In the narrow and dark room, the girl's moaning sound was like a flash of lightning that cut through the darkness, startling Liang Shaoqing who was standing beside her. The young man hurriedly crawled over, got close to Chu Qiao's face, and nervously whispered, "Are you awake? How are you?"
Chu Qiao frowned and opened her eyes with great willpower. The confusion when she first woke up lasted less than a second. Then she opened her mouth and said in a deep voice, "You damn nerd, you're pressing on my shoulder."
"Ah!" Liang Shaoqing was startled and dodged backwards exaggeratedly. As expected, he pressed down on Chu Qiao's shoulder, and the wound began to bleed slightly again.
"I'm sorry! How are you? Are you going to die?"
Chu Qiao rolled her eyes at him impatiently, her brows furrowed as she endured the waves of pain that kept coming from her left ribs. Having gone through strong storms and waves, but still capsized in a ditch, one can imagine how depressed Chu Qiao felt. Fortunately, the wounds on the left rib and shoulder were not deep and not fatal. However, if he continued to stay in this dirty and chaotic slave den without treatment and cleaning, something bad would happen sooner or later. She looked around the narrow cell where she would hit her head if she stood up. There was only a faint light coming from the top. With just one look, Chu Qiao knew that she and the nerd in front of her were locked up in the dungeon as dangerous people.
At this moment, there was a sound of unlocking a door overhead. Two men in brown clothes came down the narrow ladder, each holding a whip as thick as a thumb. They shouted in a hoarse voice, "Son of a bitch! Get up!"
Liang Shaoqing was frightened to the point of turning pale, his hands and feet trembling. This scholar, who had been pampered for years, left his hometown for Tangjing for his passion and yearning, but encountered all kinds of misfortunes on the way. The darkness of the world was beyond his imagination. But despite this, the timid nerd still nervously moved in front of Chu Qiao, and said with a righteous look: "What do you want to do? When I get out, I will report to the local magistrate and sue you for forcibly enslaving people and rudely beating imperial nobles, without distinction of status, without manners, and without any..."
With a "swish" sound, a whip shadow suddenly swept down and hit Liang Shaoqing's arm. The scholar was quite stubborn. He groaned, still holding his head high and staring with eyes wide open, not wanting to give in at all.
"You bastard! You're still putting on airs here. If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll fill your mouth with shit and see if you dare to talk nonsense again! Damn it!"
The big man cursed and swore, still not satisfied, so he swung the whip down again. But it didn't hit Liang Shaoqing. Chu Qiao, who was sitting behind him, was quick and grabbed the end of the whip. The big man was furious and pulled it back twice with force, but it didn't move. He suddenly became ruthless, took a weird horse stance, and exerted force immediately, but Chu Qiao loosened her hand at this moment, and the man slipped out of her hand and fell backwards with a bang, hitting his head hard against the earth wall.
"Everyone has their own way, so when dealing with people and things, it is better to leave yourself a way out."
Chu Qiao's face was pale and her tone was cold. The fallen big man got up in a panic, yelling and was about to run forward to fight Chu Qiao, but after taking two steps, he stopped unconsciously. The young boy in front of him was young but had an extraordinary bearing. Although he was seriously injured and covered in blood, his face was calm and there was no sign of panic. This rare calmness and composure was very different from that of the scholar who kept saying that he would report to the police.
"Nerd, help me up."
Liang Shaoqing was stunned and asked, "Get up? Where are you going?"
Chu Qiao glanced at him impatiently. Injured and upset, she was unwilling to explain further and stood up with the help of the wall. When Liang Shaoqing saw this, he hurriedly held her hand.
"This little brother is really knowledgeable. Lao Wu, change their clothes and we will open the market."
He put on the slave's coarse cloth clothes. It was called clothes, but in fact it was just a piece of linen with a hole in the middle as a collar, and the two sides were tied at the waist with a straw rope, and it became a piece of clothing. There is a huge word "slave" on the chest and back.
Xianyang City was bustling in the early morning, with merchants and travelers from all over the country walking in the market, accents from all over the north and south mixed together, and peddlers were shouting on the streets, selling all kinds of goods, including horses, food, clothes, jewelry, wine, tobacco, tea, fruit, almost all the famous goods on the continent were available here. Looking around, there are crowds of people, Linz is shoulder to shoulder, and it is a prosperous and bustling scene.
"Go in!"
The big man pushed the two men into the cage with force. There were already seventy or eighty slaves in the huge iron cage, both men and women, old and young. The oldest were in their forties or fifties with gray hair and beards, while the youngest were only seven or eight years old, sitting timidly in the corner, looking around in horror like a frightened rabbit.
“Swish!”
Suddenly, a whip came from behind, and Chu Qiao felt a heat on her back, leaving a bloody trail. Liang Shaoqing lay on top of her and protected her under his body. The sound of whips kept ringing in their ears. The slaves cried out in panic, huddled together, and huddled in the middle of the iron cage, trembling.
"Behave yourself! A big customer will come to pick people later. If anyone dares to cause trouble, I'll show you how I'll deal with you!"
The man waved his fist, then snorted coldly, turned around and left with a swagger.
The crowd slowly dispersed, and some of those who had been whipped groaned weakly.
"Hey," Chu Qiao felt hot all over. This series of movements made her, who was already seriously injured and had lost too much blood, feel dizzy and swollen. She gently pushed the scholar's shoulder and said in a hoarse voice, "Are you okay?"
Liang Shaoqing raised his head when he heard the voice. He was still lying on Chu Qiao's body. When he came to his senses, he was so scared that he crawled down. He shook his head like a rattle: "It's okay, it's okay."
"Help me over there."
Liang Shaoqing obediently helped her to lean against a corner of the cage. Chu Qiao frowned, endured the pain from her wound, and said in a low voice: "Someone will come to buy slaves later. We must be bought and leave here quickly."
Liang Shaoqing was stunned and asked, "Are we going to be slaves?"
"With our current situation, we can't escape at all." Chu Qiao's face was red and she had a slight fever. She didn't have the strength to speak. She slowly closed her eyes, leaned her head tiredly on the scholar's shoulder, and said softly: "I need to find a place to recuperate."
Liang Shaoqing's body suddenly stiffened, and the girl's breath was as sweet as orchid, gently spraying on his neck. The man's face was even more flushed than Chu Qiao's when she was sick. He nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes, yes, that's right, it makes sense."
After a while, Chu Qiao didn't reply. He looked down and found that she had fallen asleep. Her breathing was hot and she was obviously having a fever. Liang Shaoqing was startled and reached out to touch her forehead, which was burning with heat. His heart was suddenly in his throat. He laid her body flat and let her rest her head on his legs, but he could not think of any way to get rid of this predicament.
The streets of Xianyang were busy with traffic and crowds of people. Just then, a group of people passed by on the long street. The leading man rode on a snow-white horse. He had a handsome face with a hint of evil charm. His eyes were slightly raised, his sword-like eyebrows slanted into his temples, his nose was straighter than that of ordinary people, his lips were red, and his eyes were deep. Followed by a large number of strong guards, he walked slowly along the long street.
"Master," Zhu Cheng rode up to him and whispered, "The water transport office is ahead. Zhu Ting has already made arrangements. Bian Tang has an envoy there to welcome us. As long as we get there, we can enter the customs by water."
Zhuge Yue nodded gently. His handsome face and grand display made the common people stay away. Wherever he went, the people on the street retreated like a tide. Occasionally, a bold girl would look up at him with charming eyes, with a hint of teasing temptation.
The rising sun dispelled the morning mist. Zhuge Yue was wearing a dark blue robe, embroidered with satin and a jade belt as white as silver. When he passed by a hawker area, a young nobleman suddenly frowned and reined in his horse. The whole team stopped. Everyone looked in the direction Zhuge Yue was looking at in surprise. They saw a row of stalls selling cosmetics, headdresses and lanterns, one after another. In front of them gathered a group of gorgeous young girls and women, selecting small items that suited their taste. Seeing a young man from a noble family stop his horse, everyone looked over in surprise, hoping that the other person was looking at them.
Zhuge Yue looked at them for a long while, his eyes carrying a depth that made one unable to fathom. Suddenly, the man turned his horse around, not even looking back, and rode away without paying any attention to the disappointed sighs of the girls behind him.
Everyone was puzzled and hurried to follow their master.
At this time, a small vendor grabbed the sleeve of a disappointed girl who was about to leave and asked, "Girl! Don't you want this rabbit lantern?"
"No, no!" the woman said impatiently, and turned away with several of her female companions.
The gongs were ringing loudly. After the slave market opened, the whole market became more lively. Boss Mu's business was very good today. Not only did he have a big deal that had been arranged in advance, but there were also many small customers. He looked at his purse with a smile, his eyes narrowed with joy, and his yellow teeth were exposed.
"Girl! Girl!" Liang Shaoqing lowered his voice, holding a bowl of water that he had finally gotten, carefully put it to Chu Qiao's mouth, and whispered, "Wake up and drink some water."
The crowd was in chaos, with a large number of onlookers gathering in front of Boss Mu's stall, looking at the slaves on display, some strong and some handsome and pretty. Many buyers gathered around the cages, pointing and talking, checking the slaves' physique, appearance, and teeth as if they were buying livestock. There were even men who wanted to buy female slaves and asked to inspect the goods on the spot. Boss Mu did business and provided great service. The low houses on the right were a place of ecstasy prepared for these men.
When Zhuge Yue passed by here, an old man in his sixties had just bought more than a dozen slave girls aged eleven or twelve, which caused a lot of discussion among the onlookers. Boss Mu’s business was booming and he shouted even harder. The front was surrounded by enemies and for a moment the Zhuge family's cavalry could not get through.
"Young Master, let me go to the front to take a look." Yue Qi has grown up now, with a strong physique and calm eyes. One glance at him and you can tell that he is a qualified swordsman with mastered swordsmanship.