Chapter 153 World 7 (1)
In the vast desert, the scorching sunlight shines through layers of halos, transferring heat to the endless yellow sand.
Amidst the rolling sand peaks, horse traders often traveled between the Western Regions and the Central Plains, bringing exotic goods from the Western Regions to the Central Plains or transporting the Central Plains' abundant grain, porcelain, and other products to foreign lands in exchange for lucrative silver. Furthermore, there was a group of people who made their living not by trading goods but by transporting lowly slaves from unknown small nations across the vast desert to the cities of the Central Plains. Because of the unique appearance of these slaves, they often attracted the attention of nobles, who would often part with gold and silver to purchase these foreign slaves for their homes.
The camel caravans formed a long line, with guards at the front and rear placed in front and behind, and in the middle were slaves obtained from foreign countries. They were imprisoned in wooden cages and pulled forward by two camels, one foot deep and one foot shallow.
The horse traders followed the local customs and did not wear complicated robes. Instead, they imitated the Western Regions style, wearing simple Hu clothing, leather boots, and turbans on their heads, leaving only a pair of dark eyes exposed to prevent the strong wind from blowing up sand and scratching their skin.
The slaves who were transported did not receive such good treatment.
These slaves were often bought from slave farms in foreign countries, so naturally they did not have ironed clothes to protect them from the wind and sand.
Therefore, before they had even reached halfway, the slaves were already covered in wounds.
Among them, the one who looked the most miserable was the slave next to Dong Yixiao at the end of the team.
He was not bought from a slave farm, but was encountered by a horse merchant when he was selecting slaves and on his way back to the Central Plains.
At that time, the slave fell in the desert, his lips were dry, and he fell to the side of the road as if exhausted.
The horse traders saw that the slave was covered in wounds and looked like he would not live long, and that he had no identity or background. They were worried that he had provoked an enemy and did not want to provoke him into trouble.
Only Dong Yixiao did not leave. When he lifted the slave's messy hair and revealed a pair of thrilling faces, Dong Yixiao became interested. Such a face would surely attract the attention of the nobles.
Dong Yixiao has always valued money, so he ignored the advice of other horse merchants and poured the water from his own bag into the slave, whose life was unknown.
Fortunately, this slave was able to hold his own and eventually woke up.
Dong Yixiao asked him what his name was, but the slave did not answer. He just looked at the desert with calm eyes.
Dong Yixiao was slightly surprised and thought to himself that he had saved a mute.
But now, no matter whether he is dumb or disabled, he is still a slave. If he can exchange him for some silver, it would not be a waste for him to drink so much water and apply medicine to the slave.
Because the slave was seriously injured, Dong Yixiao used all the two bottles of medicine he carried on him.
Dong Yixiao has always been a person who would not do anything without profit, so how could he waste his efforts? So he put the slaves in cages and returned them to the Central Plains.
Because Dong Yixiao spent a lot of time, he could only follow behind the team and be the last one in the team of many horse merchants.
Dong Yixiao didn't like being at the end of the team, so he always had to keep his eyes open to defend against slaves escaping and sudden robbers.
If it weren't for this slave, how could he have been at the end of the team?
Dong Yixiao was secretly resentful. Looking at the slave who was about to faint from being baked by the sun, he shouted loudly, "Wuli!"
The slave's name was Wu Li. When Wu Li fainted, Dong Yixiao searched his body and found a square silver nameplate engraved with a line of small foreign characters.
Dong Yixiao found someone among the horse merchants who was proficient in foreign languages and learned that the line of small characters was "Wuli".
This must be the slave's name.
Looking at Wu Li's delicate face, Dong Yixiao once doubted Wu Li's identity, but other horse merchants comforted him.
"If he was truly a well-known noble, how could he have fallen into such a state?"
"It's just a name. Maybe he was a slave raised by some noble. He made a mistake and sneaked out, allowing you, Dong Yixiao, to take advantage of him!"
Laughter was floating in the desert, but Dong Yixiao could not laugh. He knew in his heart that the other horse traders were teasing him, laughing at him for wasting clean water and two bottles of medicine to save a mute slave.
When had Dong Yixiao ever suffered such a big loss!
Thinking back, Wu Li in the cage looked calm, not frightened at all by Dong Yixiao's shouting. Seeing this, Dong Yixiao wondered: Could it be that he had picked up a deaf-mute?
Dong Yixiao reached out and pulled out a gleaming nameplate from his bosom. The silver luster shone even brighter and more dazzling in the sunlight. Dong Yixiao's heart settled slightly, and he thought to himself, "It's not a loss after all. After all, I got a piece of silver. I can melt it down later and make some jewelry for my daughter."
After comforting himself in this way, Dong Yixiao looked at Wu Li again without the same disgust as before.
Even though he had seen many handsome slaves, Dong Yixiao had to admit that Wu Li's appearance was the best among them and no one could compare to him.
He had the typical features of people from foreign lands: sunken eye sockets, a high nose bridge, and even his lips, which had turned white due to lack of water, vaguely showed the blood-red color they once had.
But Wu Li's appearance is more refined than that of ordinary foreigners, and his eyes are full of charm.
The only thing about Wu Li that was not satisfactory was his eyes—he had a pair of unpleasant heterochromia.
The left eye is the color of the clear blue sky, and the right eye is amber with a golden glow.
Such strange eyes are an ominous color in the Central Plains, and will definitely be sold at a good price.
Thinking of this, Dong Yixiao sighed softly. In the quiet desert where only the camel bells could be heard, his sigh was particularly noticeable.
Wu Li, who had been sitting quietly in the cage like an unconscious puppet, began to move his ears after hearing the sigh, but he quickly regained his composure.
Late at night, the horse traders stopped traveling and stopped at a quiet place to rest. They took out their water bottles and naan bread from their bags and began to eat and drink.
After walking for a day and a night, the horse traders and camels were already tired.
The camel with several humps on its back bent over to rest.
Dong Yixiao lifted the kettle, but before he could even take two sips, it was completely empty, with only two or three drops of water dripping down the mouth. The kettle was made of horsehide, which felt soft to the touch. Even if Dong Yixiao squeezed the kettle until it wrinkled, he couldn't squeeze out a single drop of water.
Dong Yixiao's throat ached, and he then remembered that in order to save Wu Li, he had poured most of the clean water into Wu Li's mouth.
Dong Yixiao threw the kettle into his bag in frustration. He took out the hard naan bread, but suddenly felt worried.
The naan bread was very filling, but it was dry and hard, making it difficult to swallow. Dong Yixiao struggled and only ate half a piece. The hard crumbs made Dong Yixiao's already dry throat even more sore.
The horse traders had food to eat, but the slaves locked in cages could only watch helplessly as they endured hunger and thirst.
Half a piece of naan was suddenly thrown into Wu Li's arms, and he raised his eyes.
Dong Yixiao looked at him fiercely, baring his sharp teeth. "You'd better sell it for a good price! If not, you'll have to work like a slave for my daughter Baoshan for the rest of your life to repay the favor of saving you!"
After Dong Yixiao finished his harsh words, he gathered together with other horse dealers.
Under the gazes of the other slaves with different expressions, Wu Li grabbed the naan in his hand and stuffed it into his mouth.
He could no longer taste anything, and only the stinging pain of the naan sliding down his throat made Wu Li feel that he was still alive.
It's just that I live as a trafficked slave.
Wu Li didn't know whether to be happy or sad.
Bonfires were lit in the desert, and horse traders carried tinder with them.
The scarlet flames were fed into the firewood, and soon it began to burn fiercely.
The white smoke raised by the fire rose slowly in the vast desert.
The horse traders came from all over the country and they chatted casually.
When discussing the slaves not far away, Dong Yixiao began to worry.
But he remained calm and looked confident.
Someone among the horse traders spoke up, saying that Dong Yixiao had good taste and that the slaves he had chosen were handsome and would surely please the nobles. Dong Yixiao gave him a cold look and said nothing.
The horse dealer, however, pushed the others aside and sat next to Dong Yixiao, saying in a low voice, "I really mean what I said."
"If it were an ordinary noble, they would definitely think that heterochromia is a bad omen and would not be willing to buy the slave.
Just broaden your horizons and don't look down on ordinary nobles."
Dong Yixiao said coldly, "There are different ranks of nobles?"
The horse dealer winked and said, "Of course."
"Then, in your opinion, to whom should Wu Li be sold?"
Ma Shang touched his chin and said after a long while, "Why don't we go to the Princess's Mansion?"
Hearing this, Dong Yixiao sat up straighter, looked Ma Shang in the eye, and asked, "Are you talking about Princess An Ning?"
The horse dealer nodded.
The horse merchant's idea was somewhat reasonable. Princess An Ning preferred handsome men, and everyone in the Central Plains knew it.
For those with outstanding looks, even if they made mistakes, Princess An Ning would be more tolerant and not harsh on them.
Moreover, Princess An Ning acts casually and freely, and probably doesn't worry about the issue of heterochromia.
Judging from Wu Li's appearance, if he were presented to Princess An Ning, he might be rewarded with a huge sum of gold.
After figuring it all out, Dong Yixiao put aside his thoughts, frowned, looked at the horse merchant Duan Wu who had offered advice, and asked, "When did you become so kind?"
Duan Wu smiled brightly, his seemingly honest face showing a bit of shrewdness: "You and I have been brothers for many years. Such a good thing, of course I am thinking of you."
Dong Yixiao snorted coldly, naturally knowing Duan Wu's temper.
So he didn't believe that Duan Wu would be so kind, and he must have some ulterior motive.
As expected, Duan Wu continued, "My son is already of marriageable age, but he doesn't like other women. He only likes your precious fan."
Seeing Dong Yixiao's face darken, Duan Wu said quickly, "I watched the precious fan grow up under my care, and you know my son Changfeng's character. From childhood to adulthood, he has never had any second thoughts about the precious fan... This matter is a matter of human effort and fate, and I am not in a hurry.
I just hope you can say a few good words about Changfeng in front of Baoshan."
Dong Yixiao responded in a muffled voice, and it was unclear whether he agreed or not.
Looking at Dong Yixiao's receding back, Duan Wu sighed in his heart, thinking that his son was a loser.
If he really had the ability, he would have used his own strength to win Dong Baoshan's heart, and would not have let him beg others in a humble manner.
After a while, Duan Wu began to envy Dong Yixiao's good luck. He was a big and strong man, greedy for money and profit, with nothing good in him, but he gave birth to a daughter who was as gentle as a jade and as pretty as a flower. She looked charming, but spoke in a timid voice, which made them very envious.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
