Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 379 (Patreon)

Chapter 379: The Millennial Imperial City

Luo had encountered many Nen users, but one undeniable fact was that the proportion of Nen users among the vast population was pitifully low.

Having never seen any Nen users other than Sago, Luo almost believed that there were no other Nen users in Elba City. Who would have thought that the owner of a tavern in the slums was a Nen user?

It was hard enough to imagine opening a tavern in the slums, let alone harboring a Nen user.

"Young man, looking for me?"

After sizing up Luo for a moment, the bartender smiled, his words hitting the mark.

Luo felt a slight stir in his heart but remained expressionless. He didn't intend to hide anything and nodded before walking toward the bar.

The bartender watched Luo approach, took out two bottles of artificially mixed and sealed beer from the cabinet below, and handed them to two scruffy men sitting at the bar. He then waved them away.

The two scruffy men happily took the beer and scurried off to another spot, leaving the seats at the bar open.

Luo walked over and sat down in one of the empty seats.

The bartender, who was also the owner of the tavern, took out another bottle of beer. The bottle was covered in stains, clearly having been reused many times.

He pushed the beer toward Luo, and with a flick of his thumb, the bottle cap flew into the air, spinning rapidly, perfectly vertical to the bottle below.

"For first-time customers, I always offer a bottle of beer on the house."

The owner said, his hand leaving the bottle to catch the falling cap, which he then tossed into a cardboard box beside his feet.

Honestly, the appearance of the bottle didn't make anyone want to drink it, but Luo acted as if he didn't notice the bottle's condition. He thanked the owner and naturally took a swig before putting the bottle down.

"Do you like the taste?" the owner asked with a smile.

"Too much water." Luo replied truthfully.

The owner laughed heartily, not minding Luo's direct critique, and said, "In the gutter, as long as you have the money, anything goes."

"Gutter" referred to shady business.

Luo suddenly asked, "How long is your blade?"

The owner was stunned for a moment, then gave a knowing smile, "Five hundred thousand for the information, a million if you want to check the goods."

A million to see a blade?

Luo wasn't crazy; he asked just to test the waters. As the old bald man had said, as long as the money was enough, the owner had no scruples.

"What about the forbidden zone in the desert?" Luo went straight to the point.

The owner's smile faltered slightly. He glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, then looked back at the calm Luo and lowered his voice, "Five million, ask anything you want."

"Money doesn't grow on trees. I'll decide if your information is worth five million after you tell me." Luo said, though in reality, his money did come easily.

The owner smiled again, his eyes narrowing, "This is a mutual agreement. If you want to continue, stay seated. If not, finish your beer and I won't see you off."

Luo was silent for a moment, then nodded. He took out a gold nugget worth five million from his pocket and placed it on the table.

If he deemed the owner's information unworthy of five million, he had ways to get his gold back.

The owner eyed the glimmering gold nugget with bright eyes but didn't rashly grab it. The deal had just started, and he couldn't take the reward before providing the service.

"The forbidden zone is in the center of the Kendia Desert, where the ruins of a millennial imperial city are located, perpetually surrounded by fierce sandstorms, with thick black clouds overhead."

"Once you cross the area covered by sandstorms, you'll see a valley, and the millennial imperial city lies within that valley."

"There are four narrow paths leading to the city from the north, south, east, and west. It's said that each path is filled with thick layers of bones, and no one who goes in ever comes out."

As he spoke, the owner kept his eyes on the gold nugget near Luo's hand.

"If everyone who goes in dies, how do you know what's inside the valley?" Luo immediately pointed out the contradiction in the owner's words.

"Good question," the owner explained, "because the sandstorm in the forbidden zone inexplicably disappears once every hundred years. Sometimes it reappears after about forty seconds, sometimes one to six minutes. The time varies with no precise pattern, but it's always short."

"Bold people take advantage of the sandstorm's disappearance to enter the valley. After all, the millennial imperial city was the strongest and wealthiest nation in the history of the Kendia Desert. Even a tiny piece of its remains could make someone rich for life. But when the sandstorm reappears, those inside can't make it out."

"Conversely, timid people turn back upon seeing the piled bones in the narrow paths, so it's not unusual for people to know about the valley."

"And as for how it's certain that the millennial imperial city is in the valley, ancient maps are solid evidence."

The owner spread his hands and looked at Luo with calm eyes, moving his gaze from the gold nugget, "That's all I know. So, do you think it's worth it?"

Luo's hand moved, lightly pressing on the gold nugget.

The owner saw this from the corner of his eye, his expression changing slightly, but Luo didn't give a verdict. Instead, he asked, "One last question: why do people here consider the forbidden zone a taboo topic?"

The owner was silent for a while, then raised three fingers, "The Kendia Desert has three countries: Elba, Wat, and Golo. You ask why Elba people consider the place taboo. It's because Elba is too conservative."

This single statement about Elba's conservatism answered everything.

"One more piece of information: people from all three countries believe the millennial imperial city holds the most treasure on this land, even the bones in the narrow paths are said to be full of unimaginable wealth."

"But only the people of Golo have the crazy courage to charge into the sandstorms every year, trying to enter the imperial city. In Elba, the only one with such intentions is the third prince, which is why he's not favored by the old king."

"If you're interested in the forbidden zone, I'd suggest you find a group called Eagle in Golo. They're mostly ruffians who have never given up on entering the forbidden zone and should have more detailed information."

"Oh, and if you go to Golo, beware of sand thieves. Even with Nen abilities, you can't guarantee escaping them. They're a nasty and troublesome bunch."

Using Gyo to observe Luo's Ten, the owner concluded Luo was a Nen user but couldn't gauge his strength, hence the warning about the sand thieves.

"The beer isn't great. I'll pass on it."

Luo said as he stood up and left.

"Having beer here is a luxury." The owner quickly pocketed the gold nugget, watching Luo's departing figure, muttering whether Luo heard him or not.

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