Временные трудности / Temporary hardships: Глава 22

Chapter 22, in which the hero is homesick and meets up with an old acquaintance

Camrad_RIP 31.01.24 в 21:14

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Camrad_RIP 31.01.24 в 21:12

Xing had originally intended to sneak out into the night after receiving the improved seal and, therefore, access to the inner city to find out what was going on in the mages' towers. Gain new knowledge and then work on creating the coveted ring. But he did not even know the usual written language of the people of Akhribad, let alone the unlikeable sorcerous symbols from Sharif's puppets and the skin of a giant tortoise. So, it was still necessary to start with something more basic.

Camrad_RIP 01.02.24 в 12:58

Xing could, of course, learn to read and write from some of the people in his establishment, but there were several serious obstacles. First, most of them couldn't read. Second, a new rumor would be added to all the strange rumors about him, and third... Third, he just didn't want to wait. He was impatient, and he wanted action. So much so he was ready to risk a large sum of money in case the seal was so different that it could not be corrected or repeated.

Camrad_RIP 01.02.24 в 13:00

The sorcerer looked at his hand with a surprised gaze, either because he didn't like the old seal Xing had made look shabby and almost decaying or because he couldn't believe someone in this city needed a higher level so much that he was willing to pay a lot of money for it.

Camrad_RIP 01.02.24 в 13:01

Examining the seal, Xing saw that it was not much different from the old one. Even the gap where the qi still flowed out was still there. The only thing that had been added was a not-too-complicated pattern that Xing could repeat even in his dreams.

Camrad_RIP 01.02.24 в 13:06

After patching the gap in the seal, he returned to General Feng and started cooking. When he finished, Xing picked up the basket and headed to the inner city. At first glance, going straight into the enemy's lair would be reckless, but as the Indomitable Dragon said, "If you are expected from the mountains, go around and attack from the valley," and who was Xing to ignore this source of wisdom?

Camrad_RIP 01.02.24 в 13:07

The gate to the inner city alone was guarded by stone statues. When Xing crossed the thin veil of qi, the seal on his hand glittered briefly, but the guards remained motionless. Xing could, of course, try to pass through without the seal, hide his qi, or even sneak underground. But he decided not to do so for now, taking the easiest and most legal option. He would certainly test the guards in the future, but for now, there was no point.

Camrad_RIP 01.02.24 в 13:08

He wandered around the city for a while, looking at a few expensive potion shops, amulets, and talismans, taking note of the sorcerers' towers, including the largest one in the center, whose spire, with its chi flowing into the sky, seemed to pierce the heavens themselves. Then he went to the outskirts of the city, almost to the very wall, where one of the most dilapidated and shabby towers he'd noticed long before he'd received the seal stood. The owner of the tower had seen better days, which was why Xing had chosen it.

Camrad_RIP 01.02.24 в 13:09

"Stop, stranger!" said one of the statues as Xing tried to pass through the unlocked gate in the high fence. The guards, who looked like tall warriors with bird heads, burning eyes, and curved beaks, stepped forward, wielding their curved, short sabers menacingly. Or rather, it would have looked formidable if Xing didn't know he could break them at any convenient moment.

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:11

"Hi!" he waved cheerfully.

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:31

"Go away, stranger!" roared the second statue.

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:31

"Do you always have such a small supply of lines? Or do you pay a kasbah for each new word?"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:32

"Go away, stranger!" repeated the statue.

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:37

"Shouldn't you have asked me what I came here for in the first place?"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:38

"What have you come for, stranger?" The statue asked obediently.

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:39

"I am your new very pleasant and skillful neighbor! And according to the custom of good neighborliness, I brought a gift to the tower owner: delicious, fragrant, and appetizing Fujian buns!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:40

"Go away, stranger!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:32

"Fujian buns! The best buns in the world! The crunch of which makes glass shatter, and the fire energy of which makes even you, a stone dummy, turn into a dragon!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:40

"Go away, stranger!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:32

"Tell me, who are you to decide whether I should leave or not?"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:53

"Go away, stranger!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:32

"You'd better call the owner and let him decide!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:54

"Who are you, stranger?"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 10:02

"Oh, so glad you asked! I'm Xing, but everyone calls me Kasim. From General Feng's workshop, restaurant, and forge. And I've brought a gift of Fujian buns for the Lord who lives here!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 10:03

"Go away, stranger!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:32

Xing grimaced. These puppets were quite dumb, much more primitive than the ones standing at the gates of the city. He checked the tower and found a single source of qi there, a mage who didn't seem to be a mage. From the looks of it, it was a woman. Maybe a servant, maybe a wife or concubine.

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 10:05

"Hey, master!" Xing exclaimed, slightly raising his voice with qi. "The buns will soon cool down and stop crunching!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 21:24

"Go away, stranger!" the guards repeated in unison.

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 21:25

"Very tasty buns! The most delicious in all of Akhribad! No, the tastiest in the world!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 21:25

"Go away, stranger!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:33

The guards were annoying, but Xing suppressed the urge to smash them to pieces. He would probably do it, but later.

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 22:04

Suddenly, the door opened, and a girl stepped out. //"A maid, after all," Xing thought. She was dressed in a simple blouse with rolled-up sleeves and dark cotton trousers. She was still holding a small wooden bucket in one hand and a rag in the other.

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:42

"Hey, you! Why are you yelling? Who the hell are you?"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 22:04

Xing stared at the girl and froze. She was very beautiful - not like Mei, of course, but still a dazzling beauty, as beautiful as Almirakh, and even her baggy clothes could not hide her slender, supple figure. It seemed that the owner of this tower was not only in need of cleaning but also something much more pleasurable. Xing checked her qi again just in case she was the owner of the tower and decided to disguise herself for some reason. But no, even though her energy level was slightly different from that of Feng's visitors, it was far inferior to even the weakest sorcerers he had met.

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:44

"My name is Xing Duo, but you, beauty, can call me like everyone else, Kasim."

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:44

"Very interesting!" The maid smiled pretentiously. "No, not really, not interesting. What's more interesting is what you're yelling about, and why don't you get out like the keepers tell you to?"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:52

"Keepers? Those dummies?"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:53

"Of the three of you, I only see one dummy! You still haven't answered the question!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 22:05

"I'm just visiting," Xing smiled. He liked this perky and sharp-tongued girl more and more. "So I brought some buns. The best Fujian buns you can't get for all the kasbahs in the world."

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 22:06

"Of course you won't!" snorted the girl. "I won't buy either because I don't need your buns!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 22:07

"Are you sure, beauty?" Xing laughed, opening the lid of the basket and waving his palm over it, directing the scent at the girl.

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 22:07

"Of course, I'm sure! I don't need any..." The maid paused, twitched her nose, and sniffed. "It smells very good!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 22:08

"And it tastes even better! Eat these soft Fujian buns and drink tea, and you will be in the hot heart of Lahib Shadid, but not sizzling, but warming! In my restaurant, I ask a lot of money for them, and believe me, those who want them are still fighting each other to get them as soon as possible!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 22:09

"Well, you'd better go sell it in your restaurant," the girl replied, but much softer, without any confidence she had had before. "I have almost no money. I can't fight."

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 22:11

"I guess I'll have to do that," Xing fake sighed. "I wanted to treat the owner of this tower, but all I got was a fierce maid and two chickens that didn't even have a proper breast."

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 22:12

"I like chicken breast, too," she smiled, which made Xing's face grow fonder, "but you're right, it's a little tough on the stone keepers. Alas, Xing, I'm the only one in the tower now, and I don't know when it will be."

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:37

"Master's away on business," Xing nodded understandingly, flattered to be called by his real name. "No problem! I'll be honest. It's much nicer to talk to a pretty girl like you than an old fart buried in scrolls. Okay, just because your eyes are so beautiful, take it! It was really nice to meet you!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:35

The girl hesitated, thinking about something.

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:33

"Don't be afraid, beauty! The buns are not poisoned. You can ask anyone in the outer city - "General Feng" always serves only the best!"

Camrad_RIP 04.02.24 в 09:34