Lin Ze Go east along the gravel road.
The road was not wide, barely enough for a carriage to pass, and the gravel was shiny from being stepped on, so it looked like it had been walked on all year round.
The grass on both sides of the road grows waist-high, with heavy tassels hanging down, rustling when blown by the wind. Occasionally, grasshoppers pop out from the roots of the grass, flutter a few times and then burrow back in.
After walking for about half an hour, the soles of his feet began to feel hot.
This pair of Dragon Hide boots is fine for walking on the Muggle gravel road, but I can't stand it for walking all the time.
He found a stone on the roadside and sat down to rest. He took out half a piece of bread from Undetectable Extension Box and ate it.
The bread was bought at Leaky Cauldron three days ago. It was almost as hard as a brick, and you had to grind it hard with your back molars to take a bite.
As I was chewing, there was a squeaking sound behind me.
He looked back.
A wooden cart slowly came from behind, and the cart was pulled by a gray donkey, so thin that its ribs were protruding.
The driver was a middle-aged woman, wrapped in a long linen skirt with more than a dozen patches, a straw rope tied around her waist, and a pair of wooden shoes on her feet, which made a crisp sound when she stepped on the gravel.
The woman stopped holding the whip in her hand when she saw Lin Ze sitting on the roadside.
She glanced at the robe Lin Ze was wearing, and then at his face full of oriental characteristics, as if deciding whether to talk to him or not.
Lin Ze stood up on his own initiative and patted the crumbs on his hands.
"Sister, I want to ask you for directions. Is it possible to go east from here to Carl?"
The woman looked him up and down twice. "Where are you from?"
"Well... a place far, far away."
"How far?"
"The Far East."
The woman snorted and slapped the donkey's butt lightly with the whip, and the donkey continued to walk forward slowly.
"Then you should pass by Carl. If you want to go, come up. I can give you a ride."
Lin Ze was stunned for a moment, then took two quick steps, grabbed the edge of the truck body and climbed up.
There was a layer of hay, mixed with sheepskins and a few linen bags in the bed of the cart, and the rancid smell of grease was very pungent.
He found a comfortable seat in the haystack and sat down, and the donkey cart continued on its way.
"What are you doing at Carl?" the woman asked without looking back.
"Do some small business." Lin Ze said nonsense.
The woman nodded and then fell silent.
The body of the truck shook violently, and Lin Ze's elbow hit the edge of the truck body, causing pain.
He put his robe underneath and simply lay down on his back, looking at the impossibly blue sky above his head.
"Sister, what's your name?"
"Bree."
"Sister Bree, what kind of city is Carl?"
"Carl can only be regarded as a small town. There is a market in it, where many people sell livestock or grain."
The donkey cart swayed for half an hour before Bree stopped at a fork in the road.
"Go left and we'll be there in half an hour. I'll go right and go to my sister's house."
Lin Ze jumped down from the carriage and nodded towards Bree.
"Thanks."
Bree ignored him, whipped his whip, and the donkey cart slowly turned to the path on the right.
Lin Ze continued walking along the road on the left. The sky began to darken, the clouds in the west were burned into dark red by the setting sun, and fine water droplets condensed on the grass blades on both sides of the road. He quickened his pace, and before the sky completely darkened, he saw the outline of Carl Town.
Called a town, it is actually just a few dozen mud-wood houses squeezed together, leaving a winding main street in the middle. The street is paved with gravel, with stalls on both sides, selling vegetables and meat, pottery, and a few shops with ironware hanging on the door.
Lin Ze entered the town and walked along the main street.
There were not many people on the street, most of the stalls had been closed down, and only a few food sellers were still there. An old lady selling pancakes was guarding a clay oven, with red charcoal fire in the furnace, and a few dough pancakes placed on the iron rack, which were swollen and browned on the surface.
Lin Ze couldn't walk because of the smell.
He took out a Silver Sickle--this was the change he got from Hogsmeade Three Broomsticks last time.
He smoothed the pattern on it and placed it on the old lady's stall.
The old lady looked down at the silver coin, then at Lin Ze. Then she picked up the silver coin, looked at it over and over again, bit the edge with her teeth, and finally returned the silver coin.
Then he picked up two pancakes from the iron rack and handed them over. "Sir, you gave too many, and I can't find them here. They are just a few pancakes, just treat them as the old woman gave them to you..."
"Hey, it's okay. Just take it. No need to look for it. Just take it." Lin Ze put the silver coin back into the old lady's hand.
"Okay, let's go."
Lin Ze took the scone, it was so hot that his left hand turned to his right, and he took a bite.
The bread is made of coarse wheat and has a grainy texture. The burnt aroma from the charcoal grill is mixed with the aroma of wheat, which is countless times stronger than that of hard bread.
He walked while eating and found a house that looked like an inn in the middle of the town.
There is a wooden sign hanging at the door, with a black bird drawn with charcoal on it. I don't know if it is a crow or something else.
Lin Ze Push the door and go in.
The inn is not big. There is a dining room on the ground floor with four or five long tables. A few oil lamps hang from the beams, and the ceiling is blackened by the oil smoke.
There were several men drinking in the corner, all of them were tanned, and their coarse clothes were stained with mud. They looked like farmers or livestock dealers nearby.
Standing behind the counter was a fat woman with arms thicker than Lin Ze's thighs, wiping a stack of wooden cups with a piece of burlap.
She saw Lin Ze come in and put the cup on the counter.
"Staying in a hotel?"
"Yes."
"Two coppers a night, pay first and then stay."
Lin Ze touched his pocket and took out another Sickle whose pattern he had smoothed.
The fat woman looked at the silver coin in his hand and raised her eyebrows.
"Silver coins?"
"Hmm."
She grabbed it, weighed it in the palm of her hand, and shined it against the oil lamp. Finally, she took out a handful of copper plates from the money box under the counter, counted a dozen and pushed them to Lin Ze.
"Looking for you, turn left upstairs and take the second room."
Lin Ze went upstairs with the copper plate.
This room was very small, with a wooden bed, a thin quilt, and a layer of oil paper on the windows. The moonlight coming in dimly illuminated the room.
He undressed and lay down, staring at the papered window in a daze.
Avalon.
Now he remembered where he was here. This was King Arthur's treasured land.
In other words, this is also where Merlin made its fortune.
He turned over and wrapped the quilt tighter.
The quilt exuded a musty smell, as if it had been in the closet for the entire rainy season, and he was trying to convince himself to fall asleep.
In the middle of the night, he was awakened by the sound of horse hooves.
He sat up suddenly and looked out through the oil paper window.
Several torches were lit on the main street of the town. A dozen men on horseback rushed in from the west end of the town. The leader was holding a long pole with a pennant hanging on the top of the pole. The flag was rolled in the firelight, and the pattern on it could not be seen clearly.
The horseman shouted and stopped in front of the inn, his iron hooves making a crackling sound on the gravel road.
There was the sound of a fat woman opening the door downstairs, followed by several men's rough voices asking questions in a bad tone.
Lin Ze touched the magic wand, got out of bed, and leaned against the window to listen.
"Have any outsiders entered the town in the past two days?" someone asked.
"Yes, there is a young man who lives here." The fat woman answered simply, without any intention of covering up for Lin Ze.
"Where?"
"Upstairs, turn left and take the second room."
Lin Ze rolled his eyes, trouble would be found wherever he went.
The sound of horse hooves was chaotic for a while, someone dismounted, and the soles of their boots made a dull clicking sound on the wooden stairs.