Chapter Twenty-Five Lesson One

  Remember in one second

  Sitting by the fireplace, eating bread and chicken, filled Rega's injured body with a warm feeling.

  "Drink it all up."

  Xie Pu handed over his self-brewed Luobian wine again, "This is your first lesson as a partner of the Violent Crow Tavern."

  This request was a bit excessive, but Leiga didn't want to disappoint Xiabo's kindness. Luobian wine contained medicinal ingredients and some special herbal components that were good for quickly healing injuries, although it also had other uses...

  "This room is yours from now on."

  Xie Pu used a long, thin piece of firewood to stir the flames in the fireplace, making them brighter. "I'll sleep in the tavern downstairs, remember, don't bring any girls back."

  The last sentence was a complete joke, but Shep deliberately made a straight face, as if Rega was the kind of person who often deceived girls into bed.

  "I... cough... "

  Lei Ga happened to take a sip of Lu Biang wine, and was choked by the strong wine fumes, his face turned bright red, he coughed non-stop, wanting to explain but couldn't say a word.

  Xie Pu burst out laughing, his bright laughter making the flames in the fireplace dance along with him.

  "Wow!"

  The crow tilted its head in confusion and looked at its owner, as if it had never seen him so happy before.

  The red glow of the fire illuminated the fine lines on Shep's body, from his shoulders to his forearms, where a silver scar flowed smoothly, like a flash of lightning across the sky, frozen on his skin. Under the reflection of the flames, the scar seemed like a noble inscription.

  Lei Ga was stunned for a moment and even forgot to chew the honey chicken meat in his mouth.

  Xie Pu suddenly withdrew his smile and gave Lei Jiabai a glance, "What are you looking at? I haven't grown anything."

  Lei lowered his head and muttered while chewing on the meat in his mouth: "Then I'll wait until you grow up, and see then."

  "You little scamp!"

  Xie Pu cried and laughed, "Don't forget that I'm your boss now! The first rule of being a partner is: never argue with the boss!"

  "What about the second one?"

  "Uh..." Xie Pu was stunned for a moment. The so-called buddy code was something he had just made up on the spot, where did the second rule come from?

  "The second clause is: strictly follow the first one!" Sheproudly thought of his quick wit.

  "What about Article 3?"

  "Cut out all this nonsense!" Sheppard slammed his hand on the table beside him.

  "I understand."

  Lei Ga said calmly: "Thirdly, why are you talking so much nonsense."

  “……”

  Xie Pu rubbed his face anxiously. This kid is really too troublesome, I must be more careful when speaking in the future...

  He raised an eyebrow, "Youngster, are you still interested in hearing about the origin of Spring Rain's name?"

  "I want to hear!"

  Lei Ga's eyes lit up immediately.

  Xie Pu revealed a ferocious smile, "Will you dare to talk back to me again in the future?"

  "I don't understand when I listen to the lesson."

  Lei Ga guaranteed. Joking aside, when it was time to learn from Xie Pu, he wouldn't dare to talk back. "Boss, please tell me about the origin of her name, I really want to know more about my benefactor."

  Xie Pu nodded, meanwhile carefully choosing his words in his mind, and slowly placed his hands on the edge of the stove to warm them up. His hands were elegant, with slender fingers, which suddenly reminded Leiga of Red Lorain.

  "To talk about the origin of Spring Rain's name, it is necessary to involve some basic common sense of the four major kingdoms. Do you understand all of these?"

  Lei Ga shook his head, "I understand some of it, but not thoroughly. If possible, I'd like to hear the boss explain it systematically once."

  Shepard was satisfied with Garrus' current attitude, he put his hands back on his knees, one soft hand holding the other, his eyes gazing absent-mindedly at the flames.

  "The Four Kingdoms Continent is composed of four ancient countries, which have been at war, marriage, betrayal and stalemate with each other for thousands of years, but the number of these four countries has never changed, neither increasing nor decreasing. In the east of the continent lies the Flowing Kingdom, in the west lies the Forest Rock Kingdom, in the south lies the Fire Cloud Kingdom, and in the north lies the Maple Snow Kingdom. Our Raven Ridge is located at the border between the Forest Rock Kingdom and the Maple Snow Kingdom."

  Leiga nodded thoughtfully, during his decade-long wandering years, he had been to all four major kingdoms, but at that time it was just for survival, and he didn't have a clear understanding of the characteristics of each country.

  Shep continued: "The royal emblem of the Kingdom of Brunei is the silver eagle, and its people are born strong and unyielding. It's a country that produces many warriors and heroes. Unfortunately, despite being named after flowing water, there isn't even one decent river in the entire kingdom. The land has been plagued by drought for years, and the soil is dry and barren."

  "No wonder I couldn't get a drink when I went to the Kingdom of Flowing Waters, it turns out the name doesn't match reality." Leka sighed and shook his head.

  "Not necessarily."

  Xie Pu smiled lightly, "The Kingdom of Flowing Waters has many dry riverbeds, which shows that it was indeed a kingdom of rivers long ago. Legend has it that during the first Great War between gods and demons, the Kingdom of Flowing Waters, as the main battlefield, had its water source thoroughly corrupted by the demon tribe, causing many humans to contract the plague and quickly spreading it to the god tribe. In anger, the god tribe cut off all polluted and clean water sources. That's how the Kingdom of Flowing Waters became a land of drought today. Of course, this is just a legend."

  Lei silently memorized Shepu's words and then looked up to ask, "What about the Senyan Kingdom?" Du Dun had brought the Cangyue Sword to Senyan City, so he needed to understand more information about the Senyan Kingdom.

  The royal crest of the Kingdom of Morrock is the Roaring Lion, this country has a steep terrain, lush forests, and is also the country with the most savage beasts. A large number of bounty hunters have gathered in Morrock to hunt down rare savage beasts and get rich overnight. However, the tax collection in Morrock is extremely strict, which also makes Morrock the country with the largest number of both poor and rich people on the Four Kingdoms Continent.

  Lei Ga couldn't help but think of Du Dun's ugly face again, and the anger in his heart suddenly had nowhere to vent. He grabbed a bottle of wine and took a big gulp.

  The royal emblem of the Fire Cloud Kingdom is a fire-breathing dragon, with a low-lying and flat terrain, rich species, thriving trade, and is the most prosperous and powerful country among the four nations.

  Xie Pu suddenly paused and asked Lei Jia: "You must have been to Huoyun City when you were wandering around, right?"

  Lei Ga was taken aback, then shook his head and said: "No. I have been to the Huoyun Kingdom, the people there are very enthusiastic, I can almost eat a full meal every day, but Cangyu didn't take me to Huoyun City."

  Xie Pu's mouth corner revealed a smile of "as expected", "Although I don't know what kind of guy this Cang Yue is, but he must be cautious enough. You can safely live until today, he must have arranged every step for you."

  Lei Ga's eyes widened in astonishment, for he had always thought that Cang Yue didn't care about him at all, so how could she possibly have arranged every step of the way for him?

  Just as he was about to ask, Xie Pu made a negating gesture towards him, and the silver scar on his arm looked particularly ferocious. "Remember, before you have the ability to contend for legendary power, never go to Huoyun City. There's someone there who will shatter your dreams without hesitation. I'll only say this once, don't ask again, got it?"

  Xie Pu's words were so resolute that Leiga couldn't help but take a cold breath, and then nodded lightly. Huoyun City, legendary strength...

  "The last country of the Four Kingdoms Continent is the Maple Snow Kingdom, with a royal crest of a ferocious white bear. The country is covered in ice and snow all year round, with extremely high terrain, and is the only country that borders the Barbarian Lands. Due to reasons such as climate and geographical location, it has the weakest national power. However, if you want to choose an opponent in the future, the Maple Snow Kingdom won't be the easiest one."

  "Due to the climate and the barbarians." Rega quickly grasped Shep's meaning. If they were to attack the Kingdom of Maplesnow, the climate would make them pay a heavy price, and even if they succeeded in conquering it, they would still have to guard against the barbarians taking advantage of their weakness. The climate and barbarians were both weaknesses and strengths for the Kingdom of Maplesnow.

  Xie Pu's mouth curled up in a smile of appreciation, "You really are... cough, you really are good material for being an inn servant. Now that I've finished telling you the basic common sense of four countries, next I'll tell you about the ranking system. Understanding this will definitely be very helpful to you in wiping down tables and chairs in the future."

  Shepard's excitement seemed to be mobilized by Rega's inquiring eyes, and before Rega could speak, he began talking on his own.

  According to bloodline and status, from low to high, they are slaves, commoners, artisans, heroes, lords, nobles, and kings. Slaves are not commonly seen in lower-level cities, but in major capitals, they are an important source of labor. Although the sale of slaves has always been condemned by the Holy Light Sisters, the four kingdoms' kings have all profited from the slave trade, so the institution of slavery has not been abolished. There are mercenary groups that specialize in capturing slaves, and they often venture deep into barbarian territory, bringing back large numbers of barbarians to be sold at auction houses in major cities. In my youth, I personally witnessed such an auction, where a great noble bought over 100 barbarian slaves with one bid, then killed them all on the spot just to maintain his own kill count and not be surpassed by other nobles. There are countless similar incidents, which is also why the barbarians hate the four kingdoms.

  Lei Ga's eyebrows furrowed, "I thought that only the experiences of vagrants were the most miserable, didn't expect..."

  Shep smiled faintly, "The source of slaves is not just that. Some villages that cannot afford the taxes levied by the king and lords will also be attacked by mercenary slave hunters, falling from civilians to slaves. Once a slave, they are slaves for generations, with their bodies branded, no one cares about life or death."

  "But what I want to tell you is not about the cruelty of this world, nor do I hope that you will change anything. What I want you to understand is that slaves are a force that can be easily overlooked but cannot be ignored. As long as it's done at the right time, you can make use of them. The auction houses in the main city can only find slaves with pretty faces, while the slave markets on the borders between countries are where you really need to pay attention, especially the one called Naihe Slave Market located at the border of Fengxue Kingdom and Huoyun Kingdom."

  This knowledge seemed far from his goal of retrieving the Azure Sword, but Rega still nodded seriously and committed it to memory.