Chapter 51: Trading Zone, Alien Merchants

Luo En nodded silently; in this world where extraordinary power prevails, even the most inconspicuous creatures might possess unexpected abilities.

"Lizard Alley, as the name suggests, was initially because many lizardman merchants gathered there."

Andre explained while leading the way:

"Lizardmen have a talent for trade; their original home was in the southwestern swamp area, but with the expansion of human territory, some bordering alien groups were forced to migrate. At that time, a group of lizardman merchants discovered that the environment near the Black Fog Forest was suitable for their survival, and the management here was loose enough, so they settled down here and started small-scale trading."

He brushed aside a cluster of particularly dense mushrooms with his hand, revealing a clearer path:

"But now it has become a trading zone mixed with various races, and almost anything can be found there."

"There is one more point." He suddenly stopped and turned to face Luo En, his expression becoming exceptionally serious:

"The merchants in Lizard Alley are known for their cunning; they especially like to play little tricks on outsiders. Using fakes to test customers like Otto did is just the most basic; there are more tricks waiting for you."

"I understand." Luo En nodded, a confident smile appearing on his lips involuntarily:

"You just saw my ability to identify the authenticity of medicinal herbs, so you don't need to worry too much about being deceived. Plus the perception I gained after advancing to a primary apprentice, it should be enough to deal with most fraudulent tricks."

"I hope so."

Andre sighed, his expression becoming complicated; he had always envied his companion's promotion and talent for potions:

"However, although the quality and authenticity of things here are hard to distinguish, in terms of price, there is much more room for negotiation than in the school's market. With your identification ability, we can buy more conventional materials later and take them back."

Passing through a dead forest of withered trees, the dry branches made a fragile cracking sound under their feet, and a decaying breath floated in the air.

A narrow stone road suddenly appeared in front, completely different from the chaotic path before; this road was flat and orderly.

On both sides of the road stood some strange-shaped stone pillars, each carved with a multi-headed dragon totem; some had been eroded by wind and rain until they were blurred, but the ferocious dragon heads could still be recognized.

"We're here." Andre lowered his voice: "This is the entrance to Lizard Alley."

Luo En could feel that this place was completely different from the Sunset Tavern—a more chaotic magical fluctuation permeated the air.

Various energy traces were intertwined in a disorderly manner, forming an unsettling atmosphere.

It was a mixture of various extraordinary systems and alien bloodline auras, with no rules to follow, yet it miraculously maintained a certain fragile balance.

The moment he stepped onto the stone road, Luo En felt a slight stinging sensation coming from the soles of his feet, as if something was scanning his body.

He instinctively became alert, but Andre's expression was very calm; it seemed this was just some kind of routine check.

"Don't be nervous, it's just the defense mechanism at the entrance confirming whether we are carrying any large-scale destructive extraordinary items."

Andre explained softly: "They don't have many restrictions on personal weapons, but they don't allow powerful alchemical explosives that could endanger the entire market to be brought in."

Luo En breathed a sigh of relief and continued to walk forward.

Passing through the simple archway formed by stone pillars, the scene before him was breathtaking.

This was no "alley" at all; it was clearly a narrow but extremely long street block, densely packed with various temporary stalls and crude shops on both sides.

Unlike the concealment of the Sunset Tavern, the trading here was conducted completely in the open; various hawking, bargaining, arguing, and laughing sounds were mixed together, forming a unique symphony.

Various strange-shaped creatures shuttled through the streets, including lizardmen whose skin presented a scaly appearance, wearing bright fabrics of different sizes, with metal ornaments clinking;

There were short goblins with pointed ears, their eyes rolling around constantly, seemingly confirming which were suitable targets for theft;

There were even a few trolls reaching three meters in height, hunching their backs to carefully avoid the low eaves, their rough skin covered with tribal tattoos.

There were also many humans, but most looked like exiles or adventurers, dressed in rags, with vigilant expressions, forming a sharp contrast with the pampered apprentices in the school.

"Pay attention to those marks." Andre pointed to special symbols hanging on some stalls:

"Red triangles represent extraordinary materials, blue circles are weapons and equipment, and yellow squares are various rare items. We mainly look at those stalls with red triangles."

The two walked slowly along Lizard Alley, stopping from time to time to check the stalls with red triangle marks.

Most stalls displayed common medicinal herbs—snake-tooth grass, evening primrose, silver-light mushrooms, etc.

Occasionally, one could see some slightly rarer items, such as dragon-whisker grass or fire-crystal orchid, but those rare materials on Lady Ailan's list were hard to find.

Passing through a narrow alley, Luo En carefully avoided the garbage and unknown liquids scattered on the ground.

The air was filled with a strange smell mixed with herbs, rotting meat, and the body odor of alien races.

"Look, over there."

Andre pointed to a crude tent made of animal skin, in front of which a short green-skinned goblin was fiddling with various bottles and jars:

"This goblin is an alchemist; although his level is average, the materials he collects are very complete, especially some supplies needed for knight cultivation."

They approached the tent, and the goblin immediately raised his head, a pair of yellowish-brown eyes flickering with shrewd light.

"Yo, rare guests, what treasures do you little brothers want?" The goblin said in a common language with a heavy accent, revealing a mouth full of sharp yellow teeth.

"We need some materials for making blood-qi potions."

Luo En said calmly, his eyes keenly scanning the various goods in the tent:

"Fire-crystal orchid roots, red-iron grass, and dragon-blood leaves, if you have them."

The goblin's eyes lit up: "Oh? Young bloodline practitioners? Rare to see here."

He dived into the depths of the tent, rummaged for a while, and then took out a few small cloth bags and glass bottles: "All here, top quality, fair price."

Luo En carefully checked these materials with the help of his [Herb Identification] ability.

The roots of the fire-crystal orchid presented a faintly glowing red, which was a sign of top quality;

The leaves of the red-iron grass had fine serrated structures on the edges, giving a strong sense of sharpness when touched;

And the dragon-blood tree leaves in the small glass bottles presented a deep dark red, seemingly retaining a trace of vitality.

"Not bad, these materials are very fresh and of quite good quality." Luo En nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "What's the price?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 52 =====