Chapter 304: Mummy Ashes

Lady "Magician" didn't say anything more and asked again:

"Do you want to return to the Wind Dance Hall now, or stay here until noon?"

Lu Mian had never left Intis, let alone come to the Southern Continent, and he happened to have nothing to do, so he nodded:

"I want to look around."

Lady "Magician" nodded slightly and disappeared in front of him.

Almost at the same time, the chilling cold wind passed through the crowd and blew on Lu Mian.

Coming from the summer Trier, he couldn't help but tremble.

Accompanied by the cold wind, the clamor of the market, which had just been so far away as if it were hundreds of meters away, poured into Lu Mian's ears, giving him the feeling of truly entering this world.

Associating with the fact that Lady "Magician's" appearance and disappearance were not noticed by the people around, Lu Mian quickly had a certain speculation:

Quickly created a "Wall of Spirituality," or pulled me into a non-independent alien space?

As thoughts flashed, Lu Mian saw the men and women passing by looking at him with eyes that were both guarded and vigilant, and puzzled, as he was only wearing a thin shirt, black vest, and thin trousers in the cold season of the plateau.

"What are you looking at? Haven't you seen someone acting cool?" Lu Mian muttered and walked into the market as if nothing had happened, relying on the endurance ability of the "Ascetic."

The smell of fresh livestock manure, the rich sweet fragrance of corn, and the smell of roasted meat sprinkled with spices drifted into his nostrils.

Lu Mian looked around and saw many stalls selling food mainly based on corn. There were whole corn boiled purely, roasted corn smeared with red sauce, corn cut into pieces and put into thick soup, corn roasted with beef and mutton chunks, onions, and potatoes, corn ground into powder and boiled into a sticky paste with different meat chunks, and corn spread into rough large cakes sprinkled with ingredients...

After thinking for a moment, Lu Mian passed through the path "cleared" by the market-goers themselves and arrived at a stall.

The stall owner was a man in his thirties, with dark red skin, a thin face, high cheekbones, deep brown eyes, and long black hair, looking quite greasy.

He wore a black felt hat and a dark red robe woven from wool and other materials.

Lu Mian pointed to the yellow corn paste cooked in the iron pot and asked in Intis:

"How much?"

He had just observed that some people here could understand Intis, and the transaction used various metal currencies, including Felkin.

The stall owner was fearful and somewhat ingratiating, answering in somewhat unskilled Intis:

"5 Kopeks a cup."

1 Rick, huh, quite cheap... Lu Mian looked at the corn paste with many beef and mutton chunks floating in it and took out a brass-colored coin with the pattern of the Hornacis Mountains on the front.

The stall owner breathed a sigh of relief, took out a paper cup that didn't quite match the style and technological level of the market with nimble hands and feet, scooped a full cup, and even gave a few more pieces of meat.

After Lu Mian took it, he immediately felt a warmth pass into his body.

For someone enduring the biting cold wind, this was a very beautiful experience.

And an even more beautiful experience was the warm corn paste flowing from the mouth into the esophagus, pouring into the stomach, and delivering warmth to every corner of the whole body.

It had a light sweet base taste, mixed with a little bit of spicy and a little bit of pungent, just neutralizing the fishy smell of the beef and mutton chunks, allowing the beauty of the meat quality to fully bloom on the taste buds of the tongue, with a peculiar and appetizing taste.

Amidst the defensive and dodging reactions of the ladies in gorgeous robes and the fearful and hateful gazes of the men driving cattle and sheep, in the air thinner than Trier, Lu Mian walked toward the end of the market while drinking the corn paste in the cup.

Not long after, he entered the "White City" of Laps, saw the golden "Eternal Blazing Sun" church and the "God of Steam and Machinery" church carved with various industrial parts, saw those buildings with white as the base, saw shops selling cattle and sheep leather and various textiles, saw signs like "Highland Import and Export Company" and "Laps Mining Association," saw vehicles pulled by long-haired cattle and medium-sized horses, and saw a large number of locals mainly wearing robes and a small number of outsiders in formal attire.

Lu Mian picked a shop named "Highland Secret Medicine" and turned in with the posture of a tourist.

The owner of this shop was an Intis person, about forty years old, with typical black hair and blue eyes, wearing a white shirt with floral decorations, thick clothing woven from cashmere, and a dark blue coat with golden fur edges.

Seeing Lu Mian, he greeted him happily:

"Good morning, dear compatriot."

After speaking, he looked at Lu Mian's clothing and asked with concern:

"Did you meet robbers?"

"I just arrived in Laps, and there was an accident on the way," Lu Mian answered with a Trier accent with a smile.

The owner selling secret medicines nodded with deep understanding:

"The Southern Continent is not as good as written in the newspapers at all, but it is indeed a paradise for adventurers.

"I arrived in West Balam fifteen years ago, looking for opportunities in various cities in the Southern Continent, but it wasn't until I entered this 'White City' that my life had a good change. Steam be praised!"

While sighing, he drew a triangular holy emblem on his chest.

"Steam be praised!" Lu Mian returned the same etiquette.

The owner smiled more and more kindly:

"Brother, do you want some mummy powder? Real mummy!"

Lu Mian looked around this small shop and said with a smile:

"Why don't you put the mummy in the display window to prove the authenticity of the ashes?"

The owner laughed sheepishly:

"This will stimulate those barbarians.

"Although some of them also buy mummy powder, the vast majority of people still cannot accept mummies becoming commodities."

Lu Mian said deliberately:

"When I left Trier, mummy powder was simply in short supply, and the price was hyped very high. Have you ever thought about transporting mummies back to Trier to sell?"

"Maritime trade is too dangerous. If through an import and export company, they will fiercely suppress my price, and they will also charge me a tax. Those damn hyenas!" The owner looked at Lu Mian and tested, "If you are willing to bear the corresponding risks, we can cooperate."

"How many mummies can you provide?" Lu Mian had an expression of distrust.

The owner smiled:

"It depends on how many you want. I have enough channels."

How many do I want? Which great noble's family cemetery in the Highland Kingdom did you dig up? Or did you just find some dead bodies or living people to make them on the spot? Lu Mian chatted with the owner of "Highland Secret Medicine" for a few words, learned that the other party was named "Salient Empire," and left the shop under the pretext of needing to consider.

After walking for a while, Lu Mian saw many locals pouring into a spectacular and serious-looking three-story white building by the road.

He followed curiously and found several Intis soldiers wearing black triangular hats, blue coats with gold threads, white trousers, and black leather boots guarding the door.

Sure enough, Laps is an Intis colonial city... Lu Mian's gaze swept, and his sight fell on the golden word at the main entrance of the white building:

"Laps Special Court"

Lu Mian followed the crowd into a trial hall and sat in a corner with few people, listening to the trial of the case.

The accused were two Intis soldiers who were charged with intercepting a newlywed couple on the outskirts one night more than a month ago, brutally murdering the husband, and taking turns raping the wife.

The latter was lucky enough to survive, and coupled with many eyewitnesses and sufficient evidence, the whole case appeared very clear.

The judge, who was hearing the case for the third time, made a final verdict after a relatively long consideration:

The charges were established, and they were immediately expelled from the Highlands. After they returned to Intis, they would be further punished by a military court.

Such a ruling triggered a lot of dissatisfaction. The locals who were listening stood up one after another, protesting loudly, but the judge did not compromise and let the bailiffs and soldiers who were prepared to force them out of the court.

Lu Mian, sitting in the corner, quietly watched those faces that were both excited, angry, and painful and resentful, until they were all forced to leave, before slowly getting up and walking out of the court.

When passing by the square outside the "Eternal Blazing Sun" church, he met several clergymen in white robes with gold threads.

They kept a sufficient distance from the people around them, talking in low voices while walking toward the church.

Lu Mian tilted his head slightly and listened carefully to the words of these clergymen, relying on the ears of a "Hunter."

Because the distance was really too far, he could barely distinguish two phrases:

"Power of the Night... invaded here..."

What does it mean? Did the "Evernight Goddess" Church of the Loen Kingdom stretch its hand into the Star Highlands? Lu Mian pondered for a while and continued his stroll.

…………

At 12:30 noon Trier time, Lu Mian was brought back to the Wind Dance Hall by Lady "Magician" and appeared in his bedroom.

He sat at the wooden table and began to organize the interpretation of the symbolic elements of the dream made by Mr. Poet.

In the midst of being busy, he heard familiar footsteps and a knock on the door that was not polite at all.

Putting down the fountain pen in his hand, Lu Mian stood up and looked at the door:

"Come in."

The person who opened the door was Franca. She was the same as usual, wearing a lady's shirt, beige breeches, and red boots, but the difference was that there was a light-colored pleated long skirt around her waist.

"Very strange," Lu Mian said frankly.

Franca sighed happily and melancholically:

"I'm not used to wearing a skirt yet, let's just make do for now.

"This is to welcome 'Pleasure'."

"'Pleasure'?" Lu Mian didn't quite understand why this noun appeared here.

Franca closed the door behind her and said with a complex expression:

"Because you have already joined the 'Iron and Blood Cross Order,' my mission can be considered initially completed. Next, while seeing if I can also join, I will cooperate with your actions.

"And since the mission has been initially completed, there must be a reward. The next sequence of 'Witch' is 'Pleasure Witch.'

"Hmm, plus the ones collected before, I already have all the main materials and most of the auxiliary materials, only missing real mummy ashes. I came to you because I want you to help me keep an eye out at your occult gathering. tmd, none of the mummy ashes sold in those shops are real!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 305 =====