The man chased him to the entrance of the alley, sneakily peeked inside, only to find that there was no one in the alley. He was startled, thinking that he had lost track of his target, and hurriedly rushed in.
But the moment he stepped in, he felt as if he had stepped into a layer of viscous liquid, and the air slowly twisted and stretched forward. The next moment, there was a soft sound of 'pop', which was like tearing a barrier.
The surrounding scenery formed a patch of black and blue, which merged with each other as the 'diaphragm' was torn open, and finally formed two girls, one on the left and one on the right. One of them was holding a dagger in one hand, and the other hand was on her waist, tilting her head. , the other was slightly shorter, holding a magic wand, and the two of them just looked at him leisurely.
"Who are you looking for?"
The blue-haired girl asked calmly.
The Sea Tribe man's thoughts were like lightning. His right hand sank down and pressed against the dagger hanging on his waist. The next moment, a silver light shot towards the black-haired girl on one side. He knew in his heart that most magicians had passive shields, so it would be unwise to be the target of a sneak attack - but with a heavy blow in his hand, he looked up and saw that the black-haired girl had unexpectedly stretched out her hands, clasped them together, and held Ming Dao. The blade of the knife - she wore a black leather glove that only reached half of her palm, playfully revealing the white palm and a copper-colored bladed gear emblem on the leather.
The black-haired girl was also looking at him, with a slight curl in her mouth.
The man was horrified, and he turned the blade in his hand vigorously, but the girl seemed to have guessed his movements, and a hint of smart color flashed in her dark eyes. She took two steps up, pushed her feet on the wall, and spun around like a top. At that moment, the man felt a huge force coming from his hand, and was involuntarily carried away by the force of the rotation.
The girl folded in mid-air like a swallow, stretched out one leg, and pushed him down with a spinning kick. It was like a black whip shadow, pressing hard on the back of the man's neck, hitting him so hard that he almost fell down. But the man roared angrily, sank down to kneel on one knee, and let go of the dagger with one hand before getting out of the black-haired girl's control.
"Hey, the skin is so thick."
The girl sighed while she was still in the air.
The man gritted his teeth, took out a hand crossbow with his other hand, turned back to the black-haired girl, and pulled the trigger.
It was a pity that after the black-haired girl swiped her whip on him, her whole body melted away like a burst of mist. The crossbow bolt only passed through her body, and flew out of the alley like a shadow. The mist transformed by the black-haired girl flowed forward like a shuttle, passed through both sides of the man's body, gathered again behind him, and formed in an instant.
The next moment, the black-haired girl stood there gracefully. Before the man could react, she struck the man on the back of the head with a knife from behind. The latter immediately rolled his eyes and fell down.
After washing his hands, he looked at the blue-haired girl on the side, stretched out his little hand and bowed to her: "Xiao Shuangshuang, do you want a high-five?"
Shuangtian rolled his eyes: "Please save time and quickly check who this guy is."
But she shook her hand gently, and at some point, a silver dagger appeared in her hand. The dagger was covered in a dark scabbard, and there was a very unique butterfly-shaped silver carving on the scabbard. She shook the scabbard in her hand and replied with a smile: "I have already checked it. If I search again at this time, the dagger may disappear, but the theft skills are different."
Even though it was not the first time to partner with the other party, Shuangtian couldn't help but be a little surprised when he saw this scene: "When did you do it again?"
"Of course it was not long ago," said Washwash with a smile, showing his small white fangs: "Among the nightingales, I am not the one with the highest fighting ability, but compared with my skills, I will not necessarily lose if the Ten Kings come."
"Yes, yes, you are the best at sneaking around," Shuangtian said angrily: "But I think you said one thing wrong. Among the nightingales, you may not be the most skilled at makeup, but you are the best at makeup. There is no one better in disguise than anyone else."
The black-haired girl laughed after hearing this. Not only was she not ashamed, but she was very proud of it.
Shuangtian didn't bother to tell her, he just said: "What is the origin of this dagger? Do you know that butterfly?"
Washing his hands, he glanced at the dagger in his hand and shook his head: "I haven't seen it before, but this emblem is a bit special. It should be a clue. Anyway, let's keep it for now."
While the two were talking, there was a sudden noise outside the alley.
Shuangtian held the magic wand and turned around somewhat unexpectedly. He saw a group of selectors wearing black and red shirts passing by on the avenue outside in the distance.
Behind these people, there is a group of knights on horseback.
Those knights wore red robes or full-face helmets with a pair of dark golden wings, and their expressions could not be seen clearly through the thin gaps in the metal visors, which only made people feel a sense of oppression. A silver metal armor was exposed under the blood-colored long sleeves, and the iron gauntlet held a halberd tightly. On the halberd was a flaming cross-shaped emblem.
Shuangtian looked at these people with a little surprise, and couldn't help but asked to himself: "What are these people doing?"
"Those wearing black and red shirts are people from the old Southern Alliance," Washing hands replied from the side: "Not all, but there are quite a few. They have been making a lot of trouble here recently. You should have heard about it, right?"
"Of course I know," Shuangtian rolled his eyes: "I'm asking about those knights. I have never seen these people before."
He washed his hands and spread his hands: "In short, he is not from the Elfendor Council."
At this moment, the team suddenly turned towards the trestle on the lakeshore - there, a middle-aged man wearing a black robe and holding a staff was getting off a sailboat anchored in the bay of the lake.
The other party was wearing a blood-red mask, and his true face could not be seen clearly. He looked at the noisy crowd, raised his hands to signal silence, and then said: "Everyone, I believe you have heard about it. Whether it is the royal family, the prime minister's side, the descendants of Flor, and Everyone from BBK rejected our proposal——"
Washing his hands and looking at the man from a distance, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
"Have you seen him?" Shuangtian asked.
The girl shook her head.
The middle-aged man raised a fist and said loudly: "But we have never asked for sympathy from others. The Southern Alliance and these Yankees are not on the same page. If anyone is the first to provoke this Disputes——"
He paused for a moment before speaking again: "Then, the fault is not on our side either."
"And I heard—"
"The Oak Knights of Tapolis have been disbanded."
"The Kaulin-Ithurian Eastern Economic Community is also in danger."
The middle-aged man shouted: "Everyone, in Aitaria, in the history of Stargate, the Free Guild, the Alliance of Free Chosen Ones have never been so close to the edge of danger as at this moment today. Is it because of what we have done?" What's wrong?"
"No--"
He shook his head: "It's all just the Grand Guild being aggressive and the Super Competitive Alliance doing nothing, and even colluding with them."
"But unfortunately, the Star Gate is not some people's Star Gate," the middle-aged man raised the magic wand in his hand: "They want us to put down our swords and surrender without resistance?"
The middle-aged man in black opened his mouth wide, as if roaring from his chest: "Do you agree?"
"No!"
"Say yes!"
The roar resounded through the sky, instantly attracting the attention of the nearby native people.
Shuangtian looked at this scene and couldn't help but frown: "What an inflammatory eloquence. I always feel like I have seen these people somewhere."
"Um?"
She turned around and asked, "You should know that I just came back from Oshu, right?"
The black-haired girl seemed a little distracted: "Oh, does it have anything to do with that?"
Shuangtian replied: "The current situation in Oshu is much worse than that of Corin-Ishulian. The feud between Emperor Felit VII and Duke Owl Eagle is getting deeper and deeper. Felit VII has already sent his army to Ogilvy. In the special area, the two sides are at war with each other, and a war is imminent."
"Instead of trying to bridge this relationship, some emerging Chosen Guilds took the opportunity to divide into two camps and grew stronger through the current chaos. These people and the Chosen who acted in accordance with the "Stargate Declaration" in the past have been separated from each other. It’s very different.”
Washing hands nodded slightly and replied: "I have heard of this matter, but it's just some new guilds, right?"
Shuangtian replied quietly: "Although it is a new force, it has developed extremely rapidly. They had a battle with 'Gray Field''s affiliated branch in Aitaria not long ago, and each had their own victory or defeat. North American Super Competitive League Their status as a first-tier guild has been officially recognized, and I heard that they can get some tickets to the second world this year."
"The Gray King FOX is so shameful," the black-haired girl snorted softly: "My own branch can't even beat the rising stars. But it's only in the first division. With the way those guilds have made their fortunes, in the country It’s impossible to repeat.”
Shuangtian turned around and said, "Look at these people outside, do you really think it's impossible?"
"That's different," Washwash replied indifferently: "Actually, they were right. This was BBK's own fault. If he hadn't forced the Southern Alliance to reach this stage, would there have been so many things? I I heard that Stargate Port is investigating the Super Competitive Alliance, and they will feel better after that."
Shuangtian looked at her and asked, "Do you really think that? Just watch."
Washing hands looked at her a little surprised.
…
For Fang Plover, the meeting was scheduled for the week after that.
It took them two days to arrive at Bargo in the airship arranged by the eldest princess, and then rode a beast of burden and traveled into the desert for a long time before arriving at a palace in an oasis. The meeting place between the two parties was arranged at this place. According to Abed, this is just one of the private properties of Her Royal Highness the Princess and has nothing to do with the Penelope royal family.
In fact, the manor outside Tansnil City was in a similar situation, which gave Fang Pliance a new understanding of the business ability of Her Royal Highness the Princess.
As we all know, Istania has a very strong business atmosphere, a place where money and wealth flow, and the reputation of the country that Ms. Roman loves - these Istanian businessmen from afar have come to visit Corin-Ithurian. Prestigious. Business has long been a tradition in this desert country, so the way the Sand King Babartan raised his children is not surprising to outsiders - he gave his children a start-up capital and let them Each will take care of his own property and savings.
Of course, most members of the royal family will have a dedicated team, so they will not go bankrupt due to poor management. However, the fact that this eldest princess has become so rich that the country is so rich in such a short period of time is naturally closely related to her own ability and unique vision.
Since the Seven Seas Traveler is still under construction in Tansnir, Fang Plover did not bring everyone from the Seven Seas Brigade this time. Even the ship officer lady stayed in the shipyard to continue presiding over the construction work. Related to it, Tianlan, Neither Luo Yu nor Jita made the trip.
Only a few people, including Xiang Xiang, Parker, Luo Hao and Tang De, accompanied him. Sylvide asked Siesta to accompany him and take care of the food and daily life of the group and their Captain.
Although the maid still didn't have a good look on him, she still worked hard without complaint.
Except for Shesta, who had a straight face, and Tang De, who was dismissive of this, the group sighed at the magnificence of this palace in the desert. Among them, Fang Plover prevented the Papalars from reaching out to the collections in the palace more than once. Out of the clutches.
The little man seemed to be almost dazzled by the jewelery interiors and gold and silver handicrafts in the palace, which almost made Parker drool all the way.
And it didn't take long for them to meet the person they really wanted to see in this industry.
However, Fang Yu did not expect that the other party would be an old lady with a somewhat serious face.
In fact, it is difficult to tell the specific age of this lady. Just judging from her appearance, she gives people the feeling of being pampered. From her face, she is only in her early forties, but she has gray silver hair and a band on her head. The patterned headscarf with crystal pendants hangs down behind her.
She wears earrings with purple crystal pendants. Her skin is extremely well maintained, fair and delicate, not at all what she should look like at this age. There are only a few crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, and only one or two wrinkles on her forehead. She is of a race and skin color that are rare in Istania. If not for her facial features, she looks more like a Corin-Ithurian.
But her eyes gave people a feeling of age and vicissitudes. There was a touch of maturity in her light purple pupils, as if she had experienced hardships and hardships, and was used to seeing the world, and there was a kind of heart-stopping feeling. rich experience and insight.
The moment Fang Yu saw these eyes, he felt that the other person's age should be older than what appeared on the outside, or even much older.
Princess Rupert is here too.
She should have arrived a step earlier and was sitting alone next to the old woman. She introduced them to them in a graceful voice:
"Everyone, this is Ms. Farid Aljuhan Raziz, the biological mother of Princess Parrit and my grandmother. She heard about you and wanted to meet you."
Fang Yu had already expected that since the other party came from the princess's maternal clan, he must have an extraordinary status, but he did not expect that he would be the princess's grandmother, and he couldn't help but be slightly surprised.
The old lady looked at them carefully, but she didn't seem to speak the common language of Corin-Ithurian. Instead, she turned around and whispered something to Her Royal Highness the Princess, and then made a gesture to the latter. .
Princess Rupert nodded, then turned around and said: "As for my mother, the tragedy of that year is now vivid in my mind. My grandmother does not want to talk more. I hope you can understand the suffering of an old man in this matter." However, my grandmother has something that she hopes I can pass on to you for safekeeping, and maybe you can get some clues from it."
Fang Yu nodded. He originally wanted to ask the princess about some of her experiences in the first half of her life, especially what happened before she married into the Penelope royal family. But after thinking about it carefully, many of the questions involved royal family privacy. Istania is a quite conservative country, which is very different from the earth and Corin-Ithurion.
Some questions are really not easy to ask.
Of course, if the investigation reaches a dead end, he will still speak when he should, but now that the other party is willing to proactively provide clues, he is also willing to see what the thing is first.
Princess Rupert asked the servant to bring a low table. There was a small box on the low table. The box seemed to be made of silk and was covered with various jewelry. When Parker heard that the other party was going to hand over the box to them for safekeeping, he almost ran over in excitement - if Fang Plover hadn't stumbled with his foot, causing this guy to fall to the ground.
He looked up a little apologetically at Her Royal Highness the Princess and the old woman, and Princess Rupert only nodded in amusement.
She picked up the box and presented it to the old lady. The woman stretched out her hand and opened the box with some trembling. Only then did Fang Yu see that there was a thin notebook inside.
His eyes lit up slightly. If there were written records such as diaries, the information contained in them would be so rich. For them who had no clue at all, this was like giving timely help, but what also made him feel a little confused was that if this was the written record left by the princess, the Penelope royal family would get nothing from it. What?
The princess took out the note with both hands and said to them: "This is a note left by my mother before she was alive, but none of us can see what is written in it. We also separated part of the 'writing' in it before. , I asked some selectmen to identify it, but they had never seen similar words."
Fang Yu was stunned for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "Do you think the notes left by the princess were in the caller's writing?"
"The royal family also has many scholars," Her Royal Highness the Princess replied: "They are proficient in almost every language in Aitalia, including scholars who know the very rare Wood language, Druid and Elf language. We also learned from Silver. The tower has invited some people, but they don’t understand the words on it.”
Fang Yu added: "There are actually many countries that can be selected, and the writing and language of most countries are also different. If you choose someone from among the selectors of Kaolin-Ishulian, the other party may not be the same." Know every word.”
"We have naturally considered this," Her Royal Highness the Princess added: "The people we selected are not only the selectors of Kaolin-Ithurion, but also some selectors from other regions, including some of your scholars. , but none of them knew the words on it.”
She paused and then said: "Of course, I don't think Mr. Ed must know it, but there are some strange patterns on this note. Someone told us before that those patterns may be related to alchemy. Although I I have asked almost every alchemy master in Istania, and they all cannot recognize the origin of those patterns, but I think this will at least provide you with some clues and ideas."
Fang Yu didn't expect this thing to be so bizarre.
A dignified princess actually wrote down a notebook in private using words that almost everyone could not understand. This in itself was a very abnormal thing. When most people keep a diary, they will of course consider protecting privacy, but few people will go to such great lengths unless she has some ulterior secrets.
In fact, this itself is already a clue.
At least this princess doesn't seem to be ordinary, like an ordinary person. That would be a headache and prove that their previous speculation may have been wrong. And now, the appearance of this notebook shows that there is an unknown side to the princess, which coincides with his and Sylvide's reasoning.
He didn't speak, just waiting for Her Highness the Princess to show him what was in the note.
Sure enough, after the eldest princess dismissed the servant, she opened the note to him.
When Fang Yu saw the handwriting on the note for the first time, he was stunned.
"What the hell kind of talisman is this?" Parker just got up from the ground and couldn't help but muttered as he looked at the crooked words. He turned back and asked the others: "Do you know, this is a Chinese character? But I remember it doesn't look like this."
Both Xiang Xiang and Luo Hao shook their heads.
However, Luo Hao was well-informed. He acted as a keyboard master in the community and naturally had a wide range of knowledge. He narrowed his eyes and said: "This seems to be some kind of shorthand symbol, but it is very different from the international shorthand symbol. If this If the princess had added personal shorthand notes, it would be troublesome to interpret."
"After all, the princess has already——"
When Luo Hao said this, he stopped subconsciously and suddenly realized that it seemed a bit impolite to say such words in front of the daughter and biological mother of the person involved.
But fortunately, Her Royal Highness the Princess and the old woman didn't seem to care about this. She just looked at Luo Hao and replied: "Actually, some of the scholars among you we found also said similar things to us, but they didn't Study out the inherent laws."
"This is natural," Luo Hao replied: "I heard that there was no shorthand in Aitalia originally, and the contemporary shorthand on the earth is formed after adding some inherent rules to the existing language. If you understand the relevant Linguistics, on the other hand, can infer the inherent rules of shorthand symbols through the rules of language itself."
"But there is a trouble here, because the princess herself is not from Earth. The language she uses may be some kind of language in Aitaria, and she uses the shorthand rules on Earth to diffract her own set of shorthand rules. Unless we Only by knowing what kind of rules your mother, Your Highness Princess, uses and what kind of local language Aitaria is, can we possibly deduce something."
"However, this range is too large. As far as I know, there are at least dozens of commonly used languages in Aitaria, and the grammar is also different. Unless she is here herself, it is too slim for outsiders to limit the range. Some."
Her Royal Highness the Princess sighed softly after hearing this. It was obviously not the first time she heard this statement.
However, she quickly recovered from this gaffe and whispered: "In addition to these words, my mother also left some strange patterns and marks in this notebook. Most of them are abstract, but There are also a few pictures that we can understand.”
"Mr. Ed?"
Princess Rupert seemed to have noticed that Fang Yu had been standing there absent-mindedly, seemingly not paying attention to her previous conversation with Luo Hao.
She was slightly startled, as if she suddenly thought of something, and a bright light flashed in her eyes: "Mr. Ed, do you recognize the words above?"
Fang Yu was stunned for a moment before he came back to his senses. He looked at the entire 'Book of Heaven' and quickly shook his head. However, although he could not confirm the words above, he suddenly remembered where he seemed to have seen such strange shorthand symbols.
It was a vague feeling.
At that moment, he seemed to suddenly remember a little thing about the past:
On Earth, his uncle Tang Sheng is a well-known best-selling writer. Like all literary workers, he also has a small study room of his own, and when he is working, he will stay alone in that room. In the quiet study room, I sometimes write for an entire afternoon, sometimes for several hours.
In Fang Yu's memory, he had entered the study room many times, because his uncle seemed to like seeing him reading - although he only entered it for another purpose. Now he only remembered that there were many tall bookshelves in the study room, which were filled with all kinds of tomes that he didn't recognize.
In addition to these bookshelves, there is also a small storage room on one side of the study room.
The storage room is also filled with boxes and boxes of old books. It is said that some of those books were collected by uncle Tang Sheng in his early years, and there are also sets of his own books sent by publishers, as well as some ancient books. with many interesting collections.
In fact, this storage room was the reason why he often went in and out of the study - because the storage room was almost one of the largest treasure troves he and Tang Xin had when they were young. He still remembers his uncle's set of wood carvings from Africa. He really likes those wooden crafts.
The thing he remembered at the moment was also related to these wood carvings. Fang Yu remembered that one time when he and Tang Xin were playing hide and seek, they hid behind the group of wood carvings, and right there, he saw a dusty package that he had never noticed before.
There was such a booklet in the package - when he thought of this, the memory in his mind became clearer - he clearly remembered that the booklet was exactly the same as the notebook in the hands of Her Royal Highness, and he had also looked through that book at that time. The contents of the booklet.
There were some symbols inside that he couldn't understand, like a heavenly book. At that time, he was still curious about which country's characters they were, but like all children of that age, it didn't take long for him to forget about it. . And until this moment, he saw the words on the booklet in the hands of Her Royal Highness the Princess again.
Fang Plover stood there almost like a wooden sculpture, his heart full of surprise.
He didn't know for a moment whether he had remembered it wrong, or whether the notebook in the princess's hand was actually something from the earth?
As we all know, none of the matter in Aitaria can be taken out of the Star Gate. Once they return to the Star Gate, all the chosen ones’ experiences in Aitaria will be stored as high-dimensional information and handed over to Stargate countries.
But there are indeed some people who have transcribed or translated some classics on Earth into Aitaria.
In fact, such things are very common in academic circles and popular circles. The Kaolin-Ithurians are especially keen on knights from a certain era on earth. He remembers that Sylvide has several such books, including Including the famous anti-knight "Don Quixote".
His first reaction was, could this notebook actually be such a book?
But how could the person who transcribed it into Aitaria not translate it at all, and just transcribed it intact? Who can understand this?
And how could the princess of Babartan have such a booklet in her hand?
An idea came to Fang Yu's mind almost immediately. He had to find a way to ask his uncle to see if he could remember that there was such a book in his collection. However, when he was not sure whether his memory was biased, he did not speak and just kept this idea in his heart.
But the princess is not a fool either.
Her bright eyes fell on him and asked: "Did Mr. Ed think of anything?"
Fang Yu nodded and murmured: "I also have some knowledge about shorthand, so when I see these symbols, I inevitably have some associations."
"Did Mr. Ed gain anything?"
Fang Plover shook his head.
The eldest princess looked at him again, without forcing it, and then turned the book to one of the pages - it seemed that the other party had read the contents of this book countless times, and was very familiar with the book. He opened the page and found the place he wanted to find.
There was a folded page sandwiched there. Her Royal Highness the Princess unfolded it carefully, and only then did Fang Plover see clearly the pattern drawn inside.
The pattern was almost drawn using a sketching technique. It was quite realistic. Inside was a butterfly spreading its wings and about to fly, but it was not a real thing because the artist who drew it was very skilled and even used light and dark parts to vividly depict the reflection of the butterfly - —It should be made of metal.
And in the center of the butterfly, there is a gemstone inlaid.
Saw this butterfly.
Not to mention Fang Plover, even Luo Hao looked surprised: "This butterfly...?"
He subconsciously looked at Fang Plover on the side.
Her Royal Highness the Princess looked at the two of them. The old woman obviously saw something strange about them. She turned back and made a gesture to Princess Rupert. The princess nodded and then asked Fang Yu and the others: "Mr. Ed, Mr. Luo Hao, do you recognize anything?"
Fang Yu didn't answer. It happened that the dagger they got after killing the two royal spies that day was still on him.
He thought for a moment, then took out the dagger from his coat and handed it over.
Princess Rupert's eyes became sharp the moment they fell on the dagger scabbard. She glanced at the delicate silver butterfly, then immediately raised her head and asked Fang Plover, "Mr. Ed, where did this dagger come from?"
Fang Plover replied calmly:
"Your Highness, Princess, do you still remember the day we met?"
A glimmer of light flashed in Princess Rupert's eyes, and she almost immediately showed her extraordinary intelligence. She replied: "I heard that you had a conflict with someone that day. Could it be that this dagger...?" Of course she knew that it was related to Fang. Who caused the conflict, but due to political sensitivity, she did not directly point out this.
Fang Yu only nodded slightly.
Her Royal Highness fell silent for a moment.
She couldn't help but gently caress the silver butterfly on the scabbard.
…
