Chapter 136

Ten li outside Secluded Prefecture City

On the especially quiet winter mountain road, a donkey-drawn cart was hurrying along, with the fast horses cracking their whips. The carter, while vigilantly scanning the surroundings, complained to the two people behind him, 'Old man, for these three taels of silver you've risked your life—you say you're already old enough not to head south, yet you've come to Secluded Prefecture; if we run into a band of mountain bandits, all three of us will be done for here! The promised silver must not be lacking a single coin!'

On the cart sat an old man and a young man; the older one had the air of an immortal. Upon hearing this, he assured, 'Old sir, rest assured, I'll make sure not a single coin is lacking for the payment to Secluded Prefecture.'

The young master also spoke up to comfort the carter, saying he'd caused him worry, and promised to add an extra tael to his carriage fee upon reaching Secluded Prefecture.

They voluntarily offered to add money, and with such a good attitude, the carter felt embarrassed. He emphasized again, 'It's not that the old man regrets taking this job; it's that Secluded Prefecture is close to the Northern Barbarians and very dangerous, and the local customs are fierce—people say that out of every two households, one is a bandit! Do you know that? It means that in every two households, one person is a mountain bandit! I see you two as nobles; going to that barbaric land, you might accidentally get yourselves killed.'

Thank you for the reminder, sir. Actually, danger exists everywhere; we were robbed of our travel funds and carriage in Wing Prefecture, but fortunately the few taels of silver we carried escaped loss, which is why we now have money to hire a carriage and horses.

The carter felt ashamed upon hearing this, for he himself was from Wing Prefecture.

He sighed, 'Alas, the world is troubled, everywhere in chaos. You two nobles, when traveling outside, you'd better bring more people; the old man hasn't seen anyone come to the northern borders alone on horseback. Those merchants who travel south and north only dare to go to Secluded Prefecture when accompanied by a large escort bureau.'

Thank you for the reminder, sir. We simply want to go and have a look at the northern borders of the Great Jin.

The carter muttered a few words, unable to understand how someone who is already old enough would run northward.

On the cart, Lu Xin leaned close to Xie Yuan and whispered, 'Sir, if you really intend to go to Secluded Prefecture, you won't be able to make it back to Chen Commandery before the year's end; turning off to Fuyang Commandery would still be feasible.'

The old man said, 'I came for the three-colors-and-white ink painting of Secluded Prefecture; does Fuyang Commandery have that too?'

Lu Xin, seeing this, stopped urging and even steeled himself to endure some hardship.

The donkey cart jolted along the road for another hour, when they encountered a group from Tongshui County hauling platbeds of honeycomb coal; seeing the donkey cart pass the city gate and continue north, they stopped and called out to them.

Seeing a group of men pulling empty carts, the carter had already been feeling uneasy; upon hearing their shout, he lashed the donkey hard with his whip and fled north in a panic.

Huh? How did they run off!

This place is nearest the south city gate; why won't they listen to advice?

They might be trying to go to the west city gate.

How foolish—the roads inside the city are easy to travel, straight and flat, unlike this dirt road where you eat dust and drink wind…!

Lu Xin on the cart thought that group didn't look like bad people, so he asked the carter why he fled without a word.

Not bad people? Young master, you can tell at a glance you rarely go out; there are no good people in Secluded Prefecture! The old man dares to take this job only by being careful and cautious, detouring around a few notorious poor places along the road—some places, if you pass through, you'll lose a layer of skin!

Oh… wait, old sir, is that gray thing the Secluded Prefecture City Wall?

What city… wall does Secluded Prefecture have? Good heavens, when was this built? Impossible—such a high city wall!

Lu Xin: …How long has it been since you last came?

Xie Yuan looked for a while without seeing the shadow of a city gate, and guessed, 'Those cart-pullers just now—were they trying to tell us where the city gate is, and we took a wrong turn?'

The carter: '…In the past, the gate we most often used for Secluded Prefecture City was the west gate, and it's still far off—what's going on, has it expanded outward? The south gate is near Rock Sparrow Mountain; even ghosts would have to detour there!'

The donkey cart eventually edged up to the wall, and upon getting closer they discovered the wall wasn't just ordinarily high; compared to Wing Prefecture, it was practically just symbolic.

Lu Xin had never been to a border city, and still assumed that all border city walls were of this scale.

After all, it's a border city—this wall is truly high. Sir, a wall like this looks very safe; at last the court has been generous once.

Xie Yuan shook his head; previously no one had managed Youzhou, so it's probably the Prince of You who built it himself.

The donkey cart followed the city wall for a long time before finally spotting the city gate.

Three people and one donkey stood silently at the imposing gate of Youzhou; though their thoughts differed, they generally agreed: "Youzhou must have just uncovered a gold mine inside!"

Let alone the Qing and Yi provinces we've passed through; even the two-hundred-year-old gate tower of Chang'an can't compare!

"I haven't heard news from Chang'an in a long time; this Prince of You... what is his maternal clan?"

Lu Xin also wore an expression of utter shock; hearing the teacher's question, he bowed and replied: "The Prince of You is the emperor's third son, his maternal clan is the Marquis of Wei Ting in the southwest; I heard he was enfeoffed at the age of six."

The carter looked stunned: "He's the emperor's son—look, he must have brought a lot of money! Youzhou has become prosperous!"

Xie Yuan said no more, gesturing to go straight into the city.

Upon reaching the gate, they were stopped by the gate guards, who demanded to see their travel permits.

Xie Yuan and his disciple had theirs, but the carter did not and couldn't enter.

"How many times have you come to Youzhou? Before, you never needed a travel permit!"

The city guards stood immovable, saying only, "No permit, no entry."

The three had to part at the gate; Lu Xin paid the carter his fare and sent him off, then they themselves had to walk into the city.

Passing through the tall gate tower, the teacher and student each felt astonishment (though they didn't speak of it); once out, a long, straight road stretched ahead, with reclaimed wasteland on both sides. Though now empty, it looked like it was usually farmed by someone.

Lu Xin gazed at the fields: "I keep feeling Youzhou will surprise me; it seems different from what the students imagined. They work so hard—how could every household produce bandits?"

Xie Yuan neither affirmed nor denied; the two continued along the main road into the city.

After passing vast empty stretches, they walked for over an hour before seeing signs of habitation, and both breathed a sigh of relief.

When they entered the inhabited area, they found the houses dilapidated but the roads truly well built.

The streets were unlike those of other commandery market towns; where populations gathered densely, there was invariably that foul smell.

Xie Yuan walked and walked, then suddenly squatted by the roadside, pointing to Lu Xin: "Look, these stone slabs have holes! Underneath is empty..."

Beneath the roadbed there is also a small path paved with stone slabs? I don't know what kind of stone it is, but you can't see the interface! Moreover, some slabs have chiseled inch-wide channels—what does this mean?

The spot where they squatted was the doorway of a household; the woman of the house stared at them speechlessly for half a moment. Tsk! Though they were dressed respectably, it's a pity—they have something wrong with their heads.

"Who are you? Why are you lying on my sewer to smell things?!"

Xie Yuan: "... Sewer?"

"Smelling?!"

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Xie Yuan, with his student, following passersby's directions, finally caught an ox cart that swayed onto Zhuque Street, where they heard there was the only inn in Youzhou that didn't let the wind in.

The two stood silent for a moment at the entrance of Zhuque Street…

"Teacher, I always feel Youzhou city is full of contradictions."

Then let's observe carefully where the contradiction lies; we have plenty of time.

Compared to this brightly lit Zhuque Avenue, the prosperous misty scenery of Jiankang pales in comparison. In the cold northern border, they never expected there to be such a bustling street.

At year's end, the idle citizens of Youzhou City most love to come to Zhuque Avenue in the evening to join the bustle. This area of bright lights holds the warmth and liveliness they cherish.

In front of Da Wang's unopened stall, he lets the common folk set up stalls freely, as long as they don't block the road and clean up when they leave; the Youzhou Guard won't interfere.

One old, one young entering this noisy scene could hardly believe their eyes; even several prefectures better than Youzhou they'd passed through weren't this lively—wasn't Youzhou supposed to be suffering from a great drought, with the people unable to make a living?

Lu Xin muttered to himself, 'Seeing this border town so bustling, the student suddenly felt a sense of solidity—peace and prosperity…'

Xie Yuan gave a light snort. 'What peace and prosperity? An illusion!... What smell?'

Lu Xin also said it smelled good, followed the scent, and found himself in front of a small stall.

That was a simple stall set up in front of a shop that hadn't opened yet; a six- or seven-year-old child waved a palm-leaf fan while watching the stall, with a bird perched on his shoulder.

Lu Xin looked up at the canopy pulled above the child's head, on which was written: 【Wei Ji Barbecue】

He spoke up, 'Little sir, where is the stall owner? I smell a mysterious sweet fragrance—is it coming from your stall?' He glanced dubiously at the two pitch-black iron braziers guarded by Wei Taiping's classmate; it didn't seem likely.

Da Wang glanced at the two of them, his big eyes lighting up instantly—'outsiders dressed well = easy mark.'

Very good.

He hasn't opened for business all night, Da Wang doesn't care about saving face!

Da Wang enthusiastically said, 'I'm the stall owner myself; I came out with my elder brother to set up a stall to supplement the family income. Right now we only have roasted sweet potatoes, each for three hundred wen.'

Roasted sweet potatoes?

Never heard of it, and it's quite expensive.

Da Wang didn't care what he thought; after squatting all night he'd finally run into someone asking the price—he couldn't let them go.

He sprang up, slammed a wooden box down with a 'clang,' pointed at Lu Xin and gestured, 'Just put the money here!' Then, without waiting for a reaction, he rushed to the shadow behind and shouted, 'Weini, wake up—business is here!'

In the next instant a huge creature burst from the shadow; Lu Xin barely made out that it was a bear before he could cry out, and the bear dashed straight to the stove, nimbly reaching into the black iron stove, pulling out a drawer, revealing several black objects inside, and a domineering aroma shot straight to his nostrils……

Beside him, Da Wang flicked out a piece of cut oil paper with a 'swish,' ready to pack, and said, 'Customer, how many would you like?'

This series of shenanigans simply left Lu Xin dumbfounded!

He'd even forgotten to fear the bear, his mind filled only with the thought: 'Youzhou truly has a fierce and sturdy folk!'

This is nothing short of forced selling!

And this is just a kid!

"Um… little one, did your parents teach you to sell things like this?" Lu Xin asked, stepping back to avoid Weini's instinctive move.

Da Wang pouted, his big eyes shining under the lights as he stared straight at Lu Xin, 'My mother died early, my father never taught me—what's wrong with that?'

Zhetian also turned and glared ferociously at Lu Xin, 'You say it! What's wrong?!'

Lu Xin felt a bit flustered, 'Sorry… sorry!'

Over there, Weini ignored the scorching paw, grabbed one and shoved it at Lu Xin, then slid the money box forward—'It's time to put the money in!'

This one had been trained at the mansion; the procedure was familiar to it.

Lu Xin, looking bewildered, pulled out the only bit of silver left on him—a tael—and tossed it in from afar; Da Wang looked on delighted, 'Today we won't lose money!'

It's not that Da Wang saw Zhuque Avenue bustling and thought his stall‑setting experience was rich, wanting to try it out too; the result was that last night's debut was dismal—he only managed to force‑sell one to Wei Shen, and the rest were wiped out by Weini.

Today's takings were one tael; the honeycomb coal costs are covered!

Da Wang factored in the sweet potatoes, stove, honeycomb coal, and his own appearance fee, setting a sky‑high price of three hundred wen.

He didn't even think—Youzhou has sweet potatoes; who would buy his at three hundred wen a stick when roasting them over a cooking pot yields much the same flavor? His one‑time gouging scheme relies only on fleeting merchants newly arrived in Youzhou; anyone staying a couple days could trade grain with the locals for far cheaper sweet potatoes.

"Here, I'll sell you four stalks; you don't need to make up the extra two hundred wen."

At this moment Lu Xin finally felt the bear's oppressive presence; Weini edged closer, and he dared not take it, stepping back a few paces.

Weini looked at Da Wang with a wronged expression; Da Wang, having pocketed the cash and turned his back on kin, grinned as he took the sweet potato, wrapped it in oil paper, and handed it to Lu Xin, 'Eat it hot, it's so sweet~ Would you like me to pack the remaining three for you as well?'

Having watched the show from the side for half a day, Xie Yuan finally spoke up, 'Little boss, give me one—I'm hungry.'

Lu Xin hurriedly passed over what he was holding, 'Sir, please eat first.'

Xie Yuan took it without hesitation, then… couldn't bring himself to put it in his mouth.

"Little boss, how do you eat roasted sweet potatoes?"

Da Wang enthusiastically dragged over the stool Wei Shen had been sitting on and offered it to him, 'Elder, sit here to eat; just peel off that outer black skin and it's edible.'

Xie Yuan gave it a try, ending up with a hand full of ash……

It seemed he now understood how the black streaks on the child's face came about……

Eating the roasted sweet potato was inelegant, but out in the open he could relax, truly sitting on the small bench beside Da Wang, one hand black with ash as he peeled the sweet potato.

Three steps away, Lu Xin wore a look of collapse, 'Sir, there's a bear!'

"What's there to fear? This bear is clearly a pet of the little boss.... Oh my, it's really sweet, Ziyou—come over and have a taste."

Da Wang waved him over enthusiastically, 'Come on over, our Weini is a good bear—it doesn't bite people.'

Lu Xin: "Really? I don't believe it—it looks like it's been drooling at me all along……"

Da Wang glared at Weini; Weini waddled over like a little wife, hiding behind Da Wang, but its huge frame was impossible for Da Wang to block. Weini shifted its gaze, now staring salivatingly at Xie Yuan from behind Da Wang.

Xie Yuan found it hard to ignore that gaze; he took the roasted sweet potato Da Wang had picked up and offered a piece to Weini, 'Old man, let me treat you.'

Weini's eyes lit up at once; fortunately it was already a mature bear, so it didn't dare take food directly from someone's hand.

An immature bear wouldn't do either; these past few days, after going out on the street with Da Wang and committing several such offenses, it learned to read faces following a double teaming by Bai Ze and Da Wang.

Just look—after enough beatings, even bears learn to behave.

It switched its stare to Da Wang, 'Can it eat? Can it eat? Can it eat?'—that's what he wants to feed the bear, you heard that, right?!'

Da Wang: ……