Unknown Intrusion

Chapter 19 The Temple (Bonus chapter for the Alliance Leader's Dream of Becoming an Immortal)
Feeding two horses and hiring a coachman requires 150 gold sea dragons per year, which is at least equivalent to two years' income for Su Yu's family.

Only truly wealthy families can afford it.

Not to mention, with a respectable maid like Liu Lei, the annual expenses would be more than enough to support Cheng Qiaoqiao as well...

A faint sense of envy welled up in Su Yu's heart, but he believed.

Sooner or later, I will be able to ride in such a carriage.

Song Qiongyao sipped her black tea elegantly, observing his attitude. Upon seeing this, she nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Don't you like snacks? There's also some toast here. Don't be shy, we're all classmates."

Are they all classmates?

Su Yu felt a slight self-mockery in his heart.

If it weren't for Qiaoqiao, this young lady from a noble family probably wouldn't even know who Su Yu was...

Even today, if it weren't for her extraordinary talent, I probably wouldn't have heard her call me "classmate"... let alone shared a ride with me...

However, Su Yu didn't think it was snobbish. With so many classmates, who would remember someone if they didn't have something special?

The Song family's pastries were indeed excellent; fresh oil bread wrapped in oil paper and sprinkled with sugar mixed with cinnamon.

The carriage moved at a steady pace through the street, carefully avoiding pedestrians.

“Very cultured, not a nouveau riche!” Su Yu silently assessed as well. Only a family that has been extremely wealthy for three generations could have such refinement. Of course, it also depends on the overall social structure.

In a centralized, unified society, the powerful and wealthy can treat human life as worthless and have no need for such refinement.

Fortunately, this society is not like that yet.

Unbeknownst to Su Yu, a figure was jogging with its head down at a considerable distance behind the carriage.

"How is that possible?" The man was in a terrible mood. "He got into the Duke's carriage!"

This surprised him and made him feel somewhat apprehensive.

"I must see this clearly. I absolutely refuse to believe... what despicable and underhanded methods he used!"

He muttered these curses under his breath as he chased after them.

Drip, a slightly damp trace, falling from above.

It is going to rain.

Inside the train carriage, they were talking about fishing.

"The place we are in only looks like land; it is actually a large island, and part of an island group."

"It drifts every day, and its speed is unstable."

"Therefore, the fishing industry in coastal waters is never stable and depends a lot on luck. If you are close to the fishing current, you will have a good harvest, otherwise you may lose money."

"Furthermore, it is necessary to regularly explore the surrounding nautical charts and eliminate any dangers within thirty miles."

"It is said that a few years ago, during an astronomical storm, fishing boats from an unfamiliar country were sighted in the near sea. We may have encountered another civilization, but we don't know... whether a war will break out."

Upon hearing this, Song Qiongyao put down her teacup, slightly surprised.

"It's no secret that the islands are drifting, but most people probably don't know that."

Su Yu smiled modestly and lowered his head again.

"My father taught me all of this."

Song Qiongyao seemed to be deep in thought, and then gave a faint smile.

"Uncle Su is a good captain, and you are also very eager to learn."

"Song Qiongyao's favorability +4"

My favorability rating is 25, which is 15 points away from the minimum requirement for the rescue mission.

Unfortunately, we've already arrived.

As my gaze swept across the lampposts near the carriage, a faint sign appeared before my eyes, automatically displaying a data box.

"Unknown rune data discovered, learnable—scan and record?"

The lampposts near the neighborhood used to have runes on them?
Is this what Mr. Cheng meant?

Su Yu began to understand.

This world is truly full of mysterious traces.

Ordinary people are too far removed from these things to know about them, and they will never know about them until they die. Even with his boss's cramming-style indoctrination, Su Yu himself has only a very superficial understanding of them.

I wanted to record that rune.

"Unfortunately, there are no more resources..."

He felt a slight sense of regret; he had never even come into contact with runes before.

But it doesn't matter, lampposts are everywhere, there will always be opportunities in the future.

Besides, if they're so ubiquitous, they probably aren't high-level runes.

After the carriage came to a stop, Su Yu got off.

Bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, a tranquil residential area lies before you.

A few raindrops fell from the sky, sprinkling onto my head, and the gentle breeze blowing in my face also made me a little damp.

"Then that's settled, goodbye." The young lady of the noble family nodded gently, and then the carriage slowly started moving.

"Goodbye." Su Yu bowed slightly in farewell, then watched the carriage drive into the distance.

"It's still early."

Su Yu did not enter the residential area, but instead took a secluded path. The road became increasingly bumpy, and the surrounding buildings gradually became dilapidated.

The crisscrossing cobblestone paths, the low shacks, and the salty sea breeze carried a faint smell of decay.

A small dock appeared before them, with a small boat moored on the shore. Dozens of workers were unloading cargo back and forth, looking numb and exhausted, like overworked corporate slaves before they traveled through time.

As Su Yu walked along this road, some people even greeted him.

"It's the little captain, you're here again..."

These familiar men and women are all family members of dockworkers or relatives of sailors.

Because his father was a ship captain, many people knew him and would give him a kind smile.

"Yes, I came to see if Father has returned."

As he passed through the dock area and looked at the small temple in front of him, many familiar yet unfamiliar memories flooded his mind.

The temple is quiet and ancient, built entirely of white stone, covering an area of ​​about sixty square meters, with no other buildings in front, behind, or to the side.

It stands here alone, quietly waiting.

This temple is the temple of the Tide Maiden.

Everyone who goes to sea must pay homage, and Su Yu was no exception.

What ordinary people don't know is that the temple also sells or buys some special materials.

This wasn't exactly a secret among the captain and sailors.

"Actually, it's not surprising when you think about it. Anyone who has been at sea for a long time is bound to come into contact with something mysterious, sooner or later."

"Sometimes, we even find materials that we don't understand, so we sell them to the Temple of Tides."

Over time, a small market formed here.

Actually, all of this was told to him by his father, who had even brought Su Yu here before.

It was precisely because of his mysterious past that his father went to great lengths to plan and pave the way for his own future.

Although this mysterious market was insignificant in size and far smaller than the boss's sourcing channels, it was the safest place the father had managed to find.

However, the materials here are limited in variety and are usually not needed, so he has only come a few times in total.

As for those black markets, Su Yu had been there with his boss in his previous life, but he never wanted to go—that would be courting death!
Su Yu pulled her clothes tighter; the sea breeze was getting stronger.

The Temple of the Tide Maiden is located on a coastal highland. After climbing up hundreds of small steps, you will see a two-meter-tall statue of a girl.

The young woman, dressed in some kind of classical dress, gazed calmly towards the sea, exuding a mysterious aura that permeated the area around the temple.

Su Yu carefully lowered his head and bowed respectfully, but did not enter the main hall.

After passing the main hall, an inconspicuous little stone house came into view.

On the outer wall hangs a prominent tidal emblem, indicating that this was the residence of the church priests.

It is safe here.

According to the church, a temple is God’s dwelling place on earth, but in reality... no one has ever heard of any god actually living in such an earthly temple.

(End of this chapter)