Pedestrians walked back and forth on the dirt street. Among them, two villagers were chatting under a big tree. Ma Xiaoniu did not understand their language, but he could understand it. In just a moment, Ma Xiaoniu had mastered their language.
"Aheng, the election for the clan leader is in a month. Do you want to give it a try?" A burly man with a dark face said to the red-faced man next to him. The red-faced man was even more robust, with bulging muscles that made his clothes look like they were about to burst. A long tail followed behind him, making a slapping sound as it was swung.
The red-faced man called Aheng nodded: "Of course I'll try. It's always been my dream, but beating Aming won't be easy."
The dark-faced man nodded solemnly: "Ah Ming is indeed a formidable opponent. When the two of you fight, it's usually a close match."
Ah Heng smiled and said, "Ah Li, don't worry too much. You said it yourself, we're evenly matched, so it's hard to say who will win."
The dark-faced man called Ali nodded: "Aheng, you must train hard during this time. You must defeat Aming. You are the strongest man in our East Village!"
...
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===Chapter Forty-Two===
Ma Xiaoniu listened carefully. It seemed they were electing a clan leader here? Interesting! He definitely had to come and see. But for now, he'd better continue exploring.
His "Hearing at the Wind" skill activated, and countless sounds filled the air. After a while, his eyes lit up as a picture of a city appeared in his mind. The city was vast, estimated by Ma Xiaoniu to be several dozen miles in circumference. He teleported outside the city and looked around. Towering stone walls stretched as far as the eye could see. On the walls was a gate about four meters high, with three large characters on it—"Black Mountain City." Crowds of people were constantly flowing in and out of the gate, creating a bustling scene.
However, Ma Xiaoniu also noticed that the people coming in and out all looked quite different. Some had rabbit-like ears and rabbit tails. Some had yellow markings all over their skin, with a long tiger tail coiled around their waist. Some had a single, narrow, tightly closed vertical eye between their eyebrows. Others were four or five meters tall and had to bend over to pass through the city gate, while still others were tiny, only the height of a palm... a diverse array of races and people.
Ma Xiaoniu strolled towards the city gate, where guards stood watch. Everyone who passed through had to show a token-like object. However, the guards seemed to completely ignore Ma Xiaoniu, allowing him to enter the city.
Upon entering the city gate, you are greeted by a wide avenue, lined with shops of all kinds and vendors with their stalls, their calls filling the air. Although the street wasn't exactly packed with people, it was still bustling and lively.
Such scenes were commonplace for Ma Xiaoniu, who was born in the Dragon Kingdom, so he was completely unmoved. However, Ma Xiaoniu was quite interested in the things being sold nearby. For example, some stalls displayed various glowing stones, colorful and dazzling. Ma Xiaoniu walked closer to the stall, reached out and picked up a red stone the size of an egg. The stone emitted a bright yet soft red light.
"What are these stones for?" In fact, if Ma Xiaoniu wanted to know, he could instantly understand everything in the area he controlled. But wouldn't that be incredibly boring? Ma Xiaoniu was that kind of person. He didn't want to interfere too much with the development of this world. He just wanted to appreciate and enjoy it.
The stall owner was a red-skinned man with green vertical pupils and two sharp canine teeth protruding from the corners of his mouth.
"Sir, are you kidding me? You really don't know what this is?" The stall owner looked at Ma Xiaoniu like he was an idiot. Ma Xiaoniu was speechless. Had he asked some incredibly stupid question?
"Oh, I just came from the mountains, and I've never seen this before."
The stall owner looked enlightened, then enthusiastically introduced the stones to Ma Xiaoniu: "Sir, these are Light Stones, specially used for lighting. The Light Stones I sell are among the best in Black Mountain City, the quality is impeccable, each one can last for half a year! Sir, how many would you like?" As he spoke, he pulled out a small bag and quickly tossed in more than a dozen stones. He was about to continue when Ma Xiaoniu immediately stopped him: "Alright, alright, that's enough. How much?"
"One small silver star coin, two large silver star coins. A total of five large and six small, sixteen silver star coins in total." The stall owner showed an excited expression. This transaction was equivalent to his business volume of the past ten days to half a month. He made a fortune!
After entering the city gate, Ma Xiaoniu noticed the currency here. The so-called silver star coin was a silver bead about the size of a fingernail, emitting a faint silver light. Ma Xiaoniu also noticed that, in addition to this silver bead, most people used a white bead. This white bead had no halo and looked just like ordinary jade.
Ma Xiaoniu knew he'd been ripped off, but for him, it didn't matter how many he wanted. With a thought, a dozen silver coins appeared in his pocket, which he took out and handed to the stall owner.
The stall owner beamed with joy and quickly packed the money away.
Ma Xiaoniu continued strolling through the street carrying a bag of Bright Stones. Before he had taken two steps, he saw a food vendor on the street. The food he was selling was round, golden in color, and emitted a rich aroma.
"Boss, how much is this?" This time, Ma Xiaoniu was smarter and didn't ask what it was anymore.
The stall owner, who sells "one white coin each," has cat ears but a nose that's over a foot long.
"Give me one," Ma Xiaoniu said, taking out a white coin and handing it to the stall owner, receiving a round food item in return.
Eagerly putting it in his mouth, he found it soft, chewy, and fragrant, with a rich and unique aroma filling his mouth. Ma Xiaoniu's eyes lit up, and he wolfed it down. In just a few bites, the dumpling was gone.
The stall owner next to him said with a smug look on his face, "How is it, sir? Isn't it delicious? My fragrant dumplings are the best in the entire Black Mountain City!"
Ma Xiaoniu nodded; it was indeed good. He bought a few more and packed them up before continuing his shopping spree.
The people of Black Mountain City, besides their striking appearance, also dressed in clothing unlike anything on Earth. Because most of them had a tail at the back of their buttocks, their pants had a slit at the back. However, this slit could be closed on both sides, so it wasn't visible when the tail wasn't protruding. This was probably a common feature of all their clothing. Other details varied from person to person; for example, some had six arms, so their clothes would have six sleeves, and so on. In short, it was an eye-opening experience for Ma Xiaoniu.
As Ma Xiaoniu walked and stopped, he bought quite a few things. Seeing that his pockets were almost full, he had a thought, and the items in his pockets automatically went to the bronze palace.
Arriving at a crossroads, the left side generally houses ordinary homes, while the right side is filled with grand mansions. It seems the left side is where commoners live, while the right side is likely where wealthy merchants and officials reside. The street I'm on resembles the brothels and entertainment districts of ancient China.
Ma Xiaoniu thought for a moment and then walked to the left. There were a few vendors selling things scattered on both sides of the road, but most of them were dressed in rags. The houses on both sides looked low and dilapidated, and the courtyard walls were very low. You could see into the courtyard from the street.
Ma Xiaoniu entered a weapon shop. As soon as he entered, he saw that the walls of the shop were covered with all kinds of weapons. However, the weapons were different from those on Earth. Some weapons were more than a meter long with sharp blades, like a machete. Some weapons looked like hammers, but only the size of a doll's fist. Other weapons looked like a rope, and so on. There was a wide variety of weapons.
"Sir, what kind of weapon do you want?" The shopkeeper was an elderly man with ruddy skin, but also many blue spots all over his body, two large fan-shaped ears on either side of his head, green eyes, and a bald head. He looked to be about sixty years old on Earth.
"Hmm, do you have any sword-like weapons?" Ma Xiaoniu looked for a long time but couldn't find any weapons that looked like swords.
"Swords?" The shopkeeper was clearly hearing this new term for the first time, and was dumbfounded for a while: "Sir, to be honest, this is the first time I've ever heard of this kind of weapon. Could you describe what it looks like?"
"Well," Ma Xiaoniu stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then pulled a miniature sword from his pocket: "Something like this, but much bigger than this, about a meter long."
The shop owner's eyes lit up. This was the first time he had ever seen such a weapon. It was both stylish and practical. If he could manufacture it as his shop's signature weapon, he would definitely make a fortune!
"Sir, to be honest, this is the first time I've ever seen a weapon like this. Why don't you leave this little sword here and wait for six or seven days? After six or seven days, I'm sure I can make a sword that you'll be satisfied with," the shopkeeper said, looking at Ma Xiaoniu with hopeful eyes.
“Okay! I’ll come pick it up in seven days.” Ma Xiaoniu tossed down the miniature sword, then pointed to a two-meter-long stick hanging on the wall. “Wrap this weapon up for me.”
"Alright, sir, you have excellent taste! This weapon is our shop's prized possession!" The shopkeeper took the stick, wrapped it in a cloth, and handed it to Ma Xiaoniu. "Here's a gold coin for you."
Ma Xiaoniu took a glittering golden bead out of his pocket and handed it to the shopkeeper, who happily accepted it.
Holding the stick, Ma Xiaoniu left the shop and continued onward. The streets were winding, and half an hour later, Ma Xiaoniu could see the city wall in the distance. The houses here were even more dilapidated and low, and it was clear that the people living here were all poor.
"Halt!" A shout suddenly came from behind. Ma Xiaoniu turned around in surprise and saw five young men standing behind him. The one in the lead had a tiger's head but rabbit eyes, and his skin was covered with black and yellow stripes. The other four young men also had different appearances; some had rat heads and deer antlers, while others had lion heads and bull antlers. The five of them now surrounded him in a semi-circle.
"Oh? Are you calling me?" Ma Xiaoniu sneered. It seemed he had run into some thugs. Sure enough, there was no shortage of bad people in any world.
The man with the tiger-headed head chuckled, "I'm too lazy to waste words with you. Put down your stick and bag, and you can get lost!" The other four men also stared at Ma Xiaoniu with cold smiles.
"Oh? What if I don't let go?"