Everything here looks exquisite

On the ground by the wall there was a thick blanket, on which there were some pillows for people to lie on their sides, a few small square tables were placed in front of the blankets, on the square table were a few plates of oranges, some dates and pickled olives, a few copper kettles with different drinks, a golden roasted leg of lamb was radiating heat, two beautiful maids cut the leg of lamb with a knife, these two maids saw us come in, nodded slightly, hurriedly finished the work of cutting meat, bowed their heads and retreated

The maid wore a veil and showed only a pair of beautiful eyes with a faint eyeshadow, which were the eyes of a Salander woman, brown and deep

The walls are painted with murals of the Sultan hunting, but the faces on these pictures are very sketchy, almost a flat plate, and it is said that this is because the Salanders do not like portraits, so when drawing people, they often draw very simple

There should have been a lot of people sitting around here, and now they were praying in a prayer room next to it, and I saw through the crack in the door some Salanders kneeling on the ground, some sitting in silence, their hands spread out, chanting and chanting, and a few incense burners by the wall, which were rising smoke and making people drowsy

When we waited in the hall, even the person who had gone out to greet us was no longer here, and we were all entertaining ourselves, and I was a little embarrassed to eat on the small square table, but Giovanni was not embarrassed at all

"I say, Giovanni," I said to him, "it's not good for us to do this?" ”

He tore off a piece of mutton, stuffed it into the innermost part and ate it, he looked at me, "What's wrong, aren't you hungry?" ”

"Hungry," I said to him, "but we went into someone's house, and it was not good to be too casual and the Salanders didn't hate people very much."

"Salander either doesn't let you in, as long as he lets you in, you can eat whatever he eats, and you can sleep whatever he sleeps."

"But," I thought of the records I had read about the Salanders in the Goths, "they are only to the people of Allah?" ”

Giovanni choked, and then laughed, "It turns out that Ali has always treated me as a person of Allah, hehe, do you eat or not?" ”

He tore off a piece of steaming lamb and put it on the plate in front of me and it smelled so good, the Salander must have smeared some spice on it that I didn't know about, it smelled spicy and appetizing I finally couldn't hold back my hunger and reached out to take a bite of it

As I ate, I said, "If the owner of Salander here punishes us, I won't complain at all."

"Well, may you be at peace," he said, following the example of the Salanders, "but the people here are not Salanders, they are Creelians."

I was stunned for a moment, "Is there a difference?" ”

"It's like Swadia and Rhodok, Vycchia and Valan, there's always a little bit of a difference, they don't like to be called Saran

Deren, just don't talk nonsense later."

"Yes," I nodded, "I'll just shut up."

"Yes," said Giovanni, "I have heard that you beat my housekeeper's son at a banquet."

"Yes," I honestly admitted

"You didn't shut up that time?"

"Well, yes," I said, "but your butler's son hasn't shut up either, and I have a question I've always wanted to ask you, why is your housekeeper also called Giovanni?" Did you take this name in honor of him? ”

"So to speak," Giovanni nodded, "the summer before I was born, my father went with him to collect amber in the forest, because at that time my grandfather was going to marry a wife in the forest, and those heretics saw that they were two people alone, so they went to rob them and they hid in Tibet, and only two days later they came out of the forest in blood, Uncle Giovanni's back was full of wounds, because he always walked behind, helping my father block javelins and bows and arrows" Giovanni ate another bite of mutton and drank a sip of wine, "The next winter, I was born, and my father named me Giovanni, which is considered a kind of explanation given to him by the family, you know, in the rules of the Valans, if there are two people in the family with the same name, it means that a blood alliance has been formed, do you know the blood alliance? ”

Blood Pact?

Of course, I remember that on the snowy mountains, Count Kalinin helped me sign a blood pact in a minute

I smiled bitterly, "You know, isn't it just a small contract?"

Giovanni glared for a moment, "A little contract? He licked his mouth, "Do you know the story of the Blood Alliance?" ”

"I don't know"

He wrinkled his nose, "This is the story of Valkyrie's sword, Valkyrie's sword fell in love with a hero, after this hero died in battle, Valkyrie was ordered to lead his soul, but the hero was unwilling to leave the world, Valkyrie's sword turned into a maiden, go to the hero"

I hadn't heard of this story, so I asked him curiously, "And then?" ”

"The Saber Maiden asked the hero if he wanted to return to the world, and the hero's soul flew in the sky and was pecked by the jackdaw, so she said loudly, yes, the Saber Maiden volunteered to take the place of the hero in the temple and take his place, but asked him to go to the temple in fifteen years and become her scabbard, and the hero agreed to the eternal oath, so the sword betrayed Valkyrie and went to the Hero's Temple."

"Fifteen years from now?"

"The hero has become a fat man, the wine has broken his stomach, the woman has softened his legs, the soft bed has bent his waist, the comfortable life has worn his will, he is like a coward who is afraid of death, fifteen years later, this coward disguised himself, got into a small boat and hurried away from the sea, because it was said that Valkyrie could not go to the sea to hunt for the Heroic Spirit, because it belonged to the god of the sea, but," Giovanni took a sip of wine, "The girl with the sword has memories, Her hopes have grown more and more over the course of fifteen years

Strong, but at the moment when the time limit of fifteen years came, all this hope turned into endless resentment and this sword flew out of the temple"

I'm already fascinated by the story, "Did she kill that heroic coward?" ”

"With blood and sword," said Giovanni, "Valkyrie begged the god of the sea to allow her sword to take revenge, and the god gladly allowed the sea to part like a wall, and a narrow passage followed the coward's ship, and the maiden with the sword went straight to the ship like an arrow.

"I see," I sighed, "I won't betray the alliance."

"You didn't sign a blood pact with anyone," Giovanni muttered, "what are you afraid of?"

The faces of Kaja and the old man Leo appeared in my mind, although the Count made a blood pact with them, but it was bound by me, and if I broke my oath, people would blame me in the end, after all, I was the one who was assigned to marry Kaja, and the Romanovs only had the obligation to assist me, and I shuddered: those who betrayed the alliance, blood will pay for it

"What happened to the sword?" I asked for no reason

"The Saber Maiden turned her back on Valkyrie so she couldn't return to her, and after executing the Apocalypse, she sank to the bottom of the sea, her blade turning into the coldest and toughest iron ore in the world."

"Cold iron," I blurted out

"You know quite a lot," Giovanni was about to speak, but I choked back, "That's right, cold iron, but now the damned Salanders control the mines that produce cold iron, and only sell a little bit at a high price every year, even if you make money, but not to make the enemy strong, this business is really good" Giovanni suddenly smiled, and then stood up, "My dear Ali, you are here"

The Creelians finished their prayers and chatted as they walked over, their clothes wide and soft, gently swaying around their bodies, their headscarves clean, carefully wrapped around their heads, and the two women who had just walked in front of them humbly, leading them into the lounge

Ali was a big black fat man, and I immediately thought of the traitor that Giovanni had just mentioned

"My friend" Giovanni greeted him, stretching out his hands to hug him

Ali showed a look of disgust and wariness, he took a step back and pushed the enthusiastic Giovanni away, "I heard you're going to pay it back?" Are you ready to pay me back now? Two thousand four hundred dinars and a bag of wool diamonds, I don't want interest, give me these things, Allah willing, and then you go back"

Giovanni smiled flatteringly, "Of course, of course I will return the money to you sooner or later, but not now, I am here to ask you for help"

Ali narrowed his eyes and looked at Giovanni carefully when he saw the messy leg of lamb on the small square table, and immediately started a fire, "Now you owe me two thousand four hundred dinars, a bag of wool diamonds, and a roast leg of lamb If you have money, give it to me quickly, and then get out of the way, if there is no money,

You're going to get out of here."

I was a little surprised, how could Giovanni owe so much money I read Giovanni's records, when fighting in the riverland, the total cost of the troops was more than six thousand dinars, and his men barely got anything back, only a few warehouses of cloth and grain, these things are not worth much at all, and Giovanni's barracks have only barely lost money in the last few years, and that is because the Corwin family helped him build a few pastures, and also built a few mills and wool workshops

It seems that Giovanni really can't pay back the money in a short time

"I don't have any money," Giovanni said, "and I do want to get out of here."

"Let's go," Ali waved the back of his hand, his jaws trembling slightly with excitement

"First give me two clothes to change, fill my backpack with rusks and water, lend me some money, and send me to the merchant ship in the riverlands" Giovanni made four demands in a row, "I will repay you, Ali"

Ali twitched his nose, "You've been bitten by a snake, will you still believe what the snake says?" You've been kicked by a horse, do you dare to go behind a horse? ”

"The snake can help you bite your enemies, and the horse can carry you to business and war," said Giovanni, "and take a long-term view, Ali will count the interest and I will pay you back."

"I believed your lies, and Allah threw me into the fire"

Giovanni lowered his voice and whispered something in Ali's ear, Ali's eyebrows jumped, and he looked at Giovanni carefully, and when he saw that Giovanni was not joking, he pinched his chin and began to think about it, and then, he asked Giovanni to follow him to the next room

Gradually, the Creelians sat down around me, and began to enjoy their food, and the plate of lamb in front of me was untouched, and I felt very piercing, but after a while, a maid gently took the plate away, and brought me a plate of small mushrooms drizzled with sesame oil

I listened to the Creelian conversation as I ate, and several Creelillians lit tobacco leaves and smoked shisha

I don't know how long it took, Ali looked gloomy, and Giovanni walked out with a spring breeze on his face

"Jack," Giovanni said, "get ready, we're on our way."

"Jack?" I said "I" curiously.

Giovanni deliberately let the Salanders in the darkness around him hear the name

He led me out and whispered, "This is your name in Riverlands, and no one knows that name Jack there."

I was ready to object, but Ali had led us into a stable, where we were put into a carriage

Along the way, a couple of vicious Crelian merchants sat beside us, none of us spoke to each other, we stopped by a drinking fountain, Ali's men dressed us up as bread merchants, and we continued on our way

The pier was covered with dirty snow and crowds, with a mess of vendors selling amulets, fake liquor and ointments, and children and wild dogs playing in the mud

The stones froze cold, and the water surged slowly, as if it could no longer bear its own weight

Two large ships were slowly floating, one Salander-type and the other Vekia-like

People say that there are a lot of boats in Xiaodonghu City, but I didn't see it, the dock is empty, maybe the fleet has gone somewhere else

We waited patiently for the merchant ships, and Ali said to Giovanni that these two ships were the last ships, and that there would never be a ship out of the port again, and there would not be a single sampan Giovanni smiled sarcastically, but did not answer

After an hour, the first ship slowly departed port, and the other was also loaded, ready to go on board the warm winter sun, I was a little tired, I yawned, and some tears came out of my eyes, and when I wiped away my tears, and the world became clear again, I shuddered with fear: Tuke was more than forty yards in front of me, and he checked each one of them, lifting their cloaks, pinching their chins, and looking at their faces

Giovanni was still chatting with Ali, unaware of the danger approaching and I couldn't speak, I reached out and patted Giovanni, Giovanni looked at me curiously, and then followed my gaze, he saw Tuk

Giovanni instantly bowed his head and whispered something to Ali, and then Giovanni and I walked towards the depths of the crowd, and the second ship rang the boarding bell, and people rushed towards it

I looked back a little, and now Tuk's gaze swept around, and then, he stared in my direction in the crowd, frowning, and I was so frightened that I quickly turned around, I didn't know if he saw me, and Giovanni and I squeezed forward, causing a commotion, and the people around me cursed, and my heart was pounding

I turned around again, my legs were almost numb, Tuke was less than ten yards behind me, he was walking after him, he hadn't seen me yet, but he had already sensed something, a peddler was pestering Tuke, asking him to buy a small hammer, Tuke pushed him away, I pushed away the people around me, I just wanted to go quickly, someone was already on deck, the sailors would not let people go to check the ship casually, we would be safe when we went up

I put on my cloak, trembling and Giovanni and I were separated, but I could see him, he was hunched over and pretending to be a hunchback behind me, and Tuke was checking one man's cloak after another

The voices of people's dissatisfaction came again and again, Tuke's hand reached to my face, my heart tightened, but he pulled the cloak of the person next to him, it was a small man with an oily face, the little man turned around and scolded dissatisfiedly, the people around him surged, crowded around, the little man entangled Tuke, I was squeezed to the front

I listened to the scolding behind me, my legs went limp, I crossed one person, and then another, and I felt that the distance between me and Tuk was getting farther and farther away, and we spent more than half an hour in fear, and I kept praying, hoping not to be seen

As the boarding board got closer and closer, Giovanni glanced back at me and nodded

He was waiting for me on the edge of the board, and as I walked over, he pushed me onto the board and stepped on the boat, and I felt a sense of relief, and I turned back to Giovanni and was ready to say, 'We've finally escaped'

But as soon as I turned around, I saw that Tuke was already in front of me, and he saw me at a glance, and he shouted, "Bastard, I'm going to skin you," and he held out his hand

I was so frightened that I fell backwards and fell to the ground, and the people on the deck looked curiously below, and Tuck also saw Giovanni, and reached out to hit him, but Giovanni hunched his waist and dodged, and at the same time, Giovanni slapped a Creelian man's turban in front of him, and the Creelian man's eyes widened, and he turned back to see who was beating him, and then, the Creelian saw Tuk with teeth and claws

"How do you hit someone," the Creelian said angrily, I suddenly appeared, this Creelian is Ali

"It's not me, you're blind, it's someone else, he's stealing, he's a thief, you idiot," Tuke scolded incoherently

Giovanni jumped on board

Crowded around on the dock, several Creelians surrounded him, pulling Tuke and not letting go, "How are you beating people?" "Did you steal?" "You bastard"

Tuke was squeezed into the middle of the crowd, crowded with countless vendors and thieves, and the crowd of people seeing him off

The captain began to check the roster against the people who boarded the ship, and the captain was already surprised by what was going on on the dock

The sailors raised their sails, the pulp stretched out, the sailors blew their trumpets, and the men on the dock scattered backwards, wrapped in a tuke, like a flood carrying away a leaf

Six sailors pushed the ship ashore with long slurry against the stone piles on the side of the pier

Tuke poked his head out of the crowd one last time, yelled at him, and he was dragged into the crowd again

I turned pale with fright and asked Giovanni, "Giovanni, are you sure this is the last ship?" ”

"Sure," Giovanni said, "don't call me Giovanni, call me Tom".