Zhuge Yue nodded, and Yue Qi led a few subordinates to clear the road ahead. Zhuge Yue glanced at the market calmly, and suddenly heard the sobbing of the little slave girls on the slave stage. He turned around and saw that those children were no more than eleven or twelve years old, and some were even younger, no more than eight or nine years old. They were all dressed in rags and had no clothes to cover their bodies, like a group of beggars. The old man was in his sixties, wearing a bright red suit like a nouveau riche, with tacky gold ingots embroidered on it. At this moment, he was baring his yellow teeth, laughing disgustingly, and touching the delicate faces of the little slave girls in an obscene manner.
Zhuge Yue's brows slowly knitted together, his eyes filled with undisguised disgust. He waved gently, and Zhu Cheng hurriedly came forward. Zhuge Yue's face was cold, and he said in a deep voice: "Go, buy those children back."
"Master?" Zhu Cheng was stunned, blinking his young and shrewd eyes, and asked, "Why buy slaves? It's not convenient for us to travel."
"Just buy it when I tell you to. Why are you talking so much nonsense?"
After being scolded, Zhu Cheng shrank his neck, held his shoulders high and walked forward.
At this moment, a loud curse was heard. Zhuge Yue turned his head and saw a handsome and elegant male slave being kicked aside in the cage. He got up, his face was agitated, and he seemed to be trying hard to say something, but he was too far away to hear clearly.
Zhuge Yue didn’t pay much attention to it, but he suddenly glimpsed a corner of the cage and saw a thin and short boy lying limply on the ground. His shoulders and clothes were covered by the other slaves in the cage, leaving only his lower body and a pair of pale and thin hands exposed.
In an instant, it was like a bolt of lightning suddenly exploded in my mind! Zhuge Yue's brows knitted together instantly, and he looked over with sharp eyes. Although it was just a hand, it made him feel indescribably familiar. It was as if boiling water was flowing through his heart, making his entire heart boil. Without having time to think about anything, an inexplicable impulse made him jump off the horse, stretch out his hand to push away the layers of people in front of him, and squeeze forward.
The crowd surged and became chaotic. Zhuge Yue's toughness attracted a lot of scolding. There was no time to think about these things. Zhuge Yue frowned and squeezed to the front with great effort. He grabbed the iron pillars of the cage with both hands and looked in the direction of the hand he had just seen with a frown.
The cage was filled with a foul stench, and was filled with cowering bodies and frightened eyes. Many people looked cautiously in his direction, but when they saw his sharp eyes and serious expression, they were immediately frightened and dared not look at him again.
No, no, and still no!
The anger in his heart rose up, and Zhuge Yue looked over and over again unwillingly, but still found no clues. Did I really see it wrong? The man stood in front of the cage angrily, with a deep frown on his brows.
“Young Master!” Yue Qi followed the crowd and came forward, giving Zhuge Yue a strange look before carefully saying, “Evacuate now, we can leave now.”
"Master! Master!" Zhu Cheng ran over hurriedly, followed by more than a dozen girls aged eleven or twelve. These little slave girls were suddenly sold again, and they didn't have to serve the notorious old pervert. The children all breathed a sigh of relief and looked at their new master timidly. These children, who had understood the difficulties of life too early, were secretly happy in their hearts, and their expressions suddenly became relaxed.
The other slaves in the cage looked at them with envy, hoping that this young man, who looked like he came from a wealthy family, would be kind enough to buy them as well.
"Young Master?" Zhu Cheng called carefully. The Young Master stared at the cage with wide eyes. Could it be that he had taken a fancy to another slave?
“Let’s go.” Zhuge Yue turned around and led his servants away from this chaotic place. At the moment he turned his head, a scream suddenly rang out, but it was drowned out by the shouts of the people around because a group of young female slaves had just been brought to the stage to be sold. Zhuge Yue was unaware of this, and left Boss Mu's stall with his servants, riding his horse towards the River Transport Office.
The sleeping girl screamed miserably, and then fell weakly into Liang Shaoqing's arms. The old man turned around with the arrow in his hand and said to Boss Mu, "Look, such a long arrow, if it stays in the shoulder for another day, the Golden Immortal will not come back!"
In a small tent behind the cage, Boss Mu said impatiently, "Just keep her alive. When a big buyer comes, I'll sell her among the crowd. I don't care if the person who sells her is dead or alive."
After saying that, he turned and walked out.
Liang Shaoqing breathed a sigh of relief and said to the doctor, "Thank you, old sir."
The doctor was a very kind person. He sighed and said, "This young man just needs to apply medicine, bandage and rest for a while. But you, you were beaten up by them just to let him see a doctor. I see that you are also a scholar. How can you bear this kind of suffering? It's a sin!"
"Don't worry, doctor. I'm fine."
"Come here, I'll show you too."
There was a bustling crowd and the sky was cloudless. It was already June, the weather in the southeast was hot, and birds were flying all over the sky, creating a lively and prosperous atmosphere.
Zhuge Yue sat on his horse, thinking quietly for a long time without saying a word.
"Master? Master?"
Zhu Cheng called out several times before he heard it. The young man was slightly startled and asked, "What's the matter?"
Zhu Cheng sighed and said again: "I will buy a few horses and a carriage. These children can't follow us all the way to Tangjing."
Zhuge Yue turned around and saw that the group of little slave girls had no mounts and could only run behind his horses. They were all in tattered clothes, their faces were red, their little faces were covered with sweat, their eyes were dark and shiny, looking at him with a bit of fear and a bit of expectation.
"Yes," he nodded, "Let's go buy some more clothes for them to change into."
"Got it. I'll go right away."
As soon as Zhu Chenggang left, everyone continued to move forward. A subordinate behind him was talking in a low voice, and he whispered, "The young master is so good to the slaves."
"Don't you know? The master is always kind to his slaves."
"Shut up!" Yue Qi turned around and scolded the servants who were whispering.
The horse team moved forward gradually, and after half an hour, they were far away from the market. The street gradually became quiet, and in the distance, the River Transport Office was already in sight.
"Master!"
A burst of hurried horse hoof sounds was heard behind them, and Zhu Cheng, along with several servants, came quickly with eight newly bought horses and two carriages.
"Master, everything is done."
Zhuge Yue nodded, his eyes gently passing over the horse, but suddenly frowned, and his eyes slowly narrowed, like a ferocious leopard seeing its prey.
Zhuge Yue rode forward and came to a pitch-black horse. Unlike other horses, the horse was very alert when it saw him coming. Although it was tied, it still cautiously stepped back two steps, looked at him with suspicion, and pawed the ground with its hooves anxiously. Its body was covered with scars, and it was obvious that it had been brutally beaten before.
"meteor?"
A deep voice sounded softly, and the horse's ears immediately perked up, looking at him in surprise. Zhuge Yue’s expression changed drastically, and he continued to whisper, “Liuxing, is it really you?”
The horse neighed joyfully, and came closer to him affectionately, rubbing its nose against Zhuge Yue's palm, snorting happily, as if it were seeing an acquaintance.
"Where did you buy this horse?"
"It's right here, in the horse market ahead."
"take me."
Zhu Cheng said: "Master, it's getting late, should we..."
"take me!"
Zhuge Yue shouted coldly, his face stern. Zhu Cheng was startled, and knelt on the ground with a plop. He said hurriedly, “I obey your command.”
He galloped all the way to the horse market, and the horse dealer thought something had happened to his horse, so he hurried forward to inquire.
"Where did you get this horse?"
The horse dealer's expression changed, and he said with a smile: "Sir, you are joking. This is my own horse. I raised it since it was a child."
Zhuge Yue's face darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "Let me ask you again, where did you get it from?"
"My villain, I didn't lie!"
"Speak or not!" With a swish, Yue Qi drew out his sword, put it on the man's neck, and shouted sternly.
"Master, please spare my life, this time." The man knelt on the ground with a plop and shouted, "I picked this up on the road when I was selling horses through Tangmaling a while ago. I saw it had no owner and was wandering around, so I took it back. I had no idea that this was your horse, Master. If I knew, I wouldn't dare to steal it even if I had ten guts!"
"drive!"
Zhuge Yue turned his horse around and headed back the way he came. Zhu Cheng was stunned and stepped forward to ask, “Master, where are you going?”
Zhuge Yue raised his sword-like eyebrows, his face was cold, but his eyes were filled with a hint of heat that could not be concealed. He spoke slowly in a low voice: "Go buy slaves."
The streets were bustling with activity. Wherever the horse team passed, people and horses fell to the ground. Zhuge Yue rode his horse at full speed, his dark blue clothes fluttering in the wind like the huge wings of a goshawk. The sound of the horse's hooves stirred up billowing clouds of dust.
Just as Zhuge Yue was leaving with his men, another team of carriages and horses slowly arrived. The capable old butler jumped off the carriage, and Boss Mu followed beside him, nodding and bowing, his head almost knocking on the ground, and said hurriedly, "You are here, I have prepared the people, just waiting for you to choose."
The old butler was over sixty years old. He wore a clean blue cloth gown, a white satin belt around his waist, and his hair was combed meticulously. He looked very capable. He had a sullen face and said nothing. He walked up to the slaves and glanced at the ragged slaves one by one. After a while, he pointed his finger at the people in the cages.
"This, this, this, and this..."
Boss Mu followed beside him and quickly took out a small notebook to record it. After a while, the old man selected 25 slaves. Then he turned around and said, "Okay, that's it."
"Ah?" Boss Mu was stunned. "That's all? Master, don't you want to take another look? There are still many strong and healthy people in my shed behind. They just can't be pulled out because the space is not big enough. How about you go to the back and take a look?"
"That's all I have to say. Why are you talking so much nonsense?"
The old man frowned and spoke in a solemn voice. Boss Mu was startled and nodded quickly, saying, "Yes, yes, I'm sorry for talking too much."
Just as the old man was about to leave, a clear voice suddenly called out, "Old sir, please stay!"