Chapter 1 Qian Tiao's Assassination

Assassinating the owner of the "Naganoya Geisha House" in Pirate City would definitely stir up a lot of trouble.

After all, he was one of the local overlords of Pirate City.

That "Demon Sword" Yaxi was quite strong himself, not to mention that he represented the Hidden Mountain Kingdom.

Suren also guessed that this was probably why Qian Tiao didn't want him involved.

Perhaps even more complex situations were involved.

Suren had previously learned a secret from stripping the soul of "One-Eyed" Suoke: the "Rune Old Man" wasn't a native of the Hidden Mountain Kingdom, but had defected from Luying.

That was the problem.

Why would an outsider become even more powerful than the daimyo (feudal lord) of the Hidden Mountain Kingdom?

The fact that the most important source of cash flow, like the geisha house, was controlled by the old man's son made one very suspicious. The hidden story was probably why the geisha, Xiaochi, was so reluctant to talk about it.

.......

A battle suddenly broke out in the geisha house, and a large number of samurai from the Hidden Mountain Kingdom poured into the building.

Unfortunately, before they could swarm in, the battlefield shifted.

The samurai searched everywhere but couldn't find anyone, so they naturally had to give up.

But with all the commotion, the tea ceremony and sword dance couldn't continue.

The madam of the geisha house was also very considerate and waived the bills for all the guests.

But Suren still gave Xiaochi the money he owed as a tip.

The geishas of the Hidden Mountain Kingdom looked well-fed and lived in comfort, but their lives weren't necessarily good.

Before long, Xiaochi, wearing wooden clogs, escorted Suren out of the geisha house.

The two said goodbye in the cherry blossom grove.

She looked at Suren with a gentle smile, and asked politely, "Sir, will you come again next time?"

Her expression was so sincere that one wouldn't bear to say "no."

Suren smiled, thinking that it wouldn't be bad to visit again if he had time, and replied, "I'll come again if I have the chance."

"Okay."

Xiaochi nodded, not saying anything more.

To keep someone in suspense, not to burden them, was the best approach.

Thinking of something, she smiled sweetly, "Xiaochi has never met anyone as special as you, sir..."

Suren didn't detect any insincerity and responded with a polite smile, "It was also a pleasure spending time with Miss Xiaochi."

Hearing this, Xiaochi showed a very happy smile and bowed, "Sir, that's the best compliment I've ever received..."

Watching Suren leave, she hesitated for a moment, a touch of shyness showing in her expression, and her tone became a little less fluent than usual, "If... if you would like to stay the night, sir... that's also possible."

"Not today."

Suren raised an eyebrow and smiled, realizing that her ability to read people had truly allowed her to see his uniqueness.

It wasn't that he was immune to temptation, but he didn't want to make things too obvious.

A small-time pirate had no right to stay overnight in a geisha house.

It was always better to be careful.

Hearing this, Xiaochi didn't say anything more, a hint of regret flashing in her eyes as she bowed and saw him off, "Have a pleasant journey, sir."

......

Suren walked out of the geisha house feeling refreshed, as if he had taken a mental bath, washing away all the boredom that had accumulated from drifting at sea these past few days.

He walked on the streets of Pirate City again.

The fortress was very large, with winding, deep streets, and the brightly lit entertainment venues were endless. The surrounding islands and floating airships also had their own unique characteristics. This was a place where the entertainment industry had been developed to the extreme.

If it weren't for the children scavenging for food in the trash cans, the scrawny beggars in rags, and the stinking pirate corpses in the alleys... Hasstelin's lively scene would rival even the most prosperous territories of Luying.

Suren walked slowly through the city, wanting to familiarize himself with the roads of the entire fortress.

Thinking that if he encountered an emergency, he could be prepared.

Having stripped some memories before, and walking through it again, he was almost familiar with everything.

About an hour later, he finally received a communication from Qian Tiao.

The gambling-addicted woman still didn't say what she was doing, but she did reveal her plan to go to the Hidden Mountain Kingdom.

Suren had guessed some of it, but she didn't say, and he didn't ask.

It was good to know that she was okay.

......

Having stayed on the ship for too long, he wasn't sleepy, so Suren wandered around the city for a while longer.

When he walked to the casino street, he even ran into some of his pirate comrades from the ship.

Those guys had also just come out of the pleasure district, and with some money in their hands, they planned to try their luck at gambling.

Saying they were going to the arena, Suren followed along.

The four countries of North Continent each had their own unique characteristics.

Just like the geisha house was a specialty of the Hidden Mountain Kingdom, gladiators were a product of the Roman Kingdom.

The natives of the Roman Kingdom were all warlike, both men and women.

They worshiped the "God of War" and various ancient gods representing strength and courage. Everyone's blood flowed with genes for bravery and fighting, and people took pride in dying in the arena. It was said that there were many ancient battle skill stone carvings left in that country, and even monkeys, after watching them for a long time, became proficient in various combat skills.

Because of this tradition, the Roman Empire was also the strongest gladiator training base, exporting a large number of gladiators. Even many slave traders from the two great empires specifically sent people there for training.

Qian Tiao's subordinates, like Lolota, had previously been trained in the Roman arena to be slave gladiators performing for nobles in Luying.

Suren watched several gladiator matches and witnessed true gladiators.

Although the gods worshiped by the Roman believers seemed to have fallen, certain mysterious power systems had been passed down. This allowed those gladiators, even if they didn't follow the alchemy system, to possess formidable combat power with bodies comparable to magical beasts.

A group of people stayed in the arena until late at night, some winning and some losing.

Those who won money went to the bathhouse to spend a pleasant second half of the night; those who lost everything went back to the ship at the pier dejectedly, sleeping in the cabin.

Suren's luck wasn't good or bad, and he neither won nor lost much.

Having been on the ship for half a month, he didn't want to spend the night in the narrow, stinky cabin.

So he found a hotel in the city and had a good night's sleep.

....... Da Feng Novel

The next day, the weather was nice.

Suren opened his eyes from meditation.

Outside the hotel window, the scenery of Pirate City was unobstructed, the sea breeze gently blowing in, the island scenery was beautiful, and the blue waves were rippling. The scenery was really good.

But the Golden City during the day was like a beauty with the filter turned off. Although it was still beautiful, it lacked that radiant feeling.

As a pirate lackey, it was another ordinary day.

Rich pirates would sleep through the day in the gentleness of women, or go to pubs and gamble.

Poor pirates would also sleep in the cabin all day.

Suren wasn't idle. He left the hotel, changed his outfit, and continued to wander around the city.

In Pirate City, there were many shops that only opened during the day.

Suren now knew that a large number of Mafa mechanical equipment and things from Old Lindon were flowing into Pirate City. He planned to go to those boutique shops to see if he could find some.

He also wanted to see if there were any other good things.

Pirate City never lacked good things.

Suren followed the directions in his memory, walked across several covered bridges, and then took a simple cable car to a stone spire island next to the Golden City.

This place was called "Rainbow Conch Market."

It was a bit like the underground black market of Old Lindon. All the buildings were stilt houses supported by wooden sticks on the rock walls. The roofs were colorful, like colorful mushrooms growing on the rocks.

The black market Suren went to yesterday was a wholesale market, while this place was more like a flea market.

There were stalls and shops selling all kinds of strange things.

There were also boutique shops selling high-end alchemical items.

Those exquisite items salvaged from the seabed, excavated from ruins, or stolen would mostly gather in this market.

As long as you had money, you could always return with a full load.

Most of the people wandering around the pirate market during the day were professional merchants among the pirates.

Even people who weren't pirates, there were also intermediaries from the gray areas of Luying.

Pirates seemed to be disorderly bandits, but in fact, some pirate groups were secretly funded by various forces in Luying. The Luying royal family's spy groups, pirate groups that suppressed competitors' chambers of commerce, and adventure groups funded by various nobles...

Everyone knew it tacitly, so it had never been wiped out for so many years, and the scale was getting bigger and bigger.

The looted items would also flow back to Luying through these gray channels.

Suren strolled through the shops, full of surprises.

He not only found some finished mechanical products, but he even found many laboratory-grade research instruments!

Pirates were all about taking what they could get, and they hardly had any research and development capabilities. These high-precision instruments were like scrap iron to them, and they were all dust-covered goods in the shops. Suren bought these real treasures, which couldn't be bought with money, at very beautiful prices.

Fortunately, he came to Pirate City not too late. In another year or two, those things would most likely flow into the two great empires.

But once he started buying things, he immediately didn't have enough money.

Suren sold several batches of loot he had collected before. Although the price was a bit lower, it was worth it to exchange them for some urgently needed things.

.......

Gu Suren strolled around and came to a shop called "Three Birds Residence."

This was a specialty shop from the Hidden Mountain Kingdom, selling swords, samurai armor, and some strange things.

A teru teru bozu (a small traditional Japanese doll made of white cloth or paper, hung outside by string) hanging at the door swayed gently. Suren glanced at it and walked in.

The shop owner was a middle-aged man wearing a kimono. He had the typical politeness of the people of the Hidden Mountain Kingdom. When he saw a guest, he bowed politely, "Welcome to my humble shop."

Suren nodded and looked at the goods displayed in the window.

The Hidden Mountain Kingdom produced famous swords, and the most conspicuous positions in the shop were also filled with swords.

The middle-aged owner was holding a long sword and introducing it, "Sir, would you like to buy a sword? This is 'Third Generation Creek Valley,' a work by the forging master Mr. Kurosawa. It's a rare good sword..."

It was indeed a good thing, but Suren wasn't a swordsman, so it was useless to him.

Using it on a puppet, the quality was a bit too mediocre, and a good one would be too extravagant.

He thought of the "Chrysanthemum Crest Shrine Guard" he had seen yesterday and casually asked, "Do you have any of the Twelve Excellent Craftsmen Famous Swords?"

The middle-aged owner smiled and said, "Sir, you're joking. Naturally, a small shop like mine wouldn't have that kind of famous sword. You could say that no shop has it."

He looked at Suren's expression, which didn't seem to be joking, and smiled again, "It seems that the guest has very high requirements for weapons. It's a pity, but as far as I know, there are only four of the Twelve Excellent Craftsmen Famous Swords left in the world, and they are all in the hands of very powerful swordsmen..."

Suren shrugged noncommittally, thinking that if he could afford it, it would be nice to buy one and give it to Qian Tiao.

The gambling-addicted woman took care of him quite a bit, so it was right to give her a gift.

The middle-aged man introduced the other items in the shop, "Sir, would you be interested in seeing anything else..."

This shop was more like an antique shop, with many old and ancient items in the window.

The armor worn by the Hidden Mountain General Hattori when he died in battle; a sealed bottle of black liquid, said to be the [Kuchikamizake (Mouth-Chewed Sake)] made by a witch; a [Tengu Mask (long-nosed goblin mask)] said to summon monsters, and a talisman to ward off the hundred demons...

The things were all good, and Suren appraised them. Most of them still had some special effects.

However, for Suren, they weren't very useful.

At this time, Suren saw some ancient books and documents in the corner of the shop and asked, "Do you have any documents about monster legends?"

The middle-aged owner said, "Yes, we do. If you're talking about writing about monsters, the best in the last hundred years would be Mr. Fujiwara Hayato, the great writer, and his 'Fairy Tales.' I happen to have a few volumes of his manuscripts here. Would you like me to show them to you?"

Suren nodded.

Monsters ran rampant in the Hidden Mountain Kingdom, and they were different from magical beasts and aberrant monsters, they were very special existences.

He was indeed very interested in learning about them.

The middle-aged owner was rummaging through the shelves, but just then, the wind chimes outside the door rang, and a few more guests came in.

Suren sensed the aura of those people and frowned slightly!

There were seven people in total. Five stayed at the door, and two entered the house. They were all wearing alchemical cloaks, making it impossible to see their faces clearly.

This setup looked like important figures traveling.

Moreover, in Suren's perception, the soul fires of these people were ethereal and elusive, making them difficult to grasp.

If it wasn't interference from a high-level cursed object, then they were outrageously strong.

Either way, they didn't look like people who were easy to provoke.

"What's the origin of these people? If they were big pirates, they wouldn't need to hide their heads and tails like this."

Suren muttered to himself, not showing any abnormality, looking like an ordinary customer as he looked in front of the window.

"Boss, do you have any manuscripts by Gustav?"

The person who spoke sounded like an old woman, and her tone was very kind.

The middle-aged owner asked in confusion, "Gustav?"

The old woman said, "Perhaps another name, Fujiwara Hayato."

The middle-aged owner suddenly realized and said with a hint of joy, "Oh, yes, we do. I was just about to show them to that guest. My shop probably has the most manuscripts by Mr. Fujiwara."

Seeing those manuscripts, the old woman didn't even ask the price and said, "If you don't mind, I'd like to buy them all."

The middle-aged man looked embarrassed and looked at Suren, asking, "Sir, what do you think? After all, you were the first to want to see them."

Suren glanced at them with an uninterested expression, "Of course, I don't mind."

After appraising those manuscripts, they were just [ordinary manuscripts] with no special effects, so there was no need to buy the original.

For Suren, who only wanted to learn about the customs of the Hidden Mountain Kingdom, a copy would do.

Moreover, the great writer's things were very expensive, almost as expensive as the [Alchemy Manuscripts of Isaac].

Hearing the price, Suren certainly wouldn't waste his money.

But the old woman didn't bargain at all and spent nearly ten million Lisos very generously to buy those manuscripts. Da Feng Novel

The group bought the things, asked a few questions about the great writer "Fujiwara Hayato," and left when they couldn't find anything else.

The shop returned to its quietness.

The group came suddenly and left suddenly.

Suren was still in front of the counter, guessing in his heart, "Did she buy them to collect? It seems like a great noble..."

Some people could tell her cultivation just from the tone of her voice.

Although the old woman didn't say much, Suren also heard that this person's background was definitely not simple. Moreover, someone who could spend so much money to buy a few manuscripts shouldn't be a pirate.

Also, Suren didn't know if it was his imagination, but when those people left, the escort next to the old woman seemed to have glanced at him more than once?

.......

Suren wandered around the Conch Market for most of the day and gained a lot.

He returned to the Golden Fortress and had good luck. The materials he had pre-ordered at "Mrs. Tang's Magic Material Shop" last night were ready ahead of schedule.

He paid the balance and got the materials that filled a dozen storage rings.

Suren originally wanted to take the materials back to the hotel to make new golem, but seeing that it was still early, he happened to pass by a shop that he remembered.

It was a small house with a sign that read "Neptune's Divination Shop."

A witch lived here who could tell fortunes, and she was also one of the most well-informed intelligence merchants in Pirate City.

Suren lifted the curtain with magical isolation and walked in.

The magic lamp was very dim, and he could see a dark-skinned woman fiddling with tarot cards and using chess pieces to tell fortunes. She had some fish scales on her face, and it was said that she was a mix of human and fish-person.

The pirates called her "Black Beauty" Amaris.

As soon as Suren entered, she said mysteriously, "Divination tells me that a very special guest will come today."

Suren didn't listen to it, it was professional jargon, everyone who came heard that.

He said directly, "I need to inquire about a few things."

Amaris knew that a professional had come as soon as she heard it, and she didn't continue her set of deceptive words.

"Have you heard of the 'Cyclops'?"

"Have you heard of a grail? It's said to have been passed down from the subhuman tribes..."

"Have you heard of Pirate King 'Black Sam's Cursed Gold Coins'?"

"I want to find some spatial materials for advancement. Do you have any good recommendations?"

"..."

Suren told all the news he wanted to inquire about, and none of it was sensitive information.

Originally, he thought of casting a wide net, and it didn't matter if he could hear it.

But he didn't expect that this Black Beauty really knew a lot!

Amaris said directly, "In our sea clan legends, there is a Cyclops on an island deep in the West Sea. However, that's not a place where humans can set foot. Only great adventurers who aren't afraid of wind and waves may be able to catch a glimpse of the true face of that mythical race. As for 'Black Sam's Cursed Gold Coins,' I think you might have to ask someone, he happens to have one. As for spatial materials, I heard that someone in the black market has a source of goods. If you need it, I can help you ask, but the price may be a bit high..."

As Suren listened, the joy in his heart grew stronger.

Sure enough, professional matters should be left to professionals!

These intelligence merchants had a lot of surprising information in their hands.

Even the official Luying had "rat warehouses" selling military supplies, let alone pirates? As long as there was a profit to be made, even the most confidential "spatial colonization" would definitely be resold!

Before Suren came to Pirate City, he guessed that there would be information about "void colonization" here.

As soon as he asked, there really was.

After some conversation, Suren spent 200,000 to get the information he wanted from the Black Beauty.

As for void colonization, he didn't ask after hearing the exaggerated price.

Since the news had leaked out, the news would become less and less valuable.

Now that he had joined the North Sea Fleet, he wasn't in a hurry.

.......

Pirate City was big, very big.

But it was also small, very small.

For example, there were only a few big markets selling materials.

It was also a coincidence that while Suren was inquiring about news in the divination shop, a fighting sound suddenly came from the black market.

Originally, brawls between pirates were normal, but when Suren went out to watch the excitement this time, he found that one of the fighting parties was actually an acquaintance.

The one-armed guy was actually the commander of the Luying Holy Judgement Army, "Beast" Alek Barrett, whom he had met in Cursing Valley before!

"Why is this guy in Pirate City?"

Suren was also very surprised to see the scratches on Barrett's rank.

That was the sign of defection.