Miss Witch doesn't want to be a diva!.

Chapter 636: The Stone Wall and Castle Leading to the Mountains

After Guy vigorously promoted the quality and story of the fur coats that day, Tilan and his companions stayed here for another day. This was because the promotional effect was too good. Later, Guy wanted to keep a few more pieces to take to Shilin Mountain Castle, but he was not allowed to do so.

"Didn't you say that it was a masterpiece and very rare? We definitely can't let you go without any care." The trade manager, who had been quite disdainful and had tried to lower the price before, immediately changed his attitude. He grabbed Guy's arm and talked almost non-stop for the whole day, finally forcing Guy to give in and say that he would only take a small number of coats to Stone Forest Castle for the trade, and the rest of the coats would be left at the 'Red Pomegranate' for exchange.

"That's right. Don't worry, it doesn't matter if there are too many things. We can help you deliver them to the settlement on the grassland. I happen to be going out soon, so I will help you deliver the goods once."

After some discussion between the two, the people from the Red Pomegranate settlement said that they would help Guy and his companions escort the exchanged items to the grassland, and the deal was finally reached.

"It's probably a small loss, but with them accompanying us on the way back, it will be much safer," Guy explained.

"Let's go. It's time to go to Stone Forest Fort." The two days of rest allowed the four of them to recover, and the journey thereafter seemed much easier.

There was basically no need to worry about being attacked by passing wild animals or ambushed by robbers on the road. As we got closer and closer to the Stone Forest Fortress, there were more and more pedestrians and brigades on the road, and then they gradually formed a loose line and moved forward together on the road.

The wheels rose and fell slightly with the gravel on the ground. Heshia leaned against the haystack and saw the long team behind. They had different appearances. Some had curved horns on their heads, some had dark yellow skin, and some had bent legs. However, most of them were a new race that looked similar to humans and could not be distinguished by much.

When the carriage climbed up a long hill again and went down, the tall castle between the two mountains in the distance gradually came into view.

There is a little snow on the top of the mountain. The long stone wall connects the hillsides of the two mountains, forming a solid mountain castle. Smoke is rising from the chimneys, and patrol teams can be seen walking on the wall from time to time. Along the stone wall down, there is a winding stone road leading to the gate of the mountain castle.

"Is the castle built here for safety?" Heshia asked Guy with a little curiosity.

"Yes, this place is quite hidden, and the sweeping movements of those war machines usually don't pass through here."

"In addition, it is said that there is a winding and hidden passage in the city that leads to the lava underground in the mountains. With the help of the heat in the passage, the steam engines in the city are constantly running. This brings a lot of vitality, allowing the Stone Forest Fortress to produce some less complicated things. By the way, the fortress is also the only stronghold in this land that can be illuminated by electric lights on a regular basis." Guy recalled the news he had heard in the past.

When they arrived at the foot of the fortress, the team preparing to enter the city formed a long line. The four of them were just a small part of it, and could only move forward slowly.

"It will take about an hour to get in. We can go down and take a walk now." Fran looked at the team in front and made this estimate.

"Would you like to go and have a look, Miss Heshia?"

"What are you looking at?" Tilan was a little confused.

"Of course, it's these teams that are preparing to enter the city like us. Maybe we can find some good things." Fran pointed to the crowd of people who were chatting and trading while queuing.

"Well, wait a moment." Tilan thought for a moment, put Ores, who was still taking a nap in her arms, on the haystack and covered her with a thin blanket, then jumped out of the car and walked towards Fran.

The two walked along the dewy mountain road. At this time, many travelers were leaning on the roadside to chat and rest, and some even took out small stoves to cook something to eat.

"It smells good. It looks like they're roasting something over there." Fran followed the scent and walked over.

Soon, the two came to a cart. There should be a family of four here. The man had short and thick spiral horns, and the woman was slightly shorter. There were two children beside them. They had dark skin and wore simple and rough animal cloth. They were drooling at the food that was slowly being roasted on the stove.

"This should be some kind of potato plant." Fran commented after looking at the skin that had turned gray and black due to being roasted.

"Can you give me one, my friend?" he asked directly.

The man was very unhappy at first when he heard such a request, but after turning around and seeing how the two were dressed, he endured it a little. After all, those who were dressed so well were not ordinary people.

"If you want to eat, you need to exchange something." He said in a muffled voice.

"I understand. I have a small bag of scented tea here that you can use to make tea." Fran took out a small paper bag from his pocket, which contained several kinds of dried leaves and flowers.

"What's the use of this thing?" The man frowned and waved his hand to refuse it.

"Don't you need it?" Fran didn't mind. After taking it back, he changed his pocket and took out another paper bag.

"Here is a small amount of herbal medicine that is very effective for external injuries. It is made by mixing Amaranthus and Mouse Whisker Flower powder. Take a look." The other party took it doubtfully and sniffed it.

Although I was a little skeptical, this small package was much more valuable than the black and gray potatoes that were being roasted.

He collected them, picked out one of the larger ones, and threw it to Fran.

"Give."

"Thanks." It was a little hot after he caught it. Fran tossed it back and forth for a while before tearing it open a little, revealing the light yellow, steaming interior.

"This taste..." He licked it with his tongue, savoring it carefully, thoughtfully.

Smelling the fragrance coming from not far away, Tilan was also curious about what it smelled like, but she would not ask Fran for it. She just wanted to hear what the other party had to say.

Eating some unknown roasted potatoes, the two continued walking along the mountain road. After they had walked some distance, Fran spoke.

"This stuff is poisonous." He commented after looking at the remaining half of the black and gray sweet potato in his hand.

"poisonous?"

"Yes, although the dosage is very weak and it's not a big problem to take it once, but it will be harmful if you take too much." He looked at the half in his hand with some regret, and then threw it far away.

"I understand why Boss Moose works so hard to dig soil from the ground to grow wheat. Many plants on this land are inedible."

"Just now, I used the secret method taught by my teacher to measure the ingredients, and my tongue felt a little bitter. This is not a good sign. If I eat too much, my body will feel numb and my reaction will be slow. And children..." He turned around and looked at the two children who were wolfing down their food around the stove.

"If you eat too much, your intelligence will decrease." He sighed.

Hearing this, Tilan suddenly remembered the settlements she had visited along the way, so she asked, "Have you also checked the previous places, such as Lake Breeze and Red Pomegranate?"

"Of course, I am an outstanding member of the Sri Lanka Association. When I study local customs and habits, I naturally have to record their food and lifestyle." Fran twitched his eyebrows and said with a little complacency.

"The livestock grazing over there in Lake Breeze actually have some toxins in their meat, but the dosage is not high. I guess they have experience and often slaughter them before they are one year old. You can see that the sheep are not very big. Also, did you notice that we ate meat that night, but the children ate all boiled beans and rice. Although beans and rice don't taste good, they are very toxic."

"Where are the fruits from the Pomegranate Village?" Tilan continued to ask after hearing this.

"The toxicity of the fruit produced by the Red Pomegranate Settlement is between that of mutton and beans and rice. If you eat one or two a day, it's not a big problem, but if you eat it for a long time, you probably won't live past 50." Fran thought about it and made some calculations on the notebook.

"In this land, the average life expectancy seems to be less than 30." Tilan remembered what Sura had told her before.

"Right, so I don't think they care."

"But what surprised me was that the wheat grown by the moose boss was really not polluted. If you pay attention to changing the soil frequently, the toxicity in it is probably only a weak part absorbed from the air. If you eat it for a long time, you can live to more than 70 years old, provided that you don't die in an accident along the way."

"Good food is hard currency." Tilan unconsciously repeated what Sura told her that day. No wonder the well-informed Sura was willing to stay in this small settlement on the grassland. Although the scenery there was beautiful and the environment was comfortable, the food was probably an important reason.

After that, the two continued walking along the mountain road and saw many small vendors and travelers selling things on the roadside.

"The teeth of the black-spotted beast are strong and sharp. They can be used to make many tools. They can be exchanged for food and leather."

"Snake scale fruit, found in the western swamp, the juice is poisonous, and it is especially useful when applied to weapons. You must exchange it with something valuable."

"Semi-automatic rifle, 80% new, purchased from the settlement in the east not long ago, asking price steel stamps."

Looking at the rifle that attracted a lot of attention, the girl and Fran were both curious, but it would be difficult to get close to it.

"What is a stamp?" Fran asked a passerby.

"The stamp is paper issued by Shilin Mountain Fort and used as currency. If you want to stay overnight in Shilin Mountain Fort, you have to pay three stamps. If you just go into the city to buy something, one stamp will be enough." Someone answered casually.

“So this is the local currency.”

Seeing that they couldn't squeeze in and the line was slowly getting to their turn, Heshia and Fran stepped out and returned to the carriage. At this time, Guy was talking to a man in a rough coat.

"You're back." He then greeted and continued talking to the man.

"What big thing happened recently? How come the rifles that were so rare in the past have become so common?"

"You've been in a small place for too long, so you're not well-informed." The other person joked with disdain and a smile.

"There was chaos in the east. It seems that a large stronghold was breached by insects. Several major forces there had to migrate to our side. On the way, they clashed with the settlements along the way, and then a fight broke out."

"These forces are not ordinary people. They all have guns in their hands, and it is said that they also have a small amount of artillery."

"When they came here, sometimes it was to start a war, sometimes it was to trade, so a lot of rifles flowed into our area. These guys are quite powerful. Many settlements fought with the surrounding areas after getting the guns, and conquered the opponents that they were originally unable to defeat or were equally matched with."

"Now it has spread to the Stone Forest Fortress. I heard that the Gray Feather Clan leaders living in the inner house of the volcano have begun to discuss how to solve these problems. Should they issue a strict ban or directly offer a high price to collect these rifles? Otherwise, with these things around, the balance of the surrounding environment will be broken sooner or later."

"So, things have been particularly unsettled lately." Guy thought for a moment.

"That's right. Nowadays, the caravans traveling to and from Shilin will hire a lot of guards. How about returning to your old job and teaming up with me, Guy?" The other man leaned against the car and frowned.

"Ahahahaha, you know, I quit this business after I escaped death that time. It would be better for me to find a settlement to live in peace and retire. Besides, you said I have a gun, so I'm afraid my longbow is not powerful enough and I can't beat those people."

"There's nothing they can't do. A bunch of little kids who got a new toy. They have no experience at all, but they think they can do great things just with a gun. Tsk tsk." The other party shook his head sarcastically.

"There are so many ways to kill people, poisoning, tripping, setting traps, night attacks, driving wild beasts, there are many ways, our business is not just about fighting."

After that, the two men talked for a few more words. Seeing that the carriage was about to enter the city, the man stood up and waved goodbye.

"Is he your friend?" Fran looked at the sturdy man walking to the back of the convoy.

"Yes, we met in Xiaolinbao before and worked together several times." Guy answered and led the horse forward.

"You need to hand in a steel stamp to enter the city. If you don't have one, you can exchange it for something." The guard at the city gate, wearing chain mail and a coat, shouted to the people coming over from behind.

"By the way, you also need to hand in the carriage. One stamp for each horse."

Guy stopped with his horse, calmed down the two nervous and inexperienced ponies, then took out six stamped papers from the lining of his clothes and handed them over.

The guard counted them and nodded, "Four people, two horses, go ahead."

Then Heshia sat in the carriage and slowly passed through the tall city gate. Compared with the cool water vapor in the mountains, the air here was slightly turbid and warmer. There were many stalls along the way, selling various things nearby, as well as some snacks.

"Where did you get the stamped paper you gave me just now?" Fran asked about what happened just now.

"I prepared it in advance at the 'Red Pomegranate' settlement. Otherwise, if I were to exchange it at the city gate, they would definitely lower the price." Guy explained skillfully.

"For example, a fruit jar could be sold for 10 stamps, but they took it away for 8 stamps."

"It's a bit low, but it looks okay, not too harsh." This is Fran's comment. He has been to bases that were even more greedy and exploitative than this before.

"The Gray Feathers here are quite particular, mainly because of the prestige of the 'Graycoat Scholar', who made most of the laws and rules in the Stone Forest Castle."

After listening to the conversation between the two, Heshia touched Ores, who was still sleeping in her arms, and woke her up.

The half-sleeping ice elf sat up and looked around with sleepy eyes. After finding Tilan, he hugged the girl's shoulders and rubbed his head against her.

"Tilan, I'm hungry." During this period of time, she became more and more skilled at acting coquettishly.

"Okay, I'll take you to find something to eat later." Heshia touched Ores lovingly, feeling that the child had gained some weight.

How did Orlesi control her weight in the past? Did she learn some special secret method? Now that she has lost her memory and can't remember it, her weight has started to grow freely.

Tilan shook her head and thought that if it really didn't work, she would let Ores lose weight after she gained weight. She was still within the normal range now, after all, her foundation was exceptionally good.

But here, Tilan looked at the scattered houses built along the mountain walls on both sides of the road, and finally felt like she had come to a civilized world.

The further you go in, the more you can hear the roar of steam and forging. Looking at the tall chimneys with exhaust gas and white mist constantly coming out, you will have the illusion that you are about to enter the industrial age.

On the streets, various new races were walking around. They were different from humans in physical details, but similar in appearance. They were bustling about, some shopping, some hawking, and some strolling.

Finally, the carriage of the four people stopped in front of a tavern.

"The 'Black Pig Bar' is here." Guy jumped out of the car and pulled it into the back shed.

"It's the only place within hundreds of miles where you can have a decent meal. The black pork from Shilinshanbao is the specialty here."

"Every time I come here, it would be a shame if I didn't eat here. Many people work hard just to get the stamp at the end of each month and splurge here for a night."

"Let's go, let's have a meal here this time."

(End of this chapter)