Chapter 547

Xie Guzhou glanced at Daoba: "In Shazhoubao, there are many Hu people, few Han people, living together, all sorts of people."

"The government there is in name only, as good as nonexistent."

"If Xiao Zuzong goes there and something happens, I'll skin you alive!"

Daoba objected: "I want to go too! With me, Daoba, around, who would dare bully her?"

"There, Western Region people are the most numerous; our caravans travel mostly through their lands, carrying rare goods not found in Zhongyuan; Xiao Zuzong would surely be delighted to go!"

"You still say that!" Xie Guzhou gave him a sideways glance, lowered his head to look at Tuan Tuan: "Xiao Zuzong, that place is chaotic; don't go."

Tuan Tuan blinked: "Sounds fun, I want to go."

Xie Guzhou rolled his eyes: "Well, all that talk was for nothing."

Xiao Er hesitated: "Miss, forget it; since Chief Xie says so, let's not go."

Tuan Tuan's little head drooped: "Second Uncle, I've never been there!"

Lu Qi looked at her little appearance and smiled: "We're just going for a stroll—what could happen?"

"I've wandered the jianghu for so long, yet I've never been to a place like this—I'd like to see it too."

Tuan Tuan ran to Xiao Er's side, grabbed his arm and shook it: "Second Uncle, look—Seventh Uncle wants to go too; shall we go play together?"

Daoba said: "Me too!"

Seeing Xiao Er silent, Tuan Tuan burrowed into his embrace and rubbed wildly: "Exactly, there's also Uncle Daoba!"

Xiao Er lowered his head, looked at her, and sighed: "All right, Miss, but we agreed—we'll just go look and come back."

"All right!" Tuan Tuan answered cheerfully.

Xuan Fu Weng thought: "Going to look is fine, but it's not close; if you leave now, you won't get there tonight."

"Better yet, set out early tomorrow morning; arrive there just as evening falls, spend a day sightseeing, head back early the next morning, and you'll definitely be back by night."

After discussion, the next morning Xiao Er hugged Tuan Tuan and rode Red Cloud, Lu Qi and Daoba each mounted a horse, and the four left the horse gang's freight yard, galloping off.

Sure enough, by evening they arrived at Shazhoubao.

Daoba raised his hand and pointed ahead: "There, we've arrived."

They looked ahead; Shazhoubao was actually just a small town built of earthen walls.

After entering, the three dismounted and led their horses.

Xiao Er didn't put Tuan Tuan down: "Miss, stay seated for now; we'll get down after we find an inn."

"Mm-hmm." Tuan Tuan widened her eyes, looking everywhere—her eyes weren't enough.

The street had many people, mostly with high noses and deep-set eyes, wearing long robes and headwraps.

The words they spoke were gibberish; not a single word could be understood.

The shops were strange too—at their doorways lay spices and various glittering beads, plus colorful rugs rolled up and standing at the entrance.

The air floated with an indescribable smell—sharp yet fragrant.

Suddenly, a noisy clamor arose ahead, as if people were arguing.

Tuan Tuan pointed: "Second Uncle, that group looks like they're arguing."

Daoba glanced and saw a crowd gathered at the street side, shouting in gibberish: "This kind of thing happens here all the time—no need to intervene."

Tuan Tuan wondered: "What are they arguing about?"

Daoba cocked his ear and heard a few sentences: "It sounds like someone lost something, claiming a little thief stole it, but the little thief denies it."

As they spoke, someone in the crowd started to fight.

A thin, small boy was shoved to the ground, fists raining down like rain.

He curled up, hands over his head, not making a sound.

Tuan Tuan's little brows furrowed: "Second Uncle, they're beating a child!"

Daoba glanced: "That's the little thief who stole something."

"Little ancestor, that's their barbarian affair; we'd better not get involved."

Tuan Tuan looked at the beaten boy—he was covered in dirt, blood streaming from his face.

"Second Uncle," she said softly, "he's about my age—how pitiful."

"Seventh Uncle, shall we help him?"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi exchanged a glance, sighed, and understood what their miss meant.

They walked over, three horses placed sideways, separating the crowd.

The attackers, forced back a few steps by the horses, lifted their eyes to size up the newcomers, their gazes extremely wary.

"What are you doing?" a bearded man asked in rough, half-fluent Zhongyuan, his voice gruff: "This is our private business—you'd better not interfere."

Daoba spoke first: "Beating a child on the main street—what kind of private business is that?"

The lanky fellow beside the bearded man said: "This brat stole our stuff! He won't give it back—can't we beat him?"

Xiao Er asked: "What did he steal?"

"Pass Clearance Document!" the lanky fellow shouted louder: "Without the document, how can we hit the road?"

Tuan Tuan tilted her little head: "How do you know it was him who stole it?"

The lanky fellow snorted: "He was skulking around beside us—who else could it be?"

Tuan Tuan laughed at hearing that: "Does loitering mean stealing? I'm loitering on the street too—am I stealing as well?"

The lanky fellow was left speechless by her.

The onlookers chattered: "Nobody wants this kid; he usually just snags food on this street—whenever something goes missing, they suspect him first."

"Right, he's not honest."

"Don't look at him being mute—when faced with adults, he gets beaten and doesn't dare fight back. If he were a child, he might lash out, and he'd be fierce!"

Tuan Tuan lowered her head to glance at the boy curled up on the ground.

It's really pitiful—so thin, with no family and unable to speak.

She looked up at Luosaihu: "You heard all that? He just stole some food; why would he take your documents? He can't eat them!"

Luosaihu was left speechless by her rebuke, his face flushing crimson.

He glared at Tuan Tuan, stepped forward, and clasped his fists: "Gentlemen, we're not trying to make things difficult for this child."

"We're a legitimate caravan; we only wanted to rest here for a day before moving on, but now our documents are missing—we can't leave even if we wanted to."

He pointed at the boy on the ground: "As soon as we entered the city, we heard that several caravans' documents have gone missing lately."

"People around here say he's been stealing things all the time, and he's been loitering near us—if he didn't steal and sell them, who else could have?"

Tuan Tuan blinked: "But you never saw him sell anything to anyone."

Luosaihu: "…… "

Lu Qi almost laughed out loud.

The boy on the ground lifted his head, staring fixedly at Tuan Tuan.

Lu Qi returned the salute with clasped fists: "Sir, it's already dark; even if you had the return documents, you couldn't leave tonight."

Luosaihu furrowed his brows: "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is," Lu Qi pointed at the boy, "beating him won't make him fight back, and hitting him more would just be wasted effort."

"How about this: the boy will stay with us at the inn tonight; I guarantee he won't run away. We can discuss it properly tomorrow morning."

Luosaihu stared at him for a moment, then glanced at Xiao Er and Daoba, weighed it in his mind, gritted his teeth: "All right! I'll go with your plan!"

"But I'll say this up front: if he runs away, I'll come to you for him!"

Lu Qi nodded: "It's settled."

Luosaihu waved his hand, turned with his entourage and left.

Xiao Er walked up to the boy, reached out and helped him to his feet.

Tuan Tuan waved at him: "Are you hungry? Come, let's go eat with us."