Chapter 226: Leaving Ke'er Shan Jun, Duan Ya Cheng Checkpoint

Unlike Jier, who was lying comfortably on the carriage enjoying the pleasant sensation of his strength increasing, the Dwarves in the same caravan were discussing the matter of Xiaoxuezi's father in low, complex tones.

Last night, members of the local Baron family had informed them of the deeds of that missing mine Caravan Guard Captain, which finally let them know where that person had headed after setting out from Huitou Forest decades ago—at least, they knew the direction.

After the mine Caravan Guard Captain with the surname Battleboot walked out of Huitou Forest, he did not head west toward Baishi Baolei, nor did he cross the vast Grass Sea region that is now the Western Province.

Instead, like them, he headed east.

Following a similar route, the other party must have first headed to what is now the Human Suishi Cheng, the Dwarf Cuikuang collection and smelting center, hoping to try his luck there to see if he could encounter any potential Dwarves.

But clearly, the other party was disappointed; when the main Dwarf force retreated, they had basically withdrawn from there in their entirety, leaving only empty houses and buildings, as well as the massive Cuikuang mines that could not be moved, for the Humans who came later.

It is unknown why, but Battleboot, having found no other Dwarves there, actually continued to head east and, in the region of what is now Duan Ya Cheng, helped the Ke'er Baron family who had only just arrived there.

"Then can we continue heading east and find out other news about my father? Things from forty or fifty years ago—with my father's skills, he must have left behind some well-known stories, right? Just like the ones we heard last night!"

On the Dwarf carriage, Xiaoxuezi had only napped for half the night, and at this moment, he was still asking the old Dwarf to verify these things with an excited look.

The old Dwarf was applying sheep oil to his beard and then carefully combing his meticulously groomed gray beard with a fine comb; he was very careful, trying his best not to let the jolting of the carriage affect the grooming of his beard: "It's hard to say. Human lifespans are very short. I've asked around these past few days, and the vast majority of Humans have lifespans of less than fifty years. Of course, those who live long can reach about a hundred years old, like the Human Merchant Guild manager we met last night; that person is already over forty, and because he belongs to a Noble family, his lifespan is naturally quite long, so he can still remember stories heard decades ago. If it were an ordinary person, they would likely have long forgotten even if they had heard similar stories."

The other Dwarves in the same carriage nodded one after another, feeling that Lao Tiequan was right. Having traveled all this way recently, they had seen quite a few Humans, but the vast majority were middle-aged or young; there were not many elderly Humans with gray hair and beards who were in good condition and not suffering from senility.

It wasn't that there were none, but these elderly people were basically those with power among Humans; it was very difficult for ordinary Humans to remember a Dwarf they had seen decades ago.

"We can only try our luck. But at least we know that although we don't know why, Battleboot clearly headed east from this Duan Ya Cheng." The old Dwarf used his fine comb to point in the direction the caravan was currently traveling, which happened to be heading east: "It would be great to know what Battleboot experienced back then, or even find him. When I see him again, I must curse him severely—that forgetful brat! But as everyone knows, compared to finding that brat Battleboot, it is more important for us to return to the Kingdom safely! Everyone stay alert; be careful of the terrible situation that could swallow up even a capable brat like Battleboot—it might just swallow us up too."

"Do not take the old path; everything must be prioritized around us finding reliable Dwarf kin and returning to our homeland! Does everyone understand?"

Speaking to the end, the old Dwarf asked the other Dwarves seriously, and everyone agreed one after another, though the scene of the old Dwarf holding a comb in one hand and a small jar containing sheep oil in the other was quite comical.

When the caravan set off in the morning, some of the merchants parted ways with everyone; their destination was Duan Ya Cheng to the south, so Jier nodded and agreed to their departure. As for the other Merchants, most of them would only part ways with Jier and his group after completely leaving Ke'er Shan Jun, and there was even one caravan that indicated they would follow Jier's team all the way to the capital of the Southern Province, 【Jun'gu Bao】.

This was, of course, good; Jier could save a portion of the supply costs on the road, and the caravan could save a large amount of money on hiring caravan guards.

Traveling this way, everyone had at least realized that Jier and his subordinates were very powerful; even the water-spitting crocodiles that the Knight Lords of Ke'er Shan Jun could do nothing about could be killed by Jier. This meant that the entire caravan was completely safe.

The Merchants felt it was a pity; not every time they ran trade could they encounter a traveling Knight with such strong capabilities as Jier, being able to hitch a ride and save a large amount of money on hiring guards while ensuring safety.

Some people had the intention to befriend Jier himself, but more caravan Stewards realized that doing so was useless; after all, Jier had long stated he came from the distant Northwest Province, and for everyone to be in one team at this time and place, it could only be said to be a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.

The accompanying caravans were not the kind of large Merchant Guild caravans that had the courage and ability to head south to participate in frontline warfare. Once Jier finished participating in this war, he would definitely return to the Northwest Province, and by then, everyone would have only met this one single time.

The caravan walked on the trade route; because the road was straight and had been carefully maintained, the entire caravan moved quite quickly. Along the way, they crossed several wooden bridges that had no tolls and only checked for the huge placards of the Sweet Fruit Merchant Guild. The entire caravan took only one morning to finish traversing the fertile plain area where Duan Ya Cheng was located.

Then, the straight road began to wind around the gradually rising terrain, twisting left and right, re-entering the eastern mountain forest region of Ke'er Shan Jun, where mountain peaks stood one after another.

When the caravan climbed the slope, to prevent accidents, Jier even had those sitting in the carriages get off; not only did this reduce the pressure on the horses, but he also had everyone help push the carriages, assisting all vehicles in safely ascending the slope.

He himself set an example, personally jumping off Tianxuecao and using his own strength to help the carriage transporting water ascend the slope successfully.

The caravans that frequently traveled this trade route were much more relaxed; they had adjusted the weight of the cargo carried by each carriage when they set off, ensuring that the horses pulling the carriages could successfully ascend the slope on the east side of the plain where Duan Ya Cheng was located.

They all knew that if novice caravans traveling this road for the first time were too greedy, it was easy to crush their carriage axles on this stretch of road, or worse, cause the carriage to roll backward on the uphill road, which very easily caused the pulling horses to be dragged to the ground, resulting in vehicle overturning and horse casualties.

But Jier, relying only on the simple reminders from the Merchants and his own hands-on approach, allowed all dozens of carriages in the entire caravan to safely pass this stretch of road.

The subsequent road was similar to the first half of the trade route they had traveled over the past two days; the winding two-way trade route followed one almost endless mountain after another, hugging the rapids and rubble at the bottom of the valleys, passing through stretches of road that were either easy or difficult to traverse.

Basically, the caravan would encounter several "checkpoints" blocking the road every day; some were set up on the trade route by the residents of nearby mountain Villages themselves, either inviting the caravan to come over for rest and lodging, vehicle repairs, or to replenish consumed supplies. Of course, their fees were also very expensive.

Every time this happened, the accompanying Merchants would subtly gesture and wink at Jier, signaling him not to believe the words of these mountain folk.

"Why?"

Jier asked like this.

"My Lord, our caravan has so many vehicles, and we even have several dedicated carriages just for supplying materials, so there is no need to make a special trip over there."

"That's right, it's easy to go over, just turn off from the Chalu on the trade route, but to say nothing else, when you want to leave, it's going to be troublesome!"

"How so? What kind of troublesome way?"

Jier asked curiously.

"Some remote mountain Villages rely on eating off these caravans along the road. When they invite you over to rest, they speak very nicely, and even have the women in the Village entertain you, but want to leave? Pay up! A large sum of money. Heh, I fell for this trick when I was young; it's easy to enter the Village, but hard to leave. These mountain Villages often block the only road in and out, and you can only pay money to get out."

"Oh my, that's still considered good; the real fear is some Villages that don't just want money, but also your life!" a Merchant said with a mysterious look.

Others, including Jier, curiously leaned in to ask. After this Merchant saw that he had attracted everyone's attention, he then said: "Some remote mountain Villages not on the trade route are surrounded by primitive mountain forests. To survive in such a place, besides taking various precautions, one must find a very reliable backer in the local area!"

Most people didn't understand what he meant, but Jier raised his eyebrows with a strange expression.

"See, Jier Lord guessed it. That's right, I have seen some mountain Villages that have sought refuge with some powerful, intelligent, and communicative Magic Beasts in the nearby mountain forests. With powerful Magic Beasts protecting the Village, as long as the Villagers don't wander out of the Village recklessly, they can live safely."

"The price?" Jier asked.

"The price? I've heard several versions. Some require offering living Humans to the Magic Beast every year; it generally depends on the scale of the Village. The larger the scale, the more living Humans are offered. At least one, and at most even ten. Every year!"

Everyone exclaimed in surprise; many felt it was a bit exaggerated. After all, how many people are in a Village? Losing ten people a year, in a few decades, the entire Village would be empty; even if the young people tried their hardest to reproduce, they couldn't keep up.

"What, don't believe me?" this person asked everyone back.

"Not saying we don't believe you, it's just that this is a bit exaggerated; is it true?"

"Idiot, I didn't say the ones offered to the Magic Beast had to be from the Village! They could also be caravans bought or tricked, or even migrants from other places."

Everyone suddenly realized.

To lighten the mood, another Merchant brought up some ambiguous news: "Going to those Villages on the side of the trade route to rest isn't that exaggerated or dangerous. Sometimes good things can even happen. Do you know that if some Villages have serious intermarriage within them, there will be problems with their bloodlines? At this time, people in their Village will invite outsiders on the trade route to their Village to rest. Heh heh, after really going, things become interesting. I once almost didn't want to leave."

Once this was brought up, everyone was no longer sleepy and began to talk about similar things they had encountered while running trade.

Jier listened while riding his horse, his eyes wide, because some things were truly outrageous. These Merchants who traveled north and south, compared to the Farmers who lived fixed lives in one place, were truly rich in experience, and all kinds of things that sounded ridiculous could be encountered by them.

Someone had once encountered another caravan exactly the same as their own on a trade route filled with thick fog.

Others said they had seen clouds drifting over from the mountains, and all the animals on the entire mountain were sucked into the sky and swallowed by the clouds.

There were caravans that had been escorted by large flocks of crows, traveling safely through the entire trade route.

There were also Merchants who were extorted by local officials and thrown into prison for over a year, only to return home and find their wives had given birth to a big, fat boy for them.

Some Merchants said they had encountered a Bard in a tavern who suddenly fell into a coma during a performance and, without any illness or disaster, suddenly fell into a long sleep from which they never woke.

Some Merchants indicated they had once accidentally trespassed into a remote Village that worshipped a mysterious "Deity," and several guards died before they could escape from the Village. That night, they were warned by a mysterious existence in their dreams, telling them not to speak of the situation.

"No, then you've said it out loud now, aren't you going to be in trouble?"

Jier was shocked and pointed at this Merchant to ask.

Unexpectedly, this Merchant looked completely indifferent: "How could I possibly listen to those fellows? After I returned to the big city, I knelt directly before the golden statue of my lord, the God of Wealth, and informed my God and His Priests of what had happened. Later, that entire Cunzi was wiped out. I'm perfectly fine, aren't I? Hmph, I knew it all along; rather than believing the warnings of those obscure entities from small places, it's better to go straight to the largest Orthodox Church. After all, could those mysterious, unknown entities possibly be more powerful than my lord, the God of Wealth? Am I right, everyone?"

"Right, right, right, that's absolutely correct!"

"What a good idea, if I run into a similar situation next time, I'll do exactly as you did!"

"Rest assured, it's guaranteed to work!"

"Hahaha!"

Jier also laughed. Thinking about it carefully, the Merchant's actions were indeed correct; the churches of those familiar deities often seen in towns and cities are, in reality, the most powerful and capable Orthodox Churches in Human society.

Several days passed, and when the Caravan emerged from the continuous mountain forests and saw a checkpoint settlement gathered along the Shanglu ahead, Jier knew that he had finally led the Caravan out of Ke'er Shan Jun.

The sign of the Sweet Fruit Merchant Guild hanging on the lead carriage, which looked quite foolish, could finally be discarded.

Of course, in reality, there was a Jiedian of the Sweet Fruit Merchant Guild at this border checkpoint ahead, and this foolish sign had to be returned to the Sweet Fruit Merchant Guild.

The checkpoint before him was called Weier Situo; just like the checkpoint he had just left in Copper Mine County, this was the last safe location for Caravans traveling from east to west to enter Ke'er Shan Jun.

Here, Merchants could pay to purchase passage rights for three Shanglu, replenish Caravan supplies locally, or even trade and sell their respective goods.

So, despite the place not being large, this checkpoint had a high volume of people. On the only wide main road, trading Caravans, Merchants in fine clothing followed by hired muscle, street vendors selling goods, begging drifters and Refugee, and Shop Assistant pushing Handcart to purchase supplies all gathered on the dry, dirty dirt road.

The weather was hot and dry. As horses walked by and wheels rolled over the road, yellowish dust rose from the surface, scattering over everyone passing by and causing those who hadn't covered their mouths and noses with cloth to cough and choke.

On both sides of the road, which was at least twenty meters wide, were multi-story wooden shops facing the street. From inns accommodating traveling merchants, to bustling taverns, to the Red House where young women posed behind expensive stained glass, to casinos where people were occasionally stripped naked and thrown out, to the Exchange where many Merchants went in and out, to horse-trading stables where the neighing of beasts constantly echoed, to shops selling everything from whole carts to maintenance and buy-back services for carriages, to general stores that bought and sold everything, and shops and public ovens selling affordable fodder, wheat flour, Bean, and dry, long-lasting Bread.

All of this made Jier, who had been dealing with mountain forests too much lately, very excited; he couldn't wait to spend the whole day wandering around this lively place.

However, the Caravan had been dealing with various unexpected situations on the Shanglu for the past two days, and everyone was very exhausted. Upon arriving at this lively place, the first priority was to find an inn and settle down!

Even though it was only just afternoon.

?? Transitional chapter, this chapter counts as the 30th.