radicalducati Chapter 14: Street vendors, impoverished nobles, and a book recording legendary treasures?
Chapter 14: Street vendors, impoverished nobles, and a book recording legendary treasures?
Time flies, and before Tang Ren knew it, three months had passed since he arrived in Tiandou City.
The sunlight was warm but not scorching, casting dappled shadows through the lush foliage on the bustling Vermilion Bird Street in Tiandou City.
The wide streets paved with bluestone slabs are bustling with traffic and crowds.
On both sides of the street, rows of shops and restaurants with upturned eaves and bracket sets, their golden signs gleaming in the sunlight.
More often, the streets are lined with various stalls, where the sounds of vendors hawking their wares, haggling over prices, the rumble of wheels, and children's laughter mingle together, creating a unique and vibrant symphony of the capital city.
Tang Ren held a string of crystal-clear candied hawthorns in one hand, licking them slowly, the sweet and sour taste melting on his tongue.
Beside him, Li Ang, like a wild horse, excitedly weaved through the crowd, while his other friends chattered excitedly about which stall had the most interesting trinkets.
Half a step behind Tang Ren, a middle-aged man dressed in plain blue clothes with an ordinary face followed him closely.
He was calm and composed, with sharp eyes like an eagle. He seemed to be casually observing the street scene, but in reality, he had taken in every little movement within a ten-meter radius.
This is Uncle Lin, the steward of Yuexuan, a level 41 Soul Master who, under Tang Yuehua's orders, protects Tang Ren's safety every step of the way.
"Tang Ren, look! There are people selling soul beast pelts over there, let's go check it out!" Li Ang shouted excitedly.
Tang Ren smiled and agreed, about to follow, but his gaze was inadvertently drawn to a secluded corner at an intersection.
There, it stood out starkly from the surrounding hustle and bustle.
An old man, dressed in tattered clothes and with gray hair, was huddled in a corner with a forlorn expression. In front of him was a worn gray linen cloth with a dozen or so yellowed ancient books scattered on it.
For some reason, Tang Ren stopped in his tracks.
He waved to Li Ang and the others, signaling them to go first, and then turned and walked towards that corner.
Seeing this, Uncle Lin immediately followed without making a sound, his eyes showing a hint of wariness.
Tang Ren curiously stepped closer. He noticed that although the pages of these books were yellowed and the edges were curled, the pages themselves were exceptionally clean and without any stains, clearly indicating that they had been carefully cared for by their owner.
When the old man saw a guest arrive, a glimmer of light immediately shone in his cloudy eyes.
He quickly straightened his back and said in a slightly hoarse but dignified tone:
"Young master, you have a good eye. These books of mine are all treasures passed down from my ancestors. My ancestors were once hereditary viscounts of the empire, but... alas, our family has fallen on hard times, and now only these things remain."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a man in brocade robes passing by approached Tang Ren and smiled obsequiously:
"Young master, don't believe this old man's nonsense! He makes up these stories to swindle and deceive people every day. Who knows if he's telling the truth? These tattered books, who knows where he picked them up from!"
As he spoke, he glanced at Tang Ren's luxurious clothes and the extraordinary-looking guard behind him out of the corner of his eye, clearly trying to curry favor with Tang Ren by "reminding" him.
Upon hearing this, Tang Ren merely glanced at him indifferently and ignored him. His calm gaze, however, left the man in brocade robes feeling rebuffed, and he walked away awkwardly.
Tang Ren's face revealed no emotion; he simply squatted down calmly and began to examine the small stall closely.
His fingers gently brushed across the covers of the books, feeling the unique sense of time and history they carried.
Seeing that he remained unmoved, the old man's eyes flashed with gratitude, so he said nothing more and just watched him choose quietly.
Not long after, Tang Ren took out three books from them.
One book is "A Study on the Forms of Martial Souls in Mainland China", another is "An Introduction to the Identification and Processing of Common Medicinal Herbs", and the third is a collection of miscellaneous notes called "Strange Tales and Records", with some simple drawings of mountains and rivers on the cover.
"Old man, how much are these three books?" Tang Ren stood up and asked.
"If the young master likes it, just give...give him one silver soul coin." The old man quoted the price somewhat hesitantly.
Tang Ren didn't haggle. He counted out a silver soul coin from the money bag that Uncle Lin handed him, solemnly handed it to the old man, and then carefully held the three books in his arms.
As he turned to leave, Li Ang and the others returned from their stroll. Seeing him carrying three worn-out books, they all looked puzzled.
"Tang Ren, why did you buy these few tattered books?" Li Ang asked, puzzled.
"Just browsing," Tang Ren simply replied.
Seeing that he didn't want to say more, no one pressed him for details.
After all, in their eyes, it was perfectly normal for Tang Ren, this "monster," to have some strange hobbies.
After strolling around for a while, the group said their goodbyes and went home.
Back in the private courtyard prepared for him by Yuexuan, Tang Ren, with the help of maids, finished his daily medicinal bath.
The warm medicinal liquid washed away his fatigue and made his soul power more solid.
After completing my daily training goals, it was already late at night.
Tang Ren lit the soul-guided lamp on the table, and its soft light filled the entire study.
He solemnly placed the three books he had bought today on the table, took a deep breath, and with a hint of anticipation in his eyes, he first opened the book "An Introduction to the Identification and Processing of Common Medicinal Herbs".
He examined each page meticulously, not missing a single word or picture.
However, as time went by, the expectation in his eyes gradually turned into disappointment.
The book records herbs that are common in the Douluo Continent, detailing their age, effects, and processing methods in great detail.
However, he made no mention of the rare medicinal herbs he longed for, such as "Wangchuan Qiushui Dew" and "Eight-Cornered Mysterious Ice Grass".
He then opened the book of strange tales and records, hoping to find records of such a treasure land as the "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye".
The result was still in vain. Most of what was recorded inside were widely circulated folk legends and secret realms that had already been explored by Soul Masters.
"well……"
Tang Ren leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.
He chuckled self-deprecatingly; indeed, he had underestimated the situation.
The records of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye, a divine place that seizes the creation of heaven and earth, and those immortal herbs that can change the life of a soul master, would not so easily fall into the market and be sold as "junk".
It seems we'll have to find another way to get them.
He closed the book of strange tales with a somewhat disheartened expression.
Just as the book was completely closed, a soft "click" sounded, and a sudden change occurred!
Perhaps it was because of its age, or perhaps because Tang Ren closed the book with a little too much force, but the thick, hard cover of the book actually cracked in the middle!
Tang Ren was stunned. Before he could react, several neatly folded parchment sheets, with a texture clearly different from book pages, quietly slipped out from the torn interlayer and scattered on the desk.