Chapter 673: Jerusalem: Three

Jerusalem: Three

All?!

Kaya's breath paused so subtly it was barely noticeable.

Twelve bolts.

Not one bolt, not two bolts, it's twelve bolts! A full twelve bolts!

Twelve bolts of silk worth a city!

If this deal goes through and is flipped to Rome or Antioch, the profit would sustain him for ten, even twenty years without having to go out trading!

This is a big deal!

But he didn't rush to name a price.

A seasoned merchant wouldn't reveal his hand on the first step of negotiations.

"Yu Lin, my friend," Kaya chose his words carefully, lowering his voice a bit, as if speaking a secret only the two of them knew, "I have an unreasonable request."

"You see, we also do trade; these silks... could you sell some to us? The price is negotiable."

He said "sell some," not "sell all."

This is a test.

Yu Lin stared at Kaya, and Kaya stared at Yu Lin.

Their gazes silently clashed in the dry air.

Yu Lin's mouth curved slightly.

Although he wasn't a true merchant, he was a time‑traveler, carrying the knowledge reserves from later ages and the Myth Book.

Therefore, he knew exactly what kind of person he was dealing with.

"Kaya, my friend," Yu Lin said at a measured pace, his voice carrying a tone, "Selling is fine, but for the first bolt of silk, I don't want Silver Coin."

Kaya's eyebrows lifted slightly, "Then what do you want?"

"A trade," Yu Lin said, "using silk to exchange for something."

"What thing?"

Yu Lin's gaze passed over Kaya's shoulder, looking toward the towering Jerusalem city walls in the distance.

In the sunlight, the massive white stone slabs resembled gems set into the earth; near the city gate, patrolling soldiers and passing pedestrians could be seen faintly.

He withdrew his gaze, looked at Kaya, and said in a calm yet serious tone:

"A legitimate status that lets me enter Jerusalem without soldiers or officials harassing me, without being interrogated as a suspicious outsider, so I can conduct my business peacefully."

He paused, then added:

"If you can make that happen, I'm not only willing to trade silk for this 'status,' but after it's done, I'm also willing to sell you two more bolts of silk."

"The price will satisfy you."

Giving it away is impossible.

Yu Lin knew that among merchants, being too generous only raises suspicion.

Reciprocity, each taking what they need, is the most solid transaction.

Kaya listened, then fell silent for a moment.

He didn't answer immediately, but lowered his lashes, as if weighing pros and cons.

A legitimate status... it's not hard to say it's difficult, nor simple to say it's easy.

Jerusalem's regulation of foreign merchants isn't strict, but it's not lax either.

Ordinary merchants can enter the city without issue, but to "not be harassed by any soldier or official," one needs a guarantor of weight.

And his elder brother happens to be one of the city's influential guarantors!

The city's magistrate, though not a top‑rank official, can open a convenient door for a merchant with just a word.

Kaya lifted his head, the curve of his mouth widening, a shrewd glint flashing in his deep-set eyes.

"Deal," he said, extending his hand,

"It's simple. My elder brother is a city magistrate; you just follow us into the city, and I'll handle the rest."

Yu Lin looked at the outstretched hand—rough, thick, with bulky knuckles—a pair of hands accustomed to holding reins and counting Silver Coins.

He freed a hand and grasped it.

The palm was dry and warm, the grip moderate.

"Then thank you, Kaya, my friend."

"Friends need not thank each other," Kaya said, releasing his hand, turning and waving toward the caravan,

"Send someone to clear a spot for Yu Lin, my friend! Let him sit on the rear cargo cart; the road is still far, walking is exhausting!"

A young guard answered, swiftly ran to the donkey cart at the rear of the convoy, shifted a few bundles of cloth, and cleared a space for a person to sit.

Yu Lin, carrying silk, walked to the donkey cart; just as he placed the goods on the board, two people eagerly reached out to help him move them.

He smiled, didn't refuse, let them help, and sat himself along the edge of the board.

The wooden board of the donkey cart was uncomfortable, the air filled with the musk of camels and donkeys; the burlap sack beside him, contents unknown, pressed hard against his back.

Yu Lin leaned against the burlap sack, his gaze passing through the caravan toward the front.

Kaya had already remounted his white camel, spine upright, his wide robe billowing slightly in the wind.

His silhouette seemed relaxed, but Yu Lin noticed that before Kaya mounted the camel, his gaze swept over those twelve bolts of silk once more.

Yu Lin understood that look.

After all, who wouldn't want this? Selling just one bolt can elevate one's life by several levels.............

Yu Lin lowered his eyelids, his mouth curving slightly upward.

Me?

Try it.

He has a two‑hour Xiang Yu Experience Card.

Who is Xiang Yu?

He can lift a Cauldron, take on a hundred alone, burn his boats, and win nine battles straight.

Don't even mention the little caravan of about twenty people before us; even a Roman hundred‑man squad, he wouldn't blink in those two hours.

If you have the ability, come.

Let's see who can eat whom.

This is the confidence the Overlord gave him!

Yu Lin slipped his hand into his robe pocket, closed his eyes, and felt the donkey cart's slow, gentle rocking.

Ahead.

The front of the caravan.

Kaya rode the camel, his back slightly hunched—his habitual thinking posture.

A young man beside him leaned in, lowering his voice: "Kaya, that's Silk, a full twelve bolts. We…"

The young man didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was obvious.

Do you want to…?

Kaya didn't answer right away.

He turned his head and glanced at the guard.

Just a glance.

The guard immediately fell silent.

"Did you hear what he said?" Kaya's voice was very soft, soft enough that only the guard beside him could hear, "He comes from the Seris Empire."

The guard was taken aback: "So what?"

Kaya shifted his gaze forward, and Jerusalem's walls on the horizon became increasingly clear, the white stone walls glinting with a dazzling light under the scorching sun.

"From here to the Seris Empire," Kaya said leisurely, "you have to cross mountains, traverse deserts, and pass through countless kingdoms and tribes."

"Can you imagine how dangerous that road is? Bandits, beasts, storms, thirst—any one of those could kill an entire caravan cleanly."

"Unless you have the Lord's protection!"

He paused, and a flicker of his peripheral vision glanced at the young man seated behind on the donkey cart.

The young man was leaning against a burlap sack, eyes closed, his posture relaxed as if sunbathing in his own backyard.

"He alone, carrying Silk worth a fortune, completed that road," Kaya withdrew his gaze, his voice flat, "Do you think he has no strength?"

"Does he have no special abilities?"

The guard opened his mouth slightly, but said nothing.

"Do you think he's very weak?"

The guard fell silent.

Kaya gently patted the camel's neck, the camel gave a resonant snort, its gait still steady.

"A weak lamb couldn't have reached this place."

Kaya said a final line and then said nothing more.

His gaze fell on Jerusalem ahead, his eyes deep and inscrutable.

He had heard countless legends of the Silk Road; those Eastern stories, he only believed a third of.

But today, a living person from that legendary land appeared before him.

This person is worth befriending.

It has nothing to do with Silk.

Rather, because a person who can walk alive from the Han Empire to Jerusalem is, in itself, the toughest currency!!

If he could take me there once..................

The camel's bell jingled softly.

The caravan moved slowly along the dust‑filled road, Jerusalem's walls growing ever closer.

The noon sun pressed everyone's shadows short, so short they were almost invisible, as if those walking the earth had no place to set foot.

Yu Lin opened his eyes, gazing at the Holy City he was about to enter.

White stone walls, golden Temple rooftops, tiered houses, slightly warped in the heat, like an unreal watercolor.

He knew there was a person in this city.

A person who would soon change the world.

And his mission was, after that person died, to steal his corpse.

Yu Lin closed his eyes again, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

The donkey cart jolted, the city gate ahead in view.