Chapter 173 A Town Where Everyone Speaks Chinese
At the bottom of the valley, after passing a small plain, you can reach the town. There is a church and various houses in the town. You can see black smoke rising, which is the exhaust gas emitted by the coal burning in the blacksmith shop.
The most eye-catching building is in the center of the town. It is surrounded by tall walls, completely isolating itself from the surrounding buildings. There is a moat around it, which reminds Su Ming of the castle of the old nobles on Dongyang Island.
Only this building is much bigger and looks like a miniature city, reminiscent of a huge royal palace.
Xia Xiaoyu was stunned for a long while and asked, "Should we go in?"
"It's hard for me to get in dressed like this. Come a little closer, and then you go in and steal two clothes that are suitable for us , and then go in."
…
Not long after, Xia Xiaoyu came back with two pieces of clothes, looking a little strange.
"Su Ming, I find something wrong with this town. Why do all the people here speak Chinese?" Xia Xiaoyu said puzzledly.
"Everyone speaks Chinese? Are you sure?" Su Ming's face changed slightly.
Xia Xiaoyu nodded: "I am sure that after I went in, everyone I met on the street and in the clothing store was speaking Chinese."
Su Ming looked towards the town, thinking that not everything the Hope Church said was right. Although Sarah did not lie at the time, it turned out that the Hope Church was not the only ones in the world who could communicate with outsiders like them.
But why did everyone in such a big town speak Chinese? Were all the residents there outsiders like them?
Or did everyone there specialize in learning Chinese?
No, it is impossible to learn Chinese. Even if they learn it specifically, there is no need to use a second language in daily life. So the only answer is that these residents are all from their original world, all outsiders!
"Put on your clothes first." Su Ming said.
He and Xia Xiaoyu each found a patch of grass and changed into new clothes. Originally, Xia Xiaoyu didn't need to change clothes because no one could see her, but if there was a dream person in this town, and the dream person was not human, then Xia Xiaoyu would be too easily discovered without changing clothes.
Su Ming put on his clothes and looked at his outfit. It was a gentleman's outfit, with a black coat, white lining, and dark brown leather boots. It was well matched and not too conspicuous. Looking at the smooth, hand-polished metal buttons on the cuffs, it was obvious that this piece of clothing was worth a lot of money in this world.
There was a noise in the bushes on the other side, and Xia Xiaoyu also came out from it. She was wearing men's clothes. She had her shoulder-length hair tied up and fixed it behind her head with a clip. It couldn't be seen after she put on a hat.
She smiled at Su Ming, turned the bowler hat in her hand and put it on her head, and asked, "How is it? Is it okay?"
Very cool, with both the softness of a woman and the competence and sharp temperament of a man. She can really pull off this kind of dress, Su Ming thought to himself.
"Just try to fool me. I can tell from your face that you are not a man." Su Ming said casually.
Xia Xiaoyu's skin is too smooth and delicate. It is impossible for a man to have that kind of skin. As long as someone is a little careful, they can easily identify her gender.
She stroked her cheek and nodded thoughtfully: "Indeed, but most people probably can't see me, this level of disguise is completely sufficient."
After the two men finished disguising themselves, they mounted their horses and rushed down the hillside all the way into the city. After entering the town, Su Ming truly witnessed the level of civilization in this world.
Beautifully decorated carriages are running on the streets, the iron signs hanging on the roadside shops are also carefully decorated, and the clothes worn by the most ordinary people here are better than those worn by those who hope to teach. Just by looking at this town, you can tell that the productivity of this world is not backward.
In addition, Su Ming could occasionally see soldiers wearing armor and covered with red sheets, walking around the streets with spears in their hands, looking arrogant.
These soldiers should be the ones guarding the castle. If I am not mistaken, the person living in the castle should be the person in my dream.
"How should we start? I feel like asking random questions will expose our true identity," said Xia Xiaoyu.
Su Ming remained silent, agreeing with Xia Xiaoyu's opinion in his heart. If they randomly found a hotel and went in to ask them why they all spoke Chinese, they would most likely expose their identities as outsiders. Even if they didn't ask, the other party would most likely reveal their true colors as long as they asked them a small question like "Where are you from?"
Just when Su Ming didn't know how to take the first step, someone suddenly called his name from behind.
"Hey! Su Ming! Is that you?"
Su Ming patted the horse's neck to stop it, then turned around and searched the crowd for the person who had called him.
Su Ming took a quick glance and immediately recognized the person who greeted him. It was Arthur!
Arthur's dazzling golden hair was so dazzling in the crowd. He was dusty and looked very tired. He was very excited to see Su Ming.
Arthur saw that he had not made a mistake, so he quickly walked to Su Ming's side, opened his mouth, and wanted to say something, but in the end it all turned into a sigh: "Great! You're still alive too!"
"Arthur, what a coincidence, I didn't expect you to be here too!" Su Ming was really surprised. He never expected to meet Arthur here.
Based on his previous experience, he felt that Arthur should also be with the Hope Cult members.
But now that we have met, it would be safer to act together. Since Arthur has been here for so long, he should understand that this mission cannot be accomplished by one person alone.
"Let's act together later. This mission is very dangerous." Su Ming made another invitation.
This time, Arthur did not refuse. When he heard Su Ming's words, he lowered his head in shame, shook his head and sighed:
"I should have listened to you and got ready outside before coming in. If I could do it again, I would definitely come in with you... Forget it, what's the point of talking about this now? Let's go to my place and we can talk slowly."
Arthur had completely lost the arrogance he had outside the white fog. At this moment, he looked particularly downcast. It seemed that Arthur had experienced a lot after entering the white fog and understood how difficult their current situation was.
"Arthur, why are you here?" Su Ming asked.
"It was a coincidence, or maybe just pure luck. If we hadn't found this place, Feiyun and I would have probably died. You're lucky to be here. There are very few towns where everyone speaks Chinese, and this is the only one nearby."
"Do you know why? Why do people here speak Chinese?"
"I know a little, but I'm not sure whether it's true or not. Anyway, let's go to where I live first. It's not far from here." Arthur sighed again.
Su Ming dismounted and walked with Arthur to the door of a tavern.
When I pushed the door open, the scent of flowers mixed with meat and wine hit me in the face.
The men around were making a lot of noise, playing cards in groups of six around a round table. The boss behind the counter saw Arthur come in and waved his hand and smiled at him. Arthur greeted the other party and took Su Ming to the back door of the pub.
"Although it's a pub, you can just eat here. It's one of the largest pubs in the area," Arthur explained.
He took Su Ming through the back door and came to the backyard. The kitchen was not far away, and the delivery man was shuttling back and forth between the tavern and the kitchen.
"This world seems pretty good. I didn't expect the food to be so good. I thought the food I hope to teach those people would be average." Su Ming muttered to himself.
"You must have been in the Church of Hope before, right? The Church of Hope is a religion that advocates self-abuse. It's strange that they eat well.
However, such good food is not available everywhere. It can only be eaten in the territory of the dreamer. After all, if you want to live a stable life, your life safety must be guaranteed first... and if you want to be safe, you can only be in the territory of the dreamer."
Arthur took Su Ming to the entrance of a cellar and said:
"I'm living here temporarily. I use my special powers to help the owner of this tavern. He took me in and let me live in the cellar. After a while, when he vacates the room, the living environment should be much better." Arthur smiled bitterly, his tone containing a hint of self-mockery.
He took Su Ming into the cellar. The air in the cellar was stuffy and the temperature was low. There was only a bed and a wooden cabinet at the very edge of the empty cellar. The bed was not even a bed. It was just a pile of firewood covered with thatch. The quilt was quite thick.
"You're going to sleep here?" Su Ming was a little surprised. In his impression, Arthur was a person who could not endure hardship.
"Yes, I'll modify this bed a little in a few days and it should be more comfortable." Arthur said expressionlessly.
“Feiyun worked in a blacksmith shop, using his special powers to help others forge weapons, and the owner of the blacksmith shop took him in.
The weapons forged with his fire were of excellent quality, so the blacksmith treated him quite well and he lived a much better life than I did.
But I thought that in the summer, my ice-making skills would come in handy, and my salary would be much higher then.
By the way, are you thirsty? I am good at mixing drinks. Many people here have never seen the world, so I can fool them by mixing some fruit with some messy drinks.
After a while, I plan to develop a few new recipes, and if I'm lucky and save enough money, I'll open a tavern of my own."
As he spoke, Arthur opened the wooden cabinet and took out two cups and a bottle of wine. He poured two glasses of wine, rubbed some salt on the rim of the cup, and then poured a little unknown liquid.
After doing all this, he handed one of the glasses of wine to Su Ming: "It tastes good, try it, it can make your nerves less tense. Since you are here, open the tavern with me, I will take good care of you... By the way, where are Flora and the child? Why aren't they with you?"
"We separated due to some unexpected events." Su Ming said calmly. He took the cup and took a sip. It tasted really good.
Su Ming looked up at the man in front of him. Arthur had a calm expression and it was hard to tell what was on his mind, but Su Ming could sense that something was wrong with his mental state.
