Chapter 629 - Jiao Long City
Lin Mu soon found a tea shop that was bustling with people on the main roar of the Jiao Long City. The shop was located on the third floor of the building and overlooked the port, allowing the patrons to take in the pleasant sight of the sea.
Of course, it was no common tea shop and from the attire of the people that entered it, it was a rather luxurious shop that the rich people of the city visited. At this point, Lin Mu didn't really care for the price despite it being a gold coin.
He was quickly brought to a suitable table by the open gallery and allowed him to see the city and the people below. With his eyes, it was easy for him to see even an ant crawling on the ground clearly.
"Hmm… the people here are mostly commoners." Lin Mu muttered to himself as he looked around the tea shop.
The waiter had already gone to get him a pot of tea with some snacks, allowing Lin Mu to freely look around the shop. There were around a hundred people on the floor easily and even then there was room for more.
It was evident from this that the tea shop was rather large. Lin Mu's spirit sense quickly picked up the cultivation bases of everyone in the shop.
"The strongest person is at the Late stage of the Qi refining realm while the weakest is at the fourth stage of the body tempering realm." Lin Mu assessed.
A few of the women and girls in the tea shop stole some glances at Lin Mu as well. His handsome face made it hard for them to resist, which earned him the envy of a few men that were accompanying these women.
But since Lin Mu kept to himself, he looked out of the shop, they didn't mind it after a bit.
~Sigh~
A few women sighed at the face of Lin Mu, who they found to be longing for something. In their minds, they had already made up some elaborate stories about him as they wondered who he was.
Lin Mu was unaware that he had gained multiple different identities in the minds of these women in the span of mere minutes.
"Here you go sir, this is the best tea of our establishment." The waiter said upon serving the tea.
Lin Mu looked at the tea that seemed to have a greenish yellow color. A few tea leaves floated gently on the surface of the tea, looking like dancing grass in the wind. Lin Mu had an idea after seeing this.
He took out a couple of silvers and handed them to the waiter.
"I'm new to the city and would like to know more about it. Why don't you accompany me and tell me." Lin Mu asked.
"Of course, sir! It will be my pleasure!" The waiter hurriedly agreed.
Lin Mu gestured to the chair next to him and picked up the cup of tea before taking a sip of it.
'It's… bland?' Lin Mu thought.
While Lin Mu hadn't really tasted that many types of teas and was not really a 'Connoisseur' he still had enough sense to tell good tea from bad tea when it was this obvious. He even wondered if they had made a mistake or something like that.
But for the sake of this time, he decided to keep his mouth shut and listen to the waiter's words.
"I'll start with the history of the city then. Jiao Long city was established over a thousand years ago and is considered to be one of the oldest cities in the continent." The waiter spoke.
Hearing this, Lin Mu was truly intrigued.
"Oh really? But with a kingdom this small, how can this city be so old?" Lin Mu questioned the man.
"Ah, that's a common doubt that people have, sir. In fact, Jiao Long city is even older than the capital of our Fenlong kingdom. The city has had many names throughout the years and had changed with every new dynasty.
The current name was given to the port by the current royal family about eighty years ago. They named it so that the city would rise up like a flood dragon from the sea, shocking the masses. And thus they called it 'Jiao Long'.
The city was used by many kingdoms as a point of transit if they were involved in sea trade. Our Jiao Long city is also the main port from where one can take a ferry to and from the First Sun kingdom." The waiter explained.
"I see… please continue." Lin Mu said as he took another sip of the bland tea that was no different from warm water at this point.
He took a look at the fried dough sticks that were given as snacks and picked one up before eating it. The dough stick broke in his mouth with a crisp ~Crack~ and a pleasant flavor spread in his mouth.
For a moment there, Lin Mu was reminded of his childhood in the norther town. His mother would make freshly fried dough sticks in the morning for breakfast and Lin Mu used to enjoy them hot.
But in the next breath, his heart stilled, and he opened his eyes calmly.
'That time has long past… dwelling on the past is only asking for more pain and sorrow…' Lin Mu thought to himself.
Lin Mu continued hearing about the city and its people from the waiter. He learned that the city was actually run by a group of merchants than a single mayor or someone like that. In fact, even the king of the Fenlong kingdom didn't really have as much authority in Jiao Long city as the council of merchants.
These merchants traded all over the continent and surprisingly became part of the council of such a small city. Lin Mu found this to be a bit strange and did not know why. While the waiter told him that it was because of the merchant ships that all alighted here, Lin Mu knew that there was something fishy.