Chapter 287: Distant "Civilization"
Changzhou, in the southern part of Liuhuang, outside the Feng clan.
The scorching sun was baking the earth. Ah Zhi licked his cracked lips and hesitated for a long time before carefully taking out a milky white fruit from his arms.
He tilted his head back, broke the fruit open, and squeezed out a small stream of juice.
The tiny amount of milky white juice seemed like a heavenly rain, instantly soothing Ah Zhu, who was already roasted to the point of cracking. He swallowed a large mouthful of juice with satisfaction, and then stuffed the crushed fruit pulp into his mouth.
After doing all this, he continued walking with heavy steps towards a river more than ten miles away.
He was a slave of the descendant of a witch from the Feng clan. His master had the right to use the Yingshui River, so as a water slave, he had to carry back enough river water for his master to irrigate the exotic flowers and plants planted in his master's garden.
The Feng clan was not a sect, but one of the largest tribes in the Liuhuang area of Changzhou.
Unlike the sects that are composed entirely of cultivators, the tribes in the Liuhuang area have both cultivators and ordinary mortals. They live together and struggle to survive in this barren and arid land.
The monks in these tribes are not called monks. They all have a special name, called "witches".
The witch has the ability to communicate with heaven and earth, can see the future, control lightning and fire, and even bring the dead back to life. In the many tribes of Liuhuang, the status of the witch is even higher than that of the tribal chief.
The Feng clan had a total of more than 10,000 people, scattered in the southern part of Liuhuang. To the west was the Xin clan, and further southwest, across a strait, to Yanzhou, was the largest Sui Ming clan.
Liuhuang, as the name suggests, refers to a desolate, arid area with extremely scarce resources. It covers the southern part of Changzhou and the northern part of Yanzhou, and is one of the most distant continents from Zhongzhou.
Under harsh living conditions, a more brutal and more tightly structured group emerged: clan tribes.
If the core of the power flow in a cultivation sect is the inheritance between master and disciple, then the tribes in the Liuhuang area are just like the ancient flower-growing civilization on Blue Star, using blood ties as a bond to transfer power.
Azhi's mother was a slave, so he is also distant. If he has bloodline in the future, he will also be a slave, and this will not change from generation to generation.
As a slave, he also has special survival skills.
When the sun's light was no longer so strong and the ground was no longer so hot that it was smoking, Ah Zhi appeared outside the tribal gate of the Feng clan, carrying a tangled pile of water bags.
This is a lazy method he has developed over the years.
As a water slave, his daily task was to fetch water, but the Yingshui River was too far away. According to the share given by the steward, he had to run three or four times to barely fetch enough water. So he asked other slaves to get a "water bag", a "magic device" that could hold a lot of water. In this way, he only needed to run once to fetch the water he needed.
Therefore, he would hang out outside for a long time every time, and then come back at the right time, pretending that he was working non-stop - after all, a steward had to look after dozens of slaves, and it was impossible for him to keep an eye on every slave at the same time.
Today, Ah Zhi came back as usual, but found that the atmosphere seemed a little solemn and something was wrong.
He didn't think much about it, just thought that one of the slaves had made a mistake and was cooked and eaten by other slaves.
This is also the custom of the Feng clan.
If the slaves were disobedient, the masters could deal with them on their own, usually by cooking them and then sharing the food with other slaves, which could save a meal and also deter other slaves. For many confused slaves, this was a rare "meal"!
Ah Zhu had also shared food with other slaves, but he felt so nauseous after eating that he vomited. He felt very sad and didn't know why. It was probably because his mother, whose appearance he had gradually forgotten, was cooked and eaten because she broke her master's beloved painted porcelain vase.
I don’t know which unlucky guy will suffer this time.
Ah Zhu sighed secretly in his heart.
But when he was about to pour the water from the water bag into the water jar as usual, a slave who was also his partner in fetching water hurriedly pulled him away and warned him, "Azhu! Don't go near the steward today!"
Without waiting for Ah Zhu to ask why, the water slave ran away in panic.
Ah Zhu couldn't help but frown.
The water slave was responsible for fetching water for his master, and his status was higher than his own, so the manager treated him better than himself. But he was quite nice to him, and he helped him figure out how to store the water bag, which really saved him a lot of trouble.
Ah Zhi rarely saw the other party so flustered and anxious, and was a little confused as to why.
But before he had time to think about it, he saw the manager with a gloomy face.
The steward cursed: "You guys are lazy all day long. Sooner or later, I will cook you all!"
Ah Zhi remembered the warning still echoing in his ears, and quickly turned his head to avoid it, but it was too late.
The steward asked Ah Zhu, "You! That's you! You are in charge of fetching water, right?"
Ah Zhu nodded blankly.
The steward waved his hand impatiently: "Follow me! Hurry!"
Having said that, he strode towards the outer door.
Ah Zhi did not dare to disobey the steward and followed closely.
The two of them walked through the huge garden and came to a wasteland, where many slaves had gathered. Ah Zhu knew some of them, but not others. They all had pale faces and said nothing.
The originally arrogant steward immediately bent his waist as soon as he arrived here, with a flattering look on his face, and said to a very beautifully dressed person: "Master Youwu, this is also OK. It just makes up for the eighty slaves. Let's pay for them all!"
Ah Zhu watched in confusion as the beautiful woman casually took out a wooden box from somewhere, which seemed to contain something precious, and handed it to the steward. The steward, in turn, became even more respectful and flattering, took the wooden box, and left without looking back.
Am I... being sold?
Ah Zhu guessed somewhat dully.
Buying and selling slaves was a common practice in the Feng clan, but he had worked for his master for more than ten years and had never thought that he would be sold.
I have been sold, who will fetch water for my master?
Ah Zhu was dazed, not knowing what he was thinking, until he was pushed and walked into a huge ship.
This ship was really big, bigger than the biggest ship he had seen on the Yingshui River. There were dozens of slaves on board, and they couldn't even occupy a small corner.
Everyone was waiting for their future fate in fear and trepidation. Even Ah Zhu prayed secretly, hoping that he could meet a master who was similar to his old master.
At least, don't consume them as sacrifices.
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