119 Strange Place

It was an instinct to be wary of his surroundings. This world was not safe.

Comparatively, Fang Ping was a little careless.

As they walked on the road, they would occasionally pass by a few people who were in a hurry. Without a public carriage, they could only rely on walking.

When there were slightly more people, Fang Ping and Qing Niao would repeat what they had said before.

Fang Ping looked at the street. Other than some workshops, most of the doors were closed.

The sky was slightly brighter, but there were even fewer people on the street. Moreover, there were only a few shops. There was not a single person on the street.

“It’s really inconvenient to buy things in Fire Dragon City.” Fang Ping wanted to buy a water bag and drink some water, but he did not see a single vendor.

“That’s right. I forgot to bring a water bag out too. I’m a little thirsty from talking all the time.”

Qing Niao also looked at the roadside and suddenly frowned. “In the past, when I was thirsty, I would find a restaurant and drink a few mouthfuls from the Gushing Spring. But along the way, I don’t think I saw a restaurant. Did you see it?”

Fang Ping recalled for a moment and shook his head. “I don’t think so. If that’s the case, no wonder William arranged for us to sleep in the courtyard. It looks like there’s no restaurant to stay in.”

“This Fire Dragon City is really special.”

After walking for a short distance, he vaguely heard the sound of clanking. Further ahead, he saw the sign of the hammer and the words “Blacksmith Shop”.

Fang Ping walked over excitedly. He had long wanted to change his Elemental Suit.

They were cheap goods to begin with. They were worn when walking, when fighting, and even when sleeping. Now that they were wrinkled, they looked even cheaper.

Qing Niao pulled on his clothes, paused for a moment, and followed.

Walking into the blacksmith shop, many people were busy. The crisp and loud knocking sounds were endless.

“New face.”

A burly man walked toward Fang Ping with a water bag in his hand. His voice was loud and clear. “There’s still someone who can enter Fire Dragon City at this time?”

Fang Ping made it up casually. “We’re from the Oka Chamber of Commerce. We’ve been in Fire Dragon City for some time.”

The burly man gulped and said, “Oka Chamber of Commerce? I’ve never heard of it. Where did this small chamber of commerce come from? You guys are lucky. If you were any later, you probably wouldn’t have been able to enter.”

Qing Niao behind him added, “On the way here, I heard that Duke Dewey’s son, Chen Long, is about to reach Fire Dragon City.”

Fang Ping could clearly feel the eyes of the burly man in front of him light up. His pupils dilated visibly, and a knowing smile appeared on his face.

But in an instant, his expression dimmed again as he muttered, “No wonder, no wonder, Blade Peak…”

Fang Ping did not know what was wrong with him, but he still asked, “Boss, I want to buy a set of armor, or custom-made one.”

He sighed and gulped down another mouthful of water before answering Fang Ping, “We’re not making custom-made armor. We only have ready-made ones. What price do you want?”

When Fang Ping left Fire Dragon City, he had seventy-seven Silver Dragons. Along the way, he did not spend any money in the wilderness, so he still had seventy-seven Silver Dragons on him.

He also had to leave some money for his daily expenses.

“50 to 60 silver dragons, what do you have around that range?”

“50 to 60… Follow me.”

He walked towards a wall. There was a row of shelves with all kinds of armor.

Qing Niao followed beside Fang Ping and said, “Fang Ping, how do you earn money? I keep thinking you’re rich.”

“I…” Fang Ping thought about it. He seemed to be quite rich, but why? He could not really explain it.

“Fang Ping, I don’t think you’ll be able to use that Elemental Set of yours anymore. Why don’t you sell it to me? I’ve earned some money on the road recently.”

“Sure, we’ll talk about it when we get back.”

The sound of metal colliding reverberated. Conversation became a very strenuous thing.

The burly man walked to the shelves and pointed to the second row of shelves. “Take a look at these three sets.”

Seeing that Fang Ping could not understand it, he asked, “Can you introduce the features to me?”

“This set, Ruby set, 38 silver dragons. Increases attack power by 30 points. No characteristics.

This set was a double-layered heavy armor set, cost 50 silver dragons. It increased a small amount of strength and five points of attack power. Specialty: Heavy Armor 2, Blunt Steps.

“The last set is a specialty of Fire Dragon City, the Frost Set. It increases attack power by five points. Specialty: Heavy Armor 1, Magic Armor 1.”

Fang Ping was quite interested in the last frost-white Frost suit. Its life-saving ability was bursting.

Although the double-layered heavy armor set was Heavy Armor 2, the characteristic of blunt steps was not beautiful.

Blunt Steps: Movement speed reduced by 50%.

This was alright in a battle, but if he wanted to escape, it would be difficult.

Fang Ping was right. Hence, in the army, most of the heavy-armored soldiers in positional warfare wore this set of armor. Since they could not escape, they could only use their full strength to resist.

“How much is this Frost suit?”

“65 silver dragons. That’s the price in Fire Dragon City. If you were to get it outside, it’ll be at least a hundred silver dragons.”

Fang Ping nodded and took out some money from his pocket. “I want it. Wrap it up for me first.”

He took Fang Ping’s silver coins and glanced at them briefly. Then, he called out to a half-grown child who was squatting on the ground and tidying up. “Sha Sha, come here. Help him choose a Normal-level Frost Set and wrap it up.”

“I’m coming!”

A little girl who looked to be about eleven or twelve years old ran over and sized Fang Ping up from head to toe. Then, she walked to the shelf, looked at him, and came down with a set of frosty white armor.

“Try this on, see if it fits.”

“Almost. Wrap it up for me.”

Soon, Fang Ping walked out of the blacksmith store with a large cloth bag on his back. He found Qing Niao standing at the door behind him, not following him.

Fang Ping turned to look. Qing Niao was pinching his chin, deep in thought.

“Qing Niao, what’s wrong?”

“Fang Ping, I feel like something is off.”

What was strange about it? There were many strange places in Fire Dragon City, but he didn’t know which one Qing Niao was talking about.

Qing Niao pointed at the spacious, clean, and tidy street and said, “There are no homeless people, no children running around. Where did everyone go?”

When Qing Niao said that, Fang Ping felt that walking on the street was creepy. It was as if something was missing. Now that he thought about it, it was less lively.

“Shall we go in and ask someone?” Qing Niao wanted to return to the blacksmith.

Fang Ping held him back. “Forget it. It’s none of our business what happens to Fire Dragon City. Let’s finish our current mission first.”

“That’s true. I hope this place can be resolved as soon as possible. It’s more comfortable to return to the Elf City as soon as possible.”

The two of them continued down the street.

He finally saw a shop ahead.

There was no signboard in the narrow shop. An old woman was sitting in the shop, leaning against a wooden chair with her eyes closed.

The things in the shop were all over the shelves. They were all small items that could be used in daily life.

Fang Ping saw the water bag hanging on the wall. He finally had water to drink.

“Hello, I want a water bag. How much is it?”

“Oh.” The granny opened her eyes and glanced at Fang Ping and Qing Niao.

“Foreigner.” She pushed herself up by the chair handle and reached for a waterskin. “Fifteen coppers.”