Chapter 257
Seemingly to echo her statement, the human traffickers hawked their wares even more enthusiastically.
"Come and take a look! That noble, fair skin! Although he can't understand our language, that ass is quite perky! And he's strong too. You won't regret buying him!"
To prove his words were true, the trafficker suddenly pulled hard, causing the kneeling slave with his head down to stumble.
The human trafficker squatted down and patted the slave's buttocks.
Then a burst of laughter erupted.
The slave's hair was very long and looked messy, like withered grass.
Despite being humiliated like this, the slave said nothing.
He simply stared at the passersby with his dark eyes.
The trafficker shouted for a while, but seeing no one respond, he lazily sat back down at his stall and took out a stick to beat the slaves.
"What are you looking at, you useless thing? Go back to your squatting position!"
This stick looks very peculiar—it is made of a bright green bamboo, while the handle is made of a strange white stone. At the end of the stick, several white "tails" hang.
It looks very imposing when waved.
A look of grief and shame flashed in the eyes of the slave crouching on the ground, but he ultimately showed nothing.
Suddenly a figure stood in front of the human trafficker.
"Oh, which slave have you taken a fancy to?"
The human trafficker stood up, rubbing his hands together.
Where did you get this 'stick' from?
"Hebe asked."
"You've taken a fancy to this stick? Oh, no, that won't do. It's much better used as a whip."
The traffickers had a sharp eye and immediately realized that Hebe wanted the stick in their hands, so they immediately raised the price.
Hebe stared silently at the bamboo staff adorned with yak tails.
[Strange Item: Scepter]
The ancient envoys of Cathay would carry this wondrous object and travel to the four corners of the Son of Heaven in place of the emperor.
The bamboo that makes up its main body comes from the ancient mountains of the East, while the white jade and ox tail that make up its head and tail come from the boundless snowfields of the West.
It reveals the unquestionable and inviolable authority of the Scar Father.
Wherever the staff goes, that is Cathay.
The slave crouching on the ground didn't know what Hebe was saying to the traffickers, but he could tell that they seemed to be discussing the "scepter".
In that instant, the slave, who had been prepared to endure humiliation and hardship, could no longer bear it and struggled with a scream:
"This is the staff of Cathay, how can you humiliate it like this..."
In that instant, Hebe, who was about to use illusion magic to snatch the scepter directly from the trafficker, suddenly turned her head.
It was as if someone had pressed the pause button; everything—from the bustling vendors and the mud splashing on the roadside to the birds flapping their wings in the air—came to a standstill.
Hebe never imagined that she would hear the familiar Cathay language in Lostbelt Bharata.
This slave... is an envoy from Cathay.
How did he end up in the Lostbelt of this era?
Hebe stared at the emaciated envoy, her breathing quickening for a moment.
The slave also looked up at Hebe, and he too felt this strange scene, despair involuntarily appearing in his eyes.
—It's that power that seems to stop time again!
He had experienced this power in a place known as the "Forest of Asceticism".
What followed was a series of strange events, and eventually, one by one, the members of the delegation died, leaving only him who was captured and enslaved.
In this extreme fear, a sudden surge of fierce courage erupted within the slave.
He straightened up, glared at Hebe, and was about to utter words of heroic sacrifice.
"What is your name? Which Son of Heaven sent you here on a mission? What happened to you that led you to become a slave?"
The familiar Cathay language pierced the man's mind like a wedge, and his surging passion turned into grief and indignation in his throat.
He was struck dumb, his mouth agape, and he made an "ah ah" sound from his throat.
Immediately afterwards, two streams of tears flowed down her face.
He staggered two steps, then knelt down before Hebe: "God have mercy! God have mercy..."
The man wiped away his tears, straightened his clothes, and took his staff back from the human trafficker who was pinned to the spot.
He straightened his back.
"I am Wang Xuance, sent as a Tianzhú by His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Unfortunately, I encountered a great calamity and ended up here..."
Hebe pressed her temples.
Things suddenly became complicated.
"Wait a moment."
Hebe stopped Wang Xuance from talking incessantly, "Let's find a place to talk in detail."
She turned to Kama, who was waiting to the side, and said, "Take Karna and go for a walk somewhere else."
This was the first time Kama had ever seen Hebe with such an expression.
She silently clasped her hands together in front of Hebe, then hurriedly pulled Karna away.
The veil of illusion fell silently, and frozen time resumed its flow.
A gust of wind blew across the empty stall.
The human trafficker scratched his head, realizing that he had unknowingly been enslaved.
"Hey, let me go! I'm not a slave, let me go—"
"Are you calling me 'Mom'?!"
Another rude human trafficker walked over and kicked him in the waist.
Hebe brought Wang Xuance to the astrology hall.
The latter's eyes lit up when he saw the couplets hanging on the wall, and he sighed deeply when he saw the room's furnishings, which were quite reminiscent of Cathay.
Hebe frowned slightly.
For a long time, records about Wang Xuance were just a simple stroke in the vast sea of historical records.
His most legendary feat was his three missions to Bharata.
The first instance should have been in the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era, which was in the middle of the Third History, 643 AD.
This should be his second mission, which took place in the 21st year of the Zhenguan era, or 647 AD.
According to the historical records of Hebe's previous life, this was during a political upheaval in Bharata, when King Harsha died suddenly and a powerful minister usurped the throne.
In an attempt to establish his authority, this powerful minister actually sent troops to intercept and kill the Tang Dynasty delegation. Wang Xuance himself was captured, and all the others were killed.
After that.
Wang Xuance escaped and headed north to the snowy region, where he borrowed troops from several countries to form a coalition army and wiped away his humiliation.
According to historical records, Wang Xuance beheaded 3,000 enemy soldiers and drowned approximately 10,000. After capturing the city, he captured the powerful minister, his queen, and the prince, and escorted them to Chang'an.
After this, the kingdoms of Bharata were shaken and vied to become vassals of the Tang emperor, who was described as having "the appearance of a dragon and phoenix, and the countenance of the sun and the moon."
But that was Hebe's history from her previous life.
The histories of past and present lives are inherently different, not to mention Lostbelt.
What's even more puzzling is how he got into this area.
The Bharata's Lostbelt is sealed off from the outside in, and even the authority of the Scar Father cannot enter it.
How did you get in?
Hebe asked.
"Just come in like this."
Wang Xuance answered.
He dipped his finger in water and drew a map on the table showing his route into Bharata.
Hebe understood.
Wang Xuance entered the country during the gap between the end of the Vedic Age and the beginning of the Dharma era.
Therefore, he was regarded as a member of the Bharata's Lostbelt and was detained there and could not leave.
But how much time has passed since the 21st year of the Zhenguan era?
After hearing Hebe's words, Wang Xuance's eyes flickered slightly.
After a long silence, he let out a long sigh.
"How could I not know the story of the Rotten Chessman? When I was sent Bharata, His Majesty the Emperor of Tang was still in his prime. Now I fear that Tang may perish, but Cathay forever. I must go back, even if I die, I will die in my homeland."
Kama led Karna on a aimless wandering through the streets.
"Mom, let's go to the training ground to watch the martial arts competition."
Karna made the proposal.
"You don't need to play, right?"
Kama asked.
"I didn't write my name down."
Karna said, "If you're worried, I can change into women's clothing."
Kama was initially indifferent, but upon hearing Karna's words, his demonic nature resurfaced.
She immediately pulled Karna into the clothing store on the street.
A dozen minutes later, Karna, dressed in a sari and a traditional pleated skirt, walked out of the store with a somewhat uneasy air.
"Uh, maybe I should change back into men's clothes."
She started to regret it.
"That won't do!"
Kama said confidently, "You look great in this outfit."
The two walked hand in hand toward the training ground, and just then, a deafening roar came from the center of the training ground.
"Step forward, Karna!"
"Didn't you say you didn't need to play?"
Kama asked.
"I definitely did not write my name down."
Karna frowned. "But my classmates might..."
"Who?"
Kama asked in a cold voice, sensing the possibility of school bullying.
"I can't say, there are too many people."
Karna shook his head. "Mom, I'll go take care of this problem first."
"Is a fight absolutely necessary?"
"It's come to this."
Karna shrugged helplessly. "Besides, I am also a student of Master Drona."
"Aren't you going to change your clothes?"