The Black Bears carried the goods onto the giant bear's back. As they carried the goods, some of them stole quick glances at Shao Xuan, then whispered to their companions.
"Who's that kid?"
"I don't know. He doesn't look like anything special. Who knew he was so strong? That stomp, tsk."
"Maoda said the kid will be coming with us to the Royal City. We'll ask him on the way."
On the other side, Maoda was embarrassed. No matter how thick-skinned he was, he couldn't help but blush. He had bragged too much before. Now that he thought about it, the Flaming Horns were all experienced hunters. They lived deep in the mountains and forests and had seen countless giant beasts. These bears might not even be worthy of their attention. Plus, these giant bears were trained to carry goods, not to fight. Even if they had bad tempers, they were not as ferocious as the other fearsome beasts that lived in the forest.
The seven bears laid on the ground, letting the caravans move the goods up. Some even yawned lazily, stretching out their paws to rub their ears. They did not look ferocious at all.
"Alright, we're done moving the goods. We can go now," someone said to Maoda.
Maoda nodded. "Are the people in front coming?"
"Not yet … Oh, they're here."
Shao Xuan heard their conversation and looked in one direction. Two figures sprinted over from afar, stopping in front of Maoda.
"We've cleared the ones in front," a big man said in a low, muffled voice.
"Leader Maoda, we can go now. Leader Jin is waiting in front," the other man said.
"Mm." Maoda waved his hand and shouted, "Let's go!"
Roar —
The bear in front shook its fur and roared. It was one of the more experienced bears in the caravan. When they went down the mountain, it sensed Shao Xuan and Guang Yi's auras and felt danger but it did not attack impulsively. Compared to the other bears, it was calmer. Maoda let it be the lead bear. That way, it could take the lead and sometimes control the situation.
Shao Xuan and Guang Yi quickly followed.
In addition to the seven giant bears carrying a lot of goods, there were also several large wooden carts with two rollers. The rollers were round wheels made from the disc-shaped hard bones of some giant beasts. They were said to be extremely hard and were traded from the tribesmen. Furthermore, the wooden cart was not entirely made of wood. Some of the joints were made of metal, and under the wooden boards, there was a layer of beast armor. This way, the cart would not fall apart easily.
Two hundred people were walking on the mountain path.
The mountain path was not a path that was deliberately paved. After walking for a long time, it would become a path.
Because of the frequent human activities, the frequency of felling was also higher. Therefore, the trees that grew here were not as big as the ones in the forest. There were no towering ancient trees that twenty or thirty people couldn't wrap their arms around.
There were branches on both sides of the path that were cut down in the past. There were also signs of new branches being cut down. After all, even if the bears were on all fours, their backs were still four to five metres tall. With the goods tied up, they were even taller. Therefore, the branches on the path became an obstacle.
Shao Xuan understood from his conversation with the caravan that a few days before the caravan set off, there would be a caravan clearing the path. They would clear the branches, large rocks on the ground, as well as all kinds of people and traps. This would allow the caravan to move forward smoothly and save time.
When they passed by some places, Shao Xuan smelled blood. It was not beast blood, but human blood. After hunting for a long time, they could tell the difference between human and beast blood.
A few young bears in the caravan were agitated or excited by the smell of blood. They growled a few times and their steps were messed up. It was only after the leading bear growled that the other bears calmed down.
After walking for half a day, the caravan met a caravan of almost a hundred people waiting there. These were the people who had cleared the path first. The leader was Maoda's brother, Maojin. He looked very similar to Maoda. When the caravan arrived, he was sitting on a rock by the road, using grass to wipe his blood-stained weapon.
Maoda only glanced at the people waiting there. He had an idea of what obstacles Maojin and the rest might encounter. He didn't ask much. After the caravan met up with Maojin's people, they rested for a while. Then the 400-strong caravan set off again.
A caravan like this was already quite large. Moreover, with the obvious symbol of the seven bears, those who didn't have the ability would target this caravan. Therefore, not many people were robbed at the beginning. Only the brainless and greedy ones came out to die.
When they were resting at night, Maojin chewed on meat as he asked Shao Xuan, "What are you going to do in the Royal City?"
"To find someone," Shao Xuan said.
"Who are you looking for? Do you need our help? If you need help, don't hold it in. Just tell us and we'll help. We won't ask for much. What do you think? "Maojin wiped the oil from his mouth." Just one of those glowing stones you have. You see, you've never been to the Royal City before so you don't know much about it. We've been there a lot so we're familiar with it. It'll save us a lot of trouble. "
Maojin looked like a rough person but he was smart like the rest of the traders. He wasn't the kind of person who only grew taller but didn't grow smarter. Now, in order to persuade Shao Xuan, he analyzed the pros and cons.
Guang Yi didn't recognize Maojin and thought it was Maoda. However, that didn't bother him. He agreed. Since they didn't know much about the Royal City and the Black Bears were trustworthy, it wasn't a bad idea to ask them for help. However, it was Shao Xuan who made the decision. Guang Yi didn't say anything. No matter how Maojin winked at him, Guang Yi didn't say anything.
Shao Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Since you're familiar with the Royal City, I'd like to ask you about someone."
Maojin knew there was hope and quickly said, "Go ahead."
Even Maoda came over to sit.
"Do you know Ji Ju?" Shao Xuan asked.
Maoda and his brother's expressions turned serious at the mention of 'Ji'. "Ji from the Six Tribes?"
"That's right."
Maoda and his brother looked at each other, hesitating. People with the surname Wang could be involved in a lot of things. However, if it was a good thing, it could also be a great opportunity!
Maoda rubbed his large palms and thought for a moment. "If you're talking about 'Golden Grain' Ji Ju, we've heard a little about him. We just haven't met him in person."
"'Golden Grain' Ji Ju?" Shao Xuan was surprised. That old man had a nickname?
Maoda nodded. "I heard that most of the grains in Ji Ju's fields are golden. He's liked by the nobles and tribesmen. His grains are better than others. That's why they call him 'Golden Grain'. This nickname has been with him since he was young. Ji Ju has a high status in the Royal City. However, we haven't heard much about him this year. "
Maojin said, "Now that I think about it, that's true. We used to hear about Ji Ju every year. However, from last year until now, every time we go to the Royal City, we haven't heard anything about him. "
"I heard that Ji Ju found something good again." Maoda stroked his chin, his eyes shining.
Then, looking at Shao Xuan, Maoda suggested, "How about this? We'll help you ask around when we reach the Royal City."
"Thank you in advance," Shao Xuan said.
They left Anba City and walked for another nine days.
"We're almost there. The area in front belongs to the Royal City." Maoda pointed ahead and said to Shao Xuan.
As far as the eye could see, there were no tall city walls or buildings. Instead, there were fields of different colors and some low houses.
"Those belong to the nobles. The people living in the houses are their slaves," Maoda explained to Shao Xuan and led the team to a main road. If they didn't take this path, they would be treated as intruders with ulterior motives and killed. This was because, other than this road, the other places were all the slave masters' fiefs outside the city. It was their private territory.
There wasn't a single blade of grass on the 20-meter-wide dirt road. Probably because of the dense traffic, the dirt on the ground was rolled over tightly. The tracks of various wheels were also very faint.
There were also more people walking around. Large and small groups of people stepped onto the main road one after another. On both sides of the road, there were groups of people wearing leather armor guarding the road. The weapons in the hands of these guards were all metal weapons. Their faces were solemn, and their eyes were like knives sweeping across the passing groups. It was as if they would mercilessly kill with their spears if they found anything wrong.
Some people trembled under such a situation and almost fell down as they walked.
The Black Bear caravan was rather conspicuous here. The people in front quickly made way. The guards on the side of the road knew who the bears were. One of them even chatted with Maoda. When he received two furs from Maoda, he smiled so widely his eyes narrowed. The quality of the furs from the Black Bear caravan had always been better.
The leader of the guards even helped them clear the path, allowing the slow caravans to move out of the way.
Everyone was used to this. No one thought it was unreasonable. Even if they didn't like it, they could only hold it in. Even Guang Yi, who was here for the first time, didn't think there was anything wrong with it. This was how the world worked.
The team continued forward. Shao Xuan thought they would reach the Royal City soon. Unexpectedly, they walked for a long time before they saw the city walls.
If this was Anba City, the bears wouldn't be allowed to enter. But the Royal City did. This was power. They weren't afraid of the bears causing trouble in the Royal City. They had absolute confidence in dealing with them.
The Royal City's city walls were made of huge rocks. Each rock was four to five meters long, two to three meters wide, and more than a meter thick. Shao Xuan could also see that most of the bricks were intermediate grade. In some places, like the area near the city gates, there were even a few pieces that were close to advanced grade.
Using such good stone to make a city wall was extravagant.
The sky was getting dark. Maoda brought the team to the Black Bears' base in the Royal City. He ordered people to unload the goods and bring the seven bears to the animal pen. He then brought Shao Xuan and Guang Yi to meet the leader, Black Bear. It was better for Black Bear to bring them to Ji Ju.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
