His companion's nonsense made Luqi, who was by the side, angry and frustrated. However, he was afraid that he would expose more flaws if he stopped him, so he had to act as if nothing had happened.
"When my grandfather was in charge of the Sea Haines City, the family would never send less than 30 large armed merchant ships to and from Scorpion Island every time." Not knowing that his partner's heart was already burning with anxiety despite his calm expression, Antonio was still reminiscing about his family's former power. "You're from the mainland, so you might not understand the value of our Kattaman City State's large armed merchant ships …"
"Alright, Antonio, my good friend, we have plenty of time to chat. Don't you think that as a gentleman, you should invite Madam Someril and the rest to sit down first?" When Luqi saw that his companion was getting more and more excited, he finally could not help but interrupt him tactfully.
"Of course, but our picnic cloth is too small. How do we sit down?" Antonio asked in a dilemma.
"There's no need for that, Mr. Luqi. We're just here to say hello to McCardy. We'll not disturb you after we've done so. Please continue to eat, goodbye." Someril smiled faintly and turned to leave. Luqi, who was behind her, hesitated and suddenly said, "Madam Someril, can you please wait for a moment?"
"What's the matter, Mr. Luqi?"
"It's like this, Madam Someril." Luqi organized the words in his head and tried to whitewash his difficult situation as easily as possible. Beating around the bush, he said, "You know, to us merchants, time is money. The longer the turnover time between buying and selling, the lower the profit will be.
Right now, our entire caravan has been detained on Scorpion Island by the Wizard Li tribe for several months. I heard from McCardy that you're very respected in the indigenous tribe, so can you help us get out? "
"Mr. Luqi, I do have a little status in the Wizard Li tribe, but the one who can really influence the decision of those natives here is not me." Someril shook her head at the rough man behind her and shifted her gaze to Zhang Lisheng.
Due to McCardy's subconscious bias and unconsciously contempt, she would always be full of praise when she mentioned the Atlantean explorers, especially Someril.
However, when she mentioned the Earthlings, she would only use simple words like 'they're also very courageous' and 'sometimes not bad'. For this reason, it caused Luqi to misunderstand and fawn on the wrong person.
At this time, when the mainlanders saw Someril's hint, they secretly cursed in their hearts. Just when they were at a loss of what to say, Zhang Lisheng had already left without even turning his head back.
"Madam Someril, this companion of yours …" Watching the young man's back disappearing into the bushes, Luqi opened his mouth and said with a wry smile.
"Mr. Luqi, my partner's name is Zhang Lisheng. Although he's young, he's a very knowledgeable scholar.
When our entire group of people encountered the shipwreck and drifted to Scorpion Island, we were already exhausted, so we couldn't fight against the Wizard Li tribesmen at all. We only survived because he looked exactly the same as a great guardian spiritual monster in the history of the Wizard Li tribe and was thought to be the resurrection of the god.
In the end, to thank the Wizard Li tribesmen for taking him in, Mr. Lisheng taught a lot of useful knowledge that he knew to the aboriginals. Gradually, he became more and more loved by them, and now, he's respectfully called the 'Pundit.' "
The Atlantean woman's words sounded quite magical, but all the mainlanders knew that every Hellfire tribe would worship a spiritual monster who mastered the power of spellcasting. Many spiritual monsters usually liked to transform into a human to live. Adding on to the many strange customs of the Hellfire civilization, all of this was not impossible.
The word 'Pundit' that Someril said at the end made Luqi's heart shudder. Even though he did not understand the specific meaning of this title, since it was suffixed with the word 'Pundit,' it was undoubtedly a very honorable title according to the Hellfire custom.
To a pitiful person who had fallen into a desperate situation, no matter how smart he was, he would still be blinded by his instincts and choose to believe that he had seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to escape.
"Pundit? Pundit? I can tell that this is a very great title." Luqi's breathing became heavier unconsciously. "Madam Someril, your companion is really lucky. C-Can you introduce me to him? I believe that you don't want to stay on this desolate island forever, right?
I heard from McCardy that you've left home to travel to different places to increase your knowledge and broaden your horizons. Now that you're trapped here, you must be very unwilling … "
"Mr. Luqi, don't be agitated. I understand what you mean," Someril interrupted the mainlander's words calmly. "Don't worry, I'll ask Mr. Lisheng to help your caravan as much as possible. I'll go look for him now." Then, she turned around and quickly left the grassy beach.
Over ten minutes later, under the guidance of an indigenous choresman, the Atlantean woman found Zhang Lisheng, who was gorging himself in a tree house with a spacious window that was filled with sunlight.
"Doctor, what do you think of Mr. Luqi and his caravan?" Someril kicked off her animal skin shoes and walked onto the animal skin carpet before sitting directly beside Zhang Lisheng. Then, she asked straightforwardly.
"Mr. Luqi is a rather smart, bold, and careful adventurer who likes to gamble but can't control the situation. In my motherland, there's a word that is specifically used to describe this kind of person, it's called 'great ambition but little talent'.
As for their companions, they're a group of idiots whose ancestors are either prominent or outstanding. They're unwilling to see their families decline so they want to struggle on their deathbed. Now, it seems like they're really going to die soon. " After the young man voiced out his evaluation, he smiled indifferently and picked up a bowl of dry, wrinkled red berries from the plate. "Madam Someril, this fruit is very delicious. It's just sweet and sour. Do you want to try it?"
"Your taste is really sharp!" Someril grabbed a few mouthfuls of berries and tossed them into her mouth. After she bit it, her eyes lit up and she took the wooden bowl that contained the fruit. "This fruit looks very inconspicuous, but the taste is really memorable."
"Many things are more valuable the more inconspicuous they are. Being bright and beautiful often means that it's just a facade. For example, a group of mainlanders who came to the Hellfire Sea to do business with beautiful ladies who are wearing luxurious gowns as though they're going to attend a banquet in the palace. In fact, you don't need to have a sharp eye to notice that it's very abnormal," The young man said with a curl of his lips.
"But being bright and beautiful also has its advantages, Doctor. A card that looks bright and beautiful can allow us to integrate into the upper-class society of the mainlanders effortlessly."
"Oh, who are you? You plan to use Mr. Luqi's merchant ship to sneak into the Kattaman City State?" Zhang Lisheng was stunned for a moment. "But that's not what I thought when I heard you talking to Mr. Travis just now."
"That's because I've overestimated the intelligence of Mr. Luqi and his companions before I met them," Someril said with a smile.
"That's a very good explanation." Zhang Lisheng nodded with a chuckle. "Then what do you want me to do, Madam Someril?"
"It's very simple, Doctor. Ask the Wizard Li tribesmen to let Luqi's caravan leave and let them complete a profitable transaction."
"I understand now. After that, we'll leave Scorpion Island with those broken sailboats of Luqi's caravan and go to the Kattaman City State to integrate into the upper-class society of the mainlanders, right?" Zhang Lisheng pondered and took a deep breath. "It's easy to let the fleet go and give those mainlanders some wealth, but I'll never cross the ocean with them on a broken sampan.
Even if there's a detailed nautical chart, crossing the Hellfire Sea with that kind of primitive wooden boat is still a gamble with my life. "
The long tail of Scorpion Island stretched out far between the Hellfire Sea and the normal ocean. In fact, 200 to 300 kilometers away from the island was already a normal sea area. The young man's words were a little exaggerated, but since it was a matter of life and death, it was definitely a reasonable reason.
This round of Wizard Li's war of conquest had not ended yet. At such a critical moment, Zhang Lisheng was unwilling to leave Scorpion Island. For this reason, he made up his mind that no matter what Someril said, he would use the reason of cherishing his life to stay on the island.
However, to his surprise, when the Atlantean woman heard the young man's words, she immediately said, "Doctor, I understand that we must use a good bait to make use of a group of stupid and greedy people.
Mr. Luqi's noble companions are like donkeys, and I'm like the rider. You staying in the Wizard Li tribe is like a delicious carrot hanging in front of the donkey's eyes. For this reason, I never intended to let you leave Scorpion Island. "
"Donkey, rider, and carrot?" Zhang Lisheng opened his mouth in surprise and astonishment. "Madam Someril, you actually know Aesop's fable? This is incredible!"
"Doctor, don't look down on me. My translator has the entire British Library installed in it." The Atlantean woman joked as she stood up. "Then it's a deal! I'll bring Luqi to see you now."
"Are you in such a hurry? Alright then, I'll immediately order the choresman to tell the Red Mountain Harbor's headman about this matter. I don't think it'll be a big problem." After saying so, Zhang Lisheng also stood up and walked out of the treehouse with Someril.
There was already a choresman standing outside the door. After watching the Atlantean woman walk away, the young man directly ordered, "Go tell the Red Mountain Harbor's headman to look for a few Hellfire tribesmen who have lived here before they converted to the Wizard Li tribe and ask them what kind of goods the mainlanders like to trade. Prepare more."
"Yes, Pundit!" Even though the choresman did not know Zhang Lisheng's true identity, he knew that he was noble. Immediately, he kowtowed and hurriedly ran away.
"I can finally send away those messy spies, aliens, and the US captain." Looking at the disappearing back of the short native swaying on the sand, Zhang Lisheng had a relaxed expression on his face as he muttered, "The next step is to rest for a few days and gather the army to sweep through the Scorpion Island's sea region in one go. At the same time, I'll raise the Witchcraft's Gate of Death to Rank-11 Wizard.
After absorbing the power of faith, I'll also make a breakthrough to Rank-11 Wizard in the Witchcraft's Gate of Sacrifice. After that, I'll have to wait patiently for the moment of 'resurrection' and 'soul and spirit condensing' … "When the young man thought of the future, his gaze gradually became deep.
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