Chapter 888: Border, Dispute (2)

This is a plain formed by the impact of three great rivers; the surrounding land and water are abundant and beautiful, the scenery superb.

Before Wu Tie arrived, this plain spanning nearly ten thousand li was a battlefield between the Sui Dynasty's border troops and the western Demon State. Countless Sui soldiers and demons fought here for years, their blood soaking the entire wilderness.

But before these few grim-faced men, the Sui Dynasty border forts once scattered across the plain have been completely dismantled.

The underground assault tunnels dug by the demons, along with various traps and caves, have also been filled in completely.

Even some mighty demons, relying on their innate divine abilities, had created poisonous swamps and other hazards here, which have now been thoroughly cleared.

Thousands of huge cylindrical warehouses stand in orderly rows on the plain; surrounding these warehouses, each a hundred zhang tall with a base nearly a li in diameter, every trading market teems with people, bustling to the point of frenzy.

Hordes of demons, dragging elders and children, came forward, their eyes bloodshot as they stared at the warehouses with fierce intent, raising heaven‑shaking ghosts' wails and wolves' howls, eager to strike now and loot the market.

But this primal, savage urge was quickly suppressed by the demon sovereign seals hung on each warehouse.

These demons, who had come from afar, panted heavily as they cautiously brought their elders and young into the market, and then they were completely assimilated by the market's frenzied atmosphere.

The miscellaneous materials they brought, which they themselves did not know how to use, were quickly turned into exquisite coins at various exchanges, then into bowls of strong liquor, plates of delicacies, bolts of fine silk, and pieces of fine jewelry.

Food, drink, amusement, joy…

These demons, who had come out of curiosity, eventually left the market shaking their heads and drooling, shouldering huge piles of everyday goods they could not produce themselves but which are everywhere in Sui Prefecture, laughing all the way.

In their hands they each clutched tightly to tablets of jade recording various medicinal herbs, spiritual materials, ores, and rare treasures.

The exchange's manager told them that if they could find those treasures recorded in the jade tablets and bring them to the exchange, any single item could be traded for enough food to feed their whole clan for years, endless fine wine, and countless other wonderful things they could never imagine.

Several grim men watched as several female tigers, their waists over a zhang in circumference, huffed and puffed while carefully carrying a dressing mirror several zhang tall and about two zhang wide, moving past them as if serving their ancestors.

On the faces of these female tigers, there even appeared a touch of bashfulness.

Before, they could only see their reflections dimly in mountain springs.

But this dressing mirror lets them see every single hair on their faces clearly.

With red‑green silk wrapped around their waists, pouches of various rouges and powders on their shoulders, and dozens of gold, silver, and jade hairpins stuck haphazardly in their tangled fur, their lips painted bright red with rouge, the female tigers twisted their waists and carefully lifted the dressing mirror as they left.

The faces of those grim men grew ever uglier.

"Indeed, a great change has occurred here… What would humans call this situation?" asked a man with jet‑black skin in a cold voice.

"The rites have collapsed and music has fallen into ruin." another man said in a deep voice: "We demons are born to retain our savagery, forging our primal wildness with human blood and marrow, their five organs and six viscera, their brains and bones, and refining our own bloodline."

"By doing this, humans are killing us with a soft blade, hoping to make us demons lose our savagery and instincts in silence, turning us into a bunch of weaklings who can't even tie a chicken!" another man snarled, gritting his teeth: "Youming Pengzun and Wandu Zhenzun have betrayed the hopes of our ancestors."

"They are traitors." The black‑skinned man strode toward the nearest warehouse.

"They are traitors; they have sold out hundreds of millions of our demon people."

"We must right the wrongs and bring our demon folk back to the proper path… staying far from the blood‑food granted to us by the Holy Ancestors."

Huang Xiu, accompanied by a dozen or so soldiers in soft armor, walked leisurely along the base of the round warehouse's outer wall, smiling as he watched the bustling trade market.

The throng of great and small demons, carrying bundles of various materials, hummed and haggled with the exchange managers and clerks at every stall.

A steady stream of daily supplies flowed out of the warehouses, while an equally endless stream of materials was sent back in; whether demon or human trader, everyone beamed with heartfelt joy.

Huang Xiu nodded in satisfaction.

The exchange on this plain, with its thousands of huge warehouses, is entirely under his responsibility.

He is a collateral member of the Huang Clan belonging to Huang Lang; years ago he followed Huang Lang into exile and was sent to Great Marsh Prefecture.

In the mire and jungles of Great Marsh Prefecture, Huang Xiu had thought his life was over, utterly ruined; but fortunes turned when Huang Lang attached himself to Wu Tie, and the whole Huang Clan rose, gradually flourishing.

The Huang Clan had originally been merely an ordinary aristocratic family of a prefecture.

Huang Xiu himself was no more than an ordinary clerk in a mid‑sized city within the Huang Clan's sphere of influence.

But now Huang Xiu alone oversees the trade between Sui Prefecture and the Demon State; under Wu Tie's command he has entered the top hundred officials. Huang Lang further told Huang Xiu that if he manages the demon state's trade brilliantly, future promotion is a matter of course.

"Everyone, be spirited and careful… this market is a vital task personally ordered by His Majesty… His Majesty's grace toward the people of Wuguo is boundless; we must be diligent and loyal, serving His Majesty with all our might!"

A dozen or so sturdy soldiers shouted their assent in unison, each instinctively gripping the hilt of his saber, each feeling his mind and blood surge; they wished that a few clueless troublemakers would appear now, stir up trouble, and crash into their blades, giving them a chance to earn merit.

Huang Xiu and his entourage circled a huge warehouse, then followed a blue‑stone‑paved passage toward the next huge warehouse.

Just as they approached the trading zone outside the warehouse, a mournful howl suddenly rang out from an exchange dedicated to trading strong liquor.

Several exchange clerks, drenched in blood, flew out of the wooden trading hall; behind them, a tall man with jet‑black skin whose hair stood straight up like steel needles grabbed a staff and strode after them.

"You dare to water down the liquor… die!"