Wang Xiaole's introduction was quite comprehensive, but unfortunately, all that lingered in Bai's little mind now were various fish dishes. Perhaps sensing Bai's thoughts, Wang Xiaole deliberately emphasized, "When interacting with sea tribes, there is one thing you must be careful about: absolutely never mention fish or eat any fish-related food in front of them!"
This taboo is easy to understand, similar to how you shouldn't bring up cooking cats in front of felines. Since hearing his big brother's instructions, Bai's once perked-up tail drooped down, appearing lackluster and losing its shine.
On that particular night, a coachman drove a carriage with a few formidable passengers aboard to Little Bai Town. The moonlit sky, coupled with the seasonal elements, made the night refreshingly cool, devoid of the chilling cold.
Under the cool moonlight, the coachman's fearful face displayed even more dread, trembling as he pleaded with Charley, "Esteemed guest, as per your request, I have safely brought you out of town and to this place. Can you please let me go now?"
Charley was quite satisfied with the coachman's efforts but had no intentions of releasing him. "I'm afraid you might leak information about our location, so I have no choice but to ask you..." Charley licked her blood-stained lips, tightening her grip on the whip in her right hand.
Burn the bridge after crossing it. Once the river is crossed, what purpose does the bridge serve? To the girl with the raised whip, the person before her had lost their value to survive.
Thick clouds were already forming in the sky, casting a red hue that expanded into a blood-red streak in the heavens. The natural scene unfolding, combined with the murderous intent emanating from the girl, left the coachman feeling weak and unable to back away or shiver.
The coachman wasn't certain if he still had time to utter his last words in his mind. The ordinary man's luck wasn't too bad after all; just as Charley was about to lash out with the whip, a hand reached out from the side, halting her actions in that instant.
At that moment, even a layman like the coachman could vaguely feel the diminishing aura of bloodlust from Charley. Wang Xiaole intervened to stop Charley's inappropriate behavior and forced a smile as he told the coachman, "Haha, don't worry, she's just playing with you."
"I really don't think she's joking with me..." The coachman wisely kept this sentence to himself. Otherwise, his small wish to live through tomorrow would seem more ridiculous than a joke.
Considering the scare the honest man had received, Wang Xiaole extended a hand, offering a silver coin as a token of spiritual compensation for the coachman. After the material compensation, he thanked the man once, with the second gratitude coming from a rarely speaking girl.
"That's all, mister, you can go now. Hopefully, you can forget about today's unpleasant experience as soon as possible."
"I won't need you to tell me. I'll erase this memory completely from my mind."
With that thought in mind, the coachman, after exchanging a grateful glance with Wang Xiaole, turned back towards the carriage. The dust raised by the horse's hooves dissipated gradually, soon disappearing in the distance.
Wang Xiaole let out a sigh of relief after saving a life, then proceeded as if nothing had happened, leading the two women towards the city entrance.
Night fell, and it was now midnight.
The sound of insects chirped intermittently. At a time when most creatures were resting, the city guards stationed at the entrance could not afford to sleep.
Typically, those who worked night shifts had their circadian rhythms flipped compared to ordinary people; thus, at this time, the city guards seemed energetic, comparable to night owls reveling in the night.
As soon as one of the guards spotted the approach of three outsiders, he immediately greeted them:
"Hey there, friends from afar, how are you all?"
The guard greeted Wang Xiaole and the others in a tone reminiscent of an idol greeting fans, giving off a warm impression.
It was practically impossible not to be enthusiastic. In an era of constant conflicts among various factions, population was considered valuable to any country; thus, it was expected for the first individuals encountered by outsiders arriving in the city to have lively and cheerful personalities.
In fact, in a time when the various forces frequently clashed, it was crucial for the guards to appear warm and welcoming to newcomers. This initial welcoming attitude was vital to attract more inhabitants to the city, leading to its prosperity.
Following tradition, after exchanging greetings with the three individuals, the guards requested an essential item.
An identity card—its function was akin to a citizen card in the Heavenly Dynasty.
In the United Continent, such a document could be a small booklet or even a metal object; in short, it depended on the issuing standards of each country.
Faced with the unavoidable procedure, each of the three individuals handed over their respective identity cards, none of which were authentic!
Wang Xiaole was a ranger, a typical social drifter who had no way of proving himself as a law-abiding citizen unless it was in a dream; Bai was an assassin, a dangerous individual most countries would not welcome aside from specific places, so she had to use a fake identity as well.
As for Charley, her origins were even more mysterious. Not even the first two individuals knew where she came from, leading to the necessity of using a false identity in fear of being rejected anywhere she went.
Thankfully, the three had their ways, enabling them to readily produce fake identity cards even when traveling to other cities.
The guards' ability to detect counterfeits was evidently limited, as after observing for a long time, they failed to identify any fakes.
"Confirmation complete. Wishing you all a pleasant new life in 'Little White City.'"
Upon hearing these words, those unaware might think they had already passed the customs.
However, they had not. The reason the guards said that was just to temporarily appease the individuals in front of them, preventing them from becoming impatient.
In reality, for the three to enter the city officially, they had to pass through two more checkpoints.
With a warm smile on his face, the guard handed over three thin slips of paper to them.
Taking them, they saw four big words on each slip:
Survey questionnaire.
Question 1:
What are your thoughts on the Dragon clan?
Question 2:
What are your thoughts on the beastkin?
Question 3:
What are your thoughts on the sea tribe?
The questionnaire consisted of three questions, requiring the outsiders to answer on the spot.
It's not a multiple-choice or true-false question, so randomly selecting and hitting the right answer won't work. There are no options provided for reference either.
Although there is no limit on the word count, if the answers from three individuals fail to satisfy the city guard, then those three will have to leave just as they came.
Alas, every country and city needs to increase its population, but if the newcomers happen to be individuals who pose a threat to the city or its citizens, it's better not to have them at all.
It seems like the city managers believe that:
Those who give satisfactory answers when filling out the survey can become good citizens once they enter the city.
Since there is such a strict requirement, might as well just fill it out.
Three individuals each provided their answers. Wang Xiaole wrote his views on three races from left to right as follows:
Hoping the girls are pretty and cute, hoping the girls are pretty.
Charley's response was:
A race with a bad temper, furry, as long as there's no fishy smell.
Lastly, Bai wrote:
With long horns, they are all good people, food (crossed out).
After being corrected by Wang Xiaole, Bai reluctantly changed the last answer to "want to meet them."
The survey was completed and handed in.
The smiling city guard who received it took a look, murmured to himself for a moment, and then gave his judgment:
All pass!
Although the city guard was a bit concerned about the crossed-out word "food", when he looked down at the adorable little girl, he believed:
Someone who doesn't look like a bad child couldn't possibly cause trouble...
And so the trio passed through, with several warm gazes upon them, taking a few steps into the city.
Compared to the small town they previously lived in, this city was not only much larger but also bustling even at night;
In some small countries, this city could easily pass as the capital.
Once inside the city, following the habit he had developed, Wang Xiaole led the two girls to the nearest inn.
Actually, in the late hours like these, inns were easier to find;
Because when around half of the shops had closed and turned off their lights, buildings like inns and entertainment venues that continued operating at night stood out prominently.
Upon entering the inn, Miss Mermaid responsible for reception at the front desk waved her fish tail to greet the guests:
"Good evening to the three guests! There are still many vacancies on the second floor. How many rooms do you need in total?"
Among the sea tribes, the merfolk, relatively, showed the least aversion to humans;
And in Inran, a country with multiple races coexisting, there were many sea tribes accustomed to being employed by human bosses and hosting human guests.
For example, this mermaid miss with a welcoming smile displayed clearly had rich work experience and behaved very gracefully.
Wang Xiaole stopped Bai, who was grinding his teeth, made a gesture, telling the young lady:
"Two rooms!"
Note that this statement was not spoken by him because what he presented now was a hand gesture forming the number "three."
Unfortunately, actions like gestures still had a certain gap between them and verbally expressed intentions.
It was Charley who understood the principle of "actions speak louder than words" and managed to arrange three rooms ahead of someone else, seizing the opportunity to get the young lady to allocate the rooms.
Both of their arrangements were reasonable.
For the convenience of Bai's assassination, and for the need to protect personal safety, Wang Xiaole planned to open three rooms. Charley guessed his thoughts and made appropriate adjustments based on this idea; she asked for two rooms, one for Bai and the other for herself and Wang Xiaole to live in. It should be said that the two's ideas are not completely incompatible, at most it is a major disagreement on whether to live together. Is Charley's arrangement extreme? Very extreme! But the even more extreme part is yet to come. Not long after, a shout rang out here, completely disrupting Charley's original plan: "Two rooms, with this whip-wielding girl in one, and the beastkin little girl and me in the other!"
