Chapter 56

"Teacher! Teacher! Please buy a flower for this beautiful lady! It only costs two copper coins."

As the haggling over the pawned goods came to an end, Luo Zhengdao and Vina Dubov walked out of the pawnshop door. Suddenly, a timid and gentle voice came from the side. A frail little girl, trembling, raised a dewy, bright red rose. Hearing the voice, Luo Zhengdao turned his head to look at the little girl who was carefully smiling and selling flowers. Her body was so frail that it seemed she would fall over with just a breeze. The little girl's large, bright eyes stood out even more against her thin, pale cheeks, like a hungry kitten pitifully begging for food from passersby.

Seeing this, Luo Zhengdao couldn't help but feel compassion. Having just completed a big deal, he wasn't short of money. He took out a silver coin and handed it to her, saying, "Alright, I'll take all your flowers."

With that, Luo Zhengdao gave the silver coin to the little girl and handed the basket of flowers to the half-elf beauty, saying, "Thank you, Teacher Vina, for your care. These flowers are for you!"

The little girl, who had never expected such a good business, turned a rosy hue with excitement. She hurriedly bowed deeply to Luo Zhengdao, full of gratitude, and said, "Thank you, sir. My younger brother and sister can eat white bread now."

Hearing this, Luo Zhengdao turned his head again to watch the little girl run away happily. He suddenly fell silent. This scene was not an isolated incident but a reflection of the current era. The human immigrants who had fled to Xiangjiang had escaped the goblin's slaughter and enslavement but had fallen to the bottom of society, where even a simple meal was hard to come by.

In the old world, Luo Zhengdao was not a morally perfect person; he was just an ordinary member of society. However, the appearance of the flower-selling little girl reminded him of the fable of the little girl selling matches. After paying for all the flowers, Luo Zhengdao questioned himself: Do you really have the right to pity others' suffering? Of course, such an extremely idealistic question could never have a standard answer. Only one's true heart could provide the answer. For anyone, the answer was the same: don't listen to what others say; put your hand on your chest and ask your heart. It will tell you the true answer.

Vina Dubov was also very happy to receive the basket of flowers. She followed Luo Zhengdao's gaze and could also feel the helplessness of being unable to do more, saying, "This child is so young and has to work. How pitiful!"

Luo Zhengdao, who was struggling to take care of himself, shook his head, trying to drive these杂念 out of his mind, and said, "Let's go! We have many places to visit today."

In the ancient times, long before the timeline could be traced, the chaotic behemoths' decline created the雏形 of the new world. After their death, the remnants of the chaotic behemoths transformed into the islands in the Aether Sea and the mountain ranges of the main continent. Later, the ancient elves, who had dominated for an entire era, were destroyed by the giants' invasion. The dragons, who had meticulously planned, defeated the giants but were also severely affected by the degeneration curse of the荒神, causing many powerful dragons to fall into madness. This once mighty dragon race, which had once ruled over all, rapidly declined. Many dragons became like beasts, acting on animal instincts, and those who managed to escape the curse found it difficult to reproduce. The dragons could no longer afford the losses of large-scale wars, and thus the new world's dragon race never recovered.

When the magical civilization of the outsiders emerged and flourished in the material plane for over ten thousand years, the Magi, a special profession that could rewrite the laws of the universe, was born. These powerful beings, capable of altering the laws of nature, were once considered semi-divine.

The epic battle between the Magi and the荒神 ended with both sides annihilating each other, and they exited the historical stage hand in hand. After a chaotic and disorderly period, the small, big-headed goblins rose to become the new rulers of the new world. Using the power of goblin alchemy, they established the magnificent First Goblin Empire.

The civilization of the Magi and the goblin alchemy civilization were two completely different paths, with no common ground in technology. Therefore, the magical cards, which contained strange powers, were seen as rare but useless magical curiosities and scattered throughout the new world.

After countless years, the probability of Luo Zhengdao finding a magical card was almost as low as winning the lottery. It was more like a stroke of luck than a deliberate search.

With a relaxed attitude, Luo Zhengdao and Vina Dubov casually pushed open the door of a magic goods store. Seeing the shop owner, Luo Zhengdao said, "I want to see all the magical curiosities in your store, yes, all of them."

A human noble who was collecting cards could easily be suspected of having ulterior motives, and this was indeed the case. Luo Zhengdao did not want this to happen. Even though the era of the Magi had long passed, many legendary stories were still told by bards, who made a living by recounting these tales. Although few believed in the authenticity of these ancient legends, delving into them could still cause some trouble. Luo Zhengdao preferred to avoid unnecessary complications. After understanding the glorious history of the Magi from the half-elf beauty, he gave up the idea of openly collecting magical cards.

Luo Zhengdao's decision to abandon public collection did not mean he no longer needed to collect magical cards. Instead, he would always buy other items to cover his tracks, otherwise, it would be a foolish act.

In the old world, there was a saying: "Shopkeepers are not afraid of big spenders." The local merchants in Xiangjiang were well-connected, and as soon as Luo Zhengdao had a large sum of money, both those who wanted to sell goods and those who planned to harm him secretly were watching him.

Standing at the counter, Luo Zhengdao held a magnifying glass with a gold wire handle made from natural crystal and carefully examined the various items on display, not saying a word. This composed and cold demeanor made the shop owner very uneasy. Most customers made impulsive decisions based on their emotions, and an overly cold atmosphere could make the seller sell nothing.

Seeing this, the anxious owner quickly approached, warmly greeting Luo Zhengdao, "Please look, this is a magical weapon from the Asteraceae Dynasty. It is not only extremely sharp but also very valuable for collection."

The half-elf beauty, watching the negotiation, found it boring and interjected, "Will, don't waste money on useless junk."

Hearing this, Luo Zhengdao didn't even look up, saying, "Don't worry, I'm not an idiot."

After a cursory inspection of all the items in the store, Luo Zhengdao straightened up and pointed at the table, saying, "This one, this one, and this one, I'll take them all. What's the price?"

Hearing this, the owner's face immediately broke into a professional smile, and he rubbed his hands, saying, "Oh, sir, your eye is excellent. These are the most valuable antiques in the store..."

This level of flattery was too childish for Luo Zhengdao, who had seen TV commercials promising "only 998, take home eight arrows and eight stars." He was completely immune. He deliberately acted impatient, tapping his fingers on the counter, saying, "Hey, if the price is right, I'll buy them. If not, you can keep them."

There are all kinds of temperamental nobles, and the owner didn't dare to bet on whether Luo Zhengdao was the type to flip out at the slightest provocation. He quickly smiled and said, "Uh, 2,500 gold coins, how about that?"

Hearing this, Luo Zhengdao turned around without a word, making a gesture to leave, saying, "Vina, let's go! Boss, I disturbed you today, goodbye."

"Hey, sir, please wait, the price can be negotiated, don't go!"

The haggling was a tedious process, but in the end, both parties reached an agreement on the price. To outsiders, Luo Zhengdao's spending seemed to reflect the extravagant spending habits of a wasteful noble. In this antique shop, he spent a total of 1,000 gold coins, buying an ancient bronze shield with intricate carvings, a silver wine jug with gold inlay, two finely woven wool tapestries, and a camel hair carpet. Of course, the key to this transaction was the three unassuming magical cards.

Magical cards inherently contained a trace of the power of law, even a very thin trace, which made them vastly different from ordinary objects. Therefore, the wear and tear and patina commonly found in ordinary antiques were impossible on magical cards.

Unactivated magical cards, when observed with the naked eye, were invariably in a gray, sealed state. Even with magical identification or divine spells, only a vague conclusion could be drawn. To borrow a term from classical mythological novels, they could be called "divine objects that conceal themselves." Those who did not inherit the legacy of the Magi, no matter how talented or even if they had supernatural abilities, could not derive any benefit from the magical cards. This is why, despite the passage of countless years since the era of the Magi, no one in the new world had discovered what these strange cards were. In fact, it was the inherent characteristics of the magical cards, as described in legends, that determined this.

When Luo Zhengdao returned to the dock, the quartermaster, Hail Pop, who had gone out to purchase supplies, had also returned. They met on the pier, and Luo Zhengdao greeted him, asking, "Hail, have you bought all the items on the list?"

"Yes, Captain. All the goods are ready. Do you want to check them?"

Hearing this, Luo Zhengdao, not wanting to waste time, shook his head and said, "No need. The fleet is about to set sail, and I'm worried the green skins might react. They are probably on their way. Don't delay."

As Luo Zhengdao and his group boarded the ship, two suspicious figures were talking in a secluded corner near the dock, where cargo crates and barrels were stacked. One of them said, "Hey, do you think this group is responsible for the incident in Qiongzhou?"

The other person sneered and said, "Let's not get involved in other people's business. Just send the message. It's not our concern whether it's true or not."

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