Chapter 42

The next day.

Finding a moment, Zhai Lingling ran over to Zhai Rang, who was loading grain onto a cart, and asked, "Big Brother, do you think that guy is looking for the Maitreya Sect for something? Those people are very wicked and not to be trifled with!"

"You know they’re not to be trifled with?" Zhai Rang raised an eyebrow, put down his work, and looked at Zhai Lingling with interest, smiling. "They say you only grow from setbacks. It seems the last incident taught you a good lesson!" His tone then changed, "But... you usually don’t even care about me, your big brother, and now you’re actually concerned about someone else? Could it be that you find him handsome and want to bring him back as your bandit husband?"

Zhai Lingling stood there, rolled her eyes, and kicked Zhai Rang’s knee.

"Ouch—!"

Zhai Rang stumbled, almost falling to his knees, and rubbed his leg for a long time before the pain subsided.

As Zhai Rang himself said, he actually had no great talent for martial arts. At the age of thirty-seven, he had practiced for nearly thirty years and had only just reached the "Gathering Qi into the Sea" stage. In contrast, Zhai Lingling had reached this stage at the age of eleven, three years ago, and was now beginning to advance to the higher "Internal Breath External Release" stage! Whenever he thought about this, Zhai Rang felt very regretful, wishing that Zhai Lingling’s talent could be his, and even better if Zhai Lingling were a younger brother rather than a younger sister...

Embarrassed, Zhai Rang glanced at his subordinates who were snickering, and put on his big brother’s authority, glaring at Zhai Lingling, "Why can’t you control yourself? Do you want to break your big brother’s leg?"

Zhai Lingling pouted and said, "In front of others, I give you plenty of face. Now you’re making fun of me, Big Brother! That’s not fair! I think you’re just addicted to it!"

Well!

Seeing that his big brother’s authority didn’t work... in fact, after losing to Zhai Lingling three years ago, Zhai Rang had no authority to speak of! Because this girl was just unreasonable and naturally so... Zhai Rang shook his head in frustration and continued to rub his knee.

Zhai Lingling squatted down, looking up at Zhai Rang, and said, "Big Brother! You haven’t answered my question!"

Zhai Rang thought for a moment, glanced at Hu Che'er, who was carrying grain bags in the distance, and said, "Don’t think about it. Don’t overthink it. They’re not the same kind of people as us. No matter how much we rack our brains, we can’t outsmart them. They’re willing to associate with us only because of Hu Che'er. That’s enough! Stop overthinking it. We have to leave Luoyang today. Let’s go! Go!"

Zhai Lingling, still deep in thought, was almost dragged away step by step by Zhai Rang. She still couldn’t understand why Wu Fan, a commander of the Eagle-Brave Guard, had anything to do with the Maitreya Sect, and why he was being hunted throughout the city.

Luoyang had strict gate regulations, and entry and exit were not allowed at night unless one had an imperial edict or the highest military token. Otherwise, even the current prime minister would not be allowed to enter, no matter how loudly he shouted. Similarly, Luoyang had a curfew, but it was relatively short, lasting only from midnight to 2 AM, because the night life in Luoyang was very rich, with various entertainment venues and brothels everywhere. Of course, if anyone dared to go out during these hours, the patrolling soldiers could chop them into mincemeat without any responsibility.

Because he was familiar with these rules, Wu Fan spent the night in an unknown mansion and left after 2 AM. His destination was simple: the horse market in the eastern market of Luoyang, where the Maitreya Sect was said to be active. He had already been delayed for two days, and under the full-scale search by the Luoyang Guard, the Eagle-Brave Guard, and the Yellow Gate Guard, he believed that if he couldn’t find Yu Xiang soon, he would eventually be found, and his fate would be death! Who would believe you were playing a double agent? Without completing the mission, how could Lord Luo prove it for you? It was that harsh!

The sky was still dim, with the eastern horizon turning a fish-belly white, and streaks of red clouds like beautiful silk.

"Bang bang...!"

The bustling day of the flower-filled Luoyang began, with smoke rising from the food shops on the street. Under the red-hot furnaces, fragrant and crispy sesame cakes were baked one by one, and the masters in short-sleeved Hu clothing were busy kneading dough to make soft noodle soup and steamed buns with fillings... essentially flat buns without pleats.

After a hearty meal at a street-side shop, Wu Fan continued towards the eastern market of Luoyang. The so-called eastern market was essentially a commercial district. Luoyang’s convenient transportation made it a hub for trade, with tens of thousands of merchants coming and going. To avoid chaos and for easier management, the court designated large areas in the east, south, west, and north of the city for commercial activities, known as the four market districts.

One could say that the most mixed and chaotic places in Luoyang were these four markets. These areas were prone to serious incidents, and the Eagle-Brave Guard and the Imperial Guard kept a close watch on them. This was why Wu Fan did not hide in these places while evading capture; it was too easy to be exposed.

The eastern market was a place of many sordid affairs, mainly dealing in "livestock," which not only referred to cattle, horses, mules, and donkeys but also included slaves. The empire was constantly at war, and many people from the Eastern Yi, Southern Man, and Western Di regions were captured and sold. Not to mention, the empire had just conquered the Southern Liang Kingdom...

As soon as he entered the eastern market, Wu Fan couldn’t help but frown. He might be shameless, despicable, and cunning, but he wasn’t a cold-blooded animal and had human feelings. Seeing the children, no more than a few years old, tied together with grass tags, and the human trafficker who was constantly sweet-talking to sell them, he felt a surge of anger, almost wanting to draw his sword and rescue those dazed children.

Unfortunately!

He couldn’t!

He quickly walked past, found a relatively quiet spot to calm his emotions, and then continued deeper... He understood that this was reality, and he couldn’t change it, nor did he have the ability to do so. When one is successful, one should benefit the world; when one is poor, one should cultivate oneself. Instead of complaining and thinking about unrealistic things, it was better to climb up as soon as possible and not forget today’s events... It was worth noting that this was the first time Wu Fan had the idea of wanting to change something. Before, he had just gone with the flow.

He had changed!

Wandering aimlessly through the eastern market, Wu Fan suddenly thought of "The Ballad of Mulan," "Clucking and clucking, Mulan is weaving at the door... In the eastern market, she buys a fine horse, in the western market, a saddle and bridle..." The slave trade in the eastern market was very active, and so was the horse trade, with prices often reaching thousands of gold, enough to buy thousands of slaves! Every martial artist needed three things: techniques, weapons, and horses. Even martial artists who didn’t go to battle desired a good horse and were never stingy about it.

Suddenly—

"Hmm?"

A figure flashed by in the distance, and Wu Fan caught a glimpse with the corner of his eye.

Wu Fan didn’t know much about the Maitreya Sect, but he had deduced some useful things from various clues. For example, the Maitreya Sect originated from the now-defunct Southern Liang, meaning that the organization was predominantly made up of southerners, who differed from northerners in appearance and accent. Another point was the guilty conscience of a thief; even if not discovered, a thief would show signs of guilt and nervousness.

"Hmm..."

"A sneaky southerner."

"Hmm..."

"It must be the Maitreya Sect!"

Regardless of how silly and absurd his thoughts were, Wu Fan decided to give it a try and followed the figure.

...

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