Hayek, riding a majestic black horse, passed through the city gates, and because of the conspicuous sword and shield family crest on the armband and Aldrich's heroic and handsome appearance, the city guards, who collected the city's security fee, the suspension bridge toll, the public environment cleaning fee, and the municipal construction material fee, concluded that the young knight must be a nobleman, so he did not dare to show undignified behavior.

The young knight, who had been educated, nodded secretly when he saw the red ribbon on the paperwork, and looked through it at a glance, and saw the brownish-red fire paint seal with the indentation of the Earl of Eastwood's cedar seal, especially a few secret marks that were difficult to imitate, so he sighed, took out a fine linen money bag from his bosom, reached out and grabbed a silver delley, and handed it to the dutiful city guard.

There was no sign of use of the new shiny silver coin, and the young man named Eker had wanted to examine it in person, but considering that the opposite was a nobleman, and he was a knight of military merit with superior force. Elk believed that Aldrich would not use fake coins, so he put away the official documents and stored them carefully, and put the silver delle in the cash box, indicating that he could enter the city.

Aldrich shook his head slightly, but stretched out his hand to the city guard: "Sir, have you forgotten something?"

Elk spread his hands without the slightest clue: "Honorable knight, I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Let me remind you that according to Article 16 of the Regulations on the Administration of Military Horses, horses entering the city need to be accompanied by a large enough horse manure bag, and since I have paid the public environment cleaning fee, this cloth bag should not be taken out by me. By the way, there is one more point, after the sum of the four taxes and fees, there is less than one silver dela, and you should get back my fourteen copper fennigs. ”

'The nobleman's mind is good!' Elke, the city guard, counted a handful of copper coins and put them in the young knight's hand, and before he could begin to look for the horse manure bag, his comrades who were watching the bustle nearby handed Aldrich a long cloth bag the thickness of an arm.

Ignoring the faint dust accumulated on the horse manure bag, the knight tied it to the tail of the black horse, and the spiritual Hayek silently raised the horse's tail to cooperate, a scene that made the people lining up into the city exclaim in surprise.

The black horse lifted its neck, Herod neighed merrily, Aldrich shook his head amusedly, tightened the rope of the purse and fastened it around his waist, and instead of turning over and straddle the horse, he held the reins and entered Eastwood through the specially opened passage of the side door.

After ten steps of the road, this new city wrapped tightly by a thousand steps of walls seems to be unveiled to reveal the chin of the crescent, and the young knight is only a corner of Eastwood City, and the continuous traffic in front of the merchant shops has opened the eyes of Aldrich, a country knight who has just left the manor.

His surprised face was fleeting, and he quickly gained a calm state of mind, and walked calmly: "Leaving the Knight of Tris and choosing to enter this new city, what you see and hear is indeed worth the trip, but it is still quite far from what you have witnessed in the long dream. ’

I think of the fragmented dream fragments, the city that never sleeps, the ubiquitous bright lights illuminating every dark corner, the light gray clouds from time to time with huge iron birds flying in the sky, the looming figures in the gaps in the clouds from time to time, and the three-dimensional labyrinth-like rocky forest, and the beetle-like iron pieces wriggling along.

Feeling a little pain in his head, Aldrich rubbed his fingers against the corners of his forehead vigorously for about thirty strokes before the pain was expelled, and he stopped thinking and remembering again, so that his body returned to normal.

In the gloomy alley, a few half-sized children stared at the fools who had their money exposed, and couldn't help but lick their lips, they were peripheral members of the Dagger and Cloak Guild in Eastwood City, and to put it mildly, they were green forest heroes who robbed the rich and helped the poor, and they were usually traders who ran a business without money and profits, but in essence they were a group of thieves, thieves, and goldfingers.

As he is well versed in all the streets of the city, he will occasionally make a cameo appearance as a guide for outsiders and tourists, leading these strange faces to visit and engage in business activities in Eastwood City, which is like a mother.

This kind of money comes from a legitimate way, but the income is too thin, and the amount depends on whether the object of service is generous or conscience, and occasionally finds that the cycle is long and the return is low, not to mention that the stingy guest gives more work, then he will have to break his leg, so most of them are still doing their old jobs.

A young man who was clearly the leader curled his tongue over the roof of his mouth, opened his mouth to reveal a thin blade with long knuckles, raised his head and yawned, took the opportunity to press it under his tongue, and spoke eloquently to distribute the manpower: "Done! The target is a lonely fat sheep, but try to be careful, the other party is likely to be a knight, not one of the lords of the town hall who can't ride a horse with soft feet, do you understand?"

"Understood, head!" the three ruddy-faced half-sized sons nodded vigorously.

Everyone has only cooperated with each other for more than half a year, and the golden fingers on the periphery of the dagger and cloak union have been cut by the gray guys, but this team has survived tenaciously, and later became the backbone of the lair. In addition to luck, there is also the foreman's gold-fingered Videske's unique vision, who knows who can start, who can't even touch it, and is familiar with the pattern of every street and alley in the city, and even knows the sudden municipal construction and private building expansion and renovation well, so as to avoid the possible inescapable death.

Leaving the crowded commercial streets, Aldrich led the dark horse to the edge of the sparsely populated streets, and even through the dark alleys. Compared with the clean and dry roads outside, the alleys were full of dark green moss in the corners, low-lying shallow pits, gray-black mud, rancid domestic sewage, and a strange smell that almost suffocated the young knight, and he could only force himself to walk on the higher ground as much as possible, but his legs and feet inevitably scratched suspicious filth, which gave Aldrich some headaches.

When he faced a ten-step ankle-deep waterway, he moved his eyes to the dark horse, and Hayek, who no longer wanted to endure the strange torment, stared back viciously, and the eyes of the two sides collided, as if sparks of danger were sparked.

"Forget it, isn't there another way?" Aldrich didn't want to make his partner suffer, so he turned and led it away.

At this moment, the long-awaited Goldfinger Videske hurried by, his left foot hooked the young knight's right leg, and his body suddenly lost its center of gravity and fell forward, his mouth let out a panicked cry, and his hands were spread out like a big spider trying to grasp something.

A strong arm probed into the chest of the young man who was about to fall into the water from an incredible angle, completely bearing the momentum of the whole person, not to mention, and pulling him back into place after losing his balance.

"Why are you so careless, walking with your head down, are you okay?" Aldrich looked at the teenager who was huddled on top of him due to nervousness, and gently patted him on the shoulder to soothe the overly agitated mood.

In a short moment, Videske, who had hidden the blade between his fingers and cut the tether, had quietly taken the money bag in his hand, and with ease as if he had plucked a fruit, he immediately stood up, bowed and thanked him, and left the alley backwards.

What a polite, well-bred child! The people of the city are different, and the little fellows of the manor, though respectful, are due to me as their lord. Aldrich felt a little strange as he watched the boy leave, hurrying away, and seemed to sense that something was wrong.

The black horse, who had seen everything in his eyes, bowed his head and gently arched the young knight, only to be comforted by Aldrich's gentle touch.

Hayek snorted loudly, and a slightly grassy heat blew across his waist, and the young knight suddenly understood everything.

Aldrich looked at the dark horse with his eyes, reached out and stroked the money bag he tied to his belt, and cried and laughed: "Hayek, do you think I'm stupid, I was teased by a thirteen or fourteen-year-old guy." ”

The dark horse raised his head and remained silent, looking left and right, clearly expressing his disdain.

"Forget it, it's just fourteen coppers, and it's a gift. That boy dared to offend me, there must be his troubles, maybe there is no money to eat, I have long known that the daily expenses in Eastwood City are high......"

After babbling through the ankle-deep waterways, the young knight took out another money bag from his bosom, put it in his hand and weighed it, and fell heavily into his hand.

"There must be darkness in a prosperous place!I don't need the wisdom I get from dreams, I know from people's hearts alone that there will be twists and turns in this journey into the city, but I didn't expect it to come so quickly. ”

Aldrich paused abruptly and turned slowly, "As a knight of virtue, I must not indulge in evil deeds, even if it is only a small theft. ”