"I a.s.sume you two childes are on your first long journey since you haven"t prepared dried food. There are still several kilometers before we reach the next town. It would be excellent if we can reach the next town before nightfall. All these means that you will starve for a whole day, which I’m afraid your childes’ n.o.ble body may not be able to bear," said the servant of the trade caravan, Fortune (name of the caravan).
Shiao Chen was in a daze when hearing the words since one was able to fast for almost half a month at the cultivation level like his and if one reached Foundation Establishment, he could live without food. Shiao Chen then said with smile, "Little brother, we two were too devoted in our conversation in the morning that we forgot to prepare any dry provisions. What shall we do now?"
"Alas, I was just reminded of this. It seems that we are going to starve." Li Xiaoyi shook his head in a row with a sad face.
Another man in the carriage was a timid middle-aged plain dealer. He smiled on hearing their words, "You two childes can eat mine if you don"t mind. I bring with me several servings. They are made by my wife, not so delicate." The servant rolled his eyes on hearing the words and thought the middle-aged was an idiot. He had noticed for long that the two came here empty handed. What was more, they were in good clothes and with great insights. He was meant to deal with them by mentioning this thing. He brought several servings too. The dry provisions cost him just several Qians (1). However, if the food were sold to the two, the prices would be much higher and he could earn the price difference. Now, his plan was destroyed by the middle-aged. He didn"t feel good and said with a cold smile, "The two childes were with n.o.ble birth. They feast every day. You"d better put your food away as soon as possible. Offering them pancakes which are made of coa.r.s.e grains is just making a fool of yourself."
Finishing his words, he turned around, managed a flattering smile, and took a hamper out from somewhere, "Two childes, here are six dishes with chicken, duck, and fish included. They are still warm. How about trying them?"
The middle-aged blushed with shame. He tried to say something by opening his mouth. However, words failed him.
Shiao Chen glanced at the servant, ignoring his words.
Nevertheless, Li Xiaoyi got annoyed by the words though was with a calm face. He then said in a cold voice, "To your disappointment, the pancakes are just what we need. As for your hamper, we don"t like it at all and you can sell it to anyone who wants it."
The servant"s face turned pale suddenly but dared not to retort considering the two were from rich families. He stayed for a while and then got off stealthily to promote his hamper in another carriage.
"Big brother, we"d like to buy your pancakes with slivers. What do you think?" Li Xiaoyi asked the middle-aged with a gentle smile.
"You don"t have to pay. These are homemade and worthless." He was grateful and waved his hands continuously.
"Just take the silvers. We are not spongers." Seeming to be touched, Shiao Chen said with a smile.
"Brother is right. We"re not freeloaders." Li Xiaoyi took an ingot of silver and threw it to the middle-aged, regardless of the fact that the price he offered could buy a carriage of the pancakes.
The middle-aged was so excited that his lips trembled. He carefully put the sliver away in his underclothes and rushed to open the baggage on his back. With only a couple of pancakes left, he pushed all the rest to their front. In addition, he also offered some homemade drinks which were of unique flavor.
Shiao Chen took a sip and bit the pancake. The mixed flavor was very special.
"Little brother, try this! The drink is good."
"En…" On hearing the words, Li Xiaoyi was startled, flushed, and hesitated.
"Well, it seems that my little brother is reluctant to drink with me." Shiao Chen pretended to knit his brows.
"No! Just a misunderstanding! I seldom drink. I"m afraid brother would tease me for I might misbehave after I get drunk. However, since brother has invited me, I"m ready to drink with you at any price!" Li Xiaoyi caught the canteen and took a large swig with his head lifted. He coughed and flushed immediately once the liquid went down along his throat.
Seeing his reaction, Shiao Chen laughed at him badly, "He is just as beautiful as a girl. He would be a stunning beauty if he were dressed up." Shiao Chen thought to himself.
Drinking, eating, and chatting, Shiao Chen"s frayed nerves were totally eased. He felt warm and comfortable. It seemed that his divine sense was enjoying a bath in the sunshine and about to be activated as every second went by. Shiao Chen felt that he was going to break through to the next level.
Leaning against the carriage with a faint smile and hollow eyes, Shiao Chen seemed to enjoy the scenery along the road unconsciously. However, if someone could look inside him, he could find continuous changes occurred in Shiao Chen’s divine sense.
"The divine sense is strengthened and refined. Now it"s comparable to that of those at the late stage of Foundation Establishment." Shiao Chen came back to himself after quite a while and couldn"t help becoming excited.
"Brother, what happened?" Li Xiaoyi had been observing Shiao Chen and asked him immediately upon his excitement.
"Nothing. I was just indulged in my memory." Shiao Chen made up an excuse randomly. After all, he couldn"t let others know what he had just experienced.
"Mounted gangsters. They are mounted gangsters!"
The people in front were in a panic and the situation was out of control. Screams coming from afar sent the whole queue into a total mess.
"En?" Shiao Chen frowned, stood up, and looked far into the distance, trying to figure out what happened.
He saw that guards of the five caravans were confronted with gangsters at the beginning of the queue. Occasionally pa.s.sers-by a.s.sisted the guards with their weapons. After all, if they were not able to beat off the gangsters, all wouldn"t end up well.
Hundreds of meters away from the queue, hundreds of vicious gangsters came with rolling dust.
"Don"t panic! Form a circle! Keep the carriages in the front, guards in the back, and the old, the weak, women and children in the middle."
As a leader, though astounded, the old managed to remain calm and issue orders loudly.
Servants and guards of caravans were experienced. They began to move after the initial panic.
The gangsters proceeded in an extremely fast speed. They came near in just seconds.
"Stop!"
Along with a shout, hundreds of gangsters stopped immediately. They whistled one after another just hundreds of meters away.
The shinning sabers were waved with a force and the queue was greeted with a sense of vicious killing intent. Lots of people in the queue turned pale.
"I"m Gu Yun. I"ve been traveling along this path for almost forty years. During the forty years, I get acquainted with numerous heads in this area and hand over agreed protection money annually without delay. Are there misunderstandings between us? I"m here trying to work up the nerve to ask heroes in the opposite who the leader is and if can I talk to him. We"d like to turn in a thousand taels of silver to buy heroes some liquor." The old shouted to the opposite crowd at the beginning of the queue.
Translator Notes
One Liang (两/liǎng/) = 10 Qian (钱/qián/) = 50 grams