Chapter 98 (1/2)
Chapter 98
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhuge Yue's voice was overflowing with murderous intent, and Boss Mu was completely shocked by the coldness of his tone. The man continued, ”That person will only have one master in this life, and that master is me. You dared to sell her to other people? Indeed, you deserve to die.”
”Master, I-I...”
”Yue Qi, I'll leave this issue for you to settle. I do not want to see him blocking my view the next time I come to this city.”
Yue Qi stepped up, and acknowledged coldly, ”Yes.” Ignoring the desperate pleas by Boss Mu, Zhuge Yue rode away on his horse, disappearing into the sea of people.
Along with the galloping of the horses, the bustling street was suddenly pierced by a blood curdling shriek. In this era, civilians' lives were as worthless as the weed found on the roadside, and even more so when it came to people like Boss Mu who had commited all kinds of evil as a slave dealer. No one would give him any sympathy, as the city quickly returned to their daily lives.
”Zhu Cheng, head to Water Transport Yamen, and inform them that we will be going by land instead.”
Zhu Cheng was mentally prepared, but still could not help but be surprised. Thus he advised, ”Master, the old master told us we should reach the Tang Capital—Tang Jing—as soon as possible. Going by land would waste time, plus most noble families are arriving via waterway. If we choose to stand out by taking the land route, I am afraid there may be rumors.”
Zhuge Yue did not reply, and only stared squarely at Zhu Cheng's face coldly. His intention was clear as day.
Zhu Cheng felt chills down his spine. How could he not know Zhuge Yue's intentions? This was an event of celebration for the Tang Empire, and the waterways were sealed with the exceptions of the great noble families who were specially invited. Commoners could only enter Tang Jing via land routes. Considering the fact that the family who bought Chu Qiao had to buy slaves, they must not belong to those great families. Young master insisted on walking by land, therefore his intention could not be any more obvious. But even if he found her, given their current relationship, what meaning was there? At the end of the day, he was no longer the teenager from nine years ago, and she was no longer the lowly slave who had nothing.
Young Master, even if you found her, what could you do? She is a tiger. Even if she is wounded and trapped, she is not someone who can be controlled. Zhu Cheng shook his head, and sighed. Turning around, he headed toward the Water Transport Yamen, leaving Zhuge Yue behind. The afternoon sun shone on Zhuge Yue's deep blue blouse, reflecting an incandescent glow, donning him in an otherworldly aura.
In the distance, a thick and tall elm tree is visible amidst the blooming greenery. A rough estimate places the age of the tree at around 30 to 40 years old, and it was coiled with red clothes and colorful paper cutouts. Those resulted from the superstition of the civilians. They believed that within elm trees lived deities, and the thicker the elm tree, the more powerful the deity. As a result, many people who had encountered difficulties in their lives would start coming to the tree to pray for peace and prosperity.
The wind started blowing again, and Zhuge Yue's clothing ruffled in the breeze. Reaching out for his jade accessory, he threw it at the tree. With a crisp sound of impact, the invaluable accessory was hung atop the tree branches. Shaking from the impact, the jade gave off a iridescent glow as sunlight shone through its body.
”Giddyup!” Zhuge Yue turned around, and with a whip of his horse, he stormed away with the rest of his subordinates. The cicadas screamed in the sweltering summer heat, as the warm blasts of air from the wind continued to shake the branches of the tree holding that jade piece. From a distance, it was like a star twinkling. Who knew what wish that jade carried?
Waking up, it was already dusk. The river surface was dotted with golden reflections of the setting sun. Liang Shaoqing grinned from ear to ear as he saw that Chu Qiao had finally awoken. Quickly picking up the medicine from the side, he carefully fed her. The medicine was extremely bitter, and it was essentially a torture in disguise to be fed so slowly, spoon by spoon. Chu Qiao frowned, and snatched the bowl before gulping it down. Following that, she quickly swallowed a mouthful of concentrated tea to suppress the bitterness in her mouth.
Having changed into clean clothes and her old wound dressings changed out, her sickness was almost cured. Chu Qiao sat up and observed her surroundings, and inquired, ”Where is this? Where are we going?”
”We have been bought by someone.” Liang Shaoqing pretended to be mysterious, but he continued to restate what Chu Qiao already knew. ”We are on board a ship.” Looking at him, Chu Qiao felt an urge to punch him. But being well mannered, Chu Qiao suppressed her urge to beat him up. Calmly, she asked, ”Nerd, can you tell me something that I don't already know?”
”Oh, alright.” Liang Shaoqing begin iterating his pathetic amount of information. Their new master was the Zhan Family from Shui Xiu province, located along the Xia-Tang borders. They were heading toward Tang Jing. The master was merely 27, and was the man they saw at the slave market. His name was Zhan Ziyu. In addition, this family had five young ladies who were all Zhan Ziyu's sisters. Among which, the three eldest sisters were already married, and their husbands were onboard as well. There were a total of three big ships, and there were hundreds of servants. That Uncle Qing from before could be considered as the head of those servants.
They brought so many people on a simple trip. From that fact alone, it seemed like they were a big family. But no matter how Chu Qiao cycled her memories, she could not recall which big family in the Xia Empire had the surname of Zhan.
Since this group was headed to Tang Jing, the urgency for her to escape actually vanished. With this, she could recuperate from her injuries, and hide from the search that the Xia Empire had initiated. This essentially killed two birds with one stone.
She lifted her head and asked, ”You said they were heading to Tang Jing, but do you know what they are heading there for?”