Chapter 10: Escaping

This is the final darkness before dawn. Although the dark environment is somewhat unfavorable for escaping, Xia Duo is not one of those Commoners in Savile Town with extremely simple diets. Having transmigrated from Earth, he has only stayed for over half a year, which is not enough for him to suffer from night blindness due to a lack of vitamins.

Relying on the faint starlight and moonlight, Xia Duo is still able to see, though his field of vision is not large.

He estimates that in the East District of the town, the merchant caravan heading to Kangnifeila to transport supplies should have started organizing their wagons by now, and the opening of the East District gate will be more flexible than the other gates.

The other gates will only open after daybreak.

The gate Xia Duo wants to take is the East District gate. It just so happens that the Shizi circus is parked outside the East Gate at this moment. Mu Yan might be a member of the circus, or perhaps just staying there temporarily, but he should be able to find him there.

At this moment, Xia Duo is like a person drowning, desperately trying to grab onto anything nearby, even if it is just a straw.

The second floor of the Old Neil Inn is not very high from the ground, at least not as high as the second floors back on Earth, but even if it were that high, Xia Duo would still have to escape from here.

With both hands on the windowsill, Xia Duo first moved his body to the outside, then lowered himself bit by bit until his arms were fully extended and hanging from the windowsill. Only then did Xia Duo let go, using a deep squat to reduce the impact, and landed steadily on the ground.

Xia Duo curled his body up, leaning against the base of the wall, and rubbed his heels and calves hard. The impact just now almost made him cry out. If there had been a place upstairs to tie a rope, he would have already twisted bedsheets into a rope to come down.

After catching his breath, his feet still felt a bit of stinging pain, but Xia Duo could not care about that anymore. The longer he stayed, the more dangerous it was. He would not pin his hopes on Old Neil absolutely obeying the Territory laws.

In fact, if that were truly the case, he would not have conspired with others to try and turn Xia Duo into a Slave, and Xia Duo would not be escaping.

……

From the Old Neil Inn in the South District to the East District gate, there are several paths to choose from, but Xia Duo only knows one—the one he took when leaving town with Xiao Nier yesterday. If he takes this road, it is inevitable that he will pass by the entrance of the Old Neil Inn.

Old Neil sleeps in a room near the back kitchen by the entrance. When Xia Duo passed by, he deliberately slowed his pace. Through the thin-soled linen shoes, Xia Duo could clearly feel the fine gravel on the stone road under his feet.

After passing the inn entrance without incident, Xia Duo's pace quickened quite a bit, but it did not exceed the limit of a normal walk. He did not want to cause any commotion or arouse anyone's suspicion.

He maintained a calm demeanor as much as possible, as if he were not fleeing at this moment, but preparing to go out of town for an excursion.

Upon reaching the East District, he could hear shouting from afar; that was the caravan manager scolding the porters. Having reached this point, he was only one final step away from leaving town. Xia Duo subconsciously slowed his pace.

The stranger Adventurer who had been talking to Old Neil earlier mentioned the "Golden Lark Chamber of Commerce," and he still kept that in mind.

If one were to rank all the people in Savile Town, the top tier would certainly be the Mage Lord. Possessing a Mage Tower, he represents absolute ruling power in Savile Town.

Next are the Mages and Clerics. These professionals who have mastered extraordinary power or rely on gods behind them are such that even the Mage Lord must treat them seriously and give them the treatment professionals deserve.

After that are the Chambers of Commerce. Although there is not as strong a commercial atmosphere as on Earth, having money undoubtedly represents a kind of power. Whether it is befriending Mages or cultivating one's own subordinates, it is a good choice.

Not to mention that most of these Chambers of Commerce come from the Core Area of the Empire, and the connections behind them are something even the Savile Territory Lord needs to handle carefully.

Below the Chambers of Commerce, one could rank the Territory's administrative officials, Army, Adventurers, ordinary Merchants, Commoners, Slaves, and so on.

Non-human races who are not Slaves can be considered similar to Adventurers, with the exception of Elves. Even the most ordinary Elf Commoner can receive preferential treatment in the upper echelons of the Empire. The Lords may not think much of it in their hearts, but they must put on a full show.

This is simply because of the Elf Kingdom's strong hard power in Magic and its soft power in culture.

……

Xia Duo is not yet sure if the Golden Lark Chamber of Commerce is among the Chambers of Commerce currently loading cargo. Although even if it were, they might not necessarily know Xia Duo; after all, wanting to turn Xia Duo into a Slave was only something a manager participated in.

But at this very moment, Xia Duo will not harbor any wishful thinking. He just watched from afar and did not go up. He prepared to wait for these caravans to leave before exiting the town.

But there are accidents in everything. Just as Xia Duo was moving toward the gate as much as possible, intending to risk exiting the town ahead of the caravan if there were pursuers behind him, when he moved to within about 50 meters of the caravan, a violent shout rang out—

"There's a situation, alert!"

Hearing the sound, a tall, thin man leaning against a wagon immediately stood up and drew his bow, aiming in Xia Duo's direction. At the same time, a burly man also jumped out holding a shield, blocking the very front.

And Xia Duo saw even more: a soft white ball of light rose among the crowd, hovering 2 or 3 meters above their heads. Because of this ball of light, Xia Duo saw a person looking like a Mage in the crowd, holding something like a red Gemstone in his left hand, while his right hand pointed straight at Xia Duo.

Xia Duo instantly felt a strong sense of threat, as if someone were bringing a needle close to the center of his brow. Xia Duo had never encountered this situation before, and his anticipation for Magic grew a bit more in his heart.

"Who is it! Come out!" the burly man holding the shield shouted toward Xia Duo's side.

Xia Duo dared not hesitate, fearing he would be attacked by the other party. He moved from the corner near the wall to the middle of the road, and at the same time, he lowered his voice and shouted: "I have no malice, I am just passing by."

And just as Xia Duo was preparing to explain a few more words, an insidious voice came from his ear, "Don't move!"

Xia Duo was startled and dared not move, because he felt a sharp blade pressed against his waist. His crude linen shirt could not block the sharp tip. Although it did not actually pierce through, he could already feel a faint stinging sensation.

When did a Rogue sneak up to his side? And so fast!

However, this Rogue would not pay attention to Xia Duo's reflections. He began to search Xia Duo's body. When he touched the Gold Coins, he gave a "hehe" laugh. Just as Xia Duo was worried about whether the Gold Coins would be taken away, this Rogue touched the discarded iron-piece Dagger at Xia Duo's waist.

After taking the Dagger out and putting it away, he searched him again, then gave Xia Duo a push and said, "Move!"

Helpless, Xia Duo had to follow his Indication and walk forward; after all, this Rogue's Dagger was still pressed against Xia Duo's back.

For the mere 50-meter road, Xia Duo walked with extreme difficulty. During this time, he also tried to strike up a conversation with this Rogue, but this Rogue, who had not even shown his face, remained silent throughout, making Xia Duo's heart sink lower and lower.

Could it be that he just left the wolf's den only to enter a tiger's lair?!