The caravan moved for the whole day.
The road was not peaceful, but it was not truly dangerous either. They met three small beasts group along the way. Two were killed by the guards, while the last one fled into the forest. There was a sumptuous gain from the beast corpses and materials, the caravan had gained more than it lost, thus when evening came, the atmosphere in the caravan was not too heavy.
By evening, they chose a valley to camp. Black skin fat beetles lowered their huge bodies, colored ostriches were tied near the carts, mountain spiders folded their legs and rested beside stacked boxes, while winged snakes coiled around wooden posts under the eyes of beast handlers. After the outer guards were arranged, the camp gradually became lively.
The daily bazaar opened.
"Fresh beast meat! Slaughtered today!"
"Buttermilk, sweet buttermilk!"
"Cloth, rope, needles, cheap tools!"
Mortals and servants shouted from their stalls. Some sold meat and milk, some sold herbs and hides, and some carried baskets of dried fruits from the last village. The smell of roasted meat mixed with beast feed, mud, and sweat, filling the valley with a noisy and ordinary human atmosphere.
Gu Yue Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing walked among the crowd. They had entered the caravan under Fang Ming's name, and because of this, the old servants did not come to test them. Some people looked at them, but after learning that they were attached to a Rank three trader, they quickly moved their eyes away.
In the caravan, backing was useful.
Fang Yuan understood this clearly. If they had entered as ordinary mortals, they would have needed to waste time dealing with servant supervisors and old hands. Now, those small troubles avoided them by themselves. Bai Ning Bing looked around the bazaar with interest.
"To think there would be trade every night."
"Where people gather, trade appears." Fang Yuan said.
His gaze swept across the stalls. The bazaar here was only for mortals. Meat, milk, clothes, ropes, tools, and ordinary herbs were traded here. These things could maintain their identities, but they were not what Fang Yuan needed most. They had many Gu worms. Some were originally theirs, while some came from Bai Gu Mountain. Gu worms had to be fed, and primeval stones alone were not enough. One had to buy the correct food, and that kind of trade was mostly done among Gu Masters.
With their current identity, they could not casually enter the Gu Master trade area.
Bai Ning Bing understood this too. "Then we need Fang Ming."
Fang Yuan nodded.
They found Fang Ming near his cart. Fang Ming was checking several packets of goods, and when Fang Yuan approached, he looked up.
"You need something?"
"Gu food." Fang Yuan said.
Fang Ming's expression did not change. "Oh, you are a mortal now."
"That is why I came to you."
Fang Ming smiled faintly. "Why should I help you?"
Fang Yuan placed a small pouch on the cart. The sound of primeval stones came from inside. "We will pay extra."
Fang Ming opened the pouch and looked once. The amount was not small, so he accepted it. "Sure, give me the list."
Fang Yuan handed him a folded paper. Fang Ming opened it and read. The list had many materials. Some were bone path food, some were medicinal ingredients, some were used by defensive Gu, some could feed several kinds of Gu, and some had no clear connection to anything important.
Fang Ming found it amusing.
Fang Yuan had deliberately mixed in extra materials. He wanted to prevent Fang Ming from guessing his Gu worms through the feeding list. But Fang Yuan did not know Fang Ming's secret. As long as Fang Ming stood within one meter, the system could already sense what Gu worms Fang Yuan had and which ones could be copied. This list could hide things from others, but it could not hide them from him.
Still, Fang Ming did not expose it. The longer the list, the more materials Fang Yuan bought through him. The more he bought, the higher Fang Ming's cut. Fang Ming folded the paper and said: "Alright, but the price will be a bit higher."
"How much higher?"
"Ten percent. Enough to make it worth my trouble."
Bai Ning Bing laughed. "You two sound like old merchants."
Fang Ming ignored her and said: "Come to my camp later. I'll buy what I can tonight. As for the rest, you'll have to figure it out yourselves."
This was a good deal. Fang Yuan was buying more than a thousand primeval stones worth of goods, which meant Fang Ming could earn a hundred primeval stones overnight without much effort.
After that, Fang Ming went towards the Gu Master trade area. With his Rank three status, he could enter openly. Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing stayed in the mortal bazaar.
The crowd was still noisy. A servant with torn clothes walked past them. His face had bloodstains, and he stared at a milk stall for a long time. The stall owner waved him away impatiently. The servant lowered his head and left.
Bai Ning Bing looked at him. "There are beggars in a caravan?"
"This is normal." Fang Yuan said. "He either offended someone, or his master was in a bad mood. If his food was cancelled, he can only beg."
In the caravan, mortals lived difficult lives. Gu Masters could beat them, starve them, or throw them away. Servants died on the road often, and when the caravan reached the next village, more could be recruited.
At this moment, the bazaar suddenly became noisy.
"Lady Zhang is here!"
"Lady Zhang brought food again!"
"Quick, line up!"
Many hungry servants gathered towards the entrance of the bazaar. Fang Yuan turned his head. A young woman in green clothes walked in. Several servants followed behind her, carrying baskets of steamed buns. Beside her stood an old Gu Master with sharp eyes and a steady aura.
"Line up." the old Gu Master said coldly. "Anyone who pushes will be punished."
The crowd quieted at once. The green-clothed woman began handing out steamed buns.
"Eat slowly. There is still more." she said softly.
Her voice was gentle. She did not show disgust when facing servants covered in mud, blood, or sweat. The hungry servants took the food with trembling hands. Some bowed again and again, while some immediately lowered their heads and ate, afraid that someone would snatch it away.
Bai Ning Bing watched for a while. "All kinds of people exist in this world."
Fang Yuan did not answer. His eyes remained on the green-clothed woman.
Zhang Xin Ci.
At first, he frowned. In his memory, she should have been Shang Xin Ci, a young master of Shang clan. But the people here called her Zhang Xin Ci, and they said she was a mortal with no cultivation aptitude. Was she only someone who looked similar?
No.
The appearance was too similar.
Fang Yuan searched through old memories, and several scattered pieces slowly connected. Shang Xin Ci was an illegitimate daughter of Shang Yan Fei. Her mother came from Zhang clan, and because Shang clan and Zhang clan had old grudges, her origin had been hidden. Before she reached Shang clan city, she used her mother's surname. After her mother died, she was forced by her clansmen to travel as a merchant. Only after arriving at Shang clan city would her bloodline be discovered. Shang Yan Fei would acknowledge her publicly, and her fate would change from then on.
Fang Yuan's gaze became deeper.
So this was her first journey as a merchant.
His original reason for joining this caravan was not Shang Xin Ci. The Zombie Mountain opportunity and Shang clan city were his true targets. Meeting Shang Xin Ci here was luck. But luck was also a resource.
Shang Xin Ci's value was not only in her future position. Once she became Shang clan young master, she would receive business responsibilities. Fang Yuan needed exactly that kind of channel. In the future, he would obtain many things he could not use directly. Selling them openly would expose their value or origin. If he could use Shang Xin Ci as a trade channel, many problems would become easier.
More importantly, Shang Xin Ci was kind.
She was easy to approach, easy to influence, and easy to use.
At this moment, Fang Ming returned from the Gu Master trade area. He carried several sealed packets in one hand. When he saw Zhang Xin Ci, he walked towards her naturally.
Zhang Xin Ci had just finished giving out food. Seeing Fang Ming approach, her expression softened.
"Young master Fang."
"Lady Zhang." Fang Ming said. "There is more beast meat tonight. If you plan to buy some for the servants, also ask for the price from someone who is not selling it."
Zhang Xin Ci paused, then smiled. "That is more reliable."
Zhang Zhu stood beside her and did not interrupt.
Fang Yuan watched this quietly.
This was not a shallow acquaintance. Zhang Xin Ci spoke to Fang Ming naturally. Zhang Zhu still watched him, but he did not block him. That meant Fang Ming had already gained a certain amount of trust.
If Fang Ming had not been here, Fang Yuan could have found many ways to approach her. A kind person was not hard to move. A pitiful story, a desperate sale, a favor at the right moment, or a carefully arranged danger could all become openings.
But Fang Ming knew him.
Back in the academy, Fang Ming had already watched him with caution. If Fang Yuan tried to act around Zhang Xin Ci now, Fang Ming would notice quickly.
Bai Ning Bing also saw the scene. He looked at Zhang Xin Ci, then at Fang Ming.
"So this is why he came early?" Bai Ning Bing said, smiling.
Fang Yuan remained silent.
After speaking with Zhang Xin Ci for a while, Fang Ming returned. Bai Ning Bing walked over first.
"Fang Ming, do you need help?"
"With what?"
"With her."
Fang Ming looked at him.
Bai Ning Bing smiled. "You seem to care about that mortal girl."
Fang Ming scoffed. "I am charming enough. I do not need your help."
Bai Ning Bing laughed.
Fang Ming ignored him and handed the sealed packets to Fang Yuan. "These are what I could buy tonight. Some items on your list are too mixed. Buying everything at once would look strange, so I left them for later."
Fang Yuan accepted the packets. "Good."
The bazaar continued around them. Merchants bargained, servants shouted, and the smell of cooked beast meat drifted through the valley. Zhang Xin Ci's group slowly left after distributing the food.
Fang Yuan looked at her back, then at Fang Ming.
His purpose in joining this caravan had not been her. The Zombie Mountain opportunity and Shang clan city were his true goals. Meeting Zhang Xin Ci here was unexpected. But an unexpected opportunity was still an opportunity.
The problem was that Fang Ming had arrived first.
Fang Ming had escaped Qing Mao Mountain before the disaster, joined this caravan early, and now stood beside Zhang Xin Ci before him. Once could be luck. Twice could be coincidence. But three times meant there was a secret.
Fang Yuan's gaze became deeper.
Fang Ming had left Qing Mao Mountain before the disaster truly erupted, when even the clan elders had not sensed anything wrong. Now he had arrived at this caravan early and approached Zhang Xin Ci before anyone knew her true value. Fang Ming had never left Qing Mao Mountain before. He should not know Zhang Xin Ci, much less her hidden identity.
Then there was only one possibility.
Fang Ming either knew something about the future, or he possessed some method that allowed him to glimpse it.
In this world, strange Gu worms and inheritances were countless. A prophecy-type Gu, or an inheritance that revealed fragments of future events, was not impossible.
Fang Yuan lowered his eyes.
Fang Ming's secret was more troublesome than he had expected.