Chang Lili raised her hands, the sharp, silvery blade gleaming beneath her eyelids sending chills down one's spine. She forced a dry laugh and said, "It can't be that bad..."
The barbarian moved forward a little further, coldly urging her to leave.
"This is Duanzhou, not the northern frontier. Are you sure you want to make a move?" Xu Yuandao walked over at some point, his tone flat and emotionless, his eyes as cool as the shimmering lake water before winter.
The barbarians exchanged glances, but hesitated to shed blood, precisely because of this.
The leader spoke up: "Since the two borders are at peace and you still think about peace, we will not rashly break it. However, we would like to ask this young lady to leave."
Chang Lili shrugged and said regretfully, "Okay."
Xu Yuandao led Chang Lili back to the stool, and Bai Cha asked softly, "Is he a suspicious person?"
“No, I think their weapons are quite interesting.” Chang Lili shook her head. The people at that table were asking the waiter for two jars of wine. Chang Lili’s mind raced, and she clearly had an idea. “We’ve searched almost the whole street. There’s no one suspicious. Let’s go back first and come back next time.”
As she spoke, Chang Lili immediately got to work, heading to the tea shop counter to pay the bill. The waiter was bringing out two jars of wine, tearing off the red clay, and Chang Lili reached into her sleeve and pulled out a silver ingot.
The shopkeeper looked troubled: "Sir, you haven't ordered anything to eat, and that pot of tea is only worth a few taels of silver. That's a lot... and our shop can't make change."
Chang Lili leaned against the counter, tapped on the surface, and said casually, "No rush, take your time looking."
The shopkeeper had no choice but to bend down and take the money box.
Chang Lili glanced around, and taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, quickly opened the small bottle cap and poured the aqua regia into one of the jars of wine. The golden water quickly dissolved into the wine.
Aqua regia is highly toxic and corrosive, but it has a strong odor. She studied it for a long time and made several improvements to mask the pungent smell, using it only to melt ironware.
Chang Lili said, "Brother Xu, I have something to do. You should take Bai Cha home first. It's not safe for her, a weak woman, to be in Duanzhou."
Xu Yuandao paused, then pondered, "What do you plan to do?"
"It's nothing."
Chang Lili blinked and watched as the waiter carried over the second jar of drugged wine. She kicked her foot, found a small pebble, and flicked it away just as the waiter was about to walk in. The pebble landed right in the back of the waiter's knee.
Xiao Er's right leg went numb, and he staggered forward, instinctively trying to grab something, but instead bumped into the curved knife on the table, cutting his hand.
With a clang, the scimitar bounced twice on the ground before landing in the spilled wine.
Learning martial arts from Meng Yuxiu was still useful, even though I only learned the basics.
Xu Yuandao's eyes flashed, realizing her intention, and he shook his head in disapproval. Bai Cha interrupted him before he could speak, saying, "It's too dangerous."
The waiter made a mistake in his haste, and the barbarian was furious.
"It's nothing." Hearing the unintelligible barbarian language on the other end, Chang Lili waved her hand, pushed the silver the shopkeeper had given her to Xu Yuandao, and told Xu Yuandao to take the white tea away. She then went over to take a look.
The waiter repeatedly apologized, but the barbarian was aggressive and refused to let him go. The more he talked, the more his hand ached, and he showed an impatient expression. Relying on the fact that the barbarian dared not lay a hand on him, he finished collecting the wreckage and left.
"This is outrageous!" The barbarian picked up the scimitar, which had two or three more cuts on it, and even worse, the handle was almost completely deformed.
The barbarian kept babbling on and on. Although Chang Lili couldn't understand what he was saying, she could tell from his angry expression that it wasn't anything nice.
Chang Lili touched the tip of her nose, a hint of embarrassment on her face, and stepped forward: "Brothers, don't be angry, I can repair weapons!"
It's common for weapons to fall to the ground; there's no way there's a problem. The timing of this person's appearance is coincidental, suggesting he came prepared.
Burge glanced behind her; the man and woman who had been with her had already left. He looked at Chang Lili suspiciously and asked, "You know how?"
Chang Lili nodded vigorously: "Of course! I'm obsessed with weapons. I can use knives, spears, clubs, axes, hooks, and forks. As long as you tell me where the weapon came from, I will not only restore it to its original state, but also give you another one! How about it? This is a great deal."
Chang Lili stared expectantly at the leader. Bulgi could see that there was no malice in her eyes; she simply wanted to learn about weapons, which was why she had gone this far. He couldn't help but chuckle: "Alright, the extra one can be used by my sister."
When his sister was mentioned, Bulgi's expression darkened, and the smile on his face disappeared.
Chang Lili was holding the weapon and examining it carefully when she caught a glimpse of his changing expression out of the corner of her eye: "What's wrong? Do you feel like you've lost out?"
Bulgi remained silent, but the impatient barbarian sitting to his right spoke up: "Our master's sister has gone missing. We came to Duanzhou to find her!"
Chang Lili was taken aback: "I heard from a friend that human trafficking is quite serious in Duanzhou, and nobody seems to care... Do you have any leads?"
“I came here precisely because there were no clues,” Bulgi said. “My sister wouldn’t have disappeared for no reason; someone must have kidnapped her. This kind of thing is nothing new on the grasslands.”
Burji briefly explained the situation: people frequently disappeared on the grasslands, and before they disappeared, they had all had disputes with people from the Central Plains, so they suspected that people from the Central Plains were responsible.
Chang Lili found it increasingly strange; with so many people, it was impossible not to see a single one.
She thought about what Bai Cha had said, and her mind started to wander.
There's a street in Duanzhou inhabited by **barbarians**. Some of them were tricked into coming here. Could there be some connection between them?
The clues she had obtained were scattered and disorganized. Chang Lili bit her finger and said, "Tell me where the weapon came from, and I'll help you find your sister. I'm from the Central Plains, so it's easier for me to find people than for you."
Bulgi remained silent for a while, deep in thought. After exchanging names with Chang Lili and confirming that she was harmless, he slowly opened his mouth.
“I don’t know where this weapon came from. I only have the manufacturing blueprints, which were given to me by a person from the Central Plains. Alan doesn’t like people from the Central Plains, but this person is an exception. She also brought him back. That person was very familiar with the northern frontier and frequently visited for several years. After that, the visits became less frequent, and I haven’t seen him for five years now.”
Chang Lili was stunned, not understanding why another person had suddenly appeared.
"Is it a woman?"
Burgess gave him a strange look: "You know him?"
Chang Lili shook her head. She had only asked casually, "What does it look like?"
Bulgi said, “The weather in the north is harsh, and many people wear hoods and veils. She even wore a mask. Over the years, I have never known whether she was beautiful or ugly. I only know that she had a black mole on her wrist.”
A mole? Chang Lili secretly memorized this feature, then clapped her hands together and said, "There's another problem. I don't know your sister. You need to describe what she looks like. I'll ask the shopkeeper for paper and pen, and draw her to see if she looks like this person."
Burgi nodded in agreement.
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