Chapter 308

Chapter 308: Chapter 305: "gkd"Ding-dong!"

As the small boat entered the waterway, a series of system notifications rang in Su Ming’an’s ears.

At the same time, a blood-red Crystal Stone appeared in his hand, which was Su Rin’s Memory Stone.

Su Ming’an temporarily put it away, as he was still on the main street, it wasn’t a good time to examine it.

He contacted Noel and the others, finding out they had already joined the Soul Hunter Faction. They were fighting in a scattered state, spread out in the northern and western districts.

"Where are we?" Su Ming’an asked.

"The eastern port of Pulaya." Eilina breathed in the fresh air and seemed very happy.

...The eastern port.

Su Ming’an wondered if he should buy a map from a local, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to find the nearest Soul Hunt registration point.

Although the city was not large, he estimated it would take a whole day to walk from east to west. Without a map, navigation would be even more troublesome.

"Do you know more about Pulaya?" Su Ming’an asked.

"I don’t know. I just found out this is the eastern port. It’s my first time in Pulaya... the legendary city of treasures. Look, there really is a Yun Shang City in the sky where deities are said to reside..." Eilina looked up and laughed, suddenly suggesting, "Young noble, why don’t you sign up for the Maritime Banquet with me on the eighth day? You are quite strong, let’s team up. I could take ’extra care’ of you tonight..."

"Goodbye."

Su Ming’an declined her offer decisively.

He jumped onto the ship’s rail which was adjacent to the bluestone path and directly leaped over, heading into the alley to find a local to buy a map from.

The alleys of this sea city were quite complex, and after just a few steps, there was a fork in the road. There were plenty of salted fish drying at the doorsides, with a smell of the sea wafting through the air.

After walking for a while, Su Ming’an saw the waterway again. Pulaya’s water routes were well-developed, and transportation besides boats was limited to walking, without any large roads to accommodate major vehicles.

He looked up and saw a cascade of slightly towering buildings.

Pulaya was an island, not a plain, and the altitudes varied across different regions. Standing there, he could see a plethora of buildings rising up in a layered manner, including both dirty shacks and quaintly decorated shops.

He even saw... a castle in the highest area, its spire standing tall in the central district, with the white tiles on top reflecting a blinding light under the blazing sun.

...Royal City?

He had heard from Lv Shu and the rest in the team channel before that Pulaya was a city controlled by the Royals. The highest central area was the Royal City, where a Princess who had yet to ascend the throne resided.

It is said that on Pulaya, the small islands at night are hotbeds of sin, where all kinds of wickedness can emerge.

The Princess with Siren bloodline is going to hold the Maritime Banquet soon, where all outsiders can participate. The victors will have dinner with the Princess and receive a pass to Cloud City.

...It seems this is the key node of this instance.

From Eilina’s previous words, he knew that this massive everyone-against-each-other event would take place on the eighth day.

So, before the eighth day, he needed to accumulate as much information as possible.

Su Ming’an thought as he walked past the bluestone alley when he suddenly saw a small tavern with its doors open.

...Taverns are always good places to gather information.

The tavern owner should also be a local, and maybe he could get something like a map here.

Lv Shu had a map, which was said to have been bought from a local.

Su Ming’an lifted the curtain at the entrance and walked into the tavern.

As soon as he entered, he noticed the light was somewhat dim.

It was a hexagonal room with walls made of red bricks, and a brass chandelier hanging from the ceiling cast a faint glow.

Several long tables, a few round ones, and a bar with murky-colored spirits displayed on it.

But what caught Su Ming’an’s attention more were the people sitting inside.

As he stepped into the tavern, those who had been talking and laughing loudly all cast their glances over at once.

A few unkempt men huddled their necks, whispering with covert and fervent gazes.

Only then did Su Ming’an notice that the patrons drinking in the tavern were predominantly dark-skinned, sturdy locals.

And his obviously foreign appearance, like a white rice grain in a pool of black sesame seeds, stood out awkwardly.

He had changed his clothes in the cabin and was no longer wearing the conspicuous attire of nobility, but he still attracted considerable attention.

A rich scent of strong spirits mixed with barley rushed over, accompanied by the rough laughter of the people. His hand froze on the curtain, but he still stepped in.

After having experienced so many worlds, this was his first time in such an entirely unfamiliar place.

He had never been to a bar from childhood to adulthood, let alone such a disorganized tavern... after all, he had only finished his college entrance exams three months prior and hadn’t had the chance to fully step into the vibrant college life.

He walked in, ordered a drink from the burly barkeeper—he didn’t plan to drink, just silently picked a spot near the corner to sit down. The reason he chose this spot was that there were two other outsiders nearby, just like him, who also seemed out of place.

But right after sitting down, Su Ming’an started to regret it.

...Because the people sitting next to him were a couple.

"Hmph, did you meet with Aili again?" The woman seemed to be questioning.

"Xiao Na, I, I really didn’t..."

"Still saying you didn’t! I can smell the scent of grape bouvardia on you, her family sells grape bouvardias!"

"Xiao Na, I swear, I truly have no feelings for any other woman but you, I just went to buy you a bottle of grape bouvardia... look, there’s even the love card I wrote on it, and your favorite calan flowers... I remember you said in the park that you like calan flowers the most..."

"...Really?"

"Really! Xiao Na, I swear, I’ll only love you for my whole life! Every other woman is nothing but a passing cloud in front of me!"

"Well, then I’ll reluctantly believe you, okay?"

"Xiao Na, I truly love you..."

"Stop your sweet-talking; remember what we’re here for," she scolded.

"I know, I know, Rinna, I remember everything... When we find the treasure, I’ll definitely give you the most precious one first. Then we’ll get married, go on a honeymoon... Wherever you want to travel, I’ll buy a big ship and join you..."

"Kassan, you’re so good to me..."

"Because I love you, Rinna, I love you more than anything in this world. You are the jewel in the palm of my hand..."

"I love you too, Kassan..."

"mua~"

"mua~"

Su Ming’an: "..."

He was about to turn his head and ask this couple for some information when he saw them turn their heads and start kissing.

They were a vacationing couple, fair-skinned, with brownish-black hair, clearly foreigners, dressed in cool summer attire and seemingly also on a treasure hunt. At this moment, the two were extremely affectionate, their kissing sounds carrying over the round table. They turned their heads while kissing, a move that looked extremely challenging.

Su Ming’an instantly turned his head back.

...He and this place... really didn’t mesh well.

The heavy scent of cheap liquor surrounded him; around him, people laughed and talked loudly, burly men chatted about everything under the sun, spitting everywhere. In the corners, there were couples who couldn’t care less about the setting, starting to kiss openly...

So noisy.

"—Once I win at the Maritime Banquet and meet the Princess, I’ll make sure to win her over!"

"Hahaha, you dreamer, a poor boy like you wants to marry a princess? You’ve read too many fairy tales!"

"What? See this fist of mine? If anyone dares to raise a hand against me, I’ll punch their eyeballs out!"

"Speaking of which, there’s been an increasing number of foreigners lately. Just now I saw a pretty boy sneak in."

"Those treasure-hunting foreigners, they don’t know squat! They probably haven’t even seen the horrors of the night. Sooner or later they’ll be cowering behind the Soul Hunters like little scaredy-cats. Especially the one that just came in, looking all green; you can tell he hasn’t even seen blood..."

"Right, he’ll be wetting his pants in fear soon enough, hahaha..."

Listening to their conversation, Su Ming’an gradually realized that this "Maritime Banquet" event was actually of national interest, not just for foreigners, but even the locals were very keen on it.

A large-scale event based on mutual slaughter, where people crossed swords with each other, causing death, even under the threat of the Soul Clan... and to think people actually enjoyed this kind of event.

Absurd.

He looked up toward the most central area of the tavern.

There stood a large round table, around which sat several shirtless brutes, dead drunk, spilling cheap liquor all over the table, which faintly glistened under the dim light.

A few scantily clad women stood by their side, whispering in their ears like fairies, their posture flirtatious.

Su Ming’an’s gaze shifted slightly, and then he noticed in a dim corner, several couples intertwined with each other as if no one else was around. Among these couples, there were different genders, their bodies twisted together, doing things that shouldn’t be done in broad daylight with brazen movements.

...He had no idea why he was seeing this.

Su Ming’an immediately shifted his gaze away.

The barrage at this moment was stunned:

Su Ming’an shifted his gaze away.

He hadn’t noticed when he first entered the tavern, but now that he took a closer look, he realized that the tavern was indeed a den of chaos. Some locals behaved as if they didn’t care about others’ stares, freely venting their desires.

They laughed and talked loudly, cursing, getting drunk, gambling. Some who took a liking to each other started courting, their relationships progressing in an open and rapid manner.

Without caring that it was still broad daylight, some began to get frisky.

This group of people seemed desperate to revel in every moment, as if fearing there would be no tomorrow, living like ephemeral mayflies, like creatures that valued pleasure above all else.

As he contemplated the current state of the city, a large shadow suddenly cast over him.

"Thump."

A quiet noise, and a glass of juice was set down in front of him.

Su Ming’an frowned slightly, "I asked for alcohol."

Although he actually had no intention of drinking, receiving juice was another matter.

The brawny, bare-chested bartender chuckled heartily and took a seat beside him.

A strong scent of alcohol assaulted his senses, emanating from the low-grade liquor on the bartender’s breath.

"Young man, you look quite young. Don’t drink alcohol," the bartender said with a local dialect accent.

Su Ming’an chuckled.

The shell of Su Rin was at least in his twenties, young indeed, but not so young as to be mistaken for a child.

"Are you saying I look childish?"

"You could say that," the bartender agreed with a grating laugh, "It’s not that I haven’t warned you. A clean and innocent outsider, coming to a place like this, there’s nothing good that comes of getting drunk."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn’t you notice the looks from those guys? They’re from broken households, involved in human trafficking," the bartender whispered, glancing towards a corner, "Pulaya may look clean and pretty, but in reality, it’s very chaotic, with no fixed legal system. It’s best for outsiders to stick with group tours and not come to messy places alone. If anything happens, I cannot protect you."

Su Ming’an followed his gaze.

In a corner inside, there sat several people whose gaze was fixed on him.

They wore tattered clothes, their builds were large and muscular, with undisguised greed in their eyes, sizing him up like merchandise.

It reminded him of what Eilina had said before.

"Merchandise that could fetch a good price."

It appeared that Pulaya was rife with filthy deals.

This rotten place was in utter chaos.

Someone actually mistook him for a pure and innocent lamb.

He found this somewhat refreshing.