High Mountain Slave

After descending from the Burial Ridge Mountains, he sped along.

Xia Qi'an rushed back to Jinling without stopping.

The hundred-pound piece of snake meat he'd torn from the giant snake was also placed on his horse's hindquarters and brought back with him.

Outskirts of Jinling City.

When he was about ten miles from Jinling City, Xia Qi'an encountered a merchant caravan of over twenty people, also heading towards Jinling City.

In the center of the caravan, three horses were yoked side-by-side, pulling a large carriage. A tall iron cage was also bound to the top of the carriage.

The iron cage was covered with a black cloth, making it impossible to see what was inside.

In accordance with his duties as a member of the Wei Dao Si, Xia Qi'an spurred his horse forward to question them.

Stopping the caravan, he asked the burly man leading the group, "Which merchant guild are you from?"

The leader of the caravan was a burly man in his forties, wearing a bamboo hat.

After a few glances, the man saw Xia Qi'an's Wei Dao Si uniform and quickly replied, "Reporting, sir! We are a caravan under the Treasure Pavilion!"

"What's in the cage?"

Earlier, Xia Qi'an had seen a surge of potent Bloodline Power emanating from the cage from a distance, which made him curious and prompted him to question them.

The man explained, "Sir! The cage contains goods for the Treasure Pavilion! They will be auctioned at the Treasure Pavilion tomorrow!"

"Goods? What kind of goods?" Xia Qi'an asked, confused.

"It's... High Mountain Slaves, transported from Qiluo Kingdom!" the burly man hesitated.

High Mountain Slaves, Xia Qi'an had heard of them.

The High Mountain Tribe was a settlement in the mountains of Qiluo Kingdom.

The people of this tribe were naturally tall and incredibly strong, born martial prodigies.

However, the tribe was very reclusive, and its people were simple and naive, unaccustomed to the ways of the world.

Thus, they were often kidnapped by martial artists from Qiluo Kingdom and sold into slavery.

They were specifically sold to high-ranking officials and nobles to serve as household guards.

This is how they got the name High Mountain Slaves.

Upon hearing this, Xia Qi'an immediately became interested.

He thought about how he had just bought a new house and didn't have any servants yet. Buying a High Mountain Slave to guard the house wouldn't be a bad idea!

"High Mountain Slaves... how rare! Lift the black cloth on the cage and let me see..." Xia Qi'an dismounted and approached the iron cage, saying to the man.

"Sir... I'm afraid that's against the rules..." the man demurred.

"What rules...? Can't the Wei Dao Si investigate things from the Treasure Pavilion?" Xia Qi'an asked sternly, his brow furrowed.

Seeing Xia Qi'an's stern expression, the man no longer wished to conflict with the Wei Dao Si and reluctantly ordered his subordinate, "Take off the cloth and let the sir inspect it!"

"Yes!"

Several caravan guards heard this and pulled the black cloth off the iron cage.

Inside the iron cage, a giant man with an exceptionally sturdy physique was curled up in a corner, covered in wounds.

The giant man had a simple and honest expression, giving the impression of low intelligence.

He had a large head and big ears, but his eyes were as small as mung beans, making him look particularly comical.

The giant blinked his mung-bean-like eyes, meeting Xia Qi'an's gaze directly.

"Hungry..."

The giant's intuition told him that Xia Qi'an was not a bad person. He squeezed out a sound from his throat, begging for food.

Xia Qi'an saw that his body was covered in open wounds and bloodstains, clearly indicating he had been whipped by the caravan members along the way.

Yet, he looked at Xia Qi'an with a simple and honest expression, as if nothing had happened.

Clearly, he had no idea what his fate would be!

Xia Qi'an couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for the big man. He turned to the man and asked, "How much will this High Mountain Slave cost at the Treasure Pavilion? I'll buy him...!"

"Sir... I'm afraid that's not possible... If you like this High Mountain Slave, you can bid for him at the Treasure Pavilion auction tomorrow!" the man quickly stepped forward and politely refused.

Xia Qi'an knew that his actions were indeed breaking the rules and it wouldn't be good to be too forceful. He changed his tone, "Since that's the case! I won't force it. However, I, Xia Qi'an, have taken a liking to this High Mountain Slave. You are not to beat or mistreat him any further... Do you understand? Also... get him some food!"

With that, Xia Qi'an tossed fifty taels of silver to the man and rode away.

Not long after Xia Qi'an left.

"Who was that guy? So arrogant..." a guard in the caravan grumbled.

"Yeah!... I thought he was some big shot, but his uniform just looks like a regular Hound Guard!"

"Shut up! What do you know..." the man immediately reprimanded them.

The man pretended to be mysterious, "That gentleman just announced his name. He's quite the influential figure in Jinling City right now!"

"You know about the Scented Soap sold by the Yang Clan and the refined salt that's been causing such a stir recently?"

The guards nodded one after another upon hearing this.

The businesses of scented soap and refined salt were already well-known throughout Jinling City.

As they were merchants themselves, they had naturally heard of these two enviable ventures.

The burly man revealed with envy, "That gentleman just now is the one who created them! Those are businesses that rake in gold daily. The silver they earn each day surpasses even our Treasure Pavilion! Why do you think he's so formidable?"

As scented soap and refined salt became more widespread, Xia Qi'an's name naturally became familiar to the people of Jinling.

"No wonder! ... I knew this gentleman was so mighty!" the previously dismissive guard suddenly changed his tune.

Upon hearing this, the other guards burst into laughter.

Unknowingly, people in Jinling, when discussing Xia Qi'an in private, began to respectfully address him as "Master."

Sinan Manor.

After Xia Qi'an reported the investigation results from Lishan County to Lord Sinan.

Si Nanyue solemnly instructed, "I will assign this matter to someone else to investigate, so you are no longer to inquire about it!"

Even though Si Nanyue had made her stance clear, Xia Qi'an still felt that this matter was of great importance.

"Have the Snake Guards found any leads?" Xia Qi'an, unable to suppress his curiosity, shamelessly asked.

Seeing Xia Qi'an's determined persistence, Si Nanyue said helplessly, "Since you're so eager to know, I'll tell you! A Corpse Demon might have appeared in the Burial Ridge Mountains!"

"A Corpse Demon? Isn't that a demon from storybooks? Do such things really exist in the world?" Xia Qi'an casually sat down, drinking his tea, dismissively.

Si Nanyue, seeing Xia Qi'an's increasing lack of decorum, scrutinized him with an unfriendly gaze.

However, given that Xia Qi'an was currently the financial benefactor of the Wei Dao Si, she had to endure it.

Seeing Xia Qi'an casually sitting there, idly spinning his teacup lid, Si Nanyue took a deep breath and said, "Storybooks have a basis in reality! Corpse Demons do exist!"

Xia Qi'an calmly replied, "Oh... then it must just be a minor demon. Once I break through to the Bone Forging Realm, I'll go and slay it!"

Si Nanyue was amused to the point of anger, "Heh... a minor demon! Are you sure? A Corpse Demon's cultivation is equivalent to a Creation Realm martial artist."

"Pfft..."

Xia Qi'an spat out a mouthful of tea and quickly changed his tune, "Then it's best to leave it to Lord Sinan's father to slay!"

"Get out!" Si Nanyue could no longer tolerate it.

"This subordinate takes his leave!"