes one by one to Taiya, Li Si thought for a while and said to the vendor: "Excuse me, I just came here and I want to ask which is the best hotel here. Where?"
"A hotel?"
"It must be the Golden Ye Hotel in the east of the city. Go in that direction and you'll be there after crossing two streets."
< br>The stall owner said to Li Si with a smile.
As if he hadn't seen a stranger for a long time, the stall owner said to Li Si enthusiastically:
"It's hard for our guests to come to Ihailes. The day after tomorrow is the Eid al-Adha. Why don't you stay a few more days to experience it?" ?”
“Old Festival?”
“What is that?”
Hearing this, Li Si asked the stall owner with some curiosity.
"That is our unique festival celebration in Ihailes, held at this time every year."
"The city lord will also appear at that time, leading everyone to hold a bonfire party in the square, and will also take out A variety of food and wine were shared with everyone, leading everyone to pray to the gods and celebrate the past year.”
“Originally, many guests came from far away to participate in the Al-Adha festival, but recently there have been many guests. It’s a lot less.”
The stall owner said with some regret.
“I would like to ask, which god did everyone pray to at the party?”
Li Si narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the stall owner in front of him and asked.
“It’s the god Gur! This is a great existence that has been guarding our city.”
“Thanks to him, we can live such a stable life and no longer be displaced. "
Li Si glanced at the stall owner and asked a few more questions. After seeing that there was no valuable information, he nodded slightly and said:
"I know, if there is a chance. If so, I will participate.”
After that, Li Si took Taya and walked in the direction pointed by the stall owner.
Adha?
Is this city’s secret related to this so-called celebration?
Li Si felt something was wrong, but he couldn't get any valuable information from the stall owner.
Praying to the gods, is it some evil god?
Li Si was a little skeptical. After all, the source of many tasks in previous games pointed to a certain evil god.
But Li Si doesn’t remember any evil god whose name is Gur?
The most important thing is that from the stall owner's description of the Al-Adha festival, Li Si felt that there was nothing special about the so-called celebration and bonfire night.
Why do people come from far away just to participate in this festival?
Displaced?
Could it be that the people living in this small city all wandered in the desert before settling here?
But from the looks of the buildings in this small town, it seems that it has not existed for a long time.
No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t look like it was established recently.
Although it seems that I have learned a lot of things, it is more like unblocking the thick fog.
The city lord will show up at the bonfire party, and many things may become clear by then.
From the stall owner's description, Li Si felt a sense of confusion and disharmony, which was somewhat depressing and uncomfortable.
On the way to the hotel, Li Si asked a few people about their shopping time, but the answers they received were all similar.
It feels as if the city has only felt excitement and joy from pedestrians before because of the arrival of the festival.
Soon, Li Si and Taya arrived outside the Golden Coconut Hotel pointed by the stall owner.
This hotel looks much larger than the surrounding houses, with three floors. It seems to have been newly built not long ago, and it looks much brighter.
Stepping inside, Li Si took a few glances at the internal environment.
The interior design of the hotel abandons complicated decoration and uses simple lines and elegant colors to outline a sense of comfort.
Under the high ceiling, several rows of wooden tables and chairs are neatly arranged. Although they are not gorgeous, they are polished to a discernible shine, revealing a timeless charm. All decorations are carefully It is kept spotless and even the pickiest traveler will be pleased with the tidiness.
The first floor space is cleverly divided into two areas. One half maintains the reception and rest functions of the hotel, while the other half has been transformed into a pub full of life.
In the pub area, warm lights fall on every tabletop, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere, and the air is filled with the tempting aroma of food, from freshly baked bread to slow-cooked food All kinds of meat are available.
Intertwined with it is the aroma of beer that cannot be ignored, which quietly swims in the air, teasing the taste buds of every passerby. A lot of people have gathered in the tavern. They are sitting or standing, holding wine glasses, with satisfied and relaxed smiles on their faces.
The sounds of conversation and laughter intertwined to form a symphony of life, and it felt like the whole space suddenly became alive.
As if noticing the entrance of Li Si and Tai Ya, a lively and pleasant voice sounded.
"Two guests, do you need anything?"
A bright and charming blond girl appeared with this voice.
(End of this chapter)