Chapter 2: Moduo City (Part 2)

After a brief exchange, Guo Shieru couldn’t help but laugh. It turned out this young master was interested in the clothes he was wearing and wanted to know where he had purchased them. The man’s name was Aobao, with a strange pronunciation, but Guo Shieru found it no surprise—languages in smaller worlds had all sorts of pronunciations, resulting in peculiar names when translated.
The fabric Aobao wanted didn’t exist locally, nor even in other smaller worlds. It was a premium product from the Spellcraft World, with many pieces infused with spells. Not only did they offer excellent defensive properties, but they also kept one warm in winter and cool in summer. Guo Shieru had collected many such items in the past, having bought large quantities of unique fabrics from shops across various cities.
According to Li Ran, if one could reach the Greater World, these specialty products from the Spellcraft World would be treasures. The ability to infuse spells meant that their power could remain in the fabrics, endowing them with various special properties.
Aobao invited him warmly, and Guo Shieru, curious about the people here, didn’t refuse. He followed Aobao to his residence—a small courtyard with a modest building and a few servants. This was Aobao’s temporary home; his real family wasn’t in Moduo City. He was the son of a merchant, here to deliver goods to Moduo City.
Guo Shieru gave him a few pieces of fabric, which Aobao treasured as if they were precious gems. After expressing his gratitude repeatedly, he invited Guo Shieru to watch an opera. When Guo Shieru understood what an opera was, he was greatly surprised. In his past life, there had been plenty of cultural forms like dramas, but in this life, neither in the Spellcraft World nor any other smaller world did such a concept exist. It was unexpected to find operas here.
After having dinner locally, Aobao took Guo Shieru outside. They arrived at an unassuming alleyway, and Aobao politely invited Guo Shieru to enter. Walking deeper into the alley, which was winding and over two hundred meters long, they soon reached a door. Aobao went ahead to knock. Guo Shieru thought to himself that it was as mysterious as working as an agent. Of course, he wasn’t afraid at all—as a professional, his strong martial skills served as a backup.
An old man opened the door, glanced at Aobao, then at Guo Shieru, and said with a smile, “Young Master Aobao, what brings you here today?”
Aobao replied cheerfully, “I brought a friend to watch an opera.” He then tossed a small money bag to the old man. As the bag landed in his hands, it made a tinkling metallic sound. The old man squeezed it lightly and said with a smile, “Thank you, Young Master Aobao. Please, come in!”

Guo Shier followed Aobao inside. It was a large courtyard with flowers, plants, and rockeries. Since it was night, several oil lamps hung on stone pillars along the path. With spells enhancing his vision, Guo Shier could see everything clearly around him.

Aobao said, “Hehe, it’s dark and the path is hard to navigate. Follow me.” He seemed very familiar with the place and led Guo Shier through the courtyard quickly toward the deeper areas.

In a hall of just over 200 square meters, there were a dozen or so low tables, already filled with people. Aobao took Guo Shier in, waved to call over a waiter, tossed him a metal coin, and asked, “Is there any seat left?”

The waiter showed delight and whispered, “Young master Aobao, yes, there is a seat. Hehe, please follow me.”

In a corner, there was an empty low table, reserved for regular customers. Aobao gestured for Guo Shier to sit down, then said to the waiter, “Bring some delicacies. Also, bring the most famous Angel Fruit from Modu City.”

Guo Shier sat down and quietly observed the people around him.

Firstly, these people’s clothing was very different from that of ordinary folks. Similar to Aobao, they all seemed wealthy, with good spirits and an air of superiority. Though their strength varied, they were far stronger than ordinary people. Guo Shier asked, “Aobao, who are these people?”

Aobao smiled and replied, “They are some noble officials from Modu City, and quite a few… like me, are merchants.”

Guo Shier nodded. It seemed that merchants here held a high status, able to sit on equal terms with noble officials. He asked, “When will the show you mentioned start?”

Aobao laughed and said, “There’s no rush. This is a small gathering where people can exchange information, get to know each other, and eat something. The show will start a bit later.”

Guo Shier scratched his head. He was extremely curious about this show. It must be different from the dramas he had seen in his past life. He had no idea what it would be like.

Soon, the waiter brought some delicacies. To Guo Shier, these so-called delicacies were quite ordinary. Only the Angel Fruit seemed decent—tasty and sweet with a sour note. Its appearance was plain, a light purple, similar to grapes from his past life, though not in clusters.

Guo Shier had eaten countless fruits and collected various special fruit trees, all planted in the small secret realm. Aside from a few particularly unique fruits, he left the rest unattended, lacking the time to harvest them and allowing them to grow naturally. Instead, the handsome old man would go to the secret realm in his free time to pick and collect fruits, mainly to pickle them or turn them into various dried fruits and preserves.

After about an hour, Guo Shier, who had great patience, chatted for a bit before waiting in silence. For some reason, he felt a bit expectant—though it seemed amusing to him. Having seen various forms of entertainment in his past life, he was actually looking forward to the performances of the natives in this small world.

The center of the hall was empty, with low tables arranged around it. Guo Shier knew that was the stage for the performance. Sure enough, someone had placed seven or eight low tables in the open space at the center of the hall, covered with grayish-white coarse cloth. Three people stepped out, onto the tables, and immediately, the surroundings grew quiet.

An old man stepped forward shakily, accompanied by two middle-aged women who helped him onto the table. One of the women placed three thick cushions down, and the three of them sat cross-legged. The old man held a very strange instrument—a peculiar musical instrument made of two semicircles connected together. To Guo Shier, it resembled two pipas joined together, but instead of holding it, the old man carried this strange instrument on his legs.

The old man bent down and plucked the instrument, producing several strange sounds. Then he coughed, said nothing, and began plucking it again, creating a tinkling sound.

A hoarse voice emerged along with the tinkling sounds. Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh—it was rap. The old man’s voice was distinctive, and combined with the sound of the instrument, it created an even more unusual atmosphere. The two women took out two small hand drums and started beating them in rhythm.

There was a unique sense of age and simplicity, especially enhanced by the old man’s hoarse voice. Guo Shier silently marveled that every art form had its own unique charm, otherwise it wouldn’t have spread in a particular place. The old man seemed ordinary, but when he started rapping, his charm became utterly fascinating. Gradually, Guo Shier focused on the content of the old man’s rap.

At first, he found it a bit hard to understand, but he quickly adjusted. After all, having mastered countless languages from different small worlds, his sense of language was already at a master level. As the old man continued to rap, his expression gradually became serious.

Aobao was utterly captivated. He closed his eyes tightly, nodded his head, and moved his mouth in rhythm with the rap. It was obvious he had heard it many times—most people in the hall were the same way. When Guo Shier understood the content and followed along, his expression turned extremely serious, as the old man was reciting legends of this world, or rather, its mythological stories. Guo Shier knew well that although myths and legends were often distorted, they must have some origin—meaning these stories could very well be historical events that had actually taken place in this world. If it were just history, it wouldn’t have drawn Guo Shier’s attention. The problem was that he recognized many familiar elements in the rap, including enemies from other worlds, local heroes’ resistance, and battles they called great disasters. The so-called heroes eventually perished along with the enemies from other worlds, bringing peace to this world. Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh, as the enemies described by the old man were evil and bloodthirsty, causing countless casualties in this world. Guo Shier guessed that if people like him were to reveal they came from another world, they would surely be seen as evil and bloodthirsty in their eyes. But it seemed this world no longer had advanced military forces—meaning it no longer had heroes. So how would they cope now? The old man was only reciting one segment of a story. After thinking for a moment, Guo Shier asked softly, “Aobao, how long is this story?” Aobao replied in a low voice, “The story is very long… If you want to hear it from start to finish, it will take almost half a year. Hehe, I’ve only heard the whole story once. What we’re hearing now are some of the most popular short stories. In fact, most people haven’t heard the full story, but the best segments have been heard countless times.” After pondering for a while, Guo Shier asked, “The Battle of Baiyuan mentioned in this story… What is Baiyuan?” Aobao was stunned and said, “Baiyuan… I heard it’s in the west. Hehe, I’ve never been there, nor would I dare. It’s a forbidden place. No one dares to go there now. It’s said that long ago, some people organized teams to go there in search of the heroes’ footprints and the battlefield where they fought. As a result… many people died. It was terrifying… Since then, that place has become a taboo.”

Guo Shier nodded. He was a bit curious about Bai Yuan, but unfortunately the old man’s narration was just a story and couldn’t fully recount the entire legend and myth. He said in a low voice, “Hmm, is there any way for me to meet him and talk to him?”
Aobao was stunned again. After thinking for a while, he said, “Well, as long as you pay… there shouldn’t be any problem.”
Guo Shier didn’t have local currency. After pondering for a moment, he said, “How about I exchange some furs and fabrics with you for some money?” He instinctively felt that this story contained clues and value that could be utilized.
Aobao didn’t refuse. In fact, he had long been coveting the furs and fabrics that Guo Shier owned. Since Guo Shier had given him a few pieces of fabric at the beginning, he had been too embarrassed to ask for more, let alone bring up the idea of buying more. That’s why he had tried to flatter him by inviting him to watch the show. He never expected to get such an opportunity now.
“No problem, I’ll arrange it.”
Guo Shier added, “Don’t worry. As long as it satisfies me, it will surely satisfy you too.”
Aobao was taken aback by these words. It sounded really awkward—how could satisfying me mean satisfying you? But the thought of getting those exquisite fabrics filled him with great joy. He said, “Hmm, I’ll give you a satisfactory price.”
Bang!
With a loud noise, someone kicked open the door, and a group of people rushed in, cursing loudly.