Gladiator Match (continued)

Jian Mo nodded. "I understand."

Wu Jiong said, "I'll come find you after I finish talking to the people from the Mengshui Tribe. If you need anything, just ask someone from our tribe. Don't be afraid."

Jian Mo wasn't afraid. Wu Jiong, on the other hand, was more talkative than usual, enough to make him seem a little uneasy.

Jian Mo smiled at him. "It's fine. Back when I was in my... tribe, I took part in plenty of events."

Wu Jiong looked at him for two seconds, then said something to Qing Kuo before leaving.

Qing Kuo finished organizing his things and came over with his partner, Di Ya. "Jian Mo, you have a lot of stuff. Why don't you find a place and set up a stall? Walking around is too tiring."

Jian Mo nodded. "Whatever you say."

So Qing Kuo took Jian Mo to find a place by the Mengshui Tribe's river and set up a stall.

People came and went all around them. There were many stalls and a wide variety of goods for exchange, including quite a few distinctive handicrafts.

Jian Mo looked around and didn't see a second stall that traded only food, so he relaxed.

Jian Mo set out two baskets of fish pieces, placed a large leaf over them, and arranged more fish pieces on the leaf. He also put a pile of wooden skewers beside them.

Qing Kuo was puzzled. "What are those for?"

"For people to have a taste," Jian Mo said. "Nobody knows what the fish pieces are. Once they've tasted them, a lot more people might be willing to trade for them."

Qing Kuo understood.

As they spoke, some beastmen with keen noses gathered in front of their stall and asked, "What's this?"

The beastman was pointing at the fish pieces.

Jian Mo looked up. "Fish pieces. Have a taste."

The beastman visibly hesitated when he heard the words "fish pieces." But when Jian Mo offered him a taste and deftly speared a piece with a skewer, holding it out to him, he couldn't make himself walk away.

He hesitantly took the fish piece and put it in his mouth. His eyes lit up at once. "Delicious!"

Jian Mo smiled. "Right? Want to trade for some?"

The beastman swung his basket around to the front and pulled everything out at once. "Which one do you want?"

Jian Mo looked through the plant stem chunks, beautiful stones, wild fruit, bone daggers, and other things. He gently picked out a bone dagger. "Can I trade for this?"

"Of course," the beastman said.

Jian Mo took a leaf he had prepared in advance and wrapped a large bundle of fish pieces for the beastman.

The beastman took the fish pieces and put them in his basket, but he didn't leave. Instead, he haltingly introduced himself. "I'm Duan Xu, a beastman from the Red Zheng Tribe."

"I'm Jian Mo," Jian Mo said.

Duan Xu smiled a little nervously. "Are you going to watch the gladiator matches later? I'm third in line."

Hearing this from the side, Qing Kuo raised an eyebrow slightly.

Jian Mo was at a loss. "I need to stay here and trade the fish pieces."

Duan Xu said, "You can come watch after you're done trading. A lot of warriors came this year, so the matches should be good."

Jian Mo hadn't expected this beastman to be so enthusiastic. After thanking him, he said, "If there's enough time later, I'll go over early and watch."

Duan Xu nodded.

Once the unfamiliar beastman had left, Qing Kuo asked, "Are you going to watch?"

Jian Mo nodded. "Wu Jiong's competing too. Zhou Fu and the others said they were going, and we agreed to cheer Wu Jiong on later."

Qing Kuo smiled. "Let's finish trading early and go over."

As they chatted, more and more people were drawn over by the aroma of the fish pieces.

Jian Mo wasn't stingy at all, holding the fish pieces out for everyone to sample.

Many people had never tasted fish pieces like these, and most said they wanted to trade for some.

Jian Mo traded them for beast fat, stem chunks, cloth, spices, and all sorts of other supplies.

The fish pieces went quickly. In no time, both large baskets they had brought were traded away.

Jian Mo also went to help the other sub-beastmen from the tribe trade their goods.

Qing Kuo followed leisurely behind him. "Aren't you going to watch the gladiator matches yet?"

Jian Mo said, "Wu Jiong and the others are competing much later. There's still time if we go after a while. We can help Zhou Fu and the others finish trading and go together."

Qing Kuo smiled again at that, a smile that was somewhat indulgent and somewhat amused.

Jian Mo felt that he was a little strange today, but couldn't quite put his finger on what was strange.

Jian Mo had run a pet hospital. Although it hadn't been very successful, he did have experience doing business.

With him helping the tribe's other sub-beastmen trade, things went faster than when they did it themselves. Soon, most of their goods had been traded away.

Afterward, everyone went to watch the gladiator matches together.

There were other competitions at the Hunting Gathering, but everyone said the gladiator matches were the most exciting and the most worth watching.

When they reached the edge of the arena, Wu Jiong and the others were still waiting and hadn't entered yet. Seeing them arrive, Wu Jiong took them to the stands.

Other beastmen were already competing in the arena.

These beastmen had all taken their beast forms.

From the stands, Jian Mo looked down through gaps in the crowd.

In the arena, two enormous "beasts," resembling an elephant and a rhinoceros, crashed into each other, letting out deafening roars.

The force of their combat made the ground tremble, and Jian Mo could feel the vibrations even in the stands.

It was terrifying.

He had never seen a match like this before. The clash of strength against strength, the flying flesh and blood, and the tremendous roars all sent his adrenaline surging.

He opened his mouth slightly, his mouth and throat feeling dry.

The people around him, however, were especially excited. Countless cheers rang out from every direction, deafeningly loud.

Some had even shouted themselves hoarse.

Jian Mo smelled sweat in the air and felt that even the smell conveyed their excitement and exhilaration.

Jian Mo suddenly felt out of place in this world, and he couldn't help turning to look at Wu Jiong.

Wu Jiong would be entering the arena later too, and Jian Mo could hardly imagine him becoming a giant wolf and fighting someone directly with his own body.

Just as he looked over, Wu Jiong looked his way, and their eyes met.