"It's a strange choice to choose to sell books here, old man. ”

The old man ignored him, and Muhathir thought that the other party had not heard him. But the other party opened his squinted eyes and exhaled a large puff of smoke before he said, "It's being used to attract guests like you who are interested in strange things." ”

"Come here, sit down. He pointed to the open space in front of the stall, "Are you here to buy the Collected Poems of Jahiliyyah, young man?"

"I'm afraid I haven't heard of any of the Jahiliyah Poems. Muhadi sat down cross-legged, "But maybe I can see your other goods." ”

Although it was well hidden, Muhathir noticed the fleeting astonishment in the old man's eyes, could he have said something wrong?

"Ah, whatever. Here are the finest books, the finest bindings, the secret books of alchemy handed down from the nascent age, the sonnets of Abu Duadi al-Iyadi hand-written, all sorts of legends, history books, and even the mysterious Asvito, which records the forbidden knowledge of antiquity!"

Muhadi didn't even look at it, he was almost ignorant of Attas's writings, and he couldn't read them.

"Why did you choose to sell books here?"

"Words and knowledge, unfortunately, also belong to a type of weapon. Especially when they are in the right hands. ”

Muhati agrees, but he doesn't even know how to write now, so it's imperative to learn how to write as quickly as possible, which is what he patronizes the bookstall for.

"If I'm going to learn Elven from now on, which book will help me the most?" Muhadi didn't even know human words, but he didn't want anyone to see that. Influenced by his education in his previous life, he thought it was a shame to be illiterate.

"I choose this one," the old man pulled from a pile of books, not thin or thick, with a lizard skin as the cover, "You need a literate master to teach you elven script, but this book can help you get started, "The Legend of Atas and the History of the Table Plain." ”

Children's enlightenment books?al-Muhati thought, but maybe it was just what he needed. "I want this one. ”

"Are you sure you don't want the Collected Poems of Jahiliyyah?" asked the old man casually before Muhati left.

I'm illiterate, of course not. The boy waved his hand and walked out of the tent.

The bazaar was still so lively, and on the way back to his quarters, an old elf in a hurry stopped him.

The old elf's name is Karim, and he is a clerical in the tribe, and he is at least ninety years old, but by the standards of the Atas elves, it is not a twilight year.

Karim was tall and thin, with sharp almond-yellow eyes and a hooked nose, and no armor on his body, only a dirty yellow-colored robe, the same color as the desert. He tied his purse with a belt under his armpit to prevent it from being stolen by thieves, and his unkempt brown head and untrimmed beard were covered with grains of sand.

Muhadi seemed to remember something, and although she was not familiar with many members of the tribe, and Fatoumah rarely introduced herself to them, she did mention that Karim was one of the few scholars in the tribe who could read and hyphenate. It is said that she planned to send herself over to help at first, but later because she was really illiterate and could make money by exchanging coins, she gave up.

"Ah, Muhadi, it's great to have met you, I have something for you to do. The old elf mysteriously stepped forward, "This matter should not be publicized, let's talk about it later." ”

It just so happened that I was going to ask you to learn the written word, Muhadi thought to himself, so he gladly agreed and followed.

Arriving at his destination, Muhadi saw that the bazar had cleared a clearing, and more than two dozen dejected-looking, empty-eyed captives were tied together in a sturdy knot, both elves and humans.

These were slaves, Muhadi realized, and when he thought of himself, he felt a sick feeling of disgust in his heart.

The old elf Karim sneakily came up and told him that he had recently captured prisoners of war. Since the current ruins, many small tribes that are not self-sufficient, and even adventurers, have started to have ghost ideas. Of course, none of them succeeded, and if they survived, they would have to be taken prisoner. And races like halflings are so rebellious that they will be killed even if they are caught.

It turned out that the old elf Karim had spent money to buy all the captives in the hands of others, and planned to hold a slave auction. "Hey, hey, hey, Tyre abolished slavery, isn't it, and now these things are gunslingers, and I'm about to make a fortune!"

Karim's triumphant claim was that he would hold the auction while Muhati hid in the crowd to inflate the price. Since the boy was human, the merchants could not see that he was in collusion with the seller. After the deed, a quarter of the income went to him.

"No one will tell you......" Mouhathir questioned cautiously.

"Who dare?!" the old man promised majestically, "and we'll slaughter that scrap afterwards to see who doesn't have long eyes." ”

Muhadi glanced at the slaves waiting to be sold, both men and women, most of them in tattered clothes, and the young man felt a little sympathy.

"I can help you, but the pay needs to be changed. Muhadi affirmed.

The old elf thought he was short of money, "That's a quarter of a gold coin, young man! When I was young, I would wake up laughing when I dreamed of so much money, wasn't it enough?"

"I only need one-sixth of the gold," Muhadi shook his head, "but you will take the time to teach me to write elven ...... later."

"That's easy to say," Karim nodded in agreement.

"Also, if the slaves here can't be sold, how about transferring them to me?" Muhadi said on the second condition.

Karim thought for a moment and agreed, "Okay, as long as it's not because you deliberately raised the price to lead the auction." ”

When the agreement was settled, Muhadi said goodbye to the old elf and left. Wait until the auction starts to change your clothes and sneak back.

At the same time, in the other corner of the bazaar.

With a hearty smile on his face, Fahd leisurely walked into the big tent that sold weapons.

He squeezed through the crowd of traders, walked straight up to the old man selling books, and crossed his legs in the noise.

"Old man, do you have any Collected Poems of Jahiliyah for sale here?" he asked, in an urban slang that was difficult for others to understand, and no one around could hear what he was saying in such a noisy environment.

The old man exhaled the smoke and, in the same language, replied, "There is only Tyr's manuscript, the last one." ”

"It's a pity, but I'll buy it. Fahd said with a smile.

When the old man saw that the code was right, he said reassuringly, "The consulship of Tyre salutes you and helps you get what you want as soon as possible." ”

"Then you'll have to send another batch of weapons here," Fahd said irrelevantly, pretending to admire the goods, "I reluctantly persuaded the chief to agree to an alliance with Tyre, but I need more resources to strengthen my voice." ”

"I'm afraid this won't work, the situation in the city is tense right now, some people are moving, some people are waiting. The old man flatly refused.

"There's only so much I can do. Fahd grinned, "But the tribe has decided to send a group of emissaries to Tyre, and how to win them over is up to the ruling council." ”

"Well, by the way, say hello to the honorable Mr. Fovard on my behalf. Fahd picked up the Collected Poems of Jahiliyah and turned to leave, but was suddenly stopped.

"You may be wondering that today you are my second guest. The old man spoke.

Although Fahd's smile never dimmed at all, something far from joyful flashed through his eyes. "Why, is anyone really interested in buying books? Tell me what he's like. ”

"It's a human, but with the insignia of your tribe. He described Muhadi's appearance.

"It's funny, it's really funny. Fahd exclaimed, "Don't worry about that person, he just happened to be." I don't really suspect that you're a spy, and you can safely go back to your life.

"So much for the best. The old man watched Fahd's figure leave, took a hookah, and muttered in a low voice.

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