Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 30 Follow the clues
Most black market sellers use anti-sand cloth to cover their heads and faces to prevent others from recognizing them and causing unnecessary trouble.

Some sellers don't set up stalls, simply wandering the alleys, selling directly to the right buyers. They'll leave after one or two sales. Their wares are unusual, and the risk of buyers being scammed is high. It's difficult to find the sellers if something goes wrong. Fortunately, Badan discovered a relatively fixed bead stall, where the owner hangs out year-round. He can be identified by his ochre sand-proof scarf.

The stall is filled with exquisite gadgets, including jewelry, utensils, carpets, and toys. Some are produced in Daxuan, and most are of Western style. The prices are cheaper than those in regular shops. I don’t know how the stall owner got them.

Asking about the origin of goods in the black market is a taboo, and both buyers and sellers are aware of it.

Badan had chatted with the stall owner before and had bought a camel bell with a strange sound in order to get a closer look at the beads. Aisha didn't want the stall owner to guess her intentions, so she asked Badan, a familiar face, to accompany her as they pretended to casually pick up items at the stall.

The stall owner saw Badan and greeted him, "How's that camel bell? Isn't it useful? Others have clang-clang sounds, but this one has a ding-ding-ding sound. You can tell where our caravan is just by listening to it."

Badan praised: "It's really good. Isn't this just me bringing my young master to pick out some good things?"

The stall owner glanced at Aisha and had a plan in mind. This man looked like a wealthy customer, and ordinary items would probably not be of much interest to him.

He reached into the basket covered with black cloth and rummaged through it, then lowered his voice to introduce, "Boss, I just got a gilded incense burner. I'm afraid it might get stolen, so I haven't dared to put it out there. Would you like to take a look?"

Aisha pretended to be very interested and said, "Let me see it."

The stall owner held the incense burner in his palm and handed it to him. These stall owners were shrewd people and would not let customers directly handle the goods for inspection. They would only hold it in their own hands and let the other party look at it closely and touch it briefly.

Aisha was very well-behaved. After looking around, she reached out and touched the patterns on the incense burner. She sneered and said, "What kind of gold is this? It's just lacquer. Do you think I don't know the value of it?"

"Huh? Is this the paint color?"

"You'll know if you scrape it off with a knife. What comes off is not gold dust, but lacquer."

"This... then I can't sell it at a good price?" The stall owner himself really didn't know and could only blame himself for making a mistake when purchasing the goods.

"It's a good thing. It depends on how you want to sell it," Aisha said. "This is an incense burner from Yangma Country. They are very skilled in lacquering, and the craftsmanship alone can fetch a good price. Or you can find a sucker and sell it as a gilded piece."

"I've learned a lesson, I've learned a lesson." The stall owner, having encountered someone knowledgeable, stopped talking nonsense and complimented him, "My stall is small, boss, do you have anything else that catches your eye?"

"Your stuff is such a mixed bag..." Aisha said casually, scanning the items on the stall one by one. "Some are okay, like they came from a legitimate caravan. Some are just..." He paused, picked up a sapphire bead necklace in the corner, and shook his head regretfully. "For example, this one looks good at first glance, but in fact, the color is mottled and dull, the grain is too flawed, and the polishing is mediocre. It's obviously a cheap, inferior product."

"I know that too. Well, in our line of work, the biggest fear is misjudging." The stall owner sighed. "When I first got hold of this, I thought I'd found a great bargain, but who could have imagined it would be so difficult to sell. If I paid too much, people would find fault with it, and if I paid too little, I'd lose a lot of money. So I can only keep it here, waiting for someone who's destined to find it..."

"It's a fateful sucker, isn't it?"

"Hey, boss, you're joking..."

"But I'm willing to be a sucker for once," Aisha said magnanimously. "Although this necklace has many flaws, the sapphires still hold great significance for us Mohe people. Name your price."

"Hey, boss, you're a connoisseur. Since you want it, I won't lie to you. How about this price?"

"Make it cheaper," Badan interrupted. "We're regular customers, so this is the price."

The two exchanged several hand gestures and finally made the deal.

Restraining the shock in her heart, Aisha held the beads tightly in her palm and walked away leisurely with Badan.
-
In the light, Aisha once again confirmed that this was the thing belonging to the princess Alan.

This sapphire necklace wasn't of the best quality, but it was the stone that the Queen Mother and A-Lan had found together, and she had strung it together for her daughter herself. No matter how perfect or precious the beads in the world were, they couldn't compare to this. The Queen Mother had been murdered by a traitor, and now the Princess's life or death was uncertain...

Aisha changed his slick and worldly-wise attitude and showed determination in his eyes. No matter what the cost, he would cut those people into pieces and make them suffer pain a thousand times worse than himself.

In the shadows of the black market, he said to Badan, "Follow that vendor and see where he gets his goods. If we can't track him, tie him up and try to pry him open."

Badan accepted the order: "Yes, young master."

The vendor was extremely cautious when acquiring goods, often traveling through alleyways, handing over goods to seven or eight people. Some goods were even sold at designated locations, without him ever meeting the supplier in person. As Aisha had anticipated, it was extremely difficult to track him down directly to the seller of the beads.

So Badan found the right moment, knocked the stall owner unconscious, and took him to a dark cellar.

The cowardly vendor was easy to deal with, and Badan soon learned from him that the sapphire beads had come from a pawnshop. Pawnshops often deal with foregone items that the pawners will neither redeem nor renew, so they take matters into their own hands. The black market is the easiest and fastest way to make money.

Aisha frowned.

Absolutely?

Even if Ah Lan had to exchange the beads for money to survive, it would definitely not be a pawn. So, the beads must have been snatched from her hands by someone else and pawned.

—meaning her situation might be worse than expected.

The vendor had guessed that they were the buyers of the beads that day, and fearing he would be killed to silence him, he begged them to let him go.

Badan looked at his master.

Aisha thought for a moment and said, "Keep it. It's still useful, but if he dares to tell anyone about this..."

The vendor swore hastily, "I won't tell! The goods I have are not clean, I absolutely dare not tell anyone!"

So they followed the clues and set their sights on the Guangde Pawnshop.
-
In the restaurant, Aisha took a sip of wine and commented, "It tastes terrible."

He took another bite of the authentic Wuxu-flavored stewed lamb, then put down his chopsticks and didn't touch any other dish.

Badan asked, "Young Master, what should we do next?"

Aisha said, "Eat these dishes first, and then go on your errand when you are full."

Badan obediently picked up his chopsticks and ate with big mouthfuls, enjoying the meal. He took the time to ask, "Young Master, you don't want to eat again?"

"I'll just have some toasted naan later," Aisha said reservedly. "I can't even find a restaurant in Zhangye County that suits my taste. The food is all inedible. I'd rather starve."

"Oh, okay." Having long been accustomed to his master's pickyness, Badan took it indifferently. Anyway, he never cared whether the food tasted good or not, as long as he could eat his fill.

As for the young master, he is a member of the royal family after all. Even if he has to compromise for the moment, he still has to be polite.

When he had almost finished eating, Aisha handed him the sapphire beads and said, "Go and pawn it again."
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　Next chapter: I still think this string of beads is unlucky and very strange...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)