I didn't intend to be a Fairy

The earth-yellow stone building looks like it is covered with a thick layer of sand, but it is decorated with exquisite patterns. There are a series of windows, and most of the windowsills are filled with potted plants and green plants. The lush ones are even covered with grass. They hang from the round arch at the bottom, or hang down to the ground. Some flowers happen to be blooming at this time, while others are not taken care of properly and are almost dry to death.

There were people playing at the city gate, and the tunes of the instruments were different from Dayan's, and they sounded quite strange.

Others were dancing to the music, including men and women, old men with gray beards, and children of a few years old. When they were tired, they walked to the side to rest, and people continued to join in.

There are no Western dancers with graceful figures and only a few pieces of gauze on their bodies as Song You imagined. Everyone dances very casually, and no one throws money. Obviously, what is here is not a professional performance, but just entertainment that people gather spontaneously. , because of this, it has a different kind of natural feeling.

Probably it’s the local cultural customs.

This was the first impressive scene Song You saw when he came here.

It took him a long time to look back and look behind him.

The streets in Yucheng are not spacious. They are similar to some prefectures and counties in Dayan. They are far worse than Changjing, and they are far less powerful than the dozens of feet wide sky street between the east and west cities of Changjing. The city streets are not properly managed. The shops on both sides occupy the width of the street. There are many merchants leading camels in the middle, making the streets particularly crowded.

A girl stood opposite, holding money for shopping.

Compared with the business travelers coming and going, as well as those tall camels, the girl looked extremely petite, and her obviously oriental face and extraordinarily delicate appearance were a bit out of place here.

Waves of smoke came with the aroma of meat.

“I want two skewers of roasted lamb!

"Roast lamb!

"Roast lamb!

"That's it! The one strung with wood!

"two!

"two!

"How much?

"How much?"

The vendor obviously didn't understand what the girl was saying, but the girl had a serious face and kept repeating and slowing down her speech, as if she thought the other party would understand if she spoke slower.

The merchant's expression became more and more stunned.

Girls are becoming more and more serious.

Fortunately, the gestures were universal and both of them were very patient.

Dayan currency is also commonly used here and is the most important currency in the Western Regions.

After a while——

The little girl and the Taoist were sitting on a stone on the side of the street. The long stone was just right for their buttocks. Each of them held a skewer of barbecue in their hands. It was a big skewer strung with red willow branches.

"People here don't understand." The little girl said while eating meat skewers.

"They have their language."

"We should let them all speak the same thing, what Empress Sanhua would say."

"Maybe in the future."

"..."

The little girl licked the meat from the tree branch.

It's fresh lamb, freshly cut into large chunks, grilled on skewers and sprinkled with simple spices and salt. It's delicious and cheap.

Sanhua Empress ate without forgetting the swallows, so she stretched out her hand to tear off a small piece from the branch and fed it to the swallows.

When the swallow finished eating, she took off a piece of meat with her hands and tried to pass it to the horse, but her hands were stretched out. Thinking something was wrong, she retracted her hands and stuffed it back into her mouth, muttering at the same time:

"Forgot you can't eat this, this is mutton, and a sheep is a horse that hasn't grown up."

"A sheep is a sheep, and a horse is a horse." Song You corrected from the side, "Don't confuse empress Sanhua."

"Empress Sanhua knows that Empress Sanhua lied to Ma'er."

"The horse is still listening."

"right……"

The girl looked at the horse, but her mouth movements didn't stop.

The two of them sat on the side of the street, eating meat skewers while looking up at the business travelers in front of them. They also watched the endless dancing in the open space opposite, experiencing the prosperity and style of this first city in the Western Regions - even though they were visiting A completely unfamiliar place, and even the language is unknown, but even Sanhua Empress does not feel uncomfortable at all, as if this is just an ordinary mountain road, just any other state, county, or county they have traveled through for so many years. , neither panicking about where to stay tonight, nor rushing forward, only a normal and indifferent heart to watch this world.

If your mind is normal, your vision will be different.

The style of the Western Regions was presented to them from every detail they saw, including the music floating at the moment, the spinning dance of men, women and children in front of them, the smell of roast mutton floating in the air, and the pointed heads raised by pedestrians on the roadside as they passed by. The patterns on the shoes and the raised corners of clothes even include the stronger body odor of pedestrians, the chaotic streets, and the slimmer and slender earth-colored cats on the street.

"Okay, okay, okay..."

Sanhua Empress finally finished eating the skewers in her hand, leaving only a wooden branch in her hand. She smashed it into her mouth and tasted the aftertaste in her mouth, while staring at the wooden branch carefully.

"Why do people here use these sticks to grill their barbecue? It's the same in Changjing."

"Because there are red willow trees growing everywhere here, it is more convenient to use local materials, and grilling them with red willow branches can also add a bit of the fragrance of red willow." Song You also took the last bite, "Changjing West Market The barbecue I learned from here, and sells an exotic style."

"Fragrance?"

Sanhua Empress said doubtfully, she got close to the tree branch and smelled it twice. Thinking about it again, she seemed to have tasted a bit of the aroma of wood just now.

"brush……"

The Taoist threw away the stick and stood up to leave.

"!"

The girl ran out without hesitation and caught the branch before it hit the ground.

"Miss Sanhua, this is..."

"Keep it! Don't throw it away!"

"Why keep it?"

"This stick is fine, it hasn't been burned yet. Sanhua Empress can still use it for baking tonight!" Sanhua Empress held two wooden branches, looked up, and picked two leaves from the tree above her head. , wiped away the charred black remaining on her willow branch and the minced meat remaining on Song You's willow branch, "I want to taste the fragrance too!"

"..."

Song You thought she cared about keeping the streets clean.

After all, he overestimated her.

The Taoist shook his head, stepped forward, and walked into the crowd.

The bay horse and the girl quickly followed.

"where are we going?"

"Find a place to stay."

"How to find it? No one here can understand what we are saying. Sanhua Empress almost didn't buy mutton when she bought it."

"Miss Sanhua, please be careful."

"Miss Sanhua is very careful!"

"Then please, Lady Sanhua, observe carefully and think carefully."

"Miss Sanhua is very careful!"

"Although this is the Western Region, it is the Jade Kingdom, and it is also one of Dayan's territories." Song You said as he walked, turning to look at her very patiently, "Since Sanhua Empress said she was very careful, I wonder if Sanhua Empress has noticed it. ? Many of the businessmen walking on the road are from Dayan."

"Well!"

It seemed that Empress Sanhua didn't notice.

"It seems that Empress Sanhua has noticed it." Song You smiled slightly, "then Empress Sanhua, think about it, where will they stay at night?"

"knew!"

"Ms. Sanhua is really careful."

"We follow them. Where they live, the people selling the shops will definitely tell us what we have to say. Even if the people selling the shops don't, they can still say it for us!"

"Miss Sanhua is not only careful, but also very smart."

"This man looks like a Dayan man!"

Empress Sanhua held a red willow branch in her hand and raised her head to stare at the businessmen walking in front of her.

"Yes."

Regardless of their appearance or clothing, these people were all obviously from Dayan, and after hearing Empress Sanhua's words, they turned their heads and looked at the Taoist and his party. However, they seemed to have just arrived in Yucheng, and they still retained the habit of not speaking during the business trip. As usual, he just showed a look of doubt and didn't ask.

"We follow them!"

Sanhua Empress took the lead and followed.

"I will follow Empress Sanhua."

Song You sounded respectful and followed her.

Several businessmen turned back frequently to look at them.

Fortunately, the combination of a Taoist and a girl is naturally close to people and does not easily make people feel threatened. In addition, the girl is far away in the Western Regions and speaks Dayan dialect. There is more novelty in the eyes of several businessmen - it seems that there are very few I saw people wearing robes here.

Finally someone couldn't help but ask:

"Where are you going?"

The accent sounds like the accent from around Changjing.

He said it while looking at the Taoist.

However, when the Taoist heard this, he just smiled slightly and then cast his eyes towards the girl.

The group of businessmen couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

It seemed like the girl was the one making the decision.

Even Empress Sanhua herself was stunned for a moment. She turned to look at the group of businessmen, then looked back at her Taoist priest. She met the gazes of both parties and was stunned for a moment before she opened her mouth to explain:

"We just arrived here. The people here couldn't understand what we said, and we couldn't understand what they said. We didn't know where to live. Seeing that you are from Dayan, you must be looking for a place to live, so we said to follow If you go, you will definitely find a place to live.”

The businessman smiled when he heard this, but still cherished words like gold.

Although Jade City is the largest city in the Western Region, it is actually not that big. It is not as big as Yidu, Yangdu, or Changjing. The group of people followed them through the city and soon reached their destination.

It's a carriage shop west of Yucheng.

It is still the architectural style of Yucheng, an earth-yellow stone building, but there is a large yard in front, with a grape trellis set up in the yard. The grapes are growing very well and are almost ripe. Behind the store, there is another place near the Yucheng River. There is a large open space where people can park their carriages and horses, and there is also a special warehouse for merchants to store their goods.

This is a hotel specially prepared for businessmen.

The shop owner was a broad-shouldered Westerner, and his accent was similar to that of the Westerners Song You met in Changjing West Market or Xicheng Tea House. He was very forthright and liked to have physical contact with people.

Song You followed this group of businessmen and watched them talking to the shopkeeper to ask for a room. He obviously knew them before. After they settled in, he hurriedly stepped forward.

"I wonder if there are any vacancies?"

"Who are you……"

The shopkeeper couldn't help but look at him after hearing this, especially at the bulging luggage on the horse behind him and the girl beside him: "You are here to do business too?"

"We came here for a visit and wanted to find a place to stay."

"We only accommodate businessmen here."

"Why?"

Song You couldn't help but be a little confused.

At this moment, the Dayan businessman who had just walked back stopped in the middle of the aisle, turned around and said: "This is our Taoist from Dayan, a master of Taoism. He has real ability and magic power. Don't care about it, just let him be there." You just need to stay here for a few days, and maybe you can ask the gods to bless your business."

After hearing this, the shopkeeper hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

Song You was given an innermost room, which was a little inconvenient for merchants, but very quiet for Taoists. The price was still the same as that of these merchants, except that it did not count the cost of renting the warehouse. It was cheaper than Song You and Sanhua Empress. It was much cheaper as expected.

However, this store is mainly for short-term rentals. No matter what, the owner is only willing to let Song You stay here for five days.

So he put the horse in the backyard, and promised the owner that it would not run around or hurt anyone. He would give it fodder every day, and then he took his luggage and went to his room.

The room was very empty, with only a bed and a long, low wooden table. There was a cloth blanket beside the table for people to sit on. There was nothing else. In addition, it was a stone building with very high windows, which was inexplicable. It gives people a somewhat deserted feeling, cooler than wooden buildings.

Song You lived here.

When I went for a walk in the evening, I met the group of businessmen again.

The businessman who spoke for him earlier was named Xie. After talking with him, he found out that this carriage and horse shop specializes in the business of merchants, and even transactions are often conducted in the shop.

"Although money cast by Dayan is used here, and gold and silver are also commonly used, we usually don't exchange goods for money here. If we exchange money, we can't bring it back. We also have to buy spices, which is very troublesome. We just We need to bring silk porcelain here, and when we get here, local businessmen will naturally come to us and exchange spices or other rare things with us. We can bring these back to the east and it will be money."

The businessman surnamed Xie paused as he spoke: "Didn't you notice, sir? It's much cheaper to stay here than elsewhere, because whenever a Hu businessman makes a business here, he will be given money, so he tried his best to We can try to get more Dayan businessmen to live here."

"I see."

After hearing this, Song You couldn't help but salute: "First you spoke for us, and now you've solved our doubts and made us gain knowledge. I really should thank you."

"Master Taoist, you're welcome."

After the group of businessmen settled down, washed their faces and drank water, they seemed to talk a lot more.

Song You wandered with them in the courtyard, walking under the grape trellis, chatting about the Western Regions and Jade City, and also listened to them talk about the sandbank and the drought in the area bordering the Western Region and the sandbank, as well as the mysterious appearance at the foot of Huayan Mountain. The dripping spring and the strange things around Jade City.

"Sir, it's late at night. The Western Region is not as good as Changjing. There is a curfew here, and there are often strange things happening at night. You have to sleep well in your room, so you should go back to your room."

"What's weird?"

"There are too many to talk about. Some of them are similar to the stories about monsters and ghosts over there, and some are even weirder. In short, just stay in the room and close the doors and windows. I heard something at night. Don't open the door casually if there is any movement." The businessman named Xie paused and grinned, "Of course, if you are really capable, sir, you won't listen to me."

"Thank you so much, sir."

"please."

"please."

The two slowly walked back to the room.