Chapter 54 [Heading to Black Sheep Town]
Silas eventually gave in.
However, it strongly demanded that Mela transform herself into a white dove.
For Miss Lily's sake, Silas reluctantly agreed to temporarily play the role of a pigeon.
“Here.” Mela had no objection and handed Silas a bottle of transformation potion. “While you drink the potion, think of Miss Lily, and you will transform into something similar to her.”
Upon hearing this, Silas uncorked the bottle and gulped down the entire bottle of medicine in one go.
When it came to its senses, its body had indeed changed drastically.
Silas raised its wings with curiosity, admiring the snow-white feathers on them. Ah, even with a different color, it was still as beautiful as ever.
Silas was finally satisfied.
"Alright, Silas, stop admiring yourself, we should go." Mela walked towards the door first.
Silas quickly flapped his wings and flew to Mela's shoulder.
The white dove is almost half the size of the crow, so now even if Silas stands on Mela's shoulder, Mela won't complain that he's too heavy.
From this perspective, becoming like this isn't entirely without its benefits for Silas.
Seeing Mela's completely unfamiliar face after drinking the transformation potion up close, Silas was even more amazed. If they walked out with their completely changed appearances, even if they bumped into Lex, he probably wouldn't recognize them.
but.
"Are we just going to leave empty-handed?" Silas asked doubtfully.
It didn't seem to notice what Mela had packed either.
"How can you say you're empty-handed?"
Mela flicked the small pouch hanging at her waist, the coins inside rattling and making a crisp clinking sound. "Isn't this a pouch full of money?"
They were going to rescue people, not move house, so there was no need for them to carry such a heavy burden. It would be cumbersome, troublesome, and attract attention.
They were just walking along the road, and no one would have paid them any attention. But if Mela had a big bundle on her back, everyone would have been curious and would have taken a second look at them.
Moreover, if everything goes smoothly, their round trip won't even take half a month.
If you need anything, you can buy it on the way.
"I see." Reassured by Mela's explanation, Silas eagerly exclaimed, "Then let's get going!"
Mela: ...I feel like Silas is taking it a little too easy, as if he's treating this like a long trip out for fun.
Well, this is indeed the first time Silas has left the Dark Forest in over a decade, so she won't correct it.
Guided by the crystal ball, Mela led Silas southeastward.
Pushing aside the bushes, they walked onto the dusty path, and gradually, the entire dark forest was left behind.
When the sun was directly overhead, they saw a bustling town in the distance, Black Sheep Town.
This place used to be just a small village, but ever since the first person brought wild black sheep home to raise, the village has gradually prospered.
The wool shavings from black sheep can be easily woven into a beautiful and warm garment. Furthermore, the quality wool produced by black sheep is twice as high as that of ordinary white sheep; it's fair to say that raising one black sheep is equivalent to raising two white sheep.
Thus, the dilapidated wooden houses were demolished, and sturdy stone houses were built, officially establishing the town of Black Sheep. In addition to the tax collector, the lord also assigned a knight with his squires to garrison the town.
There's a knight in Black Sheep Town?
Mela, who was hiding behind a tree and heard the news, raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected the situation to be so much more complicated than she had anticipated.
Generally, knights would only be stationed in a few of the wealthier areas of the territory to guard the lord's money. These areas were usually close together, forming a circle of protection around the lord's estate.
In short, it wouldn't be in a place as close to the edge of the territory as Black Sheep Town.
Therefore, Mela thought that Black Sheep Town should be the easiest place to enter along the way, but she didn't expect to run into an accident.
If the knights were present, Mela would have to abandon her previous plans and it would be best to leave with Silas tomorrow.
Two merchants nearby were complaining that the tax collectors had been collecting taxes more and more harshly lately, and with the additional tributes to the knight, they were receiving far less money than before. If this continued, they might not come to Black Sheep Town to do business next year.
However, they quickly said goodbye and headed off in different directions with a cartload of goods.
Next, a few more young women passed by, chatting excitedly about things that sounded incredibly boring to Silas.
"Mera, why aren't we in town yet?" Silas asked in a low voice, looking at Mela who was hiding behind a tree and occasionally looking thoughtful.
"First, because I'm learning their accent by listening to their conversations."
Mela held up an index finger and waved it in front of Silas's eyes.
"Secondly, I'm waiting for it to get dark."
Silas clearly didn't understand and needed further explanation from Mela.
"Silas, you know that the kingdom forbids commoners from leaving their homeland to travel to another territory at will, right?"
“Of course.” Silas nodded. Once a commoner was found in another territory, he would be enslaved and thrown into the lord’s manor, where he would be forced to do the hardest and most tiring work until he was worked to death.
This is also to protect the interests of the lords.
After all, among the many territories, there are those that are incredibly wealthy and those that are incredibly poor. If everyone aspires to the wealthiest territories, what will happen to the lords of the other territories?
Who will be responsible for farming and production within their territory?
Who will support their extravagant lifestyle?
Where did the taxes they had to pay to the king each year come from?
Under such strict laws, at least on the surface, the population of any territory no longer decreased drastically without cause.
"Do you know how they tell if someone is from another territory?" Mela continued with a smile.
“Hmm…” Silas thought for a while. If it were birds, different species of birds would look different and would be easy to distinguish from their appearance. But in its eyes, humans all looked pretty much the same, so this method would definitely not work.
Then, thinking of what Mela had just said, Silas tentatively asked, "...Perhaps, an accent?"
“That’s right, Silas, don’t you feel that the same words sound different when they come out of my mouth and when they come out of Lex’s mouth?” Mela coaxed.
Silas thought for a moment, and it seemed... a little different? So this is what they call an accent?
Thinking about it this way, it's no wonder that no one can easily leave their original territory; he would have given himself away as soon as he opened his mouth.
“But,” Silas tilted his head, thinking of another problem, “it must be difficult to change our accents in such a short time, right? Why don’t we just pretend to be merchants?”
Merchants are a group of people who have received special permission to travel freely to various territories.
After all, they don't need to cultivate the land; they only need to transport goods from one place to another for trade, and a steady stream of money will automatically flow into their pockets.
“Because we don’t have a certificate from the Chamber of Commerce,” Mela said matter-of-factly.
Has no one thought of this method before?
Of course!
Therefore, to prevent anyone from exploiting loopholes, the king specifically ordered the establishment of a Chamber of Commerce. Only with the approval of the Chamber of Commerce could you, as a merchant, travel smoothly to various places to complete one transaction after another.
If Mela were to enter Black Sheep Town as a merchant, she would first have to pay a deposit to the town's Chamber of Commerce.
If she leaves Black Sheep Town without taking any goods with her, the deposit will be withheld by the Chamber of Commerce as another form of "business".
Being a merchant isn't easy; otherwise, everyone would become a merchant, and who would still be toiling away in the fields?
Mela shrugged. "But I don't want to pay this money, and I can't get the Chamber of Commerce's certificate for the time being, so I have no choice but to take the more difficult path."
That is to disguise oneself as someone from a nearby village and pretend to go to Black Sheep Town to seek refuge with relatives.
That's why Mela stayed on this only road leading out of town, trying to learn as much as possible from the accents of the people passing by.
At least don't let people immediately sense that something is wrong.
Fortunately, this wasn't particularly difficult for Mela. After all, compared to the things witches had to study, this only required a little brainpower: memorizing the pronunciation of each word she heard, and then breaking them down and combining them into corresponding sentences.
"So that's why we had to wait here until dark." Silas understood; they needed to give Mela time to study.
“Besides that, it’s also because I intend to minimize the exposure of my face,” Mela said.
Just in case, she also carried two small vials of shapeshifting potion with her. In the event of an unmanageable conflict or being chased by a large group of people, drinking the shapeshifting potion and quickly transforming into another person would obviously ensure a smoother escape.
However, Mela only has one chance to make a decision, because the other transformation potion is the one she prepared for Erica.
Thinking of Erica, Mela subconsciously reached for a small bulge in the cloth bag. It was the Seed of Life that she had brought with her. She wondered if Erica's condition had worsened.
I hope not.
*
As dusk settled and night enveloped the once bustling town, Mela, accompanied by Silas, swaggered into Black Goat Town.
She kept her head down, letting her loose hair cover most of her face, while constantly using the corner of her eye to search for the location of the tavern.
Ideally, it should be a small, cheap-looking pub.
Found it. Mela paused, then turned and headed towards the small tavern in the corner.
A rickety wooden sign hung above the door, probably bearing the name of the tavern, though it was barely visible in the dim light, but that didn't matter.
Behind the two open wooden doors, kerosene lamps illuminated the bustling sounds of people. The tavern was surprisingly popular, perhaps because it offered inferior ale, which could be filled to the brim for just five copper coins.
The liquor is stored in wooden barrels, where tiny malty waves ripple up and down among the grapes.
"I want a room to stay overnight."
In the bustling tavern, Merap immediately attracted a lot of attention upon his appearance.
Although she drank the transformation potion and imagined herself as someone else with a much more ordinary face, her inherent charisma was still as dazzling as a pearl.
What's more, her beautiful red hair is so alluring.
Although it looks a bit messy, apart from those noble ladies and young ladies, who has the time and energy to style their hair as smooth and beautiful as silk? Most people's hair is dry and looks like a slovenly straw nest.
Therefore, a girl with beautiful hair will attract attention wherever she goes.
But what's that thing on her shoulder? A pigeon?
Some people looked at each other, almost thinking they were seeing things.
Mela calmly ignored the stares and approached the waiter behind the counter, asking for a room for the night.
"Seven copper coins a night." The waiter was busy pouring drinks for the other guests and arguing with them about why one person had poured a little more and another a little less. He didn't have time to pay attention to Mela at all, so he could only quickly throw out a price during the gap in the argument between the two guests.
“Okay.” Mela readily took out seven copper coins to pay.
The waiter casually swept the copper coins across his hand and told Mela to go upstairs and choose an empty room. "Just go to whichever room is empty."
In any case, every room was equally simple, with only an old wooden bed that creaked with the slightest movement. There was no question of which room was more comfortable to stay in.
Mela nodded and led Silas smoothly up to the second floor.
She chose an empty room at the back, went inside, closed the door, and put down the wooden bolt.
"Phew, I finally managed to fool them." Now that only it and Mela were in the room, Silas, who had been holding back for most of the day, was finally able to speak.
It was absolutely suffocating.
As soon as Mela stepped into the tavern, Silas held his breath and dared not utter a sound. He had been watching Mela's conversation with the waiter with trepidation.
She was afraid that the other party would chat with Mela for a few more minutes, or that they would notice something unusual in Mela's words.
“What’s there to be afraid of? He’s busy dealing with other guests and doesn’t have any extra attention to give me.” Mela was quite composed, confident that there couldn’t have been anything wrong with those two short sentences.
On the contrary, I felt that Silas's panic at this moment was a bit of an overreaction.
Silas scratched his head with his wing, embarrassed. "That's because Mela, you're amazing. The way you spoke just now was really different from how you usually talk."
Her tone, intonation, and even her heavy nasal voice were all very different from how Mela usually spoke.
“It’s nothing.” Mela frowned and lifted the blanket on the bed, which was obviously not very clean, and smelled a faint musty smell from it.
"Alright, Silas, let's go to sleep. I have a task for you to do tomorrow morning."
"What mission?" Silas asked curiously.
"You'll find out tomorrow," Mela said, deliberately keeping everyone in suspense.
She patted the dirty pillow and urged, "Come on, this is the spot I saved for you to sleep in."
Silas looked at the bed with the same disdain, trying to refuse Mela's offer, "No, no need, I can sleep standing up."
"How can that be?" Seeing Silas's resistance, Mela reached out and pulled him over, then lay down on the pillow with him. She quickly buried her face in Silas's feathers, and finally, the musty smell couldn't get in.
Silas was left speechless, surrounded by the musty smell, and could only close his eyes and frantically try to fall asleep.
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