Over the next few days, Zhao Yunxiao continued to experiment with the Heaven's Descent Bowl to confirm his theory.
But that was not all that he did as well.
Apart from that, he also made time to practise his different techniques, focusing on familiarising himself with the use of the Earthen Clone Technique on surfaces apart from natural earth, as well as using his clones to wield his two spare halberds.
The number of travellers on the road visibly increased as he drew closer to his destination, but that was unsurprising, to say the least.
Thousand Autumn City was a major city in the northern regions of the Duyuan Empire, with a bustling economy that supported millions of residents. It was only natural that there were plenty of visitors, be it for leisure or business purposes.
On the sixth day of his journey, rain poured down incessantly on the region, prompting Zhao Yunxiao to seek shelter at a large inn.
"Welcome, esteemed customer!" the waiter greeted him enthusiastically at the door. "Wait, are you alone? No, never mind that. Are you here just for food? Or are you seeking lodging as well?"
"Just food," Zhao Yunxiao removed his straw hat by the door and lightly shook the rainwater off. "Give me a few simple dishes and tea."
"Sure, sure!" the waiter nodded. "But are you sure you don't want to stay here as well? Half the day is already gone, and the rain doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. Even with your magnificent-looking horse, it will probably still take half a day before you arrive at Thousand Autumn City. That's not very safe for a solo traveller! Many of the customers today have decided to stay for the night, so why don't you consider that as well?"
"I'll think about it," Zhao Yunxiao answered with a smile.
"Sure, sure. We don't hard-sell our services, so feel free to think it through," the waiter said while leading Zhao Yunxiao to an empty table. "This way, please."
As Zhao Yunxiao made his way to his seat, he habitually scanned the interior of the inn.
The seating area was large. Even with more than thirty tables, there was still ample walking space in between every seat.
Business seemed to be quite good as well. Despite the weather, more than half the tables were occupied with customers, though it could also be that everyone was only here because of the rain.
That said, food and tea were served within five minutes, and they tasted quite palatable as well. It was clear that the kitchen was well-equipped to handle such a number of customers.
However, Zhao Yunxiao quickly noticed something strange about a particular group of customers.
This group occupied five tables in total. One of the tables was occupied by armed men feasting on meat and fish, chatting away in a leisurely manner. On the other hand, the other four tables were occupied by beautiful young ladies who were served nothing but tea, and waited in absolute silence.
From time to time, the armed men would shoot glances towards the young ladies, who would flinch a little in response.
Anyone who bothered paying attention would notice the distinction between the armed men and the young ladies, and that they were not mere travel companions.
If anything, they were most likely slave traders and slaves.
Zhao Yunxiao let out a helpless sigh.
He was not new to the concept of slavery. After all, he had belonged to a family of merchants prior to entering the sect. Back then, his families also had slaves of their own.
The strong set the rules, while the weak could only obey. Such was the way not just in the cultivation world, but also in the world of ordinary mortals.
The fates of the slaves were lamentable. But unlike Mo Mian, Zhao Yunxiao did not intend to intervene.
Getting rid of these slave traders was one thing, but that might not truly be helping the slaves.
In fact, if these slave traders belonged to a larger organisation, the retaliation that awaited the slaves and their families might be far more terrifying. And there was no way that Zhao Yunxiao could protect them forever.
Furthermore, who knew what kind of background they had?
If these slave traders were like Young Noble Hui and had connections to cultivators, wouldn't he be jeopardising his own safety for mere strangers?
Zhao Yunxiao believed in following the orthodox path, striving to benefit the masses. However, that was only if doing so did not put he and his companions in harm's way.
Interfering with others' businesses without first possessing sufficient strength was a path that would only lead to self-ruin!
However, not everyone shared his attitude.
Screech-!
A young man seated at another table suddenly shot to his feet with a determined look in his eyes. The loud sound of his chair dragging against the floor immediately drew everyone's attention, and what happened next even more so.
"Hey!" his sole companion called out in vain as the young man walked straight towards the table of armed men.
"What do you want?" the armed men questioned, carefully eyeing him from head to toe.
The young man had short black hair and was dressed like a typical scholar, his robes neat and tidy. Possessing both handsome facial features and a lean build, he was quite the attractive young man, though that only served to displease the armed men further.
"Greetings, everyone," the young man calmly clasped his fists towards the armed men. "My name is Fei Qing, and I am travelling to Thousand Autumn City for personal matters."
His companion, who had remained seated, rubbed his temples in frustration.
"And?" the armed men frowned.
"I would just like to enquire about the relationship between you and the ladies seated at the other tables," Fei Qing said. "From my observation, they seem to be rather afraid of travelling with you. If you have taken them captive without good reason, then I might have to ask you to release them right now."
The armed men exchanged glances and stood up in unison, their expressions turning fierce.
"You want us to release them? That's not impossible," one of the armed men took out a stack of paper and slammed it on the table. "Here are the proofs of sales by their families, with the full amount stated clearly for each of them. If you want us to free them, just pay us accordingly and we will let you redeem their freedom."
"Proofs of sales? By their families?" Fei Qing shook his head in disapproval. "Everyone's lives should be theirs to dictate. What right do their families have to sell them off like commodities?"
"I don't know what school of thought you subscribe to, and I don't care either. We are traders, so we only follow the school of money," the armed man said. "We have properly paid for these women. If you want to redeem them, then compensate us with the corresponding amounts. Otherwise, don't even think that we will release them!"
"Actions like yours are a scourge to the world. How can you still have the face to ask for compensation?" Fei Qing started to lose his patience.
"You can think whatever you want. However, the truth is that we have officially paid for the women. So, are you trying to rob us of our goods right now?" the armed man sneered. "If you dare to try anything funny, we will lodge a magistrate complaint at Thousand Autumn City. With this many witnesses here, don't even think that you can escape scot-free!"
"What audacity! Do you really think that you are in the right here?" Fei Qing could no longer hold back his anger at this point. "If you want to lodge a complaint, then go ahea-"
"Wait, Brother Fei!" his companion hurriedly interjected at this point. "Don't forget the situation that we are in!"
"This..." Fei Qing was clearly still upset, but seemed to have at least calmed down a little upon hearing his companion's words.
"Hah! At least your companion knows how to use his brain. I don't know who you are, but you cannot afford to stir the nest that is Thousand Autumn City!" the armed men grew confident upon seeing Fei Qing's hesitation. "I know where you are coming from, but don't blame the players; blame the game. If you really want such practices to stop, then instead of blaming innocent people like us who are just making the best out of the existing system, how about trying to become someone important enough to directly make changes to the system?"
"Tch!" Fei Qing clicked his tongue in irritation, but found no words to rebuke them.
"What about you?" Fei Qing suddenly turned towards the ladies seated at the other tables. "Are they speaking the truth? If you require any help, just say the word and I will take you with me!"
The young ladies were surprised by his sudden declaration. Some of them exchanged glances; some looked at Fei Qing nervously.
However, none of them spoke a word.
"Are you unable to speak? If so, just nodding will do as well!" Fei Qing continued.
There were spells and techniques in this world that could mute a target, so Fei Qing was afraid that the young ladies might have been subjected to such a thing.
Alas, he was bound to be disappointed.
Even after that, the young ladies only looked away despondently, none of them nodding as he had hoped.
"Hahaha! Do you understand now?" the armed men laughed. "All right, enough from you. If you don't intend to redeem them with money, then stop trying to bother my precious goods. It would not be good if you damaged them somehow!"
"Damn it..." Fei Qing gritted his teeth. "...I will redeem them all."
"Hmm? What did you just say?" the armed man was caught completely by surprise.
"I said I will redeem them all!" Fei Qing repeated, much louder this time.
"Brother Fei!" his companion frowned. "This isn't what you promised!"
"Don't worry. I will bear all responsibility for this!" Fei Qing brushed off his complaints. "Or are you telling me to just stand by and watch as all these young souls get their futures ruined?"
"This..." his companion obviously disagreed with his actions, but did not insist further.
"Hahaha! Oh brother, why didn't you say so earlier? If you did, then we didn't need to have the unhappy conversation earlier!" the armed man beamed. "Please hold on a minute while we calculate the price of redeeming all of them!"
The armed men quickly got into a discussion as they matched and compared their documents, even bringing out abacuses like professional accountants.
It did not take long before they were done with their calculations.
"Here's the total! How will you be making your payment?"
"Take it and scram!" Fei Qing placed a gold ingot on the table.
"Ahha, pleased to do business with you!" the armed men did not care about Fei Qing's poor attitude. "If valued customer doesn't want to see us, then we are more than willing to leave despite the heavy rain. We wish you a pleasant journey ahead!"
The armed men honoured their words, not even bothering to finish their food and drinks before heading for the door.
As they did, one of them asked the others in confusion, "Wow, he actually bought them all? That's crazy!"
"Shut up!" his companion quickly hushed. "Don't you know that there are plenty of pretentious types who secretly want to enjoy such things? They just need to find some noble-sounding excuse to do so, so don't try to question further. Just buy when you get the opportunity to buy, and sell when you get the opportunity to sell!"
Zhao Yunxiao watched as the corner of Fei Qing's lips twitched, a testament to how the armed men's whispers fell into his ears.
"Don't go after them," his companion cautioned, apparently also having heard the whispers. "You don't want to make matters worse than they already are."
"I know that!" Fei Qing replied unhappily.
This made things clear.
The armed men were not exactly amateurs, and their whispers while departing had been extremely muted. For one person to pick up those whispers, it could still have been due to a naturally gifted sense of hearing. But for both of them to be able to do so, these two had to be cultivators.
Even then, they became wary the moment the armed men threatened to lodge a magistrate complaint at Thousand Autumn City.
From the sound of it, he would have to avoid getting in the way of the authorities of Thousand Autumn City if he did not want to attract any unnecessary attention.
At the same time, he would also have to steer clear of these two individuals in Thousand Autumn City. No matter how he looked at it, that Fei Qing was nothing but a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.
The last thing Zhao Yunxiao wanted was to be caught in the vicinity at the point of explosion!