One person: I, Daoist Master, am a cultivator of immortality!

Early the next morning, Sun Yao and Hong Guniang set off northward. Time was of the essence; this Angry-Eyed Rooster was already over six years old, and who knew how much longer it could live? There's an old saying that dogs don't live past eight and chickens past six, implying that these creatures, having too much contact with humans, would inevitably become spirits after a certain age. But in reality, a chicken's normal lifespan is only six to seven years; who knows how much longer this one, already past its prime, could live?

Moreover, the longer it lives, the less advantageous it is for Sun Yao. The longer it lives, the more likely it is to activate the power of that trace of phoenix blood within its bloodline. It's not that he's concerned about how much power that trace of phoenix blood can bring it, but rather that he fears it might consume all the phoenix blood in its bloodline to extend its lifespan, which would be a net loss.

Sun Yao was in a hurry, and Hong Guniang didn't ask many questions. After packing their bags, she followed him. They headed north, their first destination being Shacheng. There were trains from there to Beiping (Beijing), and taking the train from there would greatly reduce their travel time. Xiangyin wasn't far from Shacheng, and the two of them walked quickly, arriving in Shacheng in just two or three days.

The city of Shacheng was already quite prosperous in this era. Walking down the streets, they saw vendors hawking their wares everywhere. Sun Yao, looking at a noodle stall nearby, suddenly felt a pang of hunger. "Hong Guniang," he said, "we've been traveling for days, and now that we've arrived in Shacheng, it's time to stop and rest. This noodle stall seems to be doing good business; the noodles must be delicious. Let's stop and have a bowl of noodles, then continue our journey. It's on me." Sun Yao smiled and pointed to the bustling noodle stall.

Hong Guniang nodded upon hearing this. After traveling for more than two days, she was indeed quite hungry. No one could endure eating only dry rations for the entire journey. Sun Yao and Hong Guniang sat down next to a bustling noodle stall when a girl approached them.

"What would you two gentlemen like to eat?"

"Two bowls of plain noodles, one egg in each, and half a pound of braised pork." Sun Yao ordered without looking up, then turned to look at Hong Guniang. "Hong Guniang, is there anything you'd like to eat? Or drink? It's on me, don't be shy."

"Since you've asked, I won't stand on ceremony. Miss, do you have any rice wine here? I'd like a pot."

"Alright, my father just took out the rice wine he brewed yesterday. Today is the first pot, so you've come at the perfect time." After noting down Sun Yao's order, the girl skipped back to the kitchen, which was really just a small area partitioned off by a rolled-up bamboo curtain. Even from Sun Yao's table, one could vaguely see a rather hunched figure behind the curtain, constantly picking noodles and cutting meat. This must be the girl's father. Judging from her age, he shouldn't be too old, but he was already showing signs of hunching, probably from the weight of life.

A short while later, the young girl came over with a plate of braised meat and a pot of rice wine. "Please wait a moment, my noodle stall is quite busy today. The noodles may be a little late. I'll bring you the braised meat and rice wine first, so you can eat while you eat."

Sun Yao didn't really understand the situation, but he was thinking that the noodle stall was doing pretty well. The fact that there was a queue at a roadside stall meant the noodles must taste good.

"Okay, you can go downstairs now. Just bring the noodles up to us when they're ready." As a customer, Sun Yao was quite understanding.

So Sun Yao and Hong Guniang started eating braised meat with their drinks. They hadn't had a proper meal during their long journey. Being able to enjoy a simple meal with a group of people at this moment was actually a rather pleasant feeling.

Just as he was enjoying his food, a sudden commotion erupted from the kitchen. A large group of people dragged the girl who had just served them out. The girl's father tried to resist but was beaten to the ground, seemingly on the verge of death. After taking the girl, they began to parade her through the streets. Although Sun Yao didn't know what this game represented, judging from the looks in the eyes of the people around him, this parade was definitely not a good thing.

"Miss Hong, what's the meaning of this parade? Why are all these people looking at this girl with pity?" Sun Yao didn't rush to make a move, but instead asked Miss Hong what was going on.

At this moment, Hong Guniang's eyes gradually hardened, and her voice turned icy. "This street parade is a custom for selling prostitutes. They're brought from Yangzhou; traffickers carry their girls around the bustling city. This is to announce to the world that the girl is about to be sold. If anyone wants to stand up for her, step forward during this procession. If you want to stop them, bring your money. We won't push people into the fire, but once they're in the brothel, sorry, it won't be up to you anymore. Besides, this also tells those high-ranking officials and nobles that there are more virgins available tonight, so you'd better prepare your silver dollars to beg for their favor." Hong Guniang gritted her teeth as she spoke, seemingly looking down on the world.

“In that case, we can’t let them take the person away. No matter what, taking the person away from this noodle stall will make it hard for me to have a proper meal. Miss Hong, you Xieling people have something to do with this group of people.”

"Don't worry, Daoist. These human traffickers are from the Outer Eight Schools and have nothing to do with us, the Unloading Ridge. Even we bandits don't look down on these human traffickers."

"That's good. Would you mind if I used the name of Changsheng Mountain?"

"Master Dao, please do as you please. Chang Shengshan will take care of anything. I've long disliked these human traffickers. With you handling things, the chief won't blame me for meddling."

"Miss Hong, do you find my knife easy to use? But in situations like this, I'm quite happy to use it."

After Sun Yao finished speaking, he disappeared from the dining table, and the next second he appeared directly in front of the group of human traffickers.

"You people, you can leave now."

"Oh ho? Are you really that clueless about the rules, or are you just pretending? If you want this chick, simple, give us the money and we'll be on our way. If you don't follow the rules, then we have our own way of doing things that don't follow the rules."

Although the leader was carrying a girl on his back, he was still quite strong and could still speak fluently, so he seemed to be a trained fighter.