There are camps everywhere in the desert around the outer periphery of the market at night. There are fewer voices late at night than in the evening, but there are still people working to move goods and load them onto trucks.
Zhao Changhe watched from afar and was reminded of some port and dock scenes, which were indeed places where commerce and trade gathered.
I don't know what kind of tacit understanding exists between the caravans, or whether they have divided their respective territories in advance. It seems that each caravan has its own territory and does not interfere with each other. Although there are many people, it is not chaotic.
It also made it convenient for Zhao Changhe to investigate the matter. It would be a headache if it really became a mess.
He easily found the camp of the Qiao family's caravan. At this time, there were people moving goods in. They looked like jewelry, spices, sheepskins, etc., ready to be taken back to the Middle Earth. The goods were delivered directly by the Hu merchants in the market. Faintly, he could hear the Hu merchants complaining: "Mr. Qiao is getting more and more arrogant now. He hides in the tent and doesn't even show his face. Is this the etiquette of you in the Central Plains?"
Someone who seemed to be in charge smiled apologetically: "Originally, Mr. Qiao took the young master to the market, and was beaten up while eating at Sanniang's place..."
"How dare Mr. Qiao mess with Yuan Sanniang? Even Commander Wu doesn't dare to force this woman. I heard she has a backer!"
"Well, how could he have offended Sanniang? But the other party might be quite powerful. I heard that he is Wang Daozhong from the Wang family. His strength is worthy of being on the Earth Ranking. He was able to break the second master's hand with just one pinch under his armpit." The steward made a gesture of pinching his armpit and grinned: "This is too scary..."
Hu Shang also took a deep breath: "What kind of god is this? Since he is at the Earth Ranking, he may really be in the Kingly Way."
"Yeah, we think so too. Even if they are fake Wang family members, I dare not gamble. What if they are real? Will we be able to survive in the Middle Earth?"
"Is there anyone from the Wang family who dares to appear near the War Lion Tribe?"
"I don't know about that. Anyway, the War Lion tribe is now in a state of panic, so I'm afraid they don't have the energy to cause trouble for the Wang family..."
As they talked, the two of them walked inside. There were a group of laborers moving goods around them, and a few people who looked like guards followed behind them.
No one noticed that a yellow-faced man suddenly appeared among the busy laborers moving the goods. He mixed in and entered the village. He even honestly helped people carry the goods all the way to the carriage to load them.
Because he felt that the conversation between the two was very informative and worth listening to more.
Sure enough, Hu Shang asked, "What about the six slaves you mentioned earlier? Are they in the car?"
The manager subconsciously glanced around and lowered his voice: "This time, they are all masters of the Middle-earth martial arts. The lowest one has the fifth level of Xuanguan, and the highest one has the seventh level. The price is not low. The second master plans to take them to the animal farm for auction. Maybe Commander Wu will be very interested."
The Hu merchant frowned, "This is not a good item... A martial arts master who is too strong cannot control it, and it is easy to escape and may even backfire. I'm afraid that apart from Commander Wu, other forces would not dare to take it easily. Not only will you not be able to bid for it, but Commander Wu may even lower your price."
The manager was obviously touched by what he said, and sighed, "I also think it's not appropriate, but Second Master thinks it's a business opportunity..."
Hu Shang said, "How did you catch him? It's not easy. I've seen masters of the sixth level. When they run, they're faster than a horse, and their endurance is no less than a horse."
"They went to scout the Wild Wolf Tribe, but were discovered and hunted. When they were fleeing, they saw our caravan and realized it was from the Central Plains, so they thought they were saved." The steward smiled slightly and said, "Second Master welcomed them into the team, and then captured them right away."
Zhao Changhe took a deep breath, clenched his fists and resisted the urge to draw his sword.
It was much easier than expected to find the clues for the task assigned by Cui Yuanyong. Fortunately, the two people from the Qiao family were not killed in the restaurant before, otherwise the caravan would have been in chaos and would have most likely withdrawn directly, cutting off the clues and even killing them to avoid trouble.
But Zhao Changhe did not feel relaxed at all at this moment. Instead, he was a thousand times more annoyed than when he came.
This team is full of passionate men, they are here to help defend Yanmen, risking their lives to go out and conduct reconnaissance! They are not here to travel!
Who were they protecting against the Hu people
I'm afraid these men would never have thought that they would be sold out by the people they were protecting. This kind of mental blow is far greater than physical destruction.
Fortunately, they should all be alive and not disabled, and they are still six brave men after being rescued.
Even the Hu merchant who was famous for his greed for money couldn't stand it anymore and asked, "Just for a few slaves?"
"Not only that, our batch of food is to be handed over to the Wild Wolf Tribe. If they follow the team, won't they be seen naked? We can talk to Huangfu Yongxian or Tang Wanzhuang later, what should we do? We can either kill them or capture them and sell them for money, isn't that it."
Hu Shang was too lazy to say more, and just said, "We are old acquaintances. Just sell this batch to me and be done with it. Don't bid for it. Listen to my advice, it's not worth it... Commander Wu wants you to give it away for free, so you might have to give it away."
The steward said: "I don't have the power to decide this. You have to ask the Second Master."
Hu Shang said: "It will take time for them to load the goods, so I'll go check on the Second Master's injury."
The two men walked towards the tent as they talked. Zhao Changhe was loading and moving the goods while pondering in his heart.
There are too many people here, and it is impossible to rescue them. Moreover, the slightest noise will surely attract the whole caravan of a thousand people to surround them. Even if they are rescued by force, they can't escape. This shows the inconvenience of being alone. If there is a partner, they can make some noise on the other side to divert attention, and then we can operate here...
Should I find some help, such as paying Sanniang to do a favor? Would she be willing? While I was thinking about it, there was a sudden noise in front of the camp gate: "Where did this drunkard come from? Get out!"
A familiar voice said drunkenly, "Damn it~ What if I don't have money? Where's your Hu Ji? Come out and dance!"
Zhao Changhe's eyes lit up.
Situ laughed!
Help is coming!
The guard at the gate was so angry that he yelled, "Damn it, this is not the Huji Camp. The prostitute camp you want is on the other side! I still want to go there!"
"Not from the Hu Ji Camp? I don't believe it! You look like a chicken to me..."
"Get lost, you drunkard!"
There was a fight at the village gate. In the main tent, Master Qiao, with a bandage on his hand, was sending the Hu merchant out and talking to him. Seeing this, he shouted angrily, "Where did this drunkard come from to cause trouble? Go get some people to take a look!"
The two of them followed the order and Mr. Qiao said to Hu Shang, "Brother, you are right. It would be better if I sold these people to you privately..."
Before he finished speaking, a sword flashed behind the tent.
It is unknown how long this sword light has been lurking here. It is very likely that someone had quietly lurked here when the Qiao family members went to the market to eat, and never found a suitable opportunity to take action. It had been lurking for several hours without moving.
The only people who can do this, besides the top assassins of Listening Snow Tower, are those who make a living as bounty hunters...
Han Wubing!
Taking advantage of this golden opportunity when there was turmoil at the village gate, Han Wubing, who had been lurking for a long time, brazenly took action and assassinated Qiao Er!
To Han Wubing's surprise, Qiao Er's skills were average and he had a broken hand, so the sword he thought would kill him was blocked by someone.
There was a sound of "clang", and it turned out that the Hu merchant held the scimitar in his hand and blocked Han Wubing's fatal sword. Han Wubing avoided it and the Hu merchant was shocked and retreated several steps.
"I didn't expect that there is such a master among the Hu people in the Western Regions. I have lost my plan this time." Han Wubing thought to himself. He didn't have time to give Qiao Er another sword and quickly retreated to the back of the village.
Qiao Er was quickly surrounded by people. He was jumping up and down in the crowd and shouting, "What are you all standing there for! Those in front, stop him!"
Countless people rushed towards Han Wubing. In the dark night, Han Wubing looked like a ghost. Blood splattered wherever he passed, and he rushed out of the village accompanied by screams and blood.
Situ Xiao, who was causing trouble at the village gate, was dumbfounded.
He and Han Wubing had never even met, let alone made an appointment. He was simply angry because he had just discovered that this was a caravan of merchants from the Central Plains coming here to trade, so he suddenly decided to make trouble to attract Qiao Er and see if he could take his head in front of him and run away.
As a result, just as the incident started, someone inside assassinated him in advance.
This is a good man.
Facing the guards at the village gate who looked like they thought he was an accomplice, Situ Xiao was not upset about being shot at, but was willing to be an accomplice. He took a sip of wine leisurely, and suddenly sprayed it at the torch at the village gate.
With a loud "bang", flames shot up into the sky. The village gate, tents, carts entering and leaving, and spices and clothes were all set on fire, and the fire spread all the way.
The camp was finally in chaos, and the people who were loading the trucks were all affected. At the leader's call, they dropped their work and rushed out to put out the fire.
Zhao Changhe looked at the carriages around him that had suddenly become empty, and quickly opened the doors of each carriage one by one, looking for someone.
Brothers, please hold on for a while. I will come back to help you after I rescue the people.
"Bang!" He opened more than a dozen carriages, but all were empty. After finally opening one, he found several people seemingly sleeping inside. Zhao Changhe's eyes lit up, and just as he was about to get on the train, he suddenly felt a chill on the side of his neck.
Zhao Changhe dodged instinctively, but found that the opponent's sword movement was mysterious and unusual. He couldn't dodge at all without taking the initiative...
The long sword was already on his neck, and a cold voice came from behind: "Which car is loaded with food and fodder? Take me to get it... Hey, your knife..."
Zhao Changhe sighed, looking at the long-lost face behind him: "You have robbed the food and fodder, can you take me with you? How about being your husband?"
Yue Hongling widened her eyes.
(End of this chapter)