Yaleriga took out a needle flower from her bun and pricked it lightly on Luo Binhan's index finger.
"Press the blood on the front and back of the leaves," she said.
The blood soon seeped into the leaves. Yaleriga returned it to the little man waiting in front of the pile of stones.
The little man walked back to the pile of rocks holding the leaves. After a while, a mole-like creature poked its head out of the nearby grass. It saluted Yaleriga, and then took out three small bottles from the hole.
Yaleriga gave one to Luo Binhan. The bottle is filled with clear liquid and has the words "Please drink me" written on the bottle.
"Grass." Luo Binhan said. He thought of the old story about a rabbit who dug a hole illegally and Alice.
He began to worry about whether his pants were elastic enough, but he still followed Momolo and Yaleriga to open the cork of the bottle and drank the water in one gulp.
"When did we start getting smaller?" he asked, comparing it to the trees next to him.
Momolo looked at him doubtfully: "Get smaller?"
"Don't you have to become smaller when you live in that pile of rocks? Fortunately, you drank medicine and didn't give me a hat to wear... Huh?"
Luo Binhan said and turned around to look. The pile of stones has disappeared, and a wooden door of normal human height stands alone in its place.
The wooden door is dark brown in color, with lilies, daisies and clovers painted on the surface. There is a wooden sign hanging next to the door, written in several languages. Luo Binhan could only recognize "Anxi Qiu" written in alien common language at the bottom.
Yaleriga led them and pushed the door open. When Luo Binhan passed through the door, his vision went dark, and he was immediately surrounded by the aroma of pine wood, wine and barbecue. The surroundings were stuffy and noisy, like being in a rather closed space.
He blinked hard several times and his vision quickly returned. At this time, he was in a tavern-like building. People were sitting in groups at the table, talking noisily. Due to the dim candlelight, it was difficult for Luo Binhan to see their faces clearly, but the shadows reflected on the wall were all kinds of strange and had disturbing outlines.
The deepest part of the building is a stage made of logs. A curly-haired man sat in the middle of the stage, holding a strange xylophone with a round belly and a long handle in his arms. He wore red and blue silk clothing with brilliant gold embroidery on the edges, and a green hat with peacock feathers on his head.
The ostentatiously dressed performer plucked the strings twice and then raised his voice to sing. The music played by the xylophone made Luo Binhan feel mediocre, but the singing had a bit of flavor.
"Today we are gathered here, guests who have come from far away." The performer sang, "The green trees on the top of the hill are full of shade, how happy the house in the hill is! Let me share the joy and praise this golden land."
People in the room were still noisy. Some applauded the performers, while others laughed strangely like they were causing trouble.
The performer continued to sing nonchalantly: "There is one street that can encompass millions of streets, and one door that can open millions of doors. Oh, oh, what a magical place this is! Even though there are endless beauties in the world, my heart is still worried The scenery here! The city of thousands of gates, the city of passages, the city of flowers, the city of ten thousand dharma! Gate city! Gate city! Gate city!"
He sang the last verse repeatedly, his voice getting higher and higher, and he ended abruptly in a series of passionate legato. Finally he stood up and bowed to the audience. There was thunderous applause, the audience cheered and laughed, and threw many bright coins onto the stage.
The performers still bowed to thank everyone and did not pick up the coins at their feet. After he stepped down, several dwarfs ran up and swept all the coins into a wicker dustpan.
The singer's singing had a strange rhythm, which made Luo Binhan forget about it. It wasn't until Yaleriga patted him on the shoulder that he came back to his senses.
She seemed to have just come back from the counter. She handed a small branch as long as a finger to Momolo, and then said: "You two live together, the holly wood on the second floor."
Momolo took the small wooden stick and led Luo Binhan upstairs. They found the room with the sign "Holly Wood" closest to the back of the hallway.
The door panel is a complete and seamless piece of bare wood, leaving only a small, insect-eaten hole in the center. Momolo inserted the twig into the hole, and Luo Binhan heard a subtle creaking sound, like wood growing rapidly.
Momolo pushed open the wooden door, revealing a bright and bright room. The walls and floors are all made of wood, and the furnishings are extremely simple. There was only one large bed in the room, and there was a window three steps away from the bed.
Luo Binhan slipped to the window and looked around. He saw a green hilly land outside. The sun was shining brightly, the breeze was gentle, and a few butterflies were flying among the open grassy slopes. In the distance of Green Hill, there are undulating mountains, with clouds, mist, turquoise, and snowy peaks and streams visible.
He admired the quiet and distant scenery for a few seconds, and then grabbed Momolo.
"What's going on?" he asked calmly.
"We are in a special room, Mr. Luo." Momolo said happily, "You can see the scenery of the Holy Mountain from here. It must be specially arranged for you by Ms. Yalei."
Luo Binhan began to shake his shoulders: "Did I ask you this? I mean where is the street! Where is the street we walked through just now?"
"That's a traffic road." Momolo said, "The place we are now on is Aisen Island, one of the elven territories. An access agreement has been signed with Men City, allowing Anxie Qiu to receive guests from Men City. . But strictly speaking, we are still within the territory of Mencheng. Mr. Luo must not try to run into Essen Island through the window or wall."
He continued to explain to Luo Binhan for a while, and finally made Luo Binhan roughly understand the situation he was in.
"This is a concession." He concluded, "The land is the land of Essen Island, and the law is the law of Gate City. The door just now is like taking a plane."
Momolo nodded. He seemed to have given up on explaining the spatial principles to Luo Binhan.
Luo Binhan looked at the scenery outside the window again. "What would happen if I climbed out of the window?" he asked curiously.
Momolo's face became serious.
"In that case, it is an illegal departure. The protective spell of Essen Island will be activated, and the golden guardian of Gate City will also come to hunt. Moreover, we are now in the lost domain connecting the two sides, not the real Essen Island. If If a primitive Homo sapiens like you, Mr. Luo, falls in, he will probably die on the spot, or even fall into the sea of chaos. Please never do such a thing!"
Luo Binhan quickly took a few steps away from the window.
They continued to look around the house. This room is simple and neat, with most things made of wood. Luo Binhan even found leaves growing in the corners of the floor, but luckily he didn't see any insects.
Another minor annoyance is that the room does not have a toilet or bathroom. Momolo told him that this is because elves usually do not have this custom, and residents who need these two services need to go to the common area on the ground floor to solve it themselves. Luo Binhan was not used to this, but it was not unacceptable.
Soon there was a knock on the door outside the room. Luo Binhan opened the door, and Yaleriga walked in carrying a toolbox.
"We'll go to the market later," she said.
She placed the toolbox on the table and first took out two small cloth bags filled with bright gold coins. She distributed the bag to Momolo and Luo Binhan, followed by two thin cards, the texture of which felt a bit like plastic.
"Use gold coins for the legal side, and use the alliance digital currency for the rational side." She explained.
Luo Binhan was still studying the pattern on the gold coin, when Yaleriga suddenly handed him another heavy metal cube.
"What's this?"
"The high-energy battery I modified," Yaleriga said, "is installed in your ray gun and can support about a hundred shots."
Luo Binhan carefully took the battery. He took out the high-energy ray gun from under his coat and replaced the battery under Yaleriga's guidance.
This gun, according to Momolo who examined it, is a fairly primitive type of energy weapon. Its internal battery can only provide about ten rounds of fire, which is enough to ensure that Luo Binhan will die on the spot in most emergencies. However, after being transformed by Miraculous Yalay, it suddenly became completely new.
"You will still die," Yaleriga said, "if you encounter any of the captain's enemies alone."
Luo Binhan calmly put the gun back under his coat: "But now I can shoot a hundred rounds of distress signals."
