Camel Street (Part Two)

Hu Xiaotian said, "If you won't let me lend a hand, I'll just stick my foot in instead. If you can go to Camel Street, so can I. Why don't we see who finds Mo Shaolin first?"

Murong Feiyan's heart sank. With Hu Xiaotian's arrogant disregard for everyone else, there was no telling what he might do. Although she did not want him meddling, he was, after all, the victim in this case. Clearly, the rascal had not told her everything and was still hiding something. After a moment's thought, she finally nodded. "You can come with me, but you are not to interfere with what I do!"

Hu Xiaotian smiled. "Don't worry. I'm always very well behaved around pretty girls!"

Their destination was West City Camel Street. Of the three major horse markets in Kang Capital, this was the largest, but also the most chaotic and disorderly. People often called the West City Horse Market Camel Street. It sold livestock of every description, from cattle, horses, sheep, and camels to chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs. Despite that variety, quality stock was rare. Most buyers and sellers were ordinary commoners, and large transactions were uncommon. Animals were generally sold individually, at very low prices.

Murong Feiyan had not changed into her official uniform, and her dress was unsuitable for riding, so she climbed into Hu Xiaotian's carriage. Hu Xiaotian did not like riding either, because he was a poor horseman and always worried about falling off whenever he sat astride a horse.

Murong Feiyan lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside. Seeing Hu Xiaotian's six household servants following them like shadows, she frowned. "Do you sons of officials have to put on such a grand show wherever you go? Are you afraid people won't know how rich and important your families are?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed. "You find it annoying? I find it even more annoying. Have you ever experienced having someone follow you closely whether you're eating, sleeping, or going to the privy?"

His words brought a blush to Murong Feiyan's pretty face. She lowered her long black lashes and said nothing more, inwardly cursing his shamelessness. There really was no indecent remark this fellow would hesitate to make.

Hu Xiaotian sighed and leaned back against the carriage. Suddenly, he remembered that several of Tang Qingxuan's older brothers held sway over the horse markets. He wondered whether today's visit to the West City Horse Market might bring him face-to-face with the Tang Family on a narrow road. "I seem to remember Tang Tiehan being involved in the horse markets?" he asked quietly.

Though he phrased it delicately, Murong Feiyan still heard the worry and misgivings behind his words. She smiled. "Don't worry. This is Camel Street. Their business isn't here." She paused, then added, "If you've done nothing shameful, you needn't fear a ghost knocking at your door. Have you done so many wicked things that your conscience is getting jumpy?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed. "Me, a guilty conscience? Hahaha..." His laughter was distinctly dry. It was not that he feared the Tang siblings; he simply did not want to invite unnecessary trouble.

As the carriage entered Camel Street, the ground became a muddy mess. Although the market was sizable, its conditions were dreadful. Cattle and horse traders gathered here from every direction, dragons mingling with fish. Most were small, independent traders; the truly wealthy horse dealers disdained doing business here.

The street was broad, but the many carriages and horses, together with traders driving livestock through it, made it unbearably crowded. They had barely advanced a few paces before their carriage became trapped and could go no farther.

Murong Feiyan pushed open the carriage door and jumped down, with Hu Xiaotian close behind.

Hu Fo, who was driving, said, "Young Master, livestock are blocking the road ahead. The carriage can't get through."

Murong Feiyan was already walking ahead. Hu Xiaotian said, "Wait here. I'll go with Constable Murong..." He had meant to say "Head Constable Murong," but with people passing all around them, he swallowed the rest of the title. Several servants wanted to follow, but he waved them back, signaling that they should not make such a fuss and stir the grass to startle the snake. He took only Li Jinhao and Shao Yijiao. From his observations over the past few days, those two were the only ones among the six with reasonably decent fighting ability. As for the likes of Liang Dazhuang, he might look tall and stout, but he was actually a coward. If anything happened, he would only be a burden.

Liang Dazhuang had always considered himself the foremost servant at his young master's side. Seeing that Hu Xiaotian had not chosen him this time, he felt rather disappointed and volunteered, "Young Master, let me come with you too."

Hu Xiaotian waved a hand. "You're the man I trust most. I'll only feel at ease if you stay here and hold the fort!"

Those words thrilled Liang Dazhuang, visibly swelling his confidence to bursting. "Rest assured, Young Master. Your servant will not fail you."

Murong Feiyan's outfit really was ill-suited to walking here. After only a few steps, her feet were covered in mud. Watching her lift her gauzy skirt, her boots smeared with mud and horse dung, Hu Xiaotian sighed. "And here I thought Miss Murong really was a white lotus rising unstained from the mire."

Murong Feiyan glared at him, unwilling to bother with his snide remarks. This, too, counted as self-awareness: she knew she could never beat him in a war of words.

They found Mo Shaolin at the northern end of Camel Street. He was twenty-four, a northwesterner of mixed Qin and Hu ancestry. Tall and dark-skinned, he had naturally curly hair, a square face, thick brows, and large eyes. His brown warrior's outfit had faded almost white from years of washing. His trouser legs were rolled up to his knees, exposing two calves knotted with muscle, and his straw sandals were also covered in mud.

When Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan spotted him, he was bargaining with a customer. Bargaining at the horse market was not conducted aloud. Usually, the two parties clasped hands beneath their sleeves, one naming a price with his fingers and the other countering the same way. Once they agreed on a price, they sealed the deal with a handshake.

Seeing Mo Shaolin's powerful muscles, Hu Xiaotian concluded that the fellow was certainly no weak fighter. He leaned close to Murong Feiyan's ear and whispered, "Should we call over a few more men to help?"

Murong Feiyan glanced at him with undisguised contempt. In truth, she had been looking at him that way all along. Her voice was mocking as well. "Scared?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "How do you even write the word 'scared'?"

Murong Feiyan was already walking slowly toward Mo Shaolin.

Mo Shaolin and his customer ultimately failed to agree. Though the deal fell through, goodwill remained. They shook their heads, exchanged apologetic smiles, and the customer left. Mo Shaolin's gaze settled on Murong Feiyan's lovely face. A woman as beautiful as her looked entirely out of place on filthy Camel Street, all the more so with an extravagantly dressed young nobleman at her side. These two ought to have been boating across the misty expanse of Emerald Cloud Lake, or sitting in pavilions and terraces of red brick and green tile, enjoying song and dance and composing poetry-not appearing in a place like this.

Mo Shaolin's gaze swept over their faces before quickly settling on their feet. A person's stride and the rhythm of their footsteps could reveal whether they knew martial arts. He still wore a smile, but inwardly he had begun to grow wary.

Hu Xiaotian kept watching the changes in Mo Shaolin's gaze. He was skilled at analyzing subtle shifts in people's minds through changes in their expressions. There was some truth to the saying that extra skills were no burden; the psychology he had studied in the past was proving quite useful.

From the four people's footwork, Mo Shaolin had already determined that Murong Feiyan and the two men dressed as household servants behind her all knew martial arts. As for the grinning young gentleman, he appeared to know none, though his body was sturdy enough. He did not look like a scholar too weak to truss a chicken.

Though wary inside, Mo Shaolin wore a sunny smile. "Young sir, madam, looking to buy a horse?"

Being addressed as "madam" made Murong Feiyan's pretty face flush scarlet. What's wrong with this fellow's eyes? I'm clearly an unmarried maiden. Even my hairstyle and clothing should tell him I'm not married.

Hu Xiaotian, however, laughed delightedly. He had not intended to take any liberties with Murong Feiyan; Mo Shaolin had done it for him. He nodded, intending to sound the man out indirectly about Zhao Zhenghao's whereabouts. But Murong Feiyan had no interest in beating around the bush and asked bluntly, "Are you Mo Shaolin?" The moment Hu Xiaotian heard that, he inwardly cried, Oh, no.

Mo Shaolin smiled. "Yes! Do you know me, madam?"

Murong Feiyan asked, "Do you know Zhao Zhenghao?"

Mo Shaolin said, "Yes! We've traded horses together."

"Where is he now?"

Mo Shaolin eyed Murong Feiyan suspiciously. "What do you want with him?"

Before Murong Feiyan could answer, Hu Xiaotian pulled out an ingot of fine silver weighing a full five taels, waved it before Mo Shaolin's eyes, and handed it over. Mo Shaolin's smile grew even brighter at the sight of it. He reached out and snatched the silver, then glanced carefully around and said in a conspiratorial tone, "Let me leave a few instructions, and I'll take you there!"

Had Murong Feiyan not been so impatient, Hu Xiaotian would never have resorted to this inferior tactic. He truly had no idea how she had earned the title of Capital Prefecture's First Female Divine Constable. Investigating a case required finesse. You had to probe indirectly and establish the facts before the other party realized your true purpose. Since Murong Feiyan had taken off her uniform and come in ordinary clothes, Hu Xiaotian had assumed she was going to work undercover. Yet her very first words to Mo Shaolin had exposed her true identity. She had stopped just short of openly telling him she was a constable!

Mo Shaolin turned and walked back into the horse pen, where he gave some instructions to a groom wearing a gray-blue headcloth.

Hu Xiaotian said to Murong Feiyan, "Something seems wrong. Mo Shaolin is acting furtive." He exchanged a meaningful glance with Li Jinhao and Shao Yijiao, signaling for them to circle around to the other side and keep watch on Mo Shaolin in case he tried to escape that way.

Murong Feiyan said coldly, "I doubt he can pull any tricks." Barely had the words left her mouth when Mo Shaolin swung himself onto a mud-covered yellow horse with a white mane. He grinned at her. "If you want to find him, follow me!" He gave the reins a hard shake and squeezed the horse's belly with his legs. With a long neigh, the horse broke into a wild gallop. As it approached the railing, it suddenly sprang into the air and cleared the four-foot fence in a single leap. Its hooves struck the ground, sending mud flying all over Li Jinhao and Shao Yijiao as they tried to intercept him. Before the two could close in around him, Mo Shaolin had already galloped free and sped away.

**********Regarding the protagonist's personality: while transmigration changes your body, the body also changes you. I won't explain this point again. All fair-minded feedback is welcome. As for certain people who deliberately use malicious reviews to attract attention, all I can say is, heh...