Chapter 228: White Orchid Rain Festival (Ten)
With the experience from the first time, Beixi and Nanhuan immediately asked Nineteen to take the remaining players to stay on the periphery and not to act rashly for the time being.
They made such a big noise just now that even a normal resident would have been scared away.
But in front of the wood carving stall at the southernmost end, an old man was lowering his head, carefully carving wood with a carving knife. He didn't seem to be disturbed by them at all, nor did he have any intention of watching the fun.
At this time, the temperature in Bailan City was already very high. It seemed that there were only two temperatures in this place, before the sun rose and after the sun set. No matter what time of the day it was, the temperature was the same.
The wood carving stall was not big, and there was only a tattered umbrella, which was almost useless in blocking the high temperature and sun. However, the old man with white beard was able to calm down and only focus on the things in his hands.
When everyone got closer, they found that the huge thing in front of the other party, which looked like a bouquet of flowers, was actually densely carved wood sculptures, displayed in this form.
All these wood carvings have only one theme - the dragon.
It’s just that the shapes of the dragons are different. Some are flying in the clouds, some are lying on the ground, some have angry eyes, and some are like fans. In short, they are in all kinds of poses and look lifelike.
If they hadn't seen the old man's carving knife carving out many scales accurately in just a few seconds, most people would have thought that what were in front of them were samples for display, rather than the work of the old man.
"Old man, is this a dragon you carved?"
With such a large group of people coming forward, there was naturally quite a bit of noise, not to mention they deliberately made noise to attract the other party's attention, but the old man never even raised his eyes.
A pair of tanned hands covered with wrinkles and scars were extremely steady, flying up and down without being affected at all.
President Alice couldn't help herself, looked around, and found that she was the most suitable person to do this, so she spoke first.
Nan Huan's attention was always on the two display shelves. It was not because she suddenly became interested in the wood carvings, but because she found that the wood carvings at the top seemed a little different from the ones below.
And after a careful examination, you will find that the faces of all the wood-carved dragons are similar, except for the different expressions. The details, such as horns and whiskers, are actually the same.
But somehow, when all the parts are put together, they make such a big difference in the appearance of the wood carving.
Except for the wood carvings in the first row, the rest were similar to the one they had just encountered, while the ones in the first row looked more friendly.
The old man did not answer immediately. He only paused and slowly raised his head after he finished carving a piece of scale in his hand.
His eyes were not cloudy and lifeless like those of an old man in his twilight years. Instead, they were full of energy and vigor. Unlike his frail appearance, they were very sharp and he even had a hint of hostility towards them.
"Nothing good usually happens to outsiders who come to Bailan City. If you don't want to die, get out as soon as possible."
This was said very bluntly, not like a businessman who would at least show some concern, like whether the other party wanted to buy something or not. The other party started swearing at him right from the start, which surprised the remaining presidents, but also made them ready for a fight.
Bei Xi and Nan Huan, on the other hand, seemed more relaxed. If the so-called dragon just now could recognize them as the candidates for the saint at a glance, then their faces would probably not be a secret in the entire Bai Lan City. The old man in front of them would naturally know them as well.
But he didn't do what the dragon did, bewitching them by saying that he had the withered dragon scale paper. Instead, he let them leave in disguise.
President Alice was stunned by the scolding and looked down at her clothes. This was a guild league after all, and she was already dressed very low-key, but the big puffy skirt was still somewhat eye-catching. She even suspected that it was the problem with her clothes that reduced her beauty, so that the face that could solve 90% of communication problems on weekdays was ineffective in front of this old man.
She was scolded harshly. She curled her lips and thought, "When have I ever suffered such a punishment?"
You guys come on, or I'll just take action and beat you up first?
Nan Huan was afraid that if they left this instance, they would be labeled as disrespectful to the elderly, so he quickly pushed President Alice behind him and put on a good face, "Old man, we didn't want to come here. You know that a saint is chosen here every time. Since we were sent here by our families, it's not up to us to decide. Of course, we want to leave, or do you know how to get out of here?"
What the hell? Why did they suddenly change the script?
The remaining presidents opened their eyes wide, watching Nan Huan seriously fabricate an identity for himself and even created a poor character who was forcibly sent to Bailan City by his family.
It's a pity that you don't go into acting.
But the old man didn't know whether he really fell for it or had some liking for the young lady. Anyway, when he spoke again, his tone was not as bad as before. "Since the Dragon God stopped coming, you can only enter Bailan City but not leave. Once you come, you can't leave. If it wasn't so, why would the residents here have been waiting for a miracle for a hundred years?"
The presidents saw that this kind of conversation seemed promising, so they winked at the young lady, signaling her to continue to act pitiful. Maybe she could get some information out of it.
After all, there was such a big commotion just now, and the NPC who hasn't left yet might be an important NPC in their mission to find the withered dragon scale paper.
Although Bei Xi did not sense any murderous intent from the other party, he still put his arm around Nan Huan and half of his body was blocking the other party, fearing that the other party would suddenly change like the owner of the pharmacy.
Nan Huan's attempt to get closer was discovered by Bei Xi, so he had to give up and stretched out his whole body.
"Since the old man has also said that we can't leave now, can you give us some clues? Maybe we can pass the selection of the saint and become a real saint. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"
Nan Huan's words were quite truthful. "If the Dragon God descends again, the residents of Bailan City won't have to endure such scorching heat anymore. Maybe the white orchid will bloom again?"
After the old man finished his first words, he was about to continue working on the carving in his hands, but when he heard Nan Huan's question, he didn't know what touched his spot, he suddenly looked up at Nan Huan as if he was amused.
"Who said it was killing two birds with one stone? The arrival of the Dragon God may not be a good thing. I don't think there is anything wrong with it now."
He seemed to be lost in a brief memory, with a hint of a smile on his face, but it soon disappeared. "Life goes on as usual. I won't die for a while without rain, and I won't be affected by the lack of flowers. It's just that we've returned to the way we were before. We'll live the same way as before. What's the point of fussing?"
"Nothing wrong?" President Alice listened for a while and asked back with a frown, "Old man, I see your eyesight is pretty good. Didn't you see the dragon in the pharmacy just now? With that kind of thing around, can you sleep at night?"
President Alice was pulled by President Hongpin and paused for a moment. It was unclear whether she was talking to herself or being sarcastic. "It's pretty good. Are you kidding me?"
The old man was stunned by Alice's powerful question. He didn't answer immediately, but just stared in the direction of the pharmacy in a daze. However, he didn't look scared or worried.
Bei Xi and Nan Huan did not stop President Alice from complaining. After all, although the old man spoke very casually, Nan Huan still heard a hint of sigh in his tone, which meant that he did not really mean it.
Moreover, Nan Huan also caught other meanings in the other party's words, "Old man, you are only talking about returning to the previous state. Do you mean that Bailan City was like this a long time ago, and it was only improved after the arrival of the Dragon God?"
Her words brought the old man back to his senses. "Whether it is like this or not, it has nothing to do with you. You can't leave. All those who are selected to be candidates for saints in the city have no good end. You should prepare for your own funeral as soon as possible. If there is anything you need to bring to your family far away, you can leave a message for me, but I can't guarantee that I can deliver it."
The other party's attitude was very firm, as if they had predicted that all players would die, just like the large number of saints before. So they didn't want to spend time communicating their attitudes with people who were destined to die, and even waved their hands to drive them away.
"Oh, I have such a bad temper..."
"President Alice, please stop making trouble and be quiet..."
President Hongfen felt that Alice was like a firecracker that would explode at any time. In order not to hinder the eldest lady and the first president, she had to drag her back and called out to the people from the other guild, "Mad Hatter, come and hold your president. Don't let her use her skills or get close to any NPCs. Don't let her curse at others to anger them..."
Compared to President Alice who couldn't stand it, other people got into trouble in front of her. Except for Bei Xi and Nan Huan, the other presidents didn't look very happy either. After all, no one wanted to hear the words "You are destined to die here", especially when the other party had said it several times in a row.
Nan Huan was very amiable, without any anger on her face, but she was not scared away by the other party's words and actions. Instead, she was very sharp in judging from the other party's tone and words that the other party obviously knew something and was even kind enough to remind them. However, she didn't know whether it was because of the system or their lack of effective communication methods that the other party was unwilling to reveal.
"Old man, you are looking down on me a little, aren't you?"
Nan Huan took full advantage of his big eyes, blinking at the other person, playing a thick-skinned role, and then began to present facts and reason, "Those candidate saints you saw before don't have the ability to directly deal with the pharmacy owner or other people in Bailan City, right?"
Her words actually hit the point directly. In fact, the old man was also surprised when the pharmacy exploded just now, but he concealed it well before Nan Huan and the others arrived.
"Since we can do this, it means that we are different from the previous candidates. Regardless of whether you want the Dragon God to come again, this is something we must do, otherwise we cannot leave here."
She was very serious when she said these words, but she returned to her previous smile after she finished. "So help us. It won't be a big loss for you. At most, we will die, and you can still live your life with these things. It's okay. A little hope is not bad, right? Hmm?"
When the young lady was speaking, she was half squatting to match the old man's sitting height.
These words seemed to ignite a certain idea in the old man's heart, and seemed to remind him of someone. In short, he finally set his eyes on Nan Huan. Unlike the previous quick glance, he looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze. It was unclear whether he wanted to see something from the other person, or to verify what the other person had just said.
"You don't know what withered dragon scale paper means." After a while, just when President Barbie thought that the young lady's attack was still ineffective and was about to give up, the old man spoke again, "Every time you come, you only bring harm to them. It has not changed for so long. What makes you say that you are different?"
No one knew whether he was talking to Nan Huan or to himself, but his tone was filled with infinite melancholy.
"Since you don't believe us yet, we can talk about the past first. Just treat it as a story and tell us about the past of Bailan City, about the Dragon God and the Saint, and anything else is fine."
Nan Huan did not push too hard. After all, she discovered that the old man in front of her and the owner of the drugstore did not seem to be in the same camp. Moreover, from his words, she could vaguely guess that this withered dragon scale paper had something to do with the dragon, and it seemed that it was in the form of hurting the other party.
But if all dragons are like the pharmacy owner, attacking indiscriminately, it seems that there is no reason worth protecting.
Anyway, they know nothing about Bai Lan City now, so it would be good to hear what happened before. Besides, if any side quest is triggered, the system should notify them.
But since the system said those two ambiguous sentences just now, it has not spoken again, so it may not be the time for them to find out the news about the withered dragon scale paper. So there is no need to rush for the time being, so she simply changed the subject.
"So, a long time ago, there were not only humans in Bailan City, but also dragons?"
It was unknown what the old man was weighing, or perhaps he was finally attracted by the tiny bit of hope promised by Nan Huan. When he spoke again, there was a lot more surprise in his voice, "A long time ago, probably a hundred years ago, or even earlier, dragons other than humans appeared in Bailan City. Since the first dragon was discovered, the war began?"
"war?"
President Barbie frowned, not quite understanding.
The old man chuckled and looked at the other party. "Do you think the dragons are too powerful and humans are no match for them? Do you think a war will never break out? Or do you think they can coexist peacefully?"
President Barbie didn't say anything, but Bei Xi thought about what the other party said and soon understood what the other party meant. "Those who are not of my kind must have different hearts. A person and a dragon may be able to coexist peacefully and find a delicate balance in the process of friction and getting along because of their individual differences. But a group of people and a group of dragons, this situation is simply impossible, especially when facing an unknown species. Human fear will make them do terrible things."
Bei Xi stopped talking without going on, and the expression on his face seemed a little vague.
However, his words surprised the old man. He rarely showed a hearty laugh on his face. After laughing enough, he even began to look at Bei Xi again, "Well, are you a human?"
Although this was a question, the tone was indeed affirmative. "You are a human, why don't you think about the problem from a human perspective? Shouldn't you say that humans are the masters of this world? From the moment they were born, they have stronger learning, evolutionary and thinking abilities than other species. They should be the masters of this world. Even dragons cannot compare with them?"
"Who instilled this crazy idea into the residents of Bailan City? Were the people here deceived by these words? So humans won the final battle?"
Bei Xi ignored the teasing in the other party's words, nor did he care about the other party's roundabout way of saying that he was not a human. Instead, he figured out the outcome of the war from the old man's words.
However, Nan Huan found it strange when the other party looked at Bei Xi. How could an ordinary NPC determine that Bei Xi was a human being with just one glance? Nan Huan was very disgusted by his words that implied that Bei Xi was not a human being.
Before she could express her doubts and dissatisfaction, the old man continued Bei Xi's words, "You guessed right. Whether the war started for resources, or just to regain control of Bailan City, or just to avoid being hurt by the other side in the future, both sides suffered losses. But in the end, humans still had the upper hand. Do you know why?"
Although this story was told to everyone, the old man actually asked Bei Xi these questions directly. His eyes became bright after Bei Xi finished saying those words, as if he was expecting something, or verifying something.
Before Bei Xi could speak, Nan Huan grabbed her wrist, stopping her from saying anything. Nan Huan spoke first, "Because humans are more despicable."
Although she frowned when she said this, there was no obvious like or dislike in her tone; it was more like she was stating a fact.
The old man agreed with this answer, "That's right, it's true that humans are more despicable, but to be precise, dragons don't kill their own kind, but humans do."
"Humans think that dragons are full of treasures. Eating them can prolong life and perhaps even gain other abilities." When he said this, a sarcastic smile appeared on his face, as if he was not a human. "In the eyes of the dragons, humans were not enemies at first. It was not until the other side started to attack that they realized that the two could not coexist peacefully. In the end, they had to regard humans as a good reserve of food. But in the end, humans still won."
Most of the process must have been omitted, but the presidents still frowned as they listened.
Just when everyone was feeling a little nauseous, the system prompts finally came back.
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