Most of the maps in the hands of Gemstone City's residents had been drawn by the residents themselves. The authorities had never issued an official map, and the one Xu Huo had was a copy he had made from a map in the King's Castle.
The merchant took out a quill and marked the river's course again, then drew a circle beside it. "This is where the mine actually is. But it's deep in the forest, and ferocious beasts roam nearby. If I hadn't once passed through the area and seen someone hauling ore out, I wouldn't even have known there was a mine there."
"But the ore is either black or gray, and it doesn't shine. It doesn't look valuable. They're probably using it to make cheap ornaments."
Either black or gray... The Black Gemstone the Queen had embedded in the doll's chest was actually a material used to make props.
Props could be made from all kinds of materials, with ores accounting for the vast majority. Among them, Sub-class Stone was relatively rare and valuable. The Black Gemstone could be embedded directly in props, which meant it was an ore especially suited to making them. If the entire mine held the same kind of ore, then it really was a mountain of gold and silver just waiting to be claimed.
"Has no one gone into the mine to take a look?" Xu Huo asked.
"I talked to the people who deliver the ore. The people guarding the mine are fierce, and the miners can't get inside the tunnels. They can only haul the ore from outside." The merchant shook his head. "It's not like it's some top-quality gemstone. There's no need to insist on doing business with it."
In the afternoon, Xu Huo arrived in Moon City.
Moon