Time Travel: Age of Discovery

This shopkeeper is extraordinary. Teya pondered in his heart, his intuition telling him that this person must have deeper intentions. However, the heart-pounding pressure disappeared in an instant. Teya took a deep breath and slowly nodded.

The shopkeeper, far from being surprised, smiled. "I was wondering why so many people of unknown origin flocked to this island." He blew out a smoke ring, his beard quivering slightly. "I haven't lied to you."

"It's just as you say, otherwise I wouldn't be bothering you so late at night," Teya replied, a hint of surprise in his eyes. Now, in the dim light, he realized the shopkeeper was older than he'd imagined. He hadn't noticed during the day, especially since the shopkeeper always wore a bamboo hat. It wasn't until now that he noticed the shopkeeper's hair was covered in silver.

"You have so many concerns. I'm not omniscient, so I'll ask you a question first." The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes and slowly took a drag on his cigarette. His gaze, shrouded in smoke, grew sharper, as if it could penetrate any disguise. He stared intently at Teya, as if trying to see right through her.

"Are you here to look for treasure?" Teya seemed to be a prey, being locked tightly by the shopkeeper.

Theaton felt the pressure doubled, but he trusted his intuition and answered calmly.

The shopkeeper, far from being surprised, smiled broadly. "I was wondering why so many strange people would come here for no apparent reason." He savored Teya's words, trying to guess his intentions.

Teya grew increasingly curious about the shopkeeper's identity. The shopkeeper, perceiving his confusion, asked for another cigarette and expertly lit it. "You and I are strangers, and neither are we. However, you're the first customer to visit our shop in six months, so it's fate." He exhaled smoke and began to tell his story.

It turns out the shopkeeper was once the mayor of the island. Since Roger's death, half the islanders have left their homes to become pirates, leaving the orchard's labor force drastically reduced. The fruit revenue, once used to fund town governance, is now in dire straits. One day, a man, accompanied by several former pirates, offers to lease all the fruit trees. They offer generous terms: the residents can profit without any work.

Teya asked, "So, the residents are happy to accept it?" The shopkeeper smiled wryly and nodded in agreement. Although as the mayor, he knew there must be hidden reasons behind this, but he could not stop the greedy villagers.

Those people proposed to forbid the villagers from approaching the back mountain, but everyone was paid handsomely, so no one cared about such things. Soon, the mayor's power was gradually weakened, and the shopkeeper was marginalized and even imprisoned for a mysterious crime to this day.

"From the moment you stepped into the store, I knew you had nothing to do with them." Teya suddenly realized that he had won the trust of the shopkeeper only by avoiding the crowds.

However, Teya was puzzled as to why the shopkeeper was so well-informed about recent events, given that he should have been isolated and unable to obtain accurate information. "Shopkeeper, you've been excluded from them, so how come you're so well-informed?" he asked.

The shopkeeper finished his cigarette, and Teya handed him another. "People's hearts are hard to understand, but children are pure and kind. They're the only ones willing to help me, so I don't need to leave home to get the news. Do you understand?" It turned out that the source of the news was the children in town.

The shopkeeper leaned back in his chair, puffing away at his cigarette, "If you hadn't brought your two sons with you, I wouldn't have cared about your life or death. But you actually took the children into danger, aren't you afraid that they would get hurt?" "They are not ordinary children." Teya smiled, and the shopkeeper shook his head and laughed. He didn't expect that the young man in front of him would have such an opinion.

"It's late, go to bed early. I'll prepare breakfast tomorrow." The shopkeeper stood up and said to Teya, "Do you have any cigarettes left? Give me another one."

Teya was speechless for a moment. He took out his cigarette box, but found it was empty. "No more." He turned the cigarette box upside down and shook it twice. "That was the last one." The shopkeeper looked a little disappointed and took out an unopened box of tobacco from his pocket.

Seeing this, Teya almost fainted. "You have cigarettes, why do you smoke mine?" "Young people, don't mind. How can you understand the difficulties of life? Good night."