Chapter 18: Midnight Bell (Revised)

It was dinner time; after Yan Qiu prepared the food, everyone gathered around the campfire, sitting on the ground as if on a picnic, a huge white cloth spread on the ground, Li Bucai opened the parcel that the schoolgirl in uniform had given him, and inside were some prepared dishes.

The schoolgirl in uniform knew that he had no servants specialized in cooking here; although Lulu Meat was said to be extraordinarily fresh, eating only meat all day is not good for the body, so she ordered Shuang Er to meticulously prepare dozens of her best dishes and send them over for him to improve his diet.

"Hmm, looks tasty. So, sisters, are you planning to join me in improving our meals tonight, or keep eating grilled meat? Come, have a try together?"

After two consecutive days of nonstop Lulu Meat, the girls were a bit weary; seeing the table laden with brightly colored dishes sparked their appetites to some extent, and although Xianghong said aloud, "That's for the Lord; how could we dare eat it…," her expression clearly showed she wanted to eat it.

"What's given to me is as good as given to us. Here, continue," he said, taking out each dish and handing them over.

The girls, with secret smiles, took them and arranged them neatly on the tablecloth.

The schoolgirl in uniform always followed the princess's standards and never dined together with the servants; Qing'er thought to herself: "My god, there's no sign of a Lord here. If I hadn't seen him with my own eyes, I would have taken him for a servant. They eat so merrily—truly a bunch of savages. Ah, I never imagined I'd be sharing a table with these barbarians; I really don't know what the princess likes about him."

She shook her head silently, took a small sip of tea, sensed something off, and tasted again: "Huh, this tea isn't as sweet as ours, but it's a tad more fragrant. The princess always says Shuang Er's tea is overly sweet, and Shuang Er can't make it less sweet, yet this cup is sweet without being cloying, fragrant yet clear, with endless aftertaste. Indeed, it's a fine tea. Everyone says Yan Qiu's fragrant flower tea is a marvel of Sky City; seeing it today, the reputation is well deserved."

Li Bucai saw her staring blankly and said, "This place isn't like South Bank; the conditions are harsh and hard to adapt to."

"No… none…"

"Hehe, it's strange that there's none; even when I first arrived I was uneasy, let alone you. Here, continue," he said, tossing a piece of Lulu Meat, "Yan Qiu's tea is tasty, but tea can't replace a meal. Don't just cradle the cup—try her roasted meat; it's delicious."

Lulu Meat truly was extraordinarily fresh; its aroma whetted the appetite, yet the large platter in the center of the tablecloth remained untouched. Qing'er couldn't help but find it amusing: they are so poor they only live in tents, yet they eat Lulu Meat that even the Emperor can't obtain. I really don't know whether they're truly destitute or merely pretending to be rich…

After dinner, Li Bucai assigned them lodging, adding two more tents: the Wu Shi Jiejie occupied the tent on the right side of the central command tent; Qing'er, also of noble birth, and Yan Qiu shared the left tent; the others each took one of the remaining two tents.

Once the tents were allocated, everyone sat around the fire and chatted late into the night, then reluctantly returned to rest.

Because of last night's Goblin Raid Event, the canopy‑made wall couldn't keep them out, and Li Bucai sat at the doorway, unable to close his eyes.

"Damn it, we're not allowed to return to Sky City for a month. Can't hire people, so we have to make do with these few. Food's no problem now, but what about shelter? We can't have these ladies sleeping on dry straw every day. We've been lucky with no rain these past days, but if a storm hits, the girls will end up drenched like boiled chickens. If that happens, how can we keep letting them call out 'Lord, Lord' all day?"

While Li Bucai was pondering, he faintly heard a horsebell ringing in the distance; listening closely, the sound came from downstream of the White Horse River.

"Lord! Are you asleep?" Xianghong, as a personal guard, had been watching outside the tent until late; tonight it was her turn to stand watch, and she also heard the sound, coming to the central command tent.

Li Bucai pulled back the curtain and stepped out, asking, "What was that sound?"

Xianghong shook her head and said, "Lord, wait a moment; Xianghong will go check right away."

"Hold on, first go wake everyone up and tell them to stay quiet; I'll go take a look," he said softly before slipping out of the camp.

Xianghong quickly entered the tent and woke everyone; the girls silently took positions inside the tent, ready to meet any threat.

After about ten or so minutes, the sound grew nearer.

Wan'er said, "It's been so long; why hasn't the Lord returned yet?"

Wu Zhuoran instructed, "Rui Tong, you're swift; go take a look."

Rui Tong responded and left.

Another ten minutes passed, the horsebell sound faded, yet Rui Tong did not return after going.

Two people went and didn't come back; the others grew anxious. Wu Zhuoran said, "Yue Er, stay here and watch; I'll go check," and then left.

After waiting a few more minutes, the horsebell rang again, and gradually the sound of hooves could be heard approaching.

Xianghong worried, "Why hasn't Sister Ran returned? Could something have happened to them?"

While the others were worrying, Li Bucai's voice suddenly came from the camp gate, "Sisters, all come out!"

Hearing the call, everyone emerged from their tents, looking toward the gate by the firelight; Li Bucai returned leading Wu Zhuoran and others, with a massive covered wagon following behind.

"It was a false alarm; it's a wandering merchant sent by Sky City. Yan Qiu, go fetch something to eat for the master."

The wandering merchant hurriedly called out, "No need, I wouldn't dare trouble the Lord; I'm hurrying to other territories, so could we discuss the trade first?"

"I see, then fine. What do you have on your wagon?"

"Because of this Goblin Raid Event, many territories suffered personnel losses, so this time we only brought some manpower, which I think the Lord could use."

"Oh? Manpower? That's perfect; I'm short on labor here, but I've run out of money. I still have some Lulu Meat; I wonder if I can trade the meat?"

The wandering merchant's eyes lit up at the mention of Lulu Meat, and he said, "Sure, of course. Sky City lacks food most; trading Lulu Meat is ideal."

Li Bucai asked, "How do you take this meat?"

The wandering merchant twirled his beard, hesitated briefly, then extended his palm and said, "Five copper per unit, five copper for a batch. How about that? That's already the highest price; a unit of freshwater fish I only ever pay up to three copper for."

Five copper—whether that's high or low, he wasn't sure; he still had over 5,000 units of Lulu. Li Bucai looked at Wu Zhuoran and the others and asked, "Is that a good deal?"

The girls gathered here were all from martial schools; they knew common foods but were unfamiliar with Lulu beasts. Yet knowing that freshwater fish in Sky City costs three copper, they thought the price reasonable and nodded.