Outside the night market, there were camps scattered around the desert, and there were fewer people working in the deep night than in the evening, but there were still people moving goods and loading carts.

Zhao Changhe looked from a distance and always thought of scenes from the port, which was a gathering place for trade.

I wonder if there is any tacit understanding between the various commercial teams, whether they have already divided their respective territories in advance, it looks like they each have their own range and do not interfere with each other, even though there are many people, it is not chaotic.

This also conveniently facilitated Zhao Changhe's investigation. It would be a headache if it were chaotic.

He easily found the camp of the Qiao family's commercial team. At this time, there were also people moving goods into the camp, such as jewelry, spices, and sheepskin, ready to be taken back to the Central Plains. It seemed that the delivery was directly sent out by the merchants in the market, and you could faintly hear the merchants' complaints: "Master Qiao's arrogance is getting bigger and bigger. He hides in the tent and doesn't even show his face. Is this your Central Plains etiquette?"

Someone who seemed to be in charge apologized with a smile: "Originally, Master Qiao brought the young master into the market and was beaten while having dinner at San Niang's place..."

Explore the extended edition on p𝑎wre𝑑d.com

"Master Qiao has the guts to provoke Miss Yuan? Even Chief Wu doesn't dare to force this woman. I heard she has a powerful background!"

"Sigh, how could he provoke Miss Yuan? But the other party's background may not be small. I heard it's Wang Daozhong from the Wang family. The strength is worthy of the Earth List. He actually broke Master Qiao's hand with a pinch." The manager made a pinching motion, grinning, "This is too terrifying..."

The merchant also took a deep breath: "Is this a god coming down to earth? Since it is the strength of the Earth List, it might be true."

"Yes, we also think so. Even if it is a fake Wang family member, Master Qiao dare not gamble. What if it's true? Do we still want to mix in the Central Plains?"

"Speaking of which, does anyone from the Wang family dare to appear near the War Lion Tribe?"

"I don't know. Anyway, the War Lion Tribe is now busy, and they probably don't have the time to find trouble with anyone from the Wang family..."

As they spoke, they entered the camp, and a group of laborers were moving goods, with several guards following behind.

No one noticed when a yellow-faced man appeared among the busy laborers, sneaked into the camp, and even helped carry the goods all the way to the side of the carriage.

Because he felt that the conversation was very informative and worth listening to.

Sure enough, the merchant asked, "Did you bring six slaves this time? Are they on the carriage?"

The manager subconsciously looked around and lowered his voice, "This time they are all martial arts experts from the Central Plains. The lowest has reached the fifth level of Xuan Guan, and the highest is at the seventh level. The price is not low. Master Qiao intends to take them to the beast arena for auction. Perhaps even Chief Wu will be very interested."

The merchant frowned, "This is not considered good merchandise... Martial arts experts who are too strong are hard to control, and they are likely to escape and even retaliate. I'm afraid that except for Chief Wu, other forces would not dare to accept them easily. Not only will you not be able to sell them at a good price, but you might also be pressured by Chief Wu to lower the price."

The manager also seemed to be affected by this and sighed, "I also think it's not quite right, but Master Qiao thinks it's a business opportunity..."

The merchant said, "How did Master Qiao catch them? This is not easy. I've seen a sixth-level expert. Their light work is faster than a horse, and their endurance is not worse than a horse."

"They went to scout the War Wolf Tribe and were discovered and chased. In the midst of escaping, they saw our commercial team and thought they were saved because they were a Central Plains commercial team." The manager smiled slightly, "Master Qiao welcomed them into the team and captured them."

Zhao Changhe took a deep breath, clenched his fists tightly, and endured without drawing his sword.

The task clues assigned by Cui Yuanyong were much easier to find than expected. Fortunately, he didn't kill the two people from the Qiao family at the restaurant before. Otherwise, the commercial team would have been in chaos, and they might have withdrawn directly, cutting off the clues, and he might have been killed to avoid trouble.

But at this moment, Zhao Changhe felt no sense of relief in his heart, but rather a thousand times more angry than when he arrived.

This team is a group of passionate men who came to help defend Yanmen and went out to scout without fear of life and death! They are not here for a vacation!

They are resisting the Huns, protecting who?

I'm afraid these men never thought that the people they were protecting would sell them. This kind of mental blow is far worse than destroying the body.

Fortunately, in the midst of misfortune, they should all still be alive and not disabled. Rescuing them would be saving six good men.

Even the profit-seeking merchant couldn't bear to listen any longer and asked, "Just for a few slaves, is it worth it?"

"It's not just that. This batch of grain is supposed to be handed over to the War Wolf Tribe. If they follow the team, won't they be exposed? When we go back, we'll have to tell Huangfu Yongxian or Tang Wanzhuang. What should we do? Kill them, or capture them and sell them? It's just that simple."Hu Shang, of course, couldn't be bothered to say more, simply stating, "We're all old acquaintances here. Just sell this batch directly to me and be done with it. Don't bother auctioning it off. Take my advice, it's not worth it... Commander Wu might even expect you to give it away for free."

The steward replied, "I don't have the authority to decide that, you'll have to ask Second Master Qiao."

Hu Shang said, "They'll need time to load the goods anyway. I might as well check on how Second Master Qiao's injury is healing."

As the two headed towards the camp tent, Zhao Changhe pretended to move goods while pondering to himself.

There were too many people here to attempt a rescue, and any slight commotion would surely draw the entire thousand-person caravan. Even if he managed to force a rescue, there would be no escape. This highlighted the inconvenience of being alone; if only he had a partner to create a distraction elsewhere, then he could make his move...

Should he find some help, like paying Third Madam to lend a hand? Would she be willing?

While he was mulling this over, a commotion suddenly erupted at the camp gate: "Who let this drunkard in? Get out of here!"

A somewhat familiar, drunken voice protested, "Damn it, do you think I'm broke or something? Where are your Hu dancers? Come out and dance!"

Zhao Changhe's eyes lit up.

Situ Xiao!

Help had arrived!

The camp gate guards cursed in anger, "Damn it, this isn't the Hu dancers' camp. The brothel you're looking for is on the other side! I want to go there myself!"

"Not the Hu dancers' camp? I don't believe it! You look like a chicken to me..."

"Get lost, you damn drunk!"

As the camp gate descended into chaos, inside the main tent, Second Master Qiao, his arm in a sling, was seeing Hu Shang out and discussing something when he saw the disturbance and angrily ordered, "Where did that drunkard causing trouble come from? Send some men to check!"

His men obeyed and left, and Second Master Qiao said to Hu Shang, "You're right, brother. It's better to just sell these few men to you privately..."

Before he could finish, a sudden flash of sword light appeared from behind the tent.

This was a sword light that had been lurking here for who knows how long, possibly since the Qiao family had gone to the market for a meal, waiting quietly for the right moment to strike, and had remained motionless for several hours.

Only a top assassin from Tingxue Tower or a bounty hunter could pull off such a feat...

Han Wubing!

Seizing the rare opportunity presented by the disturbance at the camp gate, the long-hidden Han Wubing boldly made his move, attempting to assassinate Second Master Qiao!

To Han Wubing's surprise, although Second Master Qiao was only average in martial arts and had a broken arm, the sword strike that should have been fatal was blocked.

With a "clang," it was Hu Shang, wielding a curved blade, who parried Han Wubing's lethal sword. Han Wubing passed by, and Hu Shang was forced back several steps.

"Unexpectedly, among the Western Region's Hu people, there are such experts. This time, my plan has failed," Han Wubing thought to himself. Without time to deliver a second strike to Second Master Qiao, he quickly retreated towards the back of the camp.

Second Master Qiao was immediately surrounded by his men, who were jumping and shouting in the crowd, "What are you waiting for? Block him at the front!"

A tide of people surged towards Han Wubing, who, like a ghost in the night, left a trail of blood and screams as he fought his way out of the camp.

At the camp gate, Situ Xiao, who had been causing the commotion, was stunned.

He had never even met Han Wubing, let alone planned this together. He had simply decided to cause trouble on a whim after discovering that this was a caravan of Central Plains merchants, feeling a surge of anger and hoping to lure Second Master Qiao out to take his head and escape.

But just as the trouble started, someone inside had already attempted an assassination.

What a brave soul.

Faced with the camp guards who looked at him as if he were an accomplice, Situ Xiao didn't feel the frustration of being wrongly accused. Instead, he willingly played the part. Leisurely taking a sip of wine, he suddenly sprayed it towards the camp gate's torch.

With a "boom," flames soared into the sky. The camp gate, tents, and the entering carts filled with spices and garments caught fire, spreading wildly.

The camp was finally thrown into complete chaos. The men loading the carts were distracted, and under the orders of their leaders, they dropped what they were doing and rushed out to fight the fire.

Zhao Changhe watched as the area around the carts suddenly emptied and quickly began opening the doors of one carriage after another with a clatter, searching for people.

Hold on a little longer, brothers. I'll save you first and then help you both.

"Bang!" After opening a dozen empty carriages, he finally found one that seemed to have several people unconscious inside. Zhao Changhe's eyes lit up, and just as he was about to board, he felt a sudden chill on the side of his neck.

Zhao Changhe instinctively dodged, but realized that the opponent's swordplay was so exquisite that he couldn't evade it at all...

The long sword was already at his throat, and a cold voice came from behind, "Which cart has the grain and fodder? Take me to it... Eh, this knife..."

Zhao Changhe sighed, turning to face the long-missed visage behind him, "If you're taking the grain and fodder, why not take me along? How about making me your captive husband?"

Yue Hongling's eyes widened.