Skeleton King

Ali took Ace and Nou to the beach.

The sea market in the port of Nice is not far from the port. It is a clean and tidy street with many flowers. The colors of the buildings are also lively and bold, all of which are bright colors.This is quite different from Ace's imagination, because people's ideas at that time, and because horses and livestock often entered the city, Bremen is the capital of the province of Georgia, and the streets in the center are relatively clean.This kind of cleanliness only means that the garbage on the street is piled up in a fixed place, which is roughly passable.

The sea market in Port of Nice is different, that is, many cities that Ace has visited in his previous life are not as well-organized as here.

Nuoou looked around the sea market. For a clean freak like him, the sea market is also a joyful place.

Ali walks beside Ace.As soon as she and Ace walked to the edge of the sea market, several tanned children greeted her, "Ali!" "Ali!"

Ace also said kindly: "Would you like to say hello to your little friend?"

Then Ace saw Ali rushing towards several children like an arrow, she quickly kicked the leading boy twice, and said loudly: "This is my guest!" After speaking, she threw her small fist at the other children The kid waved, then ran back to Ace in a huff.

Ali is not tall and does not reach Ace's shoulders. She raised her head and smiled at Ace, looking very gentle and amiable, "Master, is there anything you want to buy?"

Ace: ...

Ali is 13 years old this year. When she was a child, her family was neither good nor bad. Her father was a mercenary on the sea and earned a lot of money. Her mother helped to settle accounts in a tavern. The work was easy. She could take care of Ali and earn a little money.But the good times didn't last long. When Ali was 9 years old, her father took a mission from the mercenary guild and went to sea, and never came back.

Ali's mother waited for a year, and was forced to remarry because of her livelihood. As for Ali, the oil bottle, she was also thrown in the sea market.

In fact, there are quite a lot of unwanted children in Haishi. Some children can sell themselves for dozens of silver coins by directly inserting straws on their heads, and go to rich merchants' homes as servants.As for the nobles, they don't want children who don't understand the rules.

Girls like Ali, who are not too young and have decent looks, are in high demand in the sea market.Ali is a free agent, and she can choose a family with good reputation.

But Ali didn't want to.At other people's homes, she can't control many things.

Fortunately, there are many orphans in Port of Nice, and the city lord is also friendly to them. He not only lets them live under the bridge hole for free, but also allows them to be guides for guests who come to Port of Nice.This job can only be done by orphans under the age of 15. Although Ali's mother is not dead, Ali still has no psychological barriers to report to the soldiers under the bridge hole, saying that her father has been missing at sea for several years, and her mother is overworked. Cheng Ji also went, and she also got the mercy of the registered soldiers and got 1 copper coin.

Ali touched the money bag in her arms, and thought to herself that she was lucky today, and met a rich young master.

Ali grew up with her mother in taverns, used to seeing all kinds of people, and wandered around the sea market for a few years by herself.She knows what kind of guest is a good guest, the lady of a wealthy businessman who knows nothing about the world, the young and energetic swordsman, they have a lot of money in their pockets and a lot of love.

When Ace and Nou first entered Haishi, Ali noticed them.These two teenagers not only have good looks, but also the material of their clothes is excellent. Even the buttons and patterns on their sleeves can be made by only a few tailors in Port of Nice.Alian's eyes are sharp, and she can tell at a glance that the two teenagers are either rich or noble.

It's just that the blond boy's demeanor is like a cold moon, deserted, and Ali doesn't dare to come forward.It wasn't until another black-haired boy with a coquettish smile walked up to the street sign that Ali mustered up the courage to go forward.She believed that even if they didn't want her to be a guide, they wouldn't do anything to her at will.

Ali won the bet, and Ace sold 5 silver coins, which is rare.Generally, for guides of their age, the guests only pay 2 or 3 copper coins, which is enough for their meals for a day.Occasionally, when I meet a rich lady, I only give one silver coin.Ali didn't expect at the beginning that these two guests were so cheap, she couldn't help serving them more carefully.

Ali: "On both sides of the street are the shops of the City Lord's Mansion. The things inside are a little more expensive, but they have been appraised by an appraiser. If you buy fake goods, the shop will double the compensation. Those simple stalls, small merchants and hawkers You can sell things by paying the rent, such as the fruits sold in the sea market, which are freshly transported in by farmers outside the city, which are better than other places in Nice."

Ali pointed to the big man with a scar on his forehead again, and said: "That piece is the territory of the sea mercenary group. Those mercenaries are at sea all year round, and it is easy to get rare treasures, but they often sell parallel imports. There are a few mercenaries The group business is very good, but the reputation is very bad, and they often sell parallel imports at sky-high prices.”

Ace looked in the direction Ali pointed, and the people behind the stalls were obviously different from other places. They were all strong and strong men, and many of them had injuries, including those missing arms and legs, but the people passing by Those who showed no signs of fear were all intently watching the things on the booth.No one dares to take it lightly when buying and selling dozens of gold coins.

Ali's voice was a little envious and a little sad, "It's not easy for the sea mercenary group to make a living. Many of them are disabled. Even if they don't have much to sell, they will rent a stall here, so that those who retire have a way to survive."

Ace glanced at Ali, then walked on, wandering around the sea market for a while.

Nuo Ou saw several oil paintings at a booth, and was amused by the appearance of such things here, so he stopped to look at them.Looking at the painting, Ace always felt a little familiar. He thought to himself, it must not be the work of a certain master.

Ace touched the money bag in his arms. Although it was full of gold tickets and coins, he still felt a little empty. He asked Ali: "What's the matter with the silver frost shell you just mentioned?"

Ace asked a question, Ali dared not answer, she said: "It's okay in the sea market, the gold coins and silver frost shells of the Pansy Empire can be used, and some mercenary groups even accept gold coins from the Finger Empire. But On Millais Street below the Millais Library, the shops there only accept silver frost shells."

Ace raised his eyebrows, "Silver frost shells? Is that the official currency of the Port of Nice?"

An empire, in its own land, its own coins are not recognized by the subjects, it is simply a joke.

Ali didn't understand why Ace's tone suddenly became weird, she just told Ace in as much detail as she knew: "In the beginning, the silver frost shell was a voucher for scholars to borrow books from the Millais library, 1 silver frost shell Shells can be used to borrow 1 book. But at that time, silver frost shells were too rare. Some scholars never got silver frost shells, and some people had extra. They didn’t need so many silver frost shells to borrow books. Trade under the Lai Library, and exchange the silver frost shells you don't need for other supplies."

"It is said that from more than 1000 years before the Pansy Empire was established, the Millais Library was the largest library on the mainland, and the most knowledgeable people in the entire continent gathered here. They clothed coarse linen and drank the lightest Water, eating the cheapest dry food, staying in the Mi Lai library without sleep and food, no one needs gold coins, they only exchange silver frost shells for the most common clothes and food under the Mi Lai library, that is the prototype of the Mi Lai street .”

"Later, the various countries fought. Today everyone uses this kind of currency, and tomorrow everyone uses that kind of currency. At that time, people in many places did not feel safe, but they had no other choice. But the people in Port of Nice are different. As long as we have With silver frost shells, we can trade for what we want on the streets of Mi Lai. It has not changed for more than 1000 years."

"So, even now, every household will store a little silver frost shells. Silver frost shells have always been hard currency in the port of Nice."

Ace: "Then if we need silver frost shells, can we buy them directly?"

Ali shook her head, "There is no official place to trade silver frost shells. There are many shops in the Port of Nice that are willing to sell them, but the prices are not cheap. About 13 gold coins can be exchanged for nine silver frost shells. However, each store has silver shells. There are not many frost shells, and the purchasing power of silver frost shells is similar to that of gold coins, so it is undoubtedly a loss."

Ace: "You're good at arithmetic, so if I want silver frost shells, how can I get the best deal?"

Ali: "Go to the Millais Library. The Millais Library has been buying a lot of things for a long time. If you give them what they want, you can exchange them for silver frost shells. And the silver frost shells are from the Millais Library, as many as you want. "

"Then let's go to the Mi Lai library." Suddenly, Nou said.

Only then did Ace realize that Nuo Ou was no longer beside the stall, but was standing next to him and Ali.And behind that stall, a thin middle-aged man was still trying to keep Nuoou, "Young master, do you want this painting by Master Grover? Master Grover is a famous painter in the entire empire, Now less and less of his works have been handed down in the world. If you miss this one, there will be none!"

Master Grover?Ace was surprised. This was the most famous painter in the Pansy Empire these years. Many nobles were proud to have Master Grover's paintings at home.

Ace pretended to be very arrogant, "If it is really a painting by Master Grover, how could it appear in the sea market? It is not an exaggeration to be the finale of the auction in the imperial capital."

The thin middle-aged man walked quickly to Ace and Nuoou, and whispered: "Young master, I see that you really like it, and you know how to do it. I just told you that this painting was obtained by mercenaries at sea. The method is not very clean, and the above-board channel cannot go through at all. If you accept it, I will leave the port of Nice overnight. Really."

"As long as 10000, no, only 8000 gold coins. It's too hot for me to keep it. The little old man told you this today. If this painting can't be sold today, I won't show it again."

Ace looked at the drawing paper, a lifelike galloping horse, and the endless prairie behind it. Although he didn't quite understand it, he could see that the color matching was reasonable and the painting style was delicate.Ace felt a little more about the wooden board behind the drawing paper, which was nearly 200 years old, about the same time as Master Grover appeared.

Is this really genuine?

"5000 gold coins." If this is true, no matter how much Nou likes it just now, or in terms of collection value, it is not a loss to buy it.

The vendor gritted his teeth and hesitated for a while, and was about to agree, but Ace was stopped by Nou, "You are crazy, this is fake."

Before Ace could react, the vendor seemed to have been stepped on, "Young masters! If you don't want to buy it, don't buy it. Why do you say that about the little old man's stuff? I swear, it's absolutely genuine."

Seeing how confident he was, Ace became a little suspicious.

It was Nou, who laughed lightly, walked to the frame again, and said, "Of course it's fake. You can look for some paintings that imitate Master Grover's "Storm Horse". The eyes of the Slaughter Horse are The black one, yours is dark blue, although the blue is not obvious, but there is nothing wrong with it."

The trader took a closer look in disbelief and found that it was so.He slapped his thigh hard with his hand, cursing, and he didn't know who he was blaming.He turned his back to Ace and the others, but he didn't turn around, and he didn't know if he forgot, or he was afraid that Ace and the others would make trouble for him.

Ace didn't bother with ordinary vendors, so he and Nou walked to the Millais library.

On the way, Ace said: "I didn't expect that you also did research on this."

Nou said unhappily: "Did you forget that in Green Castle, in your bedroom, there is an authentic copy of Master Grover's "Storm Horse"? Don't you think this painting looks familiar?"

Ace: ...

Ace: "This painting is worth at least a million gold coins, and your family just hangs it in the guest bedroom?"

Nuo Ou: "Do you think anyone can live in that bedroom? People from the Koorser family live there." The Koorser family is the most noble family in the Pansy Empire, and it is also the most prestigious family in the Pansy Empire. royal family.

Ace hooked Nou's shoulder, "I know, you are the best to me."

Nou broke free, but didn't break free, so he didn't care about Ace anymore. His head was slightly turned away, and one ear was dyed a light pink.

What Noel didn't tell Ace was that this "Wind Horse" was created by Master Grover when he traveled through the eastern plains of the Louisiana Province. The owner bought it and hung it in the guest bedroom.

No one knows that Master Grover passed away almost 200 years ago, and his paintings suddenly became famous, but the painting "Storm Horse" is still hung in the guest bedroom of Green Castle.

Therefore, except for the 150th anniversary of Master Grover's death, the Green family sent "The Winding Horse" to the imperial capital for exhibition, leaving behind a few imitations that are superficial. This painting has never left Castle Green.

Nuo Ou just saw the painting at first glance, and recognized that it was painted by his good uncle.Although Nuo Ou's uncle didn't have much achievements in martial arts, he has good talents in poetry, painting, and musical instruments. He is usually very pretentious, but now he has to sell fake paintings for a living. I think Princess Mary took him in again. He, to him is not as good as before.

Nuo Ou felt somewhat relieved.