"Pay taxes?" Salin was a little dazed. After putting on the mage's robe, he gradually got used to not paying taxes when entering and leaving the city gate. wWw,qUAnbEn-xIaosHuo,CoM
"Nonsense, the three of you together are bigger than me, so of course you have to pay taxes."
Only then did Salin take a closer look at the soldiers who stopped him. This soldier was not very tall, but he was very strong. He did not wear metal armor, and his leather armor was stretched like a skin bag for crossing water. The soldier had a beard on his face, with a long beard and long eyebrows. His face looked like some kind of ape-like creature.
"How much?" Salin didn't bother. He had to abide by the rules when he was in other people's territory. As long as everyone else pays, he doesn't care even if it's thirty or fifty gold coins.
"You are a mage, the city entry tax is doubled, 1 silver coin, and the other two are also 1 silver coin."
Salin is very sensitive to the numbers on money. One silver coin seems to him to be very high. Generally, cities only levy such a tax on carriages and horses. The maximum tax for pedestrians is one or two copper coins.
Is there something wrong with this princess’ intelligence? There is such a high city entry tax. No wonder the mercenaries left far away and refused to enter the city. How can we do business like this
Salin had no silver coins on him, only gold coins. He took out one and handed it to the soldier.
The soldier threw the gold coins into the box next to him, waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, go ahead."
Salin looked at the box but said nothing. One gold coin is equivalent to ten silver coins. He was deducted eight silver coins. If he had time to argue with the soldier, he might as well go see the idiot princess quickly.
The green dragon's magic core itself has no intention of being greedy, and it doesn't need these few silver coins.
"Excuse me, how to get to the Princess's Mansion?" Salin smiled and expressed his kindness.
After the soldier collected the money, he became kind and pointed to the road: "Go ten blocks from here, turn right, and then go two blocks to the left, and you will see it."
"Thank you." Salin nodded, pulling Sikka and Nailis out of the city gate.
For more than two months, Sika and Nailisi were forced by Salin to learn Qin Yin language. Nelise also needs to learn Common Tongue. Now Shika and Nailisi have made great progress. Shika can speak and Nailisi can write.
"Salin, we seem to have been defrauded of eight silver coins." Sika said dissatisfied. When she came out of the village, she didn't have many silver coins on her. Now when she entered the city, so many were taken away, which made her feel distressed.
Nailis also stammered: "Master, master, no, no, it's better than me, go and bite him to death."
"Shut up!" Saleen yelled angrily. Although there were few pedestrians on the street now, people walking around could hear Nailis's words. Trouble comes from the mouth. If these words cause any trouble, I don't know how to deal with it.
Kushui County is a very evil place, the streets are spotless, and the passers-by look very leisurely and well-dressed. The houses on both sides of the street are quaint and have an indescribable charm. If you pay close attention, you will find that almost all of these houses are decorated with magic.
It's as quiet as a countryside and more luxurious than a noble castle.
The further he walked, the more surprised Salin was because he met many magicians along the way. Even though they were all white-robed mages, this was unacceptable to him.
In Scotia, magicians can only be found in prosperous big cities. In places like Salin's hometown, having apprentices is considered a good thing. There are as many mages here as flies.
There are not only many mages here, but also many swordsmen. Moreover, these swordsmen were obviously not mercenaries. They were all wearing robes and carrying the Qin Yin Eight-sided Sword on their waists. They looked proud and did not show humility when meeting the mage.
Salin likes cities because they are noisy, bustling and make people feel full. In a crowd, even loneliness will be dispersed. But in Kushui County, he couldn't feel the atmosphere of the city.
It's very organized here, everyone doesn't make any noise, and it's eerily quiet.
The street was very long. Salin and others walked for several miles before walking through ten streets and turning right. The street is quieter, with almost no pedestrians. There are double rows of trees planted on both sides of the road. The trees are tall and straight, with lush branches and leaves. The sunlight was almost completely blocked, and the bluestone road under my feet was slightly cold in the shade of the trees.
A carriage was approaching, the sound of horse hooves beating rapidly, and the speed was very fast. When approaching Salin and others, the golden bell outside the carriage rang and made a clear sound.
Salin suddenly understood why he felt uncomfortable. This city is very beautiful, every detail is so charming, but this city is also extremely proud. This arrogance is not directed at anyone, and it doesn't even care who you are.
This arrogance was like the golden bells of the carriage. It didn't mean anything domineering, but it stung Salin's inferiority hidden deep in his heart.
The street was very wide, and the carriage would not hit Salin at all, but Salin still subconsciously made an evasive action.
The driver of the car was wearing an ancient brocade robe, and his chin trembled slightly, as if he was nodding to Salin in thanks. Salin turned away from him, feeling depressed. As a driver, do you need to dress so shabbily? Even Viscount Guge wouldn't bear to wear this kind of ancient brocade. Damn it, Qin Yin has money and nowhere to spend it.
But I have money. Salin touched the gift ring on his hand. The ring also contained a bunch of extremely rare gems, and he felt much more balanced.
After walking two streets and looking to the left, I saw the Princess's Mansion in the distance. Because there are no other buildings nearby.
Nailis originally had a relaxed expression, but when she saw the tall mansion from a distance, her expression immediately became serious. This mansion felt like a prison that had trapped her for tens of thousands of years. As long as she entered, she might not be able to control everything.
This mansion imitates the style of the Fourth Dynasty, using mostly bricks, tiles, and glazed glass. The courtyard wall is tall, but there are breathable diamond-shaped tiles on the upper part of the wall. The main door is closed, and a side door is open nearly a hundred meters to the right. The fallen leaves are not swept away in front of the steps, and the stone piles where the horses are tied have been eroded by the years, and the original patterns have long been worn away.
But you can't buy this kind of antiquity with money.
There are no guards at the door, unlike in Scotia. The aristocratic mansion in Scotia wanted to have thousands of troops and horses in front of its door to show its majesty.
After walking up the steps, there was a concierge on the left side of the door. Salin and others had just passed the threshold when someone called out from inside: "Who is it?"
Salin was a little confused. Is the defense of the dignified princess's mansion so lax
Salin is still clear about the ranks of nobles in various countries. A princess in the Qin Yin Empire can only be the daughter of the emperor. After being granted a county title, she is equivalent to a first-class marquis. All taxes within a hundred miles of Kushui County belong to the princess alone, and she may rule more than ten towns. This is not the kind of title awarded by the Clyde family, but real power.
If there is a war, the princess can command tens of thousands of soldiers, no different from the duke.
Feeling uneasy, Salin pushed open the closed door and entered the concierge. The room was small, with a half-opened window and a table. Behind the table, a young man was holding a book and reading. Seeing Salin come in, he put down his book, raised his head and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Please see the princess." Salin looked at the young man and found that there were vague elemental fluctuations in the young man's body.
Turns out to be a magic apprentice? And those who have produced elemental fluctuations are at least senior magic apprentices. A high-level magic apprentice is likely to become a first-level magician within a few years and be used as a concierge. Isn't it too luxurious
"Did you bring your name tag?"
"No."
"Do you have an invitation?"
"nor."
"Then what are you doing here? Get out." This young man didn't care about Salin's identity as a magician at all. He raised his voice slightly and started to chase people away.
"I was entrusted by someone." Salin said, taking out the badge left by the swordsman Qin Yin and placing it on the table.
When the young magic apprentice saw the badge, he became serious. He picked up the badge and said, "Wait here."
After that, he left the concierge and walked outside.
Salin didn't dare to wander around, so he could only endure it in this small house. He glanced at the book the magic apprentice left on the table. There was no title. He turned the book over, but it was a book on magic knowledge written in Qin Yin language.
"Don't run around." Salin told Nailis and Sikka, and he found a chair to sit down and read the magic book.
The books are old and made of ordinary paper. Each page is densely written with words, and there are symbols marked with red ink between the lines.
It is indeed the most common knowledge book. The experience introduced in it is the highest level of magic. Salin flipped through it quickly, and the last few pages were about meditation.
In Salin's opinion, this meditation technique is crude, but it is marked with more annotations. Many of the commentaries are wrong, and only a few deal with the true laws of meditation.
The apprentice came back soon, followed by a magician. Seeing Salin flipping through his book, the apprentice was not angry. He just said to Salin: "Just follow him."
Salin put down the book, and the magician nodded to Salin and said, "Come with me, the princess is waiting."
Salin glanced at the magic mark on the magician's white robe. Like himself, he was also a first-level mage. The mage led Salin and others out of the concierge and walked deeper into the mansion.
After walking through an unknown number of courtyards, Salin was taken to a house near the water. This room is unusually wide. There are no walls on the side facing the water, and all windows are open.
The water outside the window was rippling, and the wind blew in, making it very cold.
In the center of the room is a table only half a meter high. Behind the table, a woman was sitting on the floor. She was served by several maids. There were only four simple celadon tableware on the table.
The woman's back was to Salin, her long hair hanging down around her waist, as dark as silk. Salin's heart tightened, and he didn't know why. He felt a little uneasy. This woman couldn't see her face, but it made him breathe a little faster.
The woman's upper body is a Luo shirt, and her long skirt is just cotton without any decoration. Just looking at the back, it looks a bit thin. Salin couldn't help but feel pity in his heart. It wasn't because of the chill that the wind blew into the room, but because of the indescribable loneliness in the woman's back.
"Princess, I've brought you here." The magician kept his voice as low as possible, as if he was afraid of disturbing the tranquility here.
"Well, you go down." The woman said, but her voice was round and full of texture. Salin held his breath, not knowing how to speak.