Man Xiu said mysteriously, "Besides, there are some islanders from the Western Isles who claim to have seen the presence of the Sea Race."

"Sea Race? What are they like?"

Luo De immediately thought of the fishman monster he had seen in the ruins.

But actually, the Sea Race is a very broad species.

There are the legendary mermaid, siren, sea frogman, and many more, much richer than human races.

The Sea Race, like the Northern Desolate Alien Race, refers to many kinds of intelligent creatures.

"Some ugly fishmen emerged from the sea."

Man Xiu tried his best to recall and emphasized, "Very very ugly, all they do is squawk all day, and they don't even speak the language of the Empire."

"But they are very cruel, attacking nearby fishing villages, catching the surrounding lords off guard."

Luo De thought it was a conflict between the Western Province and the Southern Province, but it turned out to be an invasion by external enemies.

"Is the fight severe? Has the Empire not reacted?"

Luo De asked.

If it's truly an external invasion, the Empire wouldn't stand idly by.

"Before I brought these slaves, for now, it's just the Duke of Flowers maintaining the war, but it's said that southern lords have already prepared their armies,"

Man Xiu said with a smile, "The information isn't accurate, it's just hearsay, I think if it were a secret operation, we wouldn't know so easily."

"Don't you guys know?"

Luo De was curious, "Aren't you merchants supposed to profit from the war? The prices of grain and weapons in the west should be soaring now, right?"

Man Xiu nodded, "Of course, but you know, each of our family merchant guilds has fixed trade routes and scopes."

"That western border has nothing to do with the Silver Dove Clan, so I can't do anything about it."

Man Xiu felt helpless, "The Sheepskin Clan paid a great price to secure the western trade route back then."

"Then you just focus on my trade route, you can continue to provide me with slaves, the more the better."

Luo De said with a smile.

"Of course! Your place is better than theirs!"

Man Xiu praised, "I also want more salt and new paper!"

"Huh?"

Luo De suddenly realized, "If there's a war in the Western Islands, is your salt supply also affected?"

Man Xiu looked at Luo De and sighed slightly, "You're so sharp... well, yes."

Originally, Man Xiu would purchase salt and sell it all the way back.

But now the price of salt near Oak City has risen to 60 Copper Coins, and Man Xiu has considered sending it back to sell.

"You aren't thinking of raising the price, are you?" Man Xiu asked with a bitter face.

"You yourself said the price of slaves isn't high, and the price of salt is rising."

Luo De didn't say it directly but smiled while looking at Man Xiu, "You'll have to share some of the profit with me, right?"

Clear accounts make good friends, but in business, one must be serious.

"Fine."

Man Xiu agreed helplessly, thought for a while, and said, "Half price for the slaves, you have to let me earn back what I feed them, right?"

"Deal."

Luo De readily agreed.

...

...

"By the way, Lord Baron!"

Man Xiu smiled mysteriously, his face full of pride and his voice carrying a hint of glee,

"This time I've brought you something good!"

"Oh?"

Luo De raised an eyebrow, momentarily curious.

This guy had shown such an expression for the first time.

Man Xiu carefully pulled open his clothing and took out a very exquisite pouch from inside.

"Do you have a small knife?"

Man Xiu asked.

Luo De nodded, then took a fruit knife from the nearby basket and handed it to Man Xiu.

"Thank you."

Man Xiu took the small knife and skillfully cut open the pouch closure.

His movements were very light, clearly indicating something precious was inside.

"Lord Baron, please take a look at this!"

Man Xiu took out an orange-red gem from inside and held it up before Luo De.

Luo De's gaze narrowed as he stared at the gem.

It shimmered under sunlight, like a flickering flame, fervent and familiar.

The Flame Gem among the Extraordinary Gems.

This one was even larger than the one Luo De had found in the belly of the great bear!

Man Xiu's face was full of smiles,

"This is the Extraordinary Gem you wanted! I asked many friends and went through great efforts to get it!"

"I know."

Luo De said calmly.

He took the gem and weighed it in his hand, immediately feeling the heat coming from his palm.

Even though Luo De wasn't actively absorbing it now, the energy of the flame was gradually seeping into his body.

Before the Gem Collector was unlocked, this thing would have just been a collectible for him.

But now it's different.

He needed the energy from this Flame Gem to become stronger.

"How much Gold Coin."

Luo De asked directly.

"This Extraordinary Gem is two hundred thirty-seven Gold Coins."

Man Xiu's tone was very serious,

"This gem cost me a lot of favors, but I didn't ask for any more Gold Coins than that, it cost me two hundred thirty-seven Gold Coins."

Man Xiu then smiled slightly, "However, I hope to exchange this gem for a sumptuous dinner."

"Hahaha!"

Luo De clenched the Flame Gem, in a great mood, "Rest assured, I will let you taste something you've never had before."

The cost of a Flame Gem is certainly not cheap, over two hundred Gold Coins is far below Luo De's expectations.

Luo De thought it might reach four hundred Gold Coins.

So Luo De didn't haggle for the first time.

He stood up, waved to call Leia, and whispered a few words to her.

"This gem is good, I hope you can get me more."

"Rest assured, I will do my best to collect them."

Man Xiu nodded solemnly.

In the hall, Leia and the servants began to get busy.

In no time, four braziers filled with charcoal were placed on the table, and Leia lit them and then put the clay pot on top.

"What is this?"

Man Xiu was curious.

"You'll see soon."

Luo De smiled.

Luo De was of course treating Man Xiu to hot pot.

But not like before, gathered around the stove together,

—the nobles always need to be a bit more refined, not crowded together.

Now, each person had a small pot, with the broth bubbling with steam.

In the evening, while snowflakes drifted outside, it was warm and cozy inside.

Man Xiu threw a piece of meat into the pot, looking at the steaming broth, and couldn't help but sigh, "This is really nice!"

He fished out a piece of boiled meat and took a bite, full of savory flavor, squinting his eyes with satisfaction, "Eating something hot while drinking broth is simply too comfortable!"

However, Man Xiu was not as adept with chopsticks as Avril and Durant, who were already nimble with them.

Like Lawrence, he was clumsy with wooden skewers and forks, eating a bit awkwardly.

"Did you mention the Sea Race today?"

Luo De said casually while boiling meat, "I hope you can help me investigate something."

Man Xiu, with his mouth full, swallowed and nodded, "Mhm mhm, what do you need?"

Luo De put down his chopsticks and took out a piece of paper from his pocket, handing it to Man Xiu, "Help me find out what these patterns are and what they're related to."

On it, of course, were the characters from the books in the ruins.

Luo De didn't say they were words, just lightly referred to them as "patterns."

Luo De isn't used to relying solely on one person or organization.

If the Dawn Society doesn't know, perhaps Man Xiu may have the answer.

Man Xiu put down his utensils, took the paper, and frowned as he looked for a long time without any clues,

"This..."

Man Xiu had never seen such strange patterns before.

He looked up at Luo De and assured, "No problem, I will definitely find out for you!"

Luo De nodded and picked up his bowl, taking a sip of the soup, and said slowly, "It might be related to the artifact symbols, you might want to check into that."

"Also, if you can't find it, let it be."

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