"Taxes?" Saleen was shocked. Since putting on a mage’s robe, he had not needed to pay any taxes when entering a city.
"Of course. The three of you together are even bigger than me, so of course you will all need to pay taxes."
Saleen observed this soldier carefully. He was not very tall, yet he was strong. He was not wearing any metal armor, and the leather armour on him had been stretched to its limit. He was growing a moustache on his face. His eyebrows were long too, causing him to look like an ape.
"How much?" Saleen did not fight back. He had to follow the rules while on other people’s land. So long as others needed to pay too, he would not care even if it was thirty or fifty gold coins.
"You’re a mage, that makes for double the taxes. One silver coin. The other two add up to another silver coin."
Saleen was very sensitive when it came to money. A silver coin was a lot to him and in many other cities, they would only charge such high taxes for a carriage. It would be one or two bronze coins at most for a group of people.
Was this viscountess stupid? She was actually charging such high taxes to enter the city. No wonder the mercenaries had not wanted to come near the city. How did they do business like this?
Saleen had no silver coins on him, only gold coins. He took one out and passed it to the soldier.
The soldier threw the gold coin into a box and waved, saying, "Go, go."
Saleen looked at the box, not saying a word. A gold coin was equivalent to ten silver coins. He had been cheated of eight silver coins. Instead of arguing with the soldier, it would be better to use the time to meet with that idiot viscountess.
He had not even gone after the green dragon’s magic nucleus. What were these few silver coins to him?
"May I ask the way to the Viscountess’ residence?" Saleen smiled to show his friendly intentions.
After putting away the money, the soldier had become friendly. Using his fingers to point out the way, he said, "Walk ten streets down from here and make a right turn. Then walk another two streets before turning left, and you will be able to see it."
"Thanks." Saleen nodded his head. Dragging Sika and Nailisi with him, they departed from the city gate.
Sika and Nailisi had been forced by Saleen to learn the Qin language in the past two months. Nailisi had to learn the common language as well. By now, both Sika and Nailisi had made huge progress, and Sika could speak while Nailisi could write.
"Saleen, it seems like we have been cheated of eight silver coins," Sika said, unsatisfied. When she had first left her village, she had barely had any silver coins on her. Now that entering the city had led them to losing so many silver coins, she could not help but feel stingy.
Nailisi stuttered and said, "Ma…Master, n…n…no, let me g…g…go bite him."
"Shut up!" Saleen was infuriated. Even though there were not many people on the streets, those walking past would be able to hear what Nailisi was saying. If her words caused any trouble, he would not know how to handle it either.
Bitter Water Prefecture was very sinister looking. The streets were spotless and the people around seemed to be very carefree, dressing elegantly. The houses on the two sides of the street were simple looking yet had a lingering charm to them. If one stopped to observe, they would notice the magic decorations on most of the houses.
This place was as quiet as a village, yet as luxurious as a wealthy person’s castle.
As they walked further along, Saleen became even more shocked. There were so many mages along the way. Even though they were all white-robed mages, he found it hard to believe.
In Sikeqinya, only flourishing cities had mages. Back in Saleen’s hometown, a magic disciple would have been impressive. The mages here were as numerous as flies.
It was not only mages, but there were many swordsmen too. These swordsmen were obviously not mercenaries, as all of them were in long robes, a Qin Empire eight-sided sword at their waist. They had smug expressions on their faces, not showing any humility to the mages.
Saleen loved cities for their bustle and prosperity. They made his heart feel full, and among the crowd, any loneliness would be washed away. However, in Bitter Water Prefecture, he could not feel any city vibes.
The whole place was neat and everyone hardly made any noise. It was eerily quiet.
The roads were long and only after several kilometers did Saleen and the others reach the end of ten streets. Turning right, the streets became even quieter with hardly anyone in sight. The two sides of the road had growing trees that were big and upright, their leaves lush. The sunlight was almost completely blocked out, and the stone road beneath their feet felt almost cold under the shade of the trees.
A carriage came towards them. The hoof noises were hurried and it was moving very fast. As it drew close to Saleen and the others, the golden bell on the outside of the carriage rang, producing a crystal-clear sound.
In that instant, Saleen understood what it was that made him so uncomfortable. This city was beautiful and every detail was captivating, but it was unbearably proud. This pride was not directed at anyone, and it did not bother itself with who anyone was.
This pride was like the sound of the bell from the carriage. It had no intentions of being high and mighty, and yet pricked at Saleen’s inferiority that he had tried so hard to hide.
The roads were wide and the carriage could not possibly have bumped into Saleen. However, he unconsciously stepped aside.
The carriage driver was clad in an ancient cotton robe. He cocked his head slightly, seeming to thank Saleen. Saleen looked away, slightly miffed. You’re just a driver. Is there a need to dress so obnoxiously? Viscount Gugger couldn’t even have beared to wear an ancient cotton robe like that. Damn it, the Qin people must have too much money to spend.
However, Saleen had money too. He touched the Ring of Gifts on his hand. There were still a pile of rare gemstones in the ring. This thought made him feel more at peace.
Walking two streets and looking to the left, the Viscountess’ residence could be seen from afar. There were no other buildings nearby.
Nailisi expression had been relaxed until she saw the building. Her expression immediately stiffened. The building gave her the same feeling as the prison that had imprisoned her for tens of thousands of years. Once she entered, it was possible that nothing would remain in her control.
The entire residence had been modelled in the style of the Fourth Dynasty, mostly being made out of bricks and glass with high walls surrounding the house. Tiles with diamond shaped holes in them lined the top of the wall. The front door was shut and there was only a side door opened about a hundred meters to the right. The fallen leaves on the stairway were left untouched while the stone statue outside had been corroded over time, the original patterns lost.
It was precisely this antiqueness that could not be bought with money.
There were no guards at the door, which was something different from Sikeqinya. Every wealthy person in Sikeqinya could not wait to station thousands of troops at the doors of their place of residence to display their might.
After entering from the stairs, to the left of the door was a sentry room. Saleen and the others had barely stepped through the door when a voice inside said, "Who is it?"
Saleen was confused. This was a viscountess’ residence. Why was the sentry so relaxed?
Saleen was still unsure of the rankings of the wealthy throughout the country. The Viscountess in the Qin Empire could only have been the Emperor’s daughter. After becoming a viscountess, she had possessed a similar rank to a marquis. Any taxes collected within a radius of a hundred kilometers of the Bitter Water Prefecture belonged solely to the Viscountess, and the number of towns she controlled could be greater than ten. This was not like the position of baron that had been given to the Clyde family. This was true control and power.
If war broke out, the Viscountess would be in control of tens of thousands of soldiers, just like a grand duke.
With his heart beating, Saleen opened the shut door and entered the sentry room. It was not big and the window had been half opened. There was a table, and behind the table sat a young man reading a book. Seeing Saleen enter, he raised his head and asked, "Is there anything I can help with?"
"I wish to meet the Viscountess." Saleen looked at the youth and realized there was elemental energy vibrating within his body.
A magic disciple? Moreover, he could already produce elemental energy vibrations. He must have been a high-grade magic disciple. A high-grade magic disciple could become a Grade 1 mage within a few years. Wasn’t it a waste having him as a sentry?
"Do you have your visiting card?"
"No."
"Do you have an invitation?"
"No."
"Then why are you here? Get out." The youth could not have cared less about Saleen being a mage. He raised his voice slightly and began to chase them away.
"I am under the orders of someone else." Saleen took out the badge that he had received from the Qin swordman as he said this, and placed it on the table.
The young mage took a look at the badge and grew serious. Picking up the badge, he said, "Wait here."
With that, he left the sentry room and headed out.
Saleen did not dare move around either way and could only wait in the small room. He took a glance at the book that the mage disciple had left on the table, but there was no title. He flipped the book over, and it turned out to be a book on magic knowledge that was written in the Qin tanguage.
"Don’t run around," Saleen reminded Nailisi and Sika. Finding himself a chair to sit in, he started reading this magic book. The book was old and had been written on ordinary paper. Every page was filled with words and there were notes written in red ink between the lines.
As expected, it was a book on standard common knowledge. The experiences described were only Grade 1 magic at best. Saleen quickly skimmed through it. The last few pages were on meditation.
To Saleen, this meditation spell was crude, and yet it had more notes written on it. Most of the notes were wrong and only a few had actual ties to the meditation spell.
The disciple returned quickly with a mage behind him. Seeing Saleen reading his book, the disciple was not angry and said to Saleen, "Just follow him."
Saleen put down the book. The mage nodded to Saleen and said, "Follow me. The Viscountess is waiting."
Saleen took a look at the magic symbols on this mage’s white robes. They were identical to his, belonging to a Grade 1 mage as well. The mage brought Saleen and the others away from the sentry room and deep into the residence.
After many courtyards, Saleen was brought to a room that faced the water. It was unusually spacious and the side facing the water had no wall, only an open window.
Waves rippled on the water outside the window. The wind blew in, bringing with it a cold chill.
At the center of the room was a table that was half a meter tall. Behind the table, a woman sat on the floor with a few maids beside her, waiting to serve her. There were only four simple ceramic utensils on the table.
The woman had her back towards Saleen. Her long hair reached her waist, black and almost silk-like. Saleen’s chest tightened. He had no idea why he was feeling this anxious. The woman’s face could not be seen, and yet he found it hard to breathe.
She was wearing a silk dress that was also known as a luoshan. The long dress was made of cotton and had no decorations or patterns on it. From the back, it seemed a little simple. Saleen could not help but feel a sense of pity. It was not because of the chilly wind blowing in from the window, but rather, it was because of the woman’s back. There was an inexplicable sense of loneliness.
"Viscountess, I’ve brought them." The mage tried to lower his voice, almost as though he were afraid of breaking the tranquility in the room.
"Yes, you may leave." The woman opened her mouth. Her voice was mellow, yet full of richness. Saleen held his breath, not knowing how to respond.