Chapter 5 Swordfish Tavern

The long boat went up against the current and drove through the mossy iron sluice under the white stone wall of the flowing palace, as if it were another world in front of them. The white stone palace has a round appearance and a curved roof. The golden tower is glowing with incandescent light and dazzling, more like the residence of gods and the residence of extraordinary people.

The water is gradually slowing down, and the river is wider. The long boat walked through the flowering, and the fragrance of flowers came to their nose and wrapped them. In the flower garden of the low trees, many children laughed and chased. The girl rode on the boy's neck and shouted excitedly, beating with other children. Finally, they fell into the grass and rolled into a ball.

"Are they all princesses and princes?"

"All of them are not. Some are the children of the prince's brother. The slave translator said, "Your Highness likes children."

Loving children means that he is caring. Such people usually do not refuse abruptly, but choose to refuse tactfully. Li Ou saw a glimmer of dawn. Even with such harsh conditions, they still had a little room for manoeuvre and a chance to succeed.

The long boat sailed into a small lake and stopped at a section of stairs extending into the water. Soldiers dressed in half armor and decorated with colorful feathers stood upright and loosely. The captain, who painted half of his face and arm with oil paint, took a mouthful of the common language mixed with a heavy Valian accent and said in a muffled voice, "Welcome, guests from afar."

"Your welcome is too grand." Li Ou laughed and said, "We can't afford it."

"His Royal Highness has known." The captain of the guard said positively, "He has ordered a thorough investigation, and there will be a result in the future."

"I hope so." He said, but he didn't have any illusions in his heart. That man is not an ordinary businessman, but a real killer. Good at camouflage and cunning like a fox. He can be a businessman or a beggar; he can become a fisherman or a bodyguard standing in front of them now. He doesn't think they can catch each other. But he didn't say anything.

The captain of the guard led the way, and the guard in red robe walked to the end with the seriously injured red pigeon. The captain of the guard at a residence next to a garden stopped and introduced an old man in white robe standing outside the door.

"She is the royal doctor of His Royal Highness." The old lady wore long gray hair, her face was ruddy, and her hands holding the medicine box were as rough as dead wood. Li Ou has heard of doctors in the narrow sea city-state, who often use scorpions and leeches, burning incense and toxins to treat patients. In his opinion, their medical skills are more like witchcraft than magic and alchemy. She will treat this adult. The captain of the guard said.

Out of courtesy, they did not refuse the other party's kindness.

Miss Bachelors stared at the opportunity and asked, "What about Your Highness? Why didn't he condescend to come?"

"Your Highness is obsessed with affairs." The captain of the bodyguard's face was as stiff as stone. He waved his hand and said, "Guests, please rest first. The prince will meet you at the appropriate time. He refused to disclose everything about the prince. Everything is up to the prince. This is his only statement under their questioning.

The room has three floors. Spacious and ventilated, there is no lack of decoration, seagull blankets on the ground, red wine to drink, and books to read. The high landscape is very magnificent. One window faces east, and you can cross the white stone wall to see the calm sea, and the other overlooks the garden with winding water. There are lounge chairs and round tables on the carefully carved balcony pillars, where they can enjoy the sunshine.

They placed the unconscious red pigeons in the west room. The old lady half squatted in front of his bed and sucked the blood from the red pigeon's wound with a leech, and then smeared it on his wound with mashed herbal paste. Leo distinguished the anti-inflammatory cocoon and dog-shaped roots.

"He was not seriously injured, but frightened." The old lady said.

"She said that the adult would wake up tonight." The translator said. The old lady grabbed a few pills from the box. One every day. Soon you will recover from the scar and walk freely on the ground.

"Nalya." Miss Bachelor told the waitress, "You take care of him. If he wakes up, let us know."

Li Ou sent them downstairs and gave them a handful of local silver coins at the same time. "If there is no order, please don't disturb us." He told the slave to translate. After they left, he poured out all the medicine given to him by the old man and returned to his room.

"Today's killer..." Miss Bachelor was worried.

"That's a warning. He doesn't want the life of the red pigeon." Leo told her. That sea ivory is enough to pierce the heart.

"But what on earth does he want to warn?" Miss Bachelor has no power to tie a chicken. Although she is extraordinary, she is inevitably frightened. She frowned. Who is the mastermind behind the scenes?

They came to negotiate, and the purpose of the other party was obvious. It's nothing more than obstructing them so that they can retreat from the difficulties. You should know that you can only find the answer by yourself. Li Ou didn't rest, so he called the female mage. Let's go out for a walk. Staying here is like a caged bird and a frog in a well. Only when there are rumors outside the prison can we get something.

"Be safe." Lu Yuewu told him.

Safe? He looked at the mage who moved his fingers and was happy, thinking that she should be worried about Rosie's opponent.

They left the room unexpectedly without any obstacles. Several guards passing by them turned a blind eye to their idleness.

"This way." Pwop, a bard who boasted about the secret passage of the Liushui Palace, explained, "This is the Liushui Garden, not the palace where the prince lives. Nobles can walk in it. We just need to swagger in and out."

Beyond the white stone wall is a crowded and narrow street. The stone houses on both sides seem to be vines competing for the sun, and the wooden shelves on the roof continue to extend up, like monsters with teeth and claws. In the end, their hands and feet are all entangled and intertwined, and they will never distinguish between you and me. No wonder this place is also called a thief's paradise. Thieves and killers are omnipotent. But Leo has no doubt that a fire will completely destroy all this.

Under the leadership of the bard, they passed through the alley full of drying clothes and bamboo baskets, stepped on the creaking old wooden bridge, turned around along the slippery path on the intricate water roadside, and finally came to a floating platform made of wooden boards, stepped over the swaying wooden shelf, the swordfish pub described by the bard. Right in front of us.

"Look, it's been more than ten years." The bard sniffed the strong fishy smell and foam beer in the air and sighed in his unique and restrained tone, "This place has not changed much." He greeted them and pushed the door in first.

The pub is as full of voices as ever. More than a dozen dark Vallians and six white-yellow-skinned mixed-race people chatted separately. They were making noises and trying to overshadow each other's voices.

"What would you like?" The shopkeeper standing under a five-meter-long swordfish asked without raising his head.

"Three glasses of beer."

They looked for a seat in the corner. After a while, the boss grabbed three dirty wooden cups with his fat hands and appeared, splashing some foam every step.

"Wigner." The bard seemed to recognize the shopkeeper, and he looked a little excited. "It's me, I'm Pwopu."

The store looked up and down at him with a strange face. All I know is that someone pretends to be the illegitimate son of a nobleman to cheat money. When even my shabby pens pub was favored by the swindlers. He put down his glass with a bang, and the beer full of magazines splashed on the table. What a bad name. I have no impression. Don't think that you can avoid drinking money by climbing relatives. He shook off the bard's hand, threw down a sentence angrily, and turned away.

The minstrel's hand is frozen in mid-air. No one remembers me." His face was gloomy. No one remembers the bastard who made trouble.

Nothing can beat time. Leo pushed a glass of beer in front of him, "Have a drink, it will make you forget your troubles."

The bard thanked him, raised his glass and killed half of the beer in one breath, and then fell silent.

Leo tried to take a sip, and he found that the difference between wine and foam beer abundant in the narrow sea was like heaven and earth. He couldn't stand the bitterness of his mouth and had to bury his head and spit the wine on the floor. The dark yellow liquor dripped down the cracks on the floor into the surging waves under its feet.

"They are talking about sea monsters." Rosie whispered to him.

Her face was a little pale, and it should be the boathouse that made her feel uncomfortable. Li Ou followed the table she secretly pointed to. There were five people at that table. Their skin was dark and their arms were swollen, like sailors on the boat. Their fast speech and heavy throats made it difficult for Li Ou to distinguish the words they said, but he still heard the words "sea monster", "death" and "ghost" clearly.

"They said that many pirate nests had been looted." Rosie continued.

"It's the same as we met." Leo said.

"Maybe it's hearsay."

Li Ou looked at the silent bard and sighed, "There should be no difference." He told the female mage, "The Valians hate witchcraft creatures and will never talk about it if it weren't true. They will only take it as a joke." Look at them. Their faces are tense and their fingers tremble, which is a sign of fear.

"Real?" Rosie then said nothing. She buried her head and held the greasy wine glass in her hands, but she didn't move a word.

She was not very interested, and occasionally looked up at his eyes as if she were confused. What's wrong with her? He just opened his mouth, but the person next to the table suddenly interrupted, "White-skinned devil, western mainland monkey."

Li Ou and Rosie have been talking in Valian from beginning to end, but now it seems that someone can still hear their accent. The two words spoken by the Valians at the neighboring table full of beer, garlic and onions seemed to be magical, and the noisy pub immediately quieted down.

The body is thin and long, and the hairy ape almost stands up. You are not welcome here, you white-skinned dirty ghosts. His face is like a monkey's ass. He walked to them drunk. The devil is not entertained here.

Leo moved his glass away a little. He glanced at the pub owner, who avoided his eyes. He looked at the others in the pub again, and the dark-skinned Vallians stared at him with hatred, while the mixed race avoided him. There has never been anything to help people in the Western Continent in the narrow sea city. Who likes mages and alchemists?

"Pay and get out of here." The hairless monkey patted the table. With a heavy sound, Leo felt that his hand must have turned red. Otherwise, I will change my sword to entertain you."

"I'm going to drink all my beer." He said.

"I see it clearly." The red-faced monkey shouted angrily, "I saw you spit it up."

His words caused a burst of ** and abuse in the pub, as if Li Ou's action was spitting on their faces. Leo told him calmly, "Because it tastes as disgusting as your reptile."

"I will make you vomit. Then open your mouth and pour them all back to you.

The monkey with drunken fists pounced on him and knocked down the table on the way. The wine spilled in the flying glass drenched the bard, and some of it was sprinkled on Rosie's trousers.

This is not safe at all. Li Ou thought.