Chapter 707: What is Going On With You?!

Chen Changsheng entered the city, only to find the place far more chaotic than he had imagined.

He stopped at a Wine Tavern, ordered a pot of wine, and struck up a conversation with the Xiao Er.

The place was called Water's End City.

It had been built recently; no such city existed here in the past.

It was constructed as a transit station between the Northern Desert and West Xiao to facilitate the transport of livestock and grain, providing a place for merchants to rest.

It was a city built along a trade route.

The greatest problem here was the severe scarcity of water, which was exactly how Water's End City earned its name.

After West Xiao perished, the city fell under strict military control. Now, Water's End City was primarily occupied by soldiers, with barely any commoners to be seen.

With the trade routes severed, few travelers ever passed through.

"No wonder the streets were crawling with soldiers earlier."

The waiter sighed. "Isn't that the truth? Nowadays, hardly anyone is willing to travel out this way."

"I assume the city itself is still fairly peaceful?"

"Actually, it's not all that peaceful either..."

The waiter let out another sigh. "While ordinary folks might avoid this place, desperadoes and criminals flock here. As long as you hand over enough silver taels to the officials in charge, they couldn't care less who you are."

"Truly a place where the mountains are high and the emperor is far away..."

"Exactly."

The waiter sighed. "It's pure chaos. There's no shortage of martial artists in the city. Most of them fled here after making enemies, so we can't afford to offend them. Say the wrong thing, and they might just pull a blade on you. You wouldn't even know how you died."

"No one cares if they commit murder right in the streets?"

"They do, but once the silver taels are paid, they turn a blind eye."

Chen Changsheng nodded and then asked, "What about outside the city? The border isn't far from here, is it?"

"That's right."

The waiter warned, "You'd do best to avoid heading outside the city these days, guest. Quite a few people have been robbed lately. They went out and never came back; their bones have probably been buried under the sand by now."

"I heard those sand bandits are actually North Desert People in disguise?"

"That... I really couldn't say."

The waiter had a look of wanting to speak yet holding back; his words remained deliberately vague.

Chen Changsheng nodded. He pulled out a few copper coins and handed them over. "You may go."

The waiter quickly offered his thanks and withdrew.

Chen Changsheng finished his wine and stepped out of the Wine Tavern.

The Xiao Er had looked like he was wanting to speak yet holding back; he clearly knew something but hadn't dared to voice it.

There was no doubt that Water's End City was hiding something.

Heading out into the streets, he saw various people sitting along the roadside to rest.

Strolling further, Chen Changsheng spotted a tooth broker doing business in the street. He was selling women, keeping them locked inside a cage for buyers to take their pick. As long as one had the money, they could take someone away.

A large crowd had gathered around the cage. Most were soldiers, though there were a fair number of regular onlookers as well.

Moreover, the beauty of those young women was remarkably high. It was obvious they were not being sold off merely to serve as maids in some household.

"Come take a look! This batch is full of top-tier goods! Passersby and lords, come take a look! Buy one to take home and warm your bed, or to serve as a maid..."

By the time Chen Changsheng approached, several people had already begun making purchases.

The women inside the cage were struggling.

"Get away! Don't touch me!"

"Get away!"

One woman screamed, her eyes filled with absolute terror.

In response, a Whip violently slashed across her.

She trembled, her eyes welling with tears, not daring to make another sound.

"No, please don't..."

"You think you're tough?!"

The tooth broker cursed and brought the Whip down a second time.

The women in the cage shuddered in fear, none of them daring to cry out again.

The tooth broker yanked the woman out of the cage.

Accepting a handful of silver taels from someone in the crowd, he smiled. "She's all yours, Officer."

The officer chuckled and led the woman away.

"Somebody save me..."

"Please, save me..."

The woman cried out in despair, yet no one stepped forward to help her. Most of the crowd simply thought it was a shame that such a beauty had been bought by someone else.

"That's a pretty good-looking one. What a shame. She would have been fun to play with for quite a few days."

"She won't last two days once she's taken into the Military Camp."

"That's true."

"What a waste."

"Hold on."

Chen Changsheng called out.

The crowd paused.

The officer stopped in his tracks and looked over at Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng asked, "I wonder if you might be interested in a deal, Officer. This Chen is willing to pay double the price..."

The officer froze for a moment at those words before letting out a laugh. "Oh?"

He glanced at the woman beside him and grinned. "Did you hear that? He's willing to pay double for you."

The woman looked at Chen Changsheng, her gaze filled with pleading, though she was still visibly terrified.

To her, whether she ended up in a tiger's den or a wolf's lair, she was doomed either way.

The officer kicked the woman. "Who said you could look at him?"

The woman crumpled from the kick, unable to stand as she curled into a ball on the ground, clutching her stomach.

When human life was reduced to mere currency, human nature revealed its absolute ugliest side.

The officer chuckled. "Double? Sorry, I'm not selling."

"Triple," Chen Changsheng countered.

The officer was genuinely taken aback by that.

He let out a laugh and looked around at the crowd.

The onlookers were eager to watch the spectacle unfold.

"You're an interesting guy," the officer laughed. "If you can offer five times the price, I'll sell her to you. How about it?"

Chen Changsheng nodded. "Deal."

The officer stared blankly for a moment before scoffing, "Idiot."

He kicked the woman again. "Hey, someone bought you."

The woman, however, was in far too much pain to stand.

Chen Changsheng knelt down and scooped up a handful of sand. With a flip of his hand, the sand transformed into gleaming silver taels.

He handed the silver taels to the officer.

The officer flashed a wide grin. "She's all yours."

Bending down, Chen Changsheng guided a trace of Magical Power into the woman's stomach, easing her pain and helping her recover a little.

The woman looked up at Chen Changsheng. She pursed her lips, but remained silent.

Meanwhile, the officer turned back toward the cage with his new silver taels in hand.

He pointed at the cage, evidently planning to buy another one.

Chen Changsheng stood up and looked back at the tooth broker.

"I'll take them all."

As he spoke, he drew a solid gold ingot from his sleeve.

The tooth broker froze at the sight. The glimmering gold resting in the green-robed man's palm sent a ripple of shock through the surrounding crowd.

Snapping back to his senses, the tooth broker stammered, "O-of course you can..."

The officer whipped his head around and glared at Chen Changsheng. "Little brother, that's not very honorable of you."

"In business, does the highest bidder not take the prize?" Chen Changsheng replied.

Anger flared in the officer's eyes. "You'd better not push your luck!"

The tooth broker quickly intervened, looking over at Chen Changsheng. "My lord, as you can see, this officer here sincerely wants to buy one. Why not just let him have one? How about it?"

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "This Chen has no intention of yielding."

The officer let out a cold snort. "You're just looking for trouble on purpose, aren't you?"

Chen Changsheng met his gaze and asked, "Officer, having no silver taels simply means you have no silver taels. What use is there in raising your voice?"

"What the hell did you just say?!"

The officer instantly flew into a rage and drew the saber at his waist.

With a sharp shing, he gripped the gleaming long saber in his hand.

The surrounding crowd hurriedly scattered at the sight.

Sensing trouble, the tooth broker quickly said, "Wait, my lord, officer, I'm backing out of this deal! I'm not doing it..."

"Who gave you the right to speak?!"

The officer cursed, then pointed his saber at Chen Changsheng.

The tooth broker frowned slightly and glanced behind him.

Flanking the cage stood two figures, both wearing conical straw hats.

The tooth broker trade was a difficult line of work, let alone doing business all the way out here in Water's End City. How could he dare come here without some backing?

But the tooth broker secretly pressed his hand down, signaling them not to make a move just yet.

To them, business was the most important thing—especially not offending the people from the Military Camp.

Only then did the two men in conical straw hats lower their heads.

Seeing the gleaming long saber pointed at him, Chen Changsheng merely gave it a faint glance and made no reaction.

But precisely because of this, the officer was infuriated.

"Motherfucker!"

The officer raised his long saber and slashed toward Chen Changsheng.

"Ah!"

Some hurriedly covered their faces, while others backed further away, terrified of getting blood splattered on themselves.

Chen Changsheng merely tilted to the side.

The long saber struck nothing but air.

The officer pressed his attack, swinging the blade again.

With a light tap of his toe, Chen Changsheng bypassed him and appeared behind his back.

The officer froze, looking left and right before finally finding him behind his back.

"You..."

He grew even more enraged.

His saber swings turned completely wild and formless.

Startled by the sight, the tooth broker thought to himself, 'An expert...'

The two guards flanking the cage, previously disinterested in the commotion, also raised their heads to look.

When Chen Changsheng's steps—as light as willow catkins—revealed themselves to their eyes, both men were unequivocally astonished.

This Lightness Art didn't seem to belong to the Mortal World.

"Yahhh!!"

Humiliated and furious, the officer hacked wildly.

Yet no matter how he slashed, every strike that seemed about to connect was effortlessly dodged.

Chen Changsheng paused, raised his hand, and struck out with a palm.

Bang.

The officer flew backward, the long saber falling from his grasp and clattering to the ground.

Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth; he was injured, but it wasn't fatal.

Scrambling up from the ground, he pointed a trembling finger at Chen Changsheng. "Just you wait! If you have the guts, you wait right here!!"

Chen Changsheng looked at him and said calmly, "This Chen will wait right here for you."

The officer shot him a cold glare and then ran off, presumably to call for reinforcements.

Chen Changsheng turned his head and looked at the tooth broker.

The tooth broker stepped forward and cupped his hands. "I didn't realize an expert was standing before me. Forgive my poor hospitality, please forgive me."

Chen Changsheng asked, "How many silver taels?"

The tooth broker shook his head. "We won't speak of silver taels today. I won't take a single coin; I will gift all these women to you."

Chen Changsheng shook his head and placed the gold ingot into the tooth broker's hand.

The tooth broker froze for a moment.

Quickly understanding, he nodded and said, "I'll release them right now."

One by one, the women were brought out of the cage.

"All of you, follow this lord," the tooth broker said.

"No rush," Chen Changsheng said.

The tooth broker paused, looking at him. "My lord, what are you..."

Chen Changsheng looked into the distance and said, "I am waiting for him to return."

Stunned again, the tooth broker said, "My lord, as they say, two fists are no match for four hands. You really should hurry and leave."

Being highly skilled in martial arts didn't mean one was truly invincible.

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "Take them and go hide for now. This Chen will come find you later."

The tooth broker opened his mouth to speak, but seeing how things stood, this was indeed the only way.

He had no desire to follow this man to his grave.

"Be careful, my lord," the tooth broker said.

In truth, he didn't believe this man could survive at all.

"I want to stay with you."

The young woman Chen Changsheng had previously paid five times the price for stayed behind.

The tooth broker paused and looked at Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng said, "If you want to stay, then stay."

The woman pursed her lips and remained by Chen Changsheng's side.

Soon after, the tooth broker led the rest of the people away.

As Chen Changsheng waited quietly, the woman spoke up, asking, "My lord, you're a good person, right?"

Chen Changsheng glanced at her. "What do you think?"

"I think you are a good person, my lord."

"Perhaps."

Chen Changsheng replied.

He then asked, "What is your name, and where are you from?"

"Answering my lord, my name is Fang Miao. I live in Chunhui Prefecture, and I was abducted."

"Aren't you afraid you'll die if you stay here?"

Fang Miao shook her head. "I don't think I will."

Chen Changsheng looked at her and smiled. "And if you do?"

Fang Miao pursed her lips. "Then that is my fate."

Chen Changsheng sat down and asked, "How many of you were abducted?"

"Many."

Fang Miao said, "When we were brought out of Chunhui Prefecture, there were seven or eight of us sisters. Some were sold off one after another along the way. Some ended up in brothels, while others were sold by tooth brokers to serve as maids in households."

"Why were you sold here, then? Water's End City isn't just an ordinary distance away."

Fang Miao looked up and said, "I heard that tooth broker tell his companions that they wanted to open a brothel here."

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng understood.

This tooth broker was likely here for the first time, testing the waters to see if such a business was viable.

But given the current situation, it probably wasn't as simple as merely wanting to open a brothel.

Chen Changsheng continued to wait.

Fang Miao paused for a moment before asking, "My lord, you won't die, right?"

"Why do you say that?"

"I just don't think you will. You are very formidable."

Chen Changsheng gave a small smile. "Every man's strength has its limits. It all depends on fate."

Fang Miao lowered her head and softly replied, "...Mhm."

A moment later, a sudden flurry of footsteps echoed out.

Chen Changsheng looked over and saw dozens of armored men charging down from the end of the street. These were likely the reinforcements the officer had just fetched.

"Stand further back," Chen Changsheng told her.

Fang Miao stepped backward.

Chen Changsheng stood up, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

Amid the crowd, he spotted the military officer who had left earlier.

The man brandished his saber at Chen Changsheng. "That's him!"

"Get him!"

These marching men were mostly rough, coarse fellows.

They drew their sabers and slashed their way toward Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng was just about to raise his hand.

When suddenly, a voice rang out.

"Motherfucker! I finally caught up to you!"

"Damn, what is going on with you?!"

A long saber suddenly tore through the air.

The Saber Wielder abruptly carved his way into the fray from behind.

Squelch...

With a single stroke, he severed one of their arms, and a shrill scream pierced the air.

Seeing this, Chen Changsheng froze slightly, visibly surprised.

This Saber Wielder had actually caught up to him.