Upon arriving near Jialai, Yunzhe discovered that the village was clearly divided into an inner and outer city. The outer city consisted of scattered, low-lying houses, with a ten-foot-high wooden stake wall forming the boundary. The wall was still discontinuous, broken up by the houses and roads.
The boundary between the inner and outer city was a stone wall, one zhang high but two zhang wide. The wall had simple crenellations, and soldiers moved back and forth. The inner city was much better than the outer city, with its cobblestone ground and relatively orderly layout of houses, finally allowing Yun Zhe, an architecture student, to feel a touch of beauty.
After the carriage entered the inner city through the main gate, Yun Zhe asked Ellie in a low voice, "Isn't such a low city wall a bit redundant?"
"This is an important trading post in the vicinity. Humans and elves, both overt and covert, trade here. This characteristic is the strongest feature of this city."
Yun Zhe nodded. City walls are indeed not necessarily concrete things. In Yun Zhe's world, there were indeed some cities in history that did not build city walls, but survived because of their trade status and political and religious status.
"Is it really impossible to get a Sun Ring here?"
"It's not entirely impossible, but the probability is too small. The probability is higher in big cities."
Ellie had been to this city more than once and knew it very well. Yun Zhe didn't say much, and followed Ellie to a hotel, parked the carriage, and then booked two guest rooms.
"We'll be gone for about ten days, so we need to prepare some rice, flour, water, and other necessities. We also need some dried meat and fruit, writing materials, notebooks, and a few clothes. That should be about it." Yun Zhe looked at the street scene outside the room with anticipation.
Ellie looked around the room. For the same price, this room was a whole size bigger than her own. "Shall we go buy it today? I know a night market here. It has everything and the prices are fair."
Yun Zhe shook his head. "No rush. Let's eat first, and then we'll buy some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Is there a bookstore nearby?"
Ellie's eyes widened. "You want to buy books? Books aren't cheap."
"It's alright, it's alright. Let's look around first tonight, no rush for food." Yun Zhe pulled Ellie out, but Ellie hesitated for a moment before pulling her hand away from Yun Zhe's. Yun Zhe didn't seem to think anything of it. "I heard you say that our room rate includes meals, let's experience it first."
"I suggest you don't have too high expectations, it's just hard bread and minced meat soup."
"What?!" Yun Zhe exclaimed in shock. "He charged me two silver coins for three days' room and meals?!"
Ellie rolled her eyes. "Ten copper coins a night, plus three meals a day, what more could you want?"
"Wouldn't it be even more of a loss not to eat?" Yun Zhe muttered, but eating did indeed sound unappetizing.
In reality, vampires don't find much to enjoy except for blood. While blood provides them with energy, their daily food also offers some, albeit not as direct and potent. Furthermore, the primary purpose of their meals is to maintain their human identity and avoid detection.
Yun Zhe still tried the free dinner; actually, the dry bread and broth weren't so bad. The dry bread was very hard, probably made that way for preservation. The broth was freshly made, containing not only meat but also mushrooms and some unknown vegetable tubers. It actually had some flavor.
However, Yun Zhe was not satisfied with this. He hurriedly finished the meat soup and then asked Ellie to lead the way to the night market.
The night market was three blocks away from Yun Zhe's inn. According to Ellie, it was located in the central square of Jialai City. Arriving near the night market, Yun Zhe was deeply shocked by the scene before him. Two enormous stone pillars, each thicker than a person and over two zhang tall, supported the square on either side. Presumably, there were two more identical pillars out of sight. Huge canvases were tied to the tops of the four pillars, covering the entire square. Beneath the canvases were rows of vendors selling all sorts of goods. Yun Zhe had been longing to see elves, though he hadn't seen many along the way. However, in the night market, he could see many elves gathered together selling longbows, arrows, exquisite short swords, as well as medicines and plants unique to the elven forest.
Humans sell even more things, encompassing everything from food and drink to entertainment.
Yun Zhe had money in his pocket and happened to stumble upon such a perfect night market. It would seem a bit impolite not to buy something.
However, Yun Zhe still knew the principle that it's better to keep your wealth hidden. Although he was very excited, he still carefully selected items, bargained for discounts, and looked very professional.
It was completely dark, but the night market was still brightly lit. Yun Zhe looked up and saw a pale yellow gemstone hanging in the air illuminating the entire night market, emitting a soft yet bright light.
Yun Zhe tugged at Ellie beside him and gestured towards the yellow gem.
"That's Patinite, which, through the magic of a sorcerer, can provide light at night."
"Wow, this is great! Is it expensive?"
"A raw stone costs one gold coin per kilogram, but it's hard to say if a mage wants to enchant it."
Looking around, Yun Zhe saw at least a hundred such Patin stones in the sky above the night market, and couldn't help but exclaim, "What a grand gesture! What a grand gesture!"
“It took a lot of effort to develop this market. Although the Paz family is only a baron, they are on par with marquises and viscounts. This market and this city must have contributed a lot to it,” Ellie added softly, gazing at the Patinstones with deep emotion.
"Isn't anyone eyeing this piece of fat meat?"
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