Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1288: Chapter 1290: Black Panther Delivers Meat_1

Upon hearing of Sangta’s consort selection, Jiang Yichun’s face grew several degrees colder, and Nilu, thinking he had misspoken, shuddered with fear.

Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but make a snide comment. Wasn’t it good that Sangta was choosing a consort? He wouldn’t be fixating on her anymore, but what exactly did that barbarian prophecy mean?

”What kind of merchandise do they have?” Bai Ruozhu asked.

”Jewelry, spices, and so on,” Nilu replied.

After thinking for a bit, Bai Ruozhu said, ”You go and handle it; buy all his trinkets and jewelry. The price must be driven down. This is the first task I’ve arranged for you; don’t disappoint me.”

Nilu jolted alert, ”Yes, yes. I will definitely handle this matter well.”

Bai Ruozhu informed Nilu of the inn where they would rendezvous and gave him some silver banknotes before sending him off to find the merchant from the Western Regions.

”Chenfeng, you keep an eye on him,” Jiang Yichun ordered. Chenfeng was attentive to detail, making him most trustworthy for the task.

”Let’s go, we’ll take another turn around and then go have something nice to eat.” Having resolved a minor nuisance, and perhaps about to make a good sum of money, her mood lifted once again.

By the time the party had finished wandering and eating to their satisfaction, returning to the inn, Nilu had already been waiting there for a while.

”Madam, I have fulfilled your command honorably and have purchased the fine goods.” Upon entering the room, he opened the chest he had brought back, excitedly showing Bai Ruozhu the merchandise inside, then took the initiative to return the remaining silver banknotes to her.

Bai Ruozhu glanced over the items and saw that they were indeed nice. Nilu had really put in the effort to save his own skin, negotiating a considerable bargain.

Of course, he was a smart man. He didn’t pocket the extra silver as he knew Bai Ruozhu would certainly have someone watching him.

Bai Ruozhu nodded in satisfaction. She casually picked out a bracelet from the chest and handed it to him, ”You did a good job, this is your reward. If you continue to work well, you won’t be treated unfairly.”

Nilu was visibly flattered, ”How, how could I accept this?” Though he demurred with his words, his eyes locked onto the bracelet; he had earned so much just by running errands and talking. It really was a good job.

”If I reward you, just take it. Alright, you share a room with Muyu. We leave together tomorrow morning. As for your merchandise, keep it for yourself. The money you make from selling it is yours, as long as you loyally work for me, I will not treat you badly,” Bai Ruozhu said.

Now Nilu was even happier; he had initially offered the goods willingly, and though it pained him, he had never expected Bai Ruozhu would return them. He felt more at ease; although he was under Bai Ruozhu’s control due to the poison, the current situation seemed rather good.

Once Nilu left, Jianqi spoke with a stern face, ”Master, this man is too greedy; it’s really hard to trust him.”

Bai Ruozhu nodded, ”I’m not afraid of him causing trouble; keep a close watch on him. People like him, greedy for money, are actually easy to deal with. Those who can be managed with money are not a problem; it’s those who are both greedy and ambitious that are difficult to control.”

Jianqi thought it over and found it reasonable. If Nilu had been ambitious, he wouldn’t have still been running a small sundries shop in Seva Alley at his age, a place that was quite chaotic. He was just greedy for money and liked to play petty tricks, but not hard to control.

That evening, Qingyan began to run a fever again. Fortunately, it wasn’t serious, and Bai Ruozhu had arranged for someone to take care of him before she finally succumbed to fatigue and went back to sleep. Now that she could no longer soak in a spatial hot spring to relieve her exhaustion, the combination of staying up late and travelling was more than she could bear.

Thankfully, even though Qingyan was getting on in years, he had a strong constitution and made it through the second night as well. If he could survive the first three nights, he would be beyond the critical period.

Early the next day, they continued their journey. Nilu joined the group, constantly trying to get close to Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun. He was a somewhat clever man who knew that the two were unfamiliar with the Western Regions. Thus, he took the initiative to talk about the customs and habits of the Western Regions and some of the factions within Gaochang City, which greatly broadened Bai Ruozhu’s understanding of the area.

”Are you familiar with the affairs of the Barbarian Tribe?” Bai Ruozhu asked. ”How are their beast teams trained? Logically, those beasts shouldn’t be easily commanded by humans, should they?”

She was aware that when wild beasts were tamed by humans, their wildness would be worn down, making them docile, such as the animals in circuses or zoos from her previous life. Compared to Sangta’s Beast Team, they were indeed much more docile.

Yet the people of the Barbarian Clan could control wild beasts while still maintaining their ferocity. How did they accomplish this? Weren’t they afraid of the beasts turning on their masters?

Upon mentioning the Barbarian Clan, Nilu showed a look of surprise, ”Madam, have you seen the Barbarian Tribe’s Beast Team?”

Bai Ruozhu nodded, ”I have seen Sangta’s Beast Team, and also witnessed them slaughtering a large number of merchants from a team.”

Nilu made a gesture of pressing his hands together, ”Thank heavens, you didn’t have a head-on conflict with them. Those beasts are more terrifying than the killers from Danliang Country’s Qisha Pavilion. I’ve heard that for generations, the Barbarians have had priests who use an ancient and mystical Sacrificial Heaven Technique to control beasts. Controlled beasts remain extremely ferocious, and can even go back to the forest to hunt on their own. But as soon as the master blows a whistle, they will return immediately.”

Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun exchanged glances, both were extremely curious about the Sacrificial Heaven Technique Nilu mentioned.

Nilu suddenly lowered his voice, saying, ”I’ve heard that this Sacrificial Heaven Technique must be conducted regularly, and each time, a hundred living people must be sacrificed. We’ve never seen it for ourselves, though, who knows if it’s just a rumor.”

The idea of sacrificing living people, a hundred at a time, sent chills down the spine. The Barbarian Tribe was as crazed as the beasts they controlled.

”It is said that the Barbarian Tribe has few people, so in order not to affect the number of sacrifices, their clan keeps a large number of lowly folk imprisoned. Then, through the stimulation of drugs, they coerce them to mate, increasing the birth rate. It is also said that many of the sacrifices are directly living sacrifices of infants,” Nilu added mysteriously.

Bai Ruozhu shuddered involuntarily. She hoped that this was only a rumor.

By noon, the team temporarily stopped to rest by the roadside. Everyone took out their dried food and began to eat, washing it down with water.

Suddenly, rustling sounds came from the nearby forest, putting everyone on high alert. Then, a black panther emerged gracefully from the forest, moving slowly with an agile gait that almost appeared arrogantly human. Bai Ruozhu thought she was seeing things. How could a black panther exhibit such human-like emotions?

The black panther carried a dead rabbit in its mouth, moving closer to Bai Ruozhu’s direction. Suddenly, it placed the rabbit on the ground, then roared at Bai Ruozhu, and after roaring, it turned and dashed back into the forest.

Bai Ruozhu realized that the black panther was offering the rabbit to her as a gift. Her expression changed—this meant that Sangta was nearby. What was his intention with this gesture?

To ingratiate himself? To foster a relationship? But she had already told him that she had a husband and children. Was this Sangta’s brain damaged?