Chapter 2: Finally here

He Lingchuan only needed to move his eyes, without even opening his mouth, and a small golden-threaded date would be delivered to his lips.

He stretched and sighed inwardly, "How comfortable."

Having replaced the original body for over a month, except for the great suffering of being covered in bloody holes when he first woke up, his days in Heishuicheng could only be described as comfortable.

Jinzhou is located in the northwesternmost corner of the Yuan Nation's territory, and Heishuicheng is only ten miles from the border, serving as the guardian of the Great Yuan's national gate. It sounds good in name, but this geographical location destined Jinzhou to never receive the loving gaze of the Emperor, not to mention that it had been peaceful and without war in recent years.

But the advantage is also that the mountains are high and the Emperor is far away.

The He family is the standard local emperor on their own turf, and He Lingchuan, as the eldest son of the Prefect, can have whatever he wants in Heishuicheng and even the entire Qiansong County.

The standard for eating, wearing, living, and traveling is just three words:

The best.

The delicacies on the table, the playthings in his hands, and his daily income cannot be said to gather rare treasures from all directions, but many wealthy people in the interior may not even enjoy them.

The original He Lingchuan grew up to sixteen in such a carefree environment.

How should I put it? He Lingchuan's evaluation of the original body is that his temper was bad, and he was somewhat arrogant by nature.

This guy was usually high-spirited, fond of hunting with hawks and dogs, otherwise he wouldn't have encountered a major accident on Hulu Mountain.

Although this skin has healed, the new owner has no intention of picking up the original body's hobby again.

For the past month or so, He Lingchuan has often thought about the encounter on the cliff; the leopard demon that attacked him seemed to have been seriously injured before, would the person who hurt it come to Heishuicheng to pursue it? But time passed bit by bit, and the city and its outskirts remained calm.

Under the appearance of a beautiful life, there always seemed to be undercurrents. This made him, a bitter wage earner who originally only deserved to have blessings, feel uneasy while enjoying the fragrance of privilege.

He Lingchuan sipped the warm wine twice, suddenly feeling a bit stifled, and signaled Uncle Hao to open the window.

As soon as the window opened, the cold air poured in with a "whoosh." The people on the second floor couldn't help but shiver, and the paper on the table in the next box was blown downstairs, two of which were small-denomination banknotes, immediately triggering a scramble below.

No one cared about the commotion downstairs; Liu Baobao tightened his collar.

He Lingchuan took a deep breath and chased away his small emotions. It happened that the play below finished, and he took the lead in applauding, saying happily: "Good! Reward!" After saying that, he casually took off the jade pendant from his waist and had someone take it down to reward them.

With the top fan taking the lead, the atmosphere at the scene was pushed to a climax, and the audience below also opened their purses one after another.

Outside the window was the main street of Heishuicheng. As soon as the window opened, the bustling noise blew in with the wind. He Lingchuan glanced at it and saw the market was bustling with traffic, coming and going endlessly. The main street, which had been widened three times, could accommodate eight standard carriages side by side, but at this moment, there wasn't even a two-foot-square gap.

"So lively?"

Uncle Hao stood by He Lingchuan's side and said upon hearing this: "It is already August, and the merchants coming and going must pass through as quickly as possible before the Red Cliff Trade Route closes, to transport the last batch of goods before winter."

This was the top-tier expert arranged by the head of the He family for his beloved son after the Hulu Mountain accident, to prevent him from encountering another accident.

He Lingchuan nodded.

Heishuicheng is located on the edge of the Panlong Desert. It looks desolate, but it is a vital thoroughfare connecting the western countries and the Great Yuan, because this is a must-visit check-in point on the famous Red Cliff Road.

Desert travel has always been dangerous, with changeable weather and frequent bandits, and the Panlong Desert is the best among them. Countless predecessors used their blood, sweat, and lives to explore a relatively safe passage through the Panlong Desert, which is the Red Cliff Trade Route.

However, the center of the Panlong Desert will change its face drastically in September, at which time even the Red Cliff Trade Route will no longer be safe, so experienced merchants must calculate the days and pass through early, so that they can raise prices and make a big profit during the months when the Red Cliff Trade Route is closed.

The liveliest season elsewhere is the end of the year, while Heishuicheng is right now.

Wealthy merchants have all come, all industries are very prosperous, the hawking along the street is one after another, and the horse troughs at the post station have no empty seats. The taxes collected by Heishuicheng in the past two months should be quite considerable, right?

He Lingchuan thought of this and came back to his senses, finding himself actually worrying about his old man's work, and couldn't help but laugh.

Just then, someone below asked to see the Young Master of the He Mansion.

This was a message sent by a gang called the Red and White Path in the local area. After coming up, they saluted and didn't make a sound, just looking around.

He Lingchuan waved his hand, and the servants immediately retreated three yards away; Liu Baobao was also very sensible, finding an excuse to pace to another box.

Only Uncle Hao stood still.

"Speak, what's the matter?"

This guy was sent by his own altar master, saying that two dusty outsiders had just walked into the Bamboo Branch Tavern and wanted to inquire about something.

Like a transportation hub like Heishuicheng, there are as many travelers coming and going as crucian carp in a river, so the best place to inquire about news is naturally the local taverns, teahouses, and red pavilions. The approach of these two outsiders is not wrong.

But they clearly didn't understand the local special ecology.

Organizations like the Red and White Path, although they always have "brothers don't have an easy time making money" on their lips, actually occupy one of the most profitable businesses in the local area: alcohol.

Those two were unlucky and happened to walk into the tavern where members of the Red and White Path often frequented.

"Chasing the injured sand leopard?" Hearing what was said, He Lingchuan only felt a sharp tug at his heart, "And specifically in the vicinity of Heishuicheng?"

The trouble finally came.

"Exactly." The gang member glanced at him and hurriedly lowered his head. The veins on the young master's forehead were popping out, and he looked furious, "Both of them had out-of-town accents, and the gang members said they sounded like Yuan Easterners. The alcohol seller said that sand leopards live in the Western Mountains, far away from here. They didn't refute it, just told anyone with clues to find them, promising a heavy reward regardless of whether the target was dead or alive." ===== CHAPTER 3 =====