Chapter 520 "Date"

"..." Li was speechless for a long time. Obviously, this answer was too shocking for her.

"Why don't you prepare an umbrella for me?" Xia Fan protested.

"You are a man, holding an umbrella will reduce your demeanor." Olena suppressed the rise of the corners of her mouth and replied in a serious tone, "Isn't there a saying in Qiguo that when in Rome, do as the Romans do? You can use a high felt hat and a cloak to prevent accidents, but I don't have such clothes."

Suddenly an umbrella came over.

Li stretched out his hand and raised the umbrella handle to cover Xia Fan, "Or we can share one."

"This..." Olena was speechless for a moment. Before she could figure out how to dissuade him, Xia Fan had already taken the umbrella from the fox demon.

How could a gentleman do such a thing!

This umbrella is only the size of a person. If two people share it, won't anyone be covered?

It really is a guy without demeanor!

Olina was complaining in her heart, but Li's expression didn't seem reluctant, and it was obvious that he was happy with it. If she tried to stop him, it would be out of place, so she could only keep her words to herself.

The two of them holding an umbrella together attracted the attention of many people on the street.

Low calls and whispers were heard for a while.

And Xia Fan was not embarrassed at all, and he took the initiative to look at each other, not avoiding eye contact at all. This move also made many women's eyes light up.

As a rare Oriental, Xia Fan's dress and appearance are both distinctively exotic. His height and appearance are also there, and the momentum added by the air sensor obviously widened the gap with the surrounding same-sex competitors. They covered their mouths and laughed while looking up and down without hesitation, and the curiosity in their eyes was self-evident.

This time it was Olina's turn to feel stressed.

After all, others were not embarrassed, but she was embarrassed-there were three people traveling together, but two of them were very close to each other. Doesn't this mean that the remaining one has become a redundant person?

The fact was just as she expected. The focus of the passers-by quickly shifted from Xia Fan to her.

Some people have already speculated about the relationship between the three people.

Dragon Girl is not as thick-skinned as Xia Fan after all.

Although she was reluctant, Olena had no choice but to get close to Xia Fan and pretend to cover his other shoulder.

"So, where do you want to visit?" She asked coldly.

Xia Fan was quite puzzled. Before going out, the other party was in a very good mood. Why did it suddenly turn from sunny to cloudy? "Uh... Are you not feeling well? Why don't you go back and rest?"

He noticed it. Olena sighed secretly and said in a slightly softer tone, "I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me. I have been to Azure Castle several times before. The places worth seeing are the docks, the market, the auction house and the lord's castle. But the auction house is usually open at night, you can go shopping somewhere else first."

"Auction house? What is that?" Li asked curiously.

Facing the fox demon, Olina's attitude was obviously much better. "Some rare things don't have a fixed price and are not suitable for selling in the market, so everyone will gather together to bid against each other, and the highest bidder will win in the end. Because there is often a price for each item, it needs a special person to preside over it, so it has evolved into an auction house."

"This kind of transaction usually has an entry threshold. Not everyone can go, right?" Xia Fan interrupted.

"You know a lot." The dragon girl glanced at him, "Even in the auction house, there are many subdivisions inside. The top level naturally needs to be recommended by wealthy merchants or nobles. The auction open to ordinary people does not have so many requirements. You just need to buy a ticket. Of course, if you want to participate, you have to do a simple property certification."

"It sounds interesting!" Li couldn't help shaking his tail.

"Of course. Although Azure Castle is only the third largest port, the volume of goods traded here is not lower than that of the other two cities. It is connected to the border of the capital, Shira, and has a wide inland waterway. Some fleets that shuttle through the Tranquil Sea will come to Azure Port to unload goods even if they choose to go around the archipelago, not to mention the expedition teams that choose to go east."

"What did these expedition teams find?" Xia Fan asked.

"It's mainly about finding new land and sea areas, such as the East Continent and the Twilight Sea, which are both popular areas in recent years. As for the spices, minerals, treasures and puzzling lost treasures brought back, they are all by-products."

"Lost treasures?"

"It's like a gimmick. Especially gold and silver utensils and currencies, nine out of ten are counterfeits." Olena sneered at this, "With the same materials, as long as they can be named as lost treasures, the price will be multiplied several times. In the final analysis, it is people's desire for the Holy Grail that has fostered this trend - according to the records of the church, the Holy Grail itself is a lost treasure given to the world by God."

Xia Fan's heart suddenly skipped a beat, "So, is the ancient coin in Qianyan's hand also a counterfeit?"

As early as on the road, Qianyan asked Olena to observe the coin carefully, but the latter could not recognize the meaning of the text on it.

"It's possible." The dragon girl nodded slightly. "If that thing means a lot to her, maybe it's not a bad thing to keep it as a mystery. But now that you mentioned it, it reminds me that when it comes to identifying antiques, no one should be better than the experts at the top auction houses. If she just wants to find the truth, maybe she can try there."

Ask the auction house to identify it?

This may be a good choice.

However, the auction house will not open until the evening, and Qianyan is not interested in walking with them, so Xia Fan did not make a decision immediately, but said to Olena, "In this case, let's go to the market area first."

As the saying goes, a city's market can indirectly show its prosperity, and this sentence is also applicable to the West. The market area Olena mentioned has the prototype of a commercial street. There are only a few open-air stalls, and most of them are fixed shops, and they use conspicuous signs to indicate their goods and characteristics; looking around, the signs lined up on a street can be said to be colorful, like a flower bush.

There are also many customers and merchants who come and go here, including well-dressed rich children and sailors in plain clothes. Ragged beggars are also a common sight, and there are a group of "beggars" gathered in groups on almost every street.

"Watch out for your wallet and don't get close to those people." Olina warned, "Some of them are underground rats who often use sympathy to cover up their true purpose. Outsiders like you are their top choice."

Xia Fan didn't care about this. After being trained by Li for so long, ordinary people don't even think about getting close to him quietly.

"Xia Fan, I want to eat that." Li pointed to a glass can on the shelf of a store - the stuff inside was clear and bright red, just like top-grade fish roe.

But from the sign, it seemed to be a pastry shop.

Since the fox demon had spoken, Xia Fan would naturally not refuse. He took out a few copper coins he had exchanged from the receptionist and bought a can.

When he opened the lid, he realized that it was a kind of jam.

Before he started eating, an alluring aroma came to his face.

Li scooped up a scoop with the attached wooden spoon and put it in his mouth, his eyes narrowed instantly.

"How is it? Is it delicious?"

"Yeah!" She nodded, "It's sweeter than sugarcane, and has a fresh scent of apples!"

"You have a good eye." Olena smiled, "Intoxicating jam is one of the specialties of Azure Castle. It tastes like fruit when you first put it in your mouth, and it will produce a strange wine aroma after being left for a while. It is considered the most popular dessert condiment in the royal city."

"That store seems to be interesting, let's go and take a look." Li found a new target again.

Xia Fan is fine.

Or that's what he meant to bring Li to the market area.

A month's sea journey will inevitably feel boring and tiring, and shopping is undoubtedly a good way to relax.

Of course, this kind of thing is not so tempting to him.

Compared with the dazzling array of goods in the shops, Xia Fan was attracted by several chimneys with billowing white smoke not far away.

"What is that place?"

"It should be a factory." Olena followed his gaze, "Many of the goods shipped to the market need to be processed in advance. There are many factories like this around the market area."