() A key with a copper ring on it, a small cloth bag with a bound mouth, and three tied scrolls lay quietly at the bottom of the box.

"This bag contains ......" Xiao Tianhe untied the rope at the mouth, "Ah, money?" The corner of the gold ingot was revealed at the mouth of the bag, which shimmered in the sunlight. There were not only gold ingots in the bag, but also a stack of silver tickets.

"It's only one thousand taels of silver tickets, this Ximen family is really stingy!" Nangong Ting shook his head again and again, "I heard that the last Dongfang Family's magic treasure conference gave guests five thousand taels of silver tickets!"

"Brother Ting, don't forget that we are on someone else's territory now, don't be so open-mouthed. Besides, where do demon cultivators use so much money?" Nangong Xue said angrily, and then proposed to Xiao Tianhe, "Brother Xiao, let's go to the room and put down our things, and then go out for a walk together, how about it?"

"Good. Xiao Tianhe took out the key from the box, glanced at the three scrolls again, and closed the lid. Now that there are people coming and going in the courtyard, it is better to go to the room and study it quietly.

The trio walked around the main hall and into the backyard. At the gate of the courtyard stood several servants in order, and when they saw the three men, one of them came forward to salute respectfully and lead the way. The group walked through the courtyard for a long time and came to an attic.

This loft is built on the lake, with a large half of the ground floor overhanging the water, and a verandah leading to a pavilion in the middle of the lake. The lake is artificially excavated, the scenery is beautiful, the lake water is clear, and you can see the fish playing in the water. The lotus leaves in the center of the lake are dense, and the weeping willows along the shore are still clinging, which is indeed a quiet and peaceful place.

It's a pity that the comfortable tranquility was broken by a harsh voice: "Yo, this is not Sister Xue and Brother Ting, heh, even the slave with the surname is here!"

Nangong Hui walked down the stairs with a fishing rod on his shoulder, and stood in the corridor with a smile and looked down at the three people under the steps.

Next to him stood a man in Tsing Yi, with a thin figure, long hair and sideburns, and a grim expression, silently watching Xiao Tianhe.

Nangong Xue and Nangong Ting stepped forward together and saluted: "I've seen my brother." ”

"Big brother, he was the one who cut off my magic knife that day!" Nangong Hui pointed at Xiao Tianhe and said to the man in Tsing Yi.

"Shut up!" The man in Tsing Yi scolded Nangong Hui and nodded at Xiao Tianhe, "May I ask what realm you are?"

"The early stage of the cave. Xiao Tianhe replied calmly.

"Good. A smile rose at the corner of the man's mouth, "My name is Nangong Xi, and I am looking forward to meeting you at the Nangong Family's Demon Treasure Conference." Brother Hui, I'm suddenly out of interest, you can go fishing by yourself. After Nangong Xi finished speaking, he turned around and went upstairs.

"Hey, big brother......" Nangong Hui hurriedly shouted, but Nangong Xi didn't look back.

"Listen to that foreign slave, my brother Xi is a genius of demon cultivation, you'd better pray not to meet him at the Demon Treasure Conference, otherwise you will be good-looking...... You, what are you going to do?" Nangong Hui, who was talking a lot, saw Xiao Tianhe walking up the steps with an expressionless face, quite nervous, and moved back a little bit.

Xiao Tianhe glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, ignored him, and continued to walk upstairs.

Nangong Hui breathed a sigh of relief, and after thinking about it carefully, no matter how bold Xiao Tianhe was, he didn't dare to make a move here at will, so he continued to sneer: "Haha, the foreign surname is a slave, oh, no, you are just a dog of my Nangong family, and you don't dare to be rampant here......"

When Nangong Hui was proud, suddenly there was a flower in front of him, Xiao Tianhe had already rushed to the front and grabbed his neck tightly: "If you dare to scold one more word, I will cut off your tongue and feed it to the fish, do you believe it or not?" After speaking, Xiao Tianhe pushed him back hard, snorted coldly, and went upstairs.

There were already a few red marks on Nangong Hui's neck, and he rubbed his neck while cursing Xiao Tianhe viciously in his heart.

Nangong Xue glanced at him with disdain: "It's really a dog that can't spit out ivory in his mouth." ”

Nangong Ting put on a sympathetic face, shook his head again and again and sighed: "Alas, it is even more difficult to make beasts speak human words than to ascend to the sky!"

Nangong Hui didn't dare to attack, seeing that the three of them had gone upstairs, he was indignant in his heart, knocked the fishing rod in his hand on his knee twice, and walked away angrily.

"The tenth room on the west side of the third floor of Wanghu Pavilion. Xiao Tianhe looked at the bronze plaque on the key ring, which had such a row of small characters written on it.

The staircase is in the middle of the attic, and there is a row of rooms on the left and right. The corridor extends to the east and turns south, connecting to a long aerial rope bridge that rises above the lake and leads to the attic on the other side of the lake.

Go up to the third floor and turn left, and there is a wooden sign on the door of each room with the name of the guest written on it.

Nangong Jean, Nangong Li, Nangong Xin, Nangong Li, Nangong Rong...... Among the many names, the children of the Nangong family account for the vast majority, and in the first ten rooms on the west side of the third floor, there are only two people with foreign surnames except for Xiao Tianhe. Nangong Xue and Nangong Ting's room is next door to Xiao Tianhe, the ninth and eighth rooms.

Xiao Tianhe pushed open the door, and his eyes suddenly opened, the room was very spacious, with round tables, screens, beds, curtains, dressing tables, wardrobes, bookshelves, and carpets, and its decoration was as luxurious as possible. The candlelight on the wall is shining, the fragrance of flowers on the shelf is faint, the tea rhyme on the table is long, and the sandalwood smoke curls on a few days, which is as rich as a rich mansion, as if the emperor is as grand as a bedroom.

"A huge room,

But it is not a place to live for a long time.

Just ask for a few windows,

Don't ask for luxury and wealth.

The resting place of the house,

Why bother more.

My heart is quiet,

There is no wave in the ancient well.

Such a luxurious room makes me look rustic. It really doesn't have to be this way to rest in a resting place. If a demon cultivator pursues enjoyment, won't he fall into mediocrity

The vulgar grass hut can also be cultivated, not to mention that many masters travel all over the world, and only a remote cave is enough. Xiao Tianhe thought to himself.

After placing the package on top of the square table, Xiao Tianhe immediately opened the small box, he was very curious about the three scrolls.

The scroll was sealed with wax drops and tied with red thread. Xiao Tianhe unraveled the first one.

"Oh, it turned out to be a detailed plan of Nangong Yuan. ”

I don't know if I don't see it, I really scared Xiao Tianhe when I saw it, it turned out that Nangong Yuan covered such a wide area.

Jieyue Mountain, Siyuan Mountain, Liuyun Mountain, Dongming Mountain, one each in the east, west, north and south. The name is "mountain", but it is actually "mound", which is made of artificial soil, and is only a few stories high.

Fubo Lake, Biquan Lake, Sihai Lake, Chunxi Lake, Evening Wind Lake...... At a cursory glance, there are more than a dozen large and small lakes, which are also artificially excavated.

Pavilions and buildings are dotted around, and the forest garden bridges and ponds are densely packed.

"Such a big place is for hundreds of people in the Nangong family, but this 'Wanghu Pavilion' alone can accommodate dozens of people!" Xiao Tianhe took a closer look with questions, he didn't pay attention to it just now, in fact, the other three places on the map were written with the words "Dongfang Garden", "Beitang Garden", and "Ximen Garden". "The people of the four major families live here...... Oh, there is a door on each of the four walls, and the middle is separated by a wall, so it is. Xiao Tianhe smiled and closed the scroll.

The second scroll is a map of the city of Sealand. Among them, restaurants, gambling houses, brothels, baths, markets and other lively places are marked one by one. "These are places to have fun, places to spend money and distribute money, and the Simon family is quite good at making money. Xiao Tianhe was not interested in these, and closed the scroll with a slight sweep.

Unfolding the third scroll is the detailed schedule of the Simon Family Magic Treasure Conference. The earliest race started three days later, and the end date of the tournament was three months away. "Tsk, it's going to take so long! If the other three major families' magic treasure conferences are the same, wouldn't it take a year?" Xiao Tianhe shook his head again and again, the time for cultivating demons is precious, how could a diligent person spend a year watching other people's competitions?

Xiao Tianhe put the scroll, closed the small box, and came to the round table to pour a cup of tea. As soon as I took a sip, I heard Nangong Xue knocking lightly on the door outside: "Brother Xiao." ”

Xiao Tianhe opened the door, only to see that Nangong Xue had changed out of the red robe that symbolized the children of the Nangong family, put on a set of simple and light clothes, pulled out the hairpin, and tied it with a hairband instead.

Nangong Xue leaned against the door frame and said with a smile: "Brother Xiao, don't be in a hurry to taste tea, let's go out for a walk." Sealand City is very big, and there are a lot of interesting things. ”

Xiao Tianhe looked out of the door, but didn't see the figure of Nangong Ting, who likes to be lively: "Where is Brother Ting?"

"Hey, put down his things and go to his friends. For such a grand event, his friends must have come, probably going to Dongfang Yuan. ”。

"Brother Ting still has friends in the Dongfang family?" Xiao Tianhe was a little surprised, he remembered that the Dongfang family and the Beitang family were allies, and it was only right that they were not in agreement with the Nangong family.

Nangong Xue smiled: "Brother Ting is open-minded and sincere, and he often sneaks out, but he has made a lot of friends in the rivers and lakes. In fact, there are some people in the four major families who are not so conformist, and they will put aside their family status when they get along with others and make friends with their hearts. Having said that, if it weren't for Brother Ting's personality, how could he know Brother Xiao?"

"That's right. If he had spoken to me with the pride of a large family, I would have ignored him. Let's go. ”

Every room along the way was closed, and it was unknown if there was anyone in it.

Out of Nangong Garden, the two went in the direction of the downtown area. The wide roads of Sealand City are full of small stalls on both sides, selling miscellaneous goods for eating, drinking and having fun, Nangong Xue is like a cheerful bird, look here, look there. Xiao Tianhe looked at her lively back, touching the vague memories in his heart, thinking that when he was in Hanzhou City in Youlong County and Fuzhou City in Qianlong County, there was such a happy figure around him...... His thoughts extended to this, and Xiao Tianhe couldn't help but miss his old friend: "Xiaomin, are you okay......" He lowered his head and muttered to himself.

"Hey!" someone suddenly stood in front of Xiao Tianhe, and when he came back to his senses, it was Nangong Xue.

"I said, Brother Xiao, you were distracted, could it be ...... just now Which girl are you missing?" Nangong Xue bent over and smiled.

"Hey, no, I just remembered some of the past. These things are all rare things in the girl's house, you can go shopping by yourself first, I'll look elsewhere......"

Nangong Xue didn't wait for Xiao Tianhe to finish speaking, and then preemptively said: "It doesn't matter if you don't look at these things, I'll go with you." ”

Xiao Tianhe politely refused: "No, I'll go back after a little shopping." ”

Nangong Xue's expression was a little lost, and she asked in a low voice, "Brother Xiao, are you going to ...... Strange place?"

"Strange place?" Xiao Tianhe was stunned for a moment, and when he saw Nangong Xue blushing with shame, he suddenly realized and laughed, "Hahe, Sister Xue, who do you think of Brother Xiao as? I just want to think about something alone, and I am not interested in those Fengyue places at all." ”

"Hmm. Nangong Xue smiled embarrassedly, "Don't get lost." ”

"Rest assured. Xiao Tianhe waved his hand and turned out of downtown Avenue along an alley.

After stepping onto another big road, Xiao Tianhe raised his eyes to look south, and finally his eyes fell on a hazy building in the distance: "It should be there." ”

Walked along the way

After a long time, the outline of the building gradually became clear, and it was a majestic hall. Xiao Tianhe quickened his pace. When he was browsing the map of Sealand before, there was a mark that left a slight impression on him: "Sifang Palace". This is followed by a note that reads: "Where Demon Cultivation Items Are Traded". While strolling around the downtown just now, he suddenly remembered this comment, the words "demon cultivation items" cover a wide range, and maybe someone will sell red stones.

Stepping into the square hall, Xiao Tianhe did not hear the noise and hustle and bustle that he thought would be, the hall was extremely spacious and there were many people, but it was very quiet and orderly. There are four floors of platforms in the main hall, with four entrances leading to the central round platform, and the remaining four circles of circular platforms around the central round platform that rise from the inside to the outside, leaving a passage about five people wide in each circle of platforms, and rows of shop counters on both sides.

"What a magnificent hall!" Xiao Tianhe admired in his heart, and suddenly noticed a piece of paper pasted on the wall on the side of the corridor, which clearly read:

"Daily rent for bunks:

eight hundred taels of silver in the center;

Inner ring: five hundred taels of silver;

Middle circle: 200 taels of silver;

Outer ring: 50 taels of silver;

Look at the shopkeeper: five taels of silver. ”

The daily rent of a small bunk is actually hundreds of taels of silver! What surprised Xiao Tianhe even more was that there were no bunks empty as far as the eye could see!

No one made a loud noise, no one shouted noisily, there was only a deliberately suppressed sound of conversation and slight footsteps in the magnificent hall, here, Xiao Tianhe really felt the order of the two words!

There is no doubt that this square hall was opened and managed by the Simon family, and if the demon cultivator himself does not want to waste time looking at the shop, he can also hire a man to help take care of it, because of the prestige of the Simon family, the demon cultivators are also very confident about this way of operating. Such an orderly and methodical trading hall collects huge wealth for the Simon family every day.

Xiao Tianhe followed the flow of people to the central round platform. After entering the round platform, he first looked around the shops, there were about a dozen people gathered in front of each counter, Xiao Tianhe was reluctant to squeeze forward, so he went up the stairs to the inner circle level.

The number of people in the inner circle is a little smaller than that in the center of the circle, but there are still five or six people in line in front of each store. Xiao Tianhe chose a few shops and took a closer look, most of the items in the counter were ores and medicinal herbs, and occasionally there were a few cast magic knives or refined pills, but they were all expensive. From this point of view, the inner circle and the central round platform are all more sought-after demon cultivation items. First, Xiao Tianhe deduced that these more ordinary shops are estimated to have no red stones, and secondly, there are many customers, and Xiao Tianhe does not want others to know. So he continued up the stairs.

There were fewer people in the middle circle, and Xiao Tianhe didn't waste time here, but went directly to the highest outer circle.

After going to the outer circle, Xiao Tianhe found that he couldn't see the part of the outer circle clearly due to the limitation of vision, but in fact, not all the shops on this floor were rented. The owners of the shops do not seem to be as enthusiastic as the shop owners on the lower floors, most of them sit lazily in the shop, looking at the passers-by with cold eyes, and there is a big picture of whether they love to buy or not.

Xiao Tianhe chose a shop with a few strange stones and asked, "Excuse me, is there a red mengshi here?"

"Red Mengshi, we don't sell that kind of!" The person who looked at the shop was a very young man, he had waited for a long time and no customers came to the door, and finally someone came to ask, but it was a boring pastime, and the young man couldn't help but be a little annoyed.

Xiao Tianhe suddenly realized, and couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly. He was bent on finding another piece of red stone to study, but he ignored the two most important issues: first, red stone was quite rare, and even Nangong Ting, who was a child of the Nangong family, couldn't get it, let alone others?

The strange red stone may be the only thing in the world that does not meet the saying "rare things are expensive".

Regardless of whether there is still a red stone in the Heavenly Flame Continent now, at least this "Sifang Palace" in front of you is not the place to find it.

Xiao Tianhe sighed deeply, regretful and helpless. He descended the stairs to the central round platform and walked out of the hall. Just as he was about to step down the steps outside the door of the hall, a person in front of Leng Buding suddenly turned around, and Xiao Tianhe, who was thinking, couldn't dodge, and the two bumped into each other.

"This brother, I'm really sorry!" Xiao Tianhe clenched his fists and was about to leave sideways, but was grabbed by the man's shoulder: "Wait!"

Xiao Tianhe stopped and glanced at the man, the man let go of his hand, smiled "hehe", gently smoothed the wrinkles on Xiao Tianhe's shoulders that he had scratched, and hugged his fists and said, "Brother Xiao stays, please take a step to speak." ”

"You know me?" The man in front of him was clearly a stranger.

"No, I don't know. But that waist card has your name on it. Brother Xiao, don't worry, I have no malicious intentions, it's just that I have what you want here, and people come and go here, so let's find a place to talk about it. ”

Xiao Tianhe couldn't help but take a closer look at this person, this person was wearing a crown of hair, thick eyebrows and big eyes, his expression was bright, and his smile was cute, seeing that he didn't look like a traitor. But he was still not reassured, and asked, "Who are you, and how do you know what I want?"

"Naturally, I'll tell you who I am in a moment. What you want can be described as: 'priceless when there is a market, no market when there is a price', rare but worthless, well-known but hard to find. Is it correct?" the man laughed.

Xiao Tianhe also smiled: "That's true, then ask Brother Tai to lead the way." ”