Chapter 2 first quarter

The white and slender sail like a swan's wings carried the "Yuanxiang" flying in the summer breath, passing through the Xiongwu double cliffs, entering the bay, and sailing towards Gongtuo Port.The boat slid into the calm sea at the edge of the pier. The Construct of the Wind's confident and elegant figure made the two townspeople who were fishing by the old pier cheer and admire, and waved to the crew and the only passenger at the bow. The man was thin, with a flat pack on his back, and an old black cloak. He looked like a warlock or a merchant, not of much importance.Two anglers watch as the vessel prepares to unload, causing commotion on the pier and on deck.As the passenger left, a sailor pointed behind him with his left thumb, forefinger and little finger—a gesture that meant: "Never see you again!" Only this incident aroused the fisherman's slight curiosity, and he glanced at the passenger.

He hesitated on the pier for a while, finally picked up his burden, and walked towards the crowded streets in Gont Port, and arrived at the fish market in a short while, full of hawkers and buyers, fish scales and rotten water stains splashed on the stone road It was bright.The path he followed was lost in the cold stares of carts, vendors, crowds, and dead fish. A tall old woman had just insulted that the herring was not fresh and the fisherwoman was untrustworthy, and turned her back to the vendor. The stranger found that the eyes of the old woman met him, and asked unwisely: "Can you tell me, what should I do when I go to Rui Yabai?" How to go?"

"You jump into the pig's food first!" The tall lady strode away after she finished speaking, leaving behind the aggrieved and astonished stranger.The fisherwoman realized that this was a great opportunity to prove her noble personality, and immediately shouted: "Rui Yabai, right? Are you going to Rui Yabai? Then speak louder! You must go to Rui Yabai to find the old man. The House of the Mage. It must be. You go out at that corner, then take that Jeves Lane, see, go straight to the Tower..." Once he left the marketplace, Broad Street led him up the hill, past the giant watchtower, to the city gate.Two lifelike stone dragons guard the doorway, showing teeth as long as his forearm, stone eyes looking blankly at the town and the bay.The lazy guard said that turning left at the top of the mountain road will lead to Rui Yabai. "Keep going, through the town, and you will come to the old mage's house." The guard said.

So he climbed wearily up the steep mountain road, looking up at the steeper slopes, and at the farther summit of Gont, which shrouded the island like a cloud. The journey was long and the weather was hot, and he soon took off his hood and black cloak, leaving him in only his shirt.It hadn't occurred to him earlier to buy some water or food in the city—perhaps too shy, since he wasn't used to cities or dealing with strangers. After a long journey of several miles, he caught up with a bullock cart.He saw the bullock cart from a long distance, wrapped in dust, a mass of light gray and a mass of black.The cart creaked forward, pulled by a pair of small cows, shriveled and dull as turtles.He greeted what appeared to be the driver of the pair of oxen, who didn't say anything, just winked.

"Is there a spring ahead?" asked the stranger. The coachman shook his head slowly, and after a long time said: "No." After a while, he said: "There is no one ahead." The two moved forward slowly.The discouraged stranger finds himself unable to outpace the ox, covering only about a mile an hour. He suddenly found that the coachman was silently handing him something: a large clay pot tied with vine branches.He took it and felt that the pot was very heavy. After drinking enough water, he handed back the clay pot, which had hardly lost any weight, and thanked him.

"Come on," said the coachman after a while. "Thank you, I'll just walk. How far is it to Reya Bai?" The wheels creaked.The cows sighed in turn, their muddy fur smelling sweet in the hot sun. "Ten miles," said the coachman, and after thinking for a while, he added, "Or twelve miles." After a while, he added, "At least." "Then I'd better go on," said the stranger. After drinking clear water, he was refreshed, and he was finally able to walk ahead of the cattle.When he heard the coachman's voice again, he was already quite a distance away from the cattle, the cart and the coachman. "To the old mage's house," said the coachman.Even if that is a question, there is no need for an answer.The traveler moves on.

The sun was still in the shadow of the huge mountains as he set out, but by the time he turned left into what appeared to be a small town called Raiabai, the setting sun was burning brightly in the western sky, and the sea below was silvery white. The huts are scattered, the small square is covered with dust, and a fountain sprays long thin jets of water.He went straight to the fountain, scooped up the water and drank it, then put his head under the water column, washed his hair with the cool spring water, and let the water flow down his arms.He sat for a while by the fountain.Two dirty little boys and a little girl looked at him intently and quietly.

"He's not a farrier," said a boy. The traveler ran his fingers through his wet hair. "Fool, he's going to the old mage's house," said the girl. "Alas!" the boy shouted, drawing his face into a horrific crooked frown with one hand, and curling the other into a claw, slashing at the air. "A Shi, be careful." Another boy said. "Take you there." The girl said to the traveler. "Thank you." He got up tiredly. "Look! He doesn't have a wand," said one boy, and the other replied, "I didn't say he had one." They both watched sullenly as the traveler followed the girl up a path going north, out of the village, through which the A rugged, steep pasture sloping to the left.

The sun shone harshly on the sea, blinding his vision, and the towering sky and the blowing sea wind made him dizzy.The child becomes a tiny shadow dancing ahead.He stopped. "Come on." The girl called, but stopped.He walked up the path to the girl. "There," said the girl.He saw some distance away, on the edge of a cliff, a wooden house. "I'm not afraid," the girl said, "I often take their eggs to Ah Shi's father to sell in the market. Once she gave me peaches. The old lady gave them to me. Ah Shi said I picked them secretly, but I No. Go. She's not there. None of them."

The girl stood still, pointing to the house. "Is no one in the house?" "The old man is here. Old Eagle." The traveler moves on.The kid stayed and watched him until he rounded the corner of the house. Two goats look down on strangers from a steep fenced field.A flock of hens and half-sized chicks were pecking and clucking softly in the long grass under the peach and plum trees.A man stood on a low ladder leaning against a tree, with his head buried among the leaves, and the traveler could only see his bare brown legs. "Good day." The traveler greeted, and said louder again after a while.

The leaves swayed, and the man quickly climbed down the ladder, holding a handful of plums in his hand. When he got down the ladder, he slapped away two bees attracted by the fruit honey.He walked towards the traveler. He appeared to be short and short, with a straight back, a handsome weather-beaten face, and gray hair tied behind his head. He looked to be in his seventies. Four white seam-like scars stretched from the left cheekbone to his chin. The eyes are clear, straightforward and sharp. "The fruit is ripe, but it will taste better tomorrow." The man handed over a handful of small yellow plums. "Lord Sparrowhawk," the stranger greeted hoarsely, "The Archmage." The old man nodded slightly in response. "Come in the shade." The stranger followed behind the old man, and sat down on a wooden bench under the shade of an old tree closest to the house.The plums had been washed and placed in a rattan basket. He took the plums and ate one, another, and another. When asked by the old man, he admitted that he hadn't eaten all day.He continued to sit under the tree, watching the old man enter the house, and then appeared with bread, cheese and half an onion.The guest ate the bread, cheese, and onions, and drank the glass of cold water brought by the host.The master eats plums to accompany him. "You look tired. How far did you come from?" "From Roke." The old man's expression was hard to read, and he just said, "What a surprise." "My lord, I am from the Isle of Dawn. I went to Roke from the Isle of Dawn, and the master Xingyi there told me that I should come here to find you." "why?" His eyes are bright and compelling. "Because you are 'surviving across the dark land'..." The traveler's hoarse voice faded. The old man continued: "'Let's sail to many distant shores in this world'. That's right, but it is prophesying the appearance of King Lepinan." "You walk with him, my lord." "Yes, there he won his kingdom, and there I kept mine. So don't call me by any title. You can call me an eagle, or a sparrowhawk. What shall I call you?" The man whispered the common name: "Alder." Food, drinking water, tree shade, and sitting comfortably have obviously relieved the discomfort, but Alder still looks exhausted, with a kind of tiredness and sadness overflowing his face. When the old man spoke before, there was still a hint of coldness in his tone, but it was no longer there when he spoke again: "I have something to say later. You sailed almost a thousand miles and climbed fifteen miles of mountain roads, and my wife and daughter entrusted me to take care of this vegetable garden , I need to water some vegetables like beans, lettuce, etc. You take a break and we can talk in the evening when it is cooler, or in the cooler morning. I rarely think that everything is right now, as I used to Can't wait." Half an hour later, when the old man came back, the visitor was lying on his back on the cool grass under the peach tree, and fell asleep. The man who used to be the Archmage of Earthsea held a bucket in one hand and a shovel in the other, stopped and looked down at the sleeping stranger. "Alder," the old man whispered, "what trouble are you causing, Alder?" The old man vaguely felt that as long as he thought about it, as long as he wanted to, he could know the real name of this person, just like when he was a mage in the past. But the old man didn't know the real name of this person, even if he wanted to, and he was no longer a lawyer. The old man didn't know anything about Alder, and had to wait for Alder himself to tell. "Don't touch troublesome things." The old man said to himself, and continued to water the beans.