Chapter 527: 481 Appraisal

The wealthy merchant was called out by a single word, shuddered, and suddenly looked up.

He saw that the one speaking was the person sitting to the YoungMaster's left; judging by the seating, this person should be the one with the highest status besides the YoungMaster.

That person looked white-haired and aged, yet his features did not seem very old; overall, there was a sense of decay about him, a strange feeling that sat between being old and not old.

The white-haired person stared at the wealthy merchant, his expression very calm, showing neither joy nor anger.

The wealthy merchant was hesitating over whether to deny it, when he looked up and saw several children by the campfire.

In fact, there were not many people by the fire; besides the YoungMaster and two women, there were two people of higher status sitting to his left and right—one old and one young. The old man was that strange white-haired person, and the young one was a spirited youth who looked at a glance to be highly skilled, seemingly a bodyguard or Guest Minister of some sort. Then there were the two boy servants who had just led the way for him, and the four children.

Those four children were two boys and two girls, none older than thirteen or fourteen, and the youngest girl looked to be only seven or eight.

The others, including the boy servants, wore clothes made of at least fine cloth, which were not cheap; only those four children wore coarse cloth, looking quite wretched.

The two boys were busy roasting meat nearby, one tending the fire and the other brushing on oil, doing the work of servants. The two girls were huddled up like quails; clearly at an age where they would be greedy for food, they did not dare to cast a single glance at the oily, fragrant roasted meat.

Could it be... a peer?

But if those children were truly relatives of the group, their treatment was indeed too poor; yet if they were slaves, their treatment was too good—not to mention their neat clothes, they looked healthy, had washed faces and combed hair, and were not wearing chains, unlike ordinary slaves. In any case, the wealthy merchant himself would not treat "goods" this way.

What if they were... high-class slaves?

Thinking of this, the wealthy merchant Baorenwu pretended to blurt out: "Could it be that you, YoungMaster, are also going to attend the Deep Shadow Assembly?"

Then he hurriedly lowered his head and said: "This lowly one is rude, rude."

The YoungMaster heard this, glanced at the white-haired person beside him, and said: "So, you really are a human trafficker taking 'high-end goods' to the Deep Shadow Assembly? Yutang... Yutang is a..."

The white-haired person beside him explained: "It turns out to be a large trading firm in Yunzhou, with business spread across seven prefectures, operating across black, white, and gray markets, doing all sorts of trades. Later, it offended the authorities and was driven out of Yunzhou. Now, over in Yan Prefecture, it has latched onto a Grass-Head King and is back to its old trade, living quite comfortably."

The wealthy merchant smiled apologetically again and again; although the white-haired person was not without sarcasm, fortunately, there was no great hostility, and it did not seem like he was gnashing his teeth in hatred. When one is under the eaves, one must bow one's head.

The YoungMaster said to the two boy servants squatting by the fire: "Look at this, you saved a human trafficker. Isn't this your fortune arriving?"

The handsome boy servant said: "Then should we bury him back?"

The wealthy merchant hurriedly said in a loud voice: "Wait, wait! YoungMaster saved my lowly life, and I have a reward! It's right here!"

The YoungMaster sniffed the roasted meat brought over by a boy and said: "You're in this state, what valuable thing could you have? Even if you did, I could just strip it from you myself."

The wealthy merchant said: "This lowly one has a secret to report! This news is very important to you! If you are also going to the Deep Shadow Assembly, you must be careful of thieves ambushing you!"

The handsome boy servant sneered: "Is it that one-legged bandit who robbed you?"

The wealthy merchant said: "Not necessarily a one-legged bandit, but a madwoman, a very, very formidable madwoman!"

The YoungMaster gave an "Oh," raised his eyebrows, and said with interest: "A madwoman... tell me in detail, how mad? I've seen plenty of madwomen, I've seen all kinds of madness. I want to see if the one you're talking about is worthy of being called a madwoman."

As he said this, the white-haired person beside him glanced at him without changing his expression.

The wealthy merchant was secretly surprised: He loves watching madwomen, what kind of hobby is that? Just as he was about to speak, his stomach growled, and he felt a wave of weakness, saying pitifully: "This lowly one has not eaten for a day, please grant me some food."

The white-haired person beside him said indifferently: "Sixteen, get him some."

The "Sixteen" he called was a young boy of twelve or thirteen who was roasting meat. The boy stood up upon hearing this, fished out a broken pottery bowl from somewhere, poured half a bowl of porridge that looked like lake mud from a jar by the fire, and sent it over.

When the wealthy merchant saw this, he was furious, thinking to himself: Good, you're feeding me the food of your servant? Do you think I'm as lowly as you? A base breed like you isn't even fit to hand me things where I come from; whichever hand you used to hand it over, that hand would have to be chopped off. Now, have I really fallen so far that a phoenix is worse than a chicken?

But at this moment, one must respect the master when beating the dog; he naturally did not dare to utter a sound, only looked at the boy a few times.

After looking a few times, his heart stirred, and he examined him carefully again. The boy narrowed his eyes and lowered his head.

Baorenwu suddenly said: "As expected of a noble YoungMaster, the goods in your hands are truly top-tier! This one is full of Spirit! In this day and age, one hundred taels of silver might not even buy him. The goods I brought aren't even fit to carry your shoes."

The YoungMaster said: "Oh? You know your goods?"

Baorenwu smiled apologetically: "This lowly one has been running business with my brother since I was sixteen, and I have been in this trade for over thirty years. I have seen countless good goods from all over the world; I dare not say my eye is peerless, but I have been tempered. Just this child of yours, good eyes, good body, outstanding Spirit—once he reaches the Deep Shadow Assembly, he will surely trade for a high price. Even if you don't sell him to the Deep Shadow Assembly and don't make him a sword slave, selling him to other buyers to be taken away and trained for a few years as a Heavy Sword Death Soldier would also be valuable."

The YoungMaster's heart stirred, and he said: "Since you are so good at judging, why don't you judge all the children here for me?"

He was, of course, referring to the young boys and girls in front of the campfire. Baorenwu did not lack the sense to judge the YoungMaster or his guests, so he agreed and went to look at another boy about the same age as Sixteen.

Upon looking, he couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder, saying: "This one is also good, on par with the one just now. Look at this Spirit, look at this appearance, look at this Bone structure—a rare treasure that opens the door wide! How did you find them? No wonder you brought only these few children from so far away; they must all be premium goods. The ones I brought are all just making up the numbers."

In fact, he had some high-end ones in his hands that might not have been worse, but now that they were all scattered and could not be retrieved, it was better to use them to pave the way for the YoungMaster.

The YoungMaster laughed: "You don't need to judge the boys; anyone with eyes knows they are good. Look at the two girls, what can you see?"

Baorenwu turned to look at the two girls who were sitting motionless, not eating or drinking.

Compared to the boys, these two girls were much younger; the older one was only ten or so, and the younger one was only seven or eight, both looking very cute.

Baorenwu thought: These two girls look like children from good families; they definitely weren't acquired through proper channels, they are goods from child-snatchers. This brat is also indiscriminate.

However, the more he looked at these two girls, the stranger he felt; claiming to have read countless people, he was actually hesitant for a moment.

The YoungMaster kept staring at him and said: "What's wrong? You can't tell? Is that all your eye for talent is worth?"

Baorenwu did not dare to remain silent any longer and said: "Forgive this lowly one's rudeness, these two children are certainly good-looking, and their Bone structure is not bad; they will surely be beauties in the future, but their Spirit is not prominent, right?"

He pointed to the slightly older one and said: "This one is lifeless, she doesn't look like she has much luck, as if she's already half-dead. Clearly her body is healthy, but inside she is extremely weak. There seems to be Spirit, but it's as if it has been worn away. Has she been a sword slave before?"

The girl had clearly been dazed the whole time, but as Baorenwu spoke, her brows gradually stood up and her expression became somewhat vivid, but immediately after, she lowered her head again.

Baorenwu looked at the younger girl and frowned: "This one is even stranger. She looks like she has no Spirit at all, especially dull; she doesn't look like she was scared silly—is she a natural-born fool?"

The little girl turned her head to look at him, then turned it back woodenly.

"If such a fool had a strong natural Inspiration, she could still be sold as a sword slave, but if she has no Inspiration either, she is truly a loss. She wouldn't even fetch a price if sold to a brothel."

At this time, the white-haired person seemed to chuckle and said: "So that's it, she's foolish to the extreme. You really do have an eye for this, Sixteen, tear her a piece of meat."

Baorenwu breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed his professional ability had been recognized by the other party, and perhaps there was a place for him in this camp.

Sixteen indeed cut off a large piece of lamb leg and brought it over; the outside was already roasted to a charred fragrance, while blood streaks could still be seen inside. Baorenwu could no longer hold back, tearing into it and eating in large mouthfuls.

After all, he was a man who had been hungry for a day; Baorenwu wolfed it down, and in an instant, he had eaten more than half, when he heard the YoungMaster say: "You can tell me about the madwoman now."

Baorenwu hurriedly stopped his mouth, swallowed the meat, and said: "Right. That madwoman, sigh, consider me unlucky. I led my team starting from Yan Prefecture, traveling over mountains and through rivers all the way to Liangzhou..."

The YoungMaster said: "Stop with the traveling over mountains and rivers; who hasn't traveled over mountains and rivers to get here? Get to the point."

Baorenwu said: "Yes, yes. I led my team to the Red Sheep Border Market eighty miles ahead to rest. Besides food, lodging, and trade, there is a small human market there, specializing in selling slave populations from the grasslands. I originally thought, these grassland slaves are all crude and foul, smelling of mutton, what good goods could there be? But that day, before leaving, I had a whim and went to look around."

When he said this, he slapped his thigh in regret: "Why did I have to have that idle whim? I've lived this long and still haven't understood the principle of inviting trouble. If I hadn't gone, wouldn't there have been so much less trouble?"

He regretted it for a moment, then continued: "That day I arrived at the human market, and sure enough, I didn't see any good goods. Just as I was about to leave, I saw someone selling themselves. Selling oneself is common in the Central Plains, especially during years of disaster or Yin Calamity, where you see large swaths of people selling their children or themselves. But it's rare in Liangzhou, because they are snatched away by the barbarians before they can be sold. I went to take a look. That woman..."

He took two deep breaths before continuing: "I took a fancy to that woman at first glance. She is probably seventeen or eighteen; not only is she beautiful, but those eyes of hers have a certain spirit and reveal a stubborn temperament—for those who have a taste for that, she could be called a celestial treasure. And... she also has quite unique gray hair."