Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 32: Friends and Enemies Unknown
Tan Huaike couldn't help but stop, and Pei'er didn't understand why, so she also stopped.

Sapphire beads? Could it be the one Princess Alan gave him? A black market bounty?
She glanced at the two men secretly and recognized that one of them was a clerk from Guangde Pawn Shop, while the other one had his head and face covered with an ochre sand-proof scarf, so her face could not be seen clearly.

Pei'er wanted to ask what was wrong, but Tan Huaike made a gesture to keep quiet. Pei'er nodded without saying anything.

The street was noisy, and Tan Huaike wanted to hear more clearly, but the two men were also very alert and kept looking towards the alley entrance.

Their conversation was also in low voices. She could only vaguely hear something about "noble person" and "source", but after that, she could not make out clearly. To avoid arousing suspicion, Tan Huaike did not linger and left the alley with Pei'er as if nothing had happened.

As she walked, she thought that the pearl necklace Princess Alan gave her might have been pawned by human traffickers. If the pearl necklace those two people mentioned was really that necklace, it meant that someone was secretly looking for the whereabouts of the pearl necklace and its owner.

Did the assassins discover that there were still people alive that night and wanted to kill them all?
Or is it the guide who entered the pass first mentioned by the princess?
Whether the other party was friend or foe was still uncertain, so she couldn't let her guard down or act rashly. If they were willing to offer a reward, they would likely find the person behind the trafficker, and it wouldn't be long before they found her.

However, she is not without protection here. Now she has changed her appearance and identity completely. Even if the other party has malicious intentions and wants to kill her to silence her, with the Shentu family as a barrier, it is not likely to touch her so easily.

Thinking of this, Tan Huaike sighed.

There was no other way but to be on guard at all times. If I wanted to find out the other party's intentions, I might have to go to the black market...

While thinking, Tan Huaike came to Hu Ji Restaurant opposite Guangde Pawn Shop.

This was one of the larger and more popular Western-style restaurants on Xiangling Street, but she found the food quite average. The owner was from Daxuan and claimed his chef was a native of the Western Region, but Tan Huaike felt his chef only had the appearance of a Western barbarian. His cooking skills were truly…

Pei'er found an empty table under the guidance of the waiter and said, "Madam, please sit here."

There were still some leftovers from the previous guests on the table, which the waiter had swiftly cleared away. When Tan Huaike sat down, the waiter was about to take away the wine pot and wooden ladle when he suddenly smelled the incense again.

She said subconsciously: "Wait."

The waiter stopped and asked, confused, "What does this lady want?"

Tan Huaike picked up the wooden ladle used to scoop wine and sniffed it carefully. Sure enough, it was the scent of the spindle feather mixed with the canggu incense, but the smell of the canggu incense was much lighter. If you didn't pay attention, you could hardly smell it.

Could it be that the guests at the previous table were the passersby who passed by that day?
Tan Huaike didn't think much about it, returned the wooden ladle, and said to the waiter: "Nothing, leave, let's order."
-
The two people who had just been talking in the alley were Xiao Yu from the pawnshop and the black market vendor. The vendor often picked out some unpawned items from Xiao Yu to sell on the black market, and the two were very familiar with each other.

Seeing him coming to the door, Xiao Yu pulled him to a secluded place outside and said, "We don't have much to sell recently. Come back in a few days."

The vendor said straight to the point: "I'm not here to pick up any goods today. I'm here to ask you something."

"what's up?"

"I bought a necklace of sapphire beads from you last time, remember?"

"Remember, what happened?"

The vendor lowered his voice and said, "Someone on the black market is offering a reward for that sapphire bead necklace... and it's this much!"

Xiao Yu was surprised. "So much?" "Of course!" the vendor said. "But they don't just want this string of beads. The reward is for the owner, or rather, the original seller. Word has spread on the black market that it belongs to a noble from the Western Territory. Anyone who can tell them where they are will be rewarded."

"Didn't that string of beads pass through your hands?"

"Oh, I sold it! I really regret it now. If I had sold it a few days later, I could have traded it in for a reward." The vendor inquired, "So I'm here to ask you, who was it that pawned this thing? Tell me who it was and where it was, and I'll share the reward with you. How about that?"

Hearing him say this, Xiao Yu began to murmur inwardly: "To be honest, this necklace of beads is really a bit weird. You sold it a while ago, right? Now it's pawned in our shop again, but this time it's live, so I don't dare to keep it privately."

"Ah? There's such a thing?" The vendor feigned surprise. "They bought it and then pawned it. Maybe the buyer was in a hurry to use the money. He bought it from me, definitely not the original seller. What I'm asking is who originally pawned these beads to you."

"Tsk, this isn't a very glorious thing to say..." Xiao Yu whispered. "That man's name is Wu Chou, and he often comes to pawn things here. Our shopkeeper said he's a human trafficker, and most of those things are extorted from the slaves he traffics. And every now and then, he'll come across some pretty good items, ones that don't seem like something a poor family could use."

"You mean he forced women into slavery?"

"The Western Territory is in such chaos, with refugees fleeing from various small countries and so many bandits plundering the trade routes. Who knows where he found the slaves?" Xiao Yu warned. "That's all I know. As for where Wu Chou got the beads, I have no idea. Also, don't provoke them. Those in their business are very ruthless."

"Okay, I understand."

"Also, don't forget to share your reward with me! Otherwise, I won't give you anything good next time!"
-
The vendor left the pawn shop and turned a few corners before entering another remote alley.

Aisha and Badan were waiting for him there. While he was talking to Xiao Yu, they were watching their every move in the restaurant opposite.

The vendor said, "The reward has been leaked to the pawnbroker. Xiao Yu said that Wu Chou is a human trafficker, and the beads were probably stolen from the slaves he was selling."

"Hu slave?" Aisha frowned. Could it be that after the princess escaped, she was picked up by this human trafficker and sold as a slave?

"Young Master, what about Alan..." Badan couldn't help but become anxious. How could the princess, a precious daughter, endure such suffering!

"Shut up." Aisha glanced at Badan and stopped him from talking.

Since he is in the hands of human traffickers, the person is most likely still alive, which is good news.

He thought for a moment and said, "Let's continue with the plan, Badan. Tomorrow you will redeem the pearls and make the reward more memorable to the pawnshop staff." He then gave the vendor four silver ingots and said, "Tell the pawnshop clerk to share some of them. Tell him that if he can find the whereabouts of that noble from the Western Territory, he'll get a bigger reward."

The next day, Badan went to redeem the beads and proudly said to Xiao Yu, "I didn't expect that there would be a reward for this on the black market. This is really making a fortune."

Soon, the vendor gave Xiao Yu a silver ingot and said regretfully, "It's a pity that we still haven't found that noble man. If we could find the whereabouts of the owner of the beads, I'm afraid we could exchange them for more silver!"

Xiao Yu was tempted by the fact that he could get a silver ingot for just one sentence.

When Wu Chou visited the pawnshop again, he pretended to ask casually, "Hey, last time you pawned a sapphire bead necklace here, where did you get it from?"
-
　Next chapter: Give her three silver ingots and continue to trick her.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)