Chapter 264: Batu

Chapter 264: Batu

In fact, even if Lady Three had not mentioned it, Zhao Changhe would have still gone strolling around Huangsha Market.

Yue Hongling had not just asked him to bring her food and water. She could easily grab food and water enough to last a few days from the caravan herself. She could not really carry much more than that, though, as carrying too much would be burdensome. Zhao Changhe was buying provisions for himself.

The supplies that Yue Hongling wanted him to bring her were medicines and consumables like hidden weapons. She had long since used up her supply of those things. It would also be great if he could bring her a good bow, as it was particularly useful in the environment they were in. She did have one when she first came to the northern frontier, but it broke early on. Other than those things, she also wanted him to bring her some clothes, as she was down to her last set and it was already fairly damaged.

Yue Hongling would generally never ask anyone to bring her clothes, but she felt it was somewhat acceptable for Zhao Changhe to do it.

As Zhao Changhe walked through the market, he could not help but think about just how remarkable Yue Hongling truly was.

She had already been wandering alone in the vast Grasslands for roughly three months. She had to face enemies at every turn, and she barely had any supplies. Despite that, she still roamed freely, killed the Black Wolf Khan, robbed various merchant caravans, and fought off the barbarians to the point where they began cracking down on anyone who was a woman. She even made merchant caravans like Qiao Er’s have to worry about encountering lone bandits on horseback.

Even when she was completely out of supplies, she was still able to make people tremble at the mere sight of her red robes.

Zhao Changhe had to admit that he could not accomplish such a feat. It was not just because his strength was lacking compared to hers, but more so that he did not think that he could endure loneliness to the degree that she had been experiencing.

But subconsciously, Zhao Changhe still could not help but have some worries.

The more powerful barbarians were mostly deployed on the front lines, so even if there were fewer of them in the rear, they definitely did exist. For example, the skilled guards at the Tngri Temple.

As there were fewer of them, it would be difficult to track down Yue Hongling throughout the entire region. Thus, Yue Hongling probably had not encountered many strong opponents while she was roaming the region. But now that her whereabouts were somewhat known, she would likely be in serious danger.

Yue Hongling should not have overlooked these things. After running out of supplies, there’s no need for her to continue holding out in enemy territory. It would only take about five days for her to make her way back to Yanmen. So what exactly is making her stay here? Could there be something important that she wants to accomplish before leaving?

While he was in thought, he casually bought the necessary items at the market.

He was easily able to buy medicine, hidden weapons, a bow, and some arrows. He even picked out a good bow for himself. However, he was stumped when it came to choosing clothes.

There were plenty of women’s clothes here, but very few were in the style of the Central Plains; naturally, most of the clothes here were of the Grassland’s or the Western Region’s styles. The most common type of clothes available at the market were the ones worn by barbarian women, clothes that exposed their arms and waists. If he bought them for Sisi, she might wear them, but Yue Hongling would probably kick him to death if he even suggested something like that.

Clothes in the style of the Central Plains were rare, and they were usually only skirts. It was understandable—if any barbarian came here to buy women’s clothing in the style of the Central Plains, it would generally be just to dress up their wives or daughters. There was no market here for clothes for a female martial artist.

Lady Three wears a very ordinary dress of plain-weave cloth, but it seems to be rather low quality. I wonder where she got it from. Did she make it herself? Well, it’s not like it would be appropriate to purchase such a dress from her. Yue Hongling probably wouldn’t like it either.

I didn’t expect to get stuck on such a trivial matter...

“Hey, do none of the women here do any work?” Zhao Changhe could not help but ask the owner of the clothing store.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“I’m referring to women who do manual labor.”

“Say, do people from the Central Plains have no brain? This is a market at the frontier. There are only two types of women here, the ones brought here as slaves and those with status. The slaves brought here are usually pretty, and they aren’t meant to do manual labor. Rather than doing manual labor, they do men.”

Zhao Changhe thought for a while before saying, “I’ll take a set of men’s clothing, slim fit, about my height. I want trousers, not the kind with a skirt.”

The shopkeeper tossed over a white set of clothes. Zhao Changhe grabbed it and felt that the fabric was decent. Without inspecting it further, he stuffed it in his bag and asked casually, “Where can I buy rare items? I looked around but could not find any. I’m talking about items with special effects, antiques, or simply items that no one can identify.”

“You’re in the wrong area. It’s on the other side of the market.”

Should I gamble on Hu Lie’s credibility? It seems like there aren’t any other options.

Seeing his silence, Hu Lie glanced at the sky and said, “I have other important things to do at Huangsha Market, so I don’t have the time to chat with you here. You might want to consider it carefully and with haste. When I finish my business and return tonight, I’ll treat you to a drink and we can discuss things further.”

Batu said, “Did you come here to kill Yue Hongling?”

Hu Lie nodded. “Right, you’ve seen Yue Hongling... Do you want to come with me?”

After a moment of silence, Batu shook his head. “I’m not in the mood. I plan on asking others...”

Hu Lie chuckled with a hint of anger surfacing on his face. “You brainless fool. If you ask too many people, I’m afraid you won’t even be able to leave Huangsha Market alive! At the moment, everyone is still maintaining the fa?ade, and it isn’t convenient to openly attack you in the khagan’s territory. It would do you better to simply take a loss and live another day... rather than end up dead having achieved nothing!”

After saying that, he swept his sleeves and walked away.

Batu sat silently at his stall for a while, hugging his knees.

He’s actually selling jewelry here!

Zhao Changhe calmly walked up to his stall and casually picked up a bracelet. “What are you selling this for?”

Batu pointed to a sign next to him wistfully. “I’m not selling for money, just food, cattle, and sheep.”

Zhao Changhe looked at him for a moment, then suddenly said, “You’re trying to exchange these things for food for over ten thousand people?”

Batu squinted his eyes and looked at him. “Someone from the Central Plains, huh? What are you trying to say?”

“Come on, it’s not like you haven’t done business with people from the Central Plains before.”

“Sure have. Do you have a large amount of food?”

“I don’t, but I know where to get some, and you might just be able to get it. How about exchanging information?”

Batu asked, “What information do you want?”

“Hm... How about how you guys plan to kill Yue Hongling?”

Batu’s gaze turned sharp and he stared at Zhao Changhe without blinking.

Zhao Changhe said calmly, “Yue Hongling killed the Black Wolf Khan, but she has no grudge against your Warring Lion Tribe. Do you think her life is more important than your tribe’s food problem?”

Batu’s gaze dimmed and he sighed. “You’re right. But I also don’t know their arrangements.”

“Weren’t they inviting you just now? As long as you participate, you’ll find out. I’d like you to bring me along as your guard.”

“Why would I bring a guard from the Central Plains?”

“I can just change my clothes. Who will be able to tell where I’m from? Do you lions of the Grassland always beat around the bush like this? Can’t you give me a straight answer?”

Batu gritted his teeth and said, “Fine.”