San Niang should have her own purpose... or she is intentionally or unintentionally leaking information to the Central Plains guests.

Otherwise, why would she look at me differently when I asked for Jiangnan cuisine? When I said I didn't want Jiangnan cuisine and preferred lamb legs, she still seemed uninterested.

The so-called drunkard who stayed here for a month, Zhao Changhe estimated that Situ Xiao must have dug up a lot of information he wanted before leaving.

Zhao Changhe glanced at San Niang, who was still smiling and drinking, and she straightened up and held out a hand: "What else do you want to ask? Ten taels for each question."

Zhao Changhe smiled and suddenly said, "Hey, I suspect you're using the organization's information to make money for yourself."

"Don't talk nonsense!" San Niang immediately sat up straight, her eyes darting around, "What organization do I have? I collected all this information painstakingly by myself!"

She pretended to cry, "As a weak woman, do you know how difficult it is to live alone in this barbaric land..."

"Maybe you also have to deal with bullies like Wubalu, and it's hard to handle, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"I see, because of the hospitality, you're pretending to be innocent."

San Niang's fake crying stopped abruptly, and she smiled, "Life is not easy, life is not easy... do you want to buy anything else?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Changhe asked, "Are there any strong people in the grasslands?"

San Niang's face fell, "No."

"Are there any strange secret places? For example, how was the lake in this desert formed, naturally or otherwise..."

Before he could finish, San Niang's expression changed, "No. Why do you keep asking about strange things? Are you looking for trouble? I won't sell it to you."

Zhao Changhe looked at her and sighed, "Okay, okay, I'm just someone who doesn't know how to read people's faces. I get scolded wherever I go."

San Niang: "..."

"One last question." Zhao Changhe handed over another piece of silver.

San Niang quickly tucked the money into her embrace and smiled, "Go ahead."

"Before, Yue Hongling killed a black wolf king in the grassland. Is she still here?"

San Niang glanced at him, "What, do you want to catch her and claim a reward from the Khan, or do you want to pursue the female knight?"

"I'm just here to buy information. It's none of your business what I do with the information. When others sell a butcher's knife, they won't ask if it's for killing pigs or people."

"That makes sense." San Niang rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment, "But if her whereabouts can be asked here, it proves that she is very dangerous. If you're here to pursue the female knight, then you should pray that no one knows her whereabouts."

Zhao Changhe nodded, "I see. So no one still knows her whereabouts?"

"No... you know, recently, here, it doesn't matter if men come and go, but once a woman comes and goes, she may be immediately surrounded by a large army."

"Because of Yue Hongling?"

"Exactly." San Niang smiled slightly, "So Yue Hongling is in trouble now, she's probably running out of supplies. Even if she goes to rob as a horse bandit, what she robs may not be useful. Whether it's money or silk, what she robs can't be eaten. She needs food and water, as well as horse feed. If she continues, she may take a risk and come back to the Yellow Sand Gathering. If you squat here, you might really see her. Whether you want to be a hero to save the beauty or take advantage of the chaos, that's your business, I haven't said anything."

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Zhao Changhe nodded, "I understand. San Niang not only sells information, but also analysis. It's worth it."

San Niang smiled, "Of course, if you want to buy anything else, just come to me!"

Zhao Changhe always felt that she was waiting for him to answer "buy you" in her words, and then splash him with foot-washing water. Unfortunately, he didn't cooperate with this scene, and just said, "I want to go out and have some fun. Does San Niang have any recommendations? For example, to see some unique things... I don't mean to buy things like Western Region jewelry and spices, but the characteristics of this place."

San Niang eagerly looked at his hand, but he didn't take out any money.

She sniffed, "Well, it's really not polite to ask for money just to point the way. How about going to the beast market in the middle of the market?"

"What is the beast market?"

"Treat it as a life-and-death fight in the black boxing ring. Some underground forces in the Central Plains also have this kind of thing, but here they fight with slaves."

"Understood, why not just call it a gladiator arena? Because the opponents are all fierce beasts?"

"The opponents are basically people. The reason it's called the beast market is because besides fighting, there is also selling... isn't it like treating people as beasts?" San Niang smiled slightly, "Whether it's being sold or selling people."

Zhao Changhe sipped his wine and looked up at her.

San Niang said lightly, "Among the slaves for sale, there are strong men, and there may even be martial arts masters who are specifically used to fight beasts..."

Zhao Changhe nodded, "I see, I'll go take a look."

As they drank and talked, when the wine was finished, Zhao Changhe didn't order more, but swayed out of the counter, "San Niang is also stingy. I treated you to wine, and you didn't even offer a peanut."

San Niang stomped and scolded after his back, "I'm the seller! Why don't you say you're stingy, not even buying a dish of peanuts for the person you're treating to wine!"

Before she finished speaking, Zhao Changhe had already turned and left the room, heading straight for the main street.

San Niang grumpily packed up the empty wine pot, and a little waiter suddenly appeared beside her, "San Niang, this person..."

"No matter who he is, as long as he's from the Xia people." San Niang gritted her teeth, "I don't believe it. They're all cunning, trying to trick them into killing Wubalu, from Yue Hongling to Situ Xiao and then to Han Wubing, not one of them took the bait. This guy surnamed Wang is even more cunning, saying one thing and meaning another. I still can't figure out what his real purpose is. I believe he came for us."

"He may not necessarily be surnamed Wang."

"Can't I call him a bastard?"

The little waiter looked at her with a grievance, "San Niang... I'm also surnamed Wang."

San Niang: "..."The waiter sighed, "Master Wu didn't say he wanted to kill Ubaru. You took it upon yourself to decide to kill him, and that's fine, but to then sell the information about the person you wanted to kill for money... That's just shameless..."

"Is it shameless? Pig-headed," San Niang huffed. "They would doubt information given for free. If they pay for it, they'll think it's intelligence they've painstakingly acquired and won't suspect it's fake. What do you know?"

"I think you just want to make money. Be careful, or Ubaru will come after you before Master Wu can reach you."

"When have I ever relied on Master Wu to survive around here?"

"Yes, yes, yes..."

San Niang was quite pleased with herself, "Anyway, with that Wang fellow heading to the beast arena, there's bound to be some drama to watch..."

"Hold on." Another waiter rushed in, "San Niang, that Wang guy didn't go to the beast arena."

San Niang's smile froze on her face, "Then where did he go?"

"He went out, in the direction away from the market..."

San Niang was dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Zhao Changhe left San Niang and slowly walked through the dimly lit streets of this foreign land, heading towards the outskirts of the market.

The surrounding environment was actually full of exotic charm, which would have been interesting to a tourist, but he had no interest in sightseeing at the moment, his mind preoccupied with matters at hand.

He dared not delve too deeply in his conversation with San Niang, only offering bits and pieces to prevent her from discerning his true intentions. It was safe, but the myriad of issues lacked a direct entry point, requiring careful thought, which was mentally exhausting.

Sometimes, Zhao Changhe grew tired of this way of doing things. Ever since he had refused Tang Wanzhuang's token, he had imagined a life of carefree revelry and adventure, but instead, he found himself constantly using his wits, which was exhausting. But now, he understood that it wasn't about the token from the Demon Suppression Division; it was about not having enough strength.

With the strength of Xia Longyuan, one could simply not care what others were doing and watch the show. Without that strength, one had to use their brains wherever they went, or else they wouldn't even know how they died.

Regardless, he had actually gained a lot.

At least Zhao Changhe was now eighty percent sure that if the missing squad wasn't dead, he knew where they would be.

If they were being sold as slaves in the beast arena, would he have to confront Ubaru? How would he go about that... Considering San Niang's attitude towards Ubaru, she probably hoped he would go there and do something.

Unfortunately, there was no need for him to go; it was meaningless since he couldn't save all the slaves in the beast arena... His mission was only to find that squad.

The Qiao family's caravan came here to sell goods—they passed through the tribe where the squad had disappeared, heading north with empty wagons.

There was a good chance that their "empty" wagons were carrying "slaves." Since entering the market was unavoidable, and to prevent the Qiao family from causing trouble, he had been watching from the window. They hadn't sent anyone inside, which meant the "goods" were still outside, not yet delivered.

So, the task given by Cui Yuanyong, as long as the people weren't dead, was likely to be with that caravan at this moment; if they were dead, he could still get a lead from this caravan. After all the twists and turns, the entry point was the Qiao family's caravan he had encountered on the road. No matter what, he had to investigate them tonight.

————

PS: Sorry for the delay today, I've been a bit stuck lately, and it's difficult to write the beginning of a major plotline.