It was noon, and Su Qing was quite thirsty.
He had been careless and forgotten to bring any water.
With only compressed grass cakes, he couldn't possibly quench the thirst that had built up over hours of travel.
Fortunately, he had his Talent: Chaotic Life Body.
Without it, Su Qing felt he would have been even more exhausted.
He was just too frail.
Due to malnutrition, Su Qing was only about 1.6 meters tall.
He was thin all over. In his previous life, he would have definitely been called a string bean.
His skin was also very dark now, a far cry from any description of handsome or beautiful.
'I wonder if practicing martial arts is a form of the supernatural!'
Su Qing didn't stop to rest, relying on the help of his Chaotic Life Body.
His endurance had improved significantly.
Besides, he had only come across one village so far, so he didn't dare to dawdle. This was a matter of life and death.
He continued to walk briskly for a long time.
Just as the sun was about to set, Su Qing finally rounded a low mountain.
And saw a town.
'Finally!' Su Qing let out a breath, but his body didn't relax. He hadn't reached the town yet.
At best, he could take shelter in the town and borrow some light from a fire to prevent a Demon Fiend from killing him.
Su Qing stepped into the town. It didn't seem much grander than a village.
The roads were still dirt, though some of the main thoroughfares were paved with gravel. The rest were just mud paths.
And the sky was growing dark.
「Nightfall.」
By the time Su Qing arrived, every household had already tightly shut its main gate.
There were no lights on the streets.
'I can't risk resting somewhere without any firelight, can I?'
The danger would be too great.
Su Qing began to look for a smaller house. Even the residences in town, many had courtyards.
Perfect for him to climb a wall and "borrow" some light.
Su Qing silently made his way to a more dilapidated area and stealthily climbed over a wall.
THUD.
The soft sound of his feet hit the ground. Su Qing quickly lowered his head and hunched over, trying to melt into the darkness. This house was rather rundown and the courtyard was small, so while the noise wasn't loud, it wasn't exactly quiet either.
He was very worried that the people inside would discover him.
Su Qing crouched in a corner where there was no light.
He vaguely saw a burly man, about 1.7-something meters tall, open the door and glance around.
Then he closed the door again.
After seeing this burly man, Su Qing felt something was off, though he didn't know why.
'Are the common folk in a normal town this muscular?'
Besides, Su Qing had clearly felt a slight sense of pressure just now.
Su Qing had no time to think; he just wanted to hold his breath.
It was even more unsafe outside.
The burly man clearly hadn't noticed him, so Su Qing had no intention of leaving the courtyard.
He could only wait for morning to arrive.
However, Su Qing didn't want to stay in this conspicuous corner of the yard.
Instead, he slowly got up, crept to the side of the house, and finally made his way to the back.
This way, when they left during the day, Su Qing wouldn't be discovered.
As Su Qing lay down to rest, a wave of aches and pains washed over his entire body.
'I wonder how Flood Village is doing.'
Su Qing didn't regret his decision. He was just about to doze off.
CRACK!
After a sharp pain in the back of his head, Su Qing passed out.
"I knew there was a little rascal!"
"Lao San, how could you be so careless? You just took one look when you went out?"
The man called Lao San, the one who had glanced outside earlier, now said awkwardly, "Heh heh, well, it turned out fine, didn't it? Look, another little piglet delivered right to us."
"Fine. Perfect timing. We'll send him to Funing County tomorrow."
Lao San grinned. "Understood, Boss."
As he spoke, Lao San reached out with his right hand, the muscles on his forearm clearly defined, and lifted Su Qing by the neck.
Su Qing weighed at least eighty or ninety pounds, but he was still lifted up with ease.
Lao San deftly lifted a hidden panel in the ground where Su Qing had been lying, revealing a vertical passage.
After Lao San went in and came back out of the passage, the number of people inside had increased by one.
「...」
"Hiss..."
So painful!
When Su Qing regained consciousness, the first thing he felt was a sharp pain in the back of his neck.
He then became aware of skin brushing against his clothes, and a constant, jolting motion.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...
It was the sound of old-fashioned wooden wheels rolling over a dirt road.
Su Qing struggled to open his eyes.
He found himself inside a cage.
After managing to sit up, Su Qing rubbed the back of his neck.
At the same time, he took in his surroundings.
The cage was covered by a layer of black cloth.
Inside the cage with him, half the people were lying down, and the other half were sitting up.
The person whose skin had brushed against Su Qing's clothes was a man next to him.
None of them had good skin. In this ancient era, fair and smooth skin was a luxury reserved for the wealthy and powerful who didn't have to work.
There were two or three other people around Su Qing. Two small children lay to his right, and the man was on his left.
Su Qing took a deep breath. Staring at the unusually quiet and lifeless cage, he had no idea what to do.
[Cage for Imprisoning People: A cage made of solid wood, with some imprisoning capability.]
Seeing the information about the cage, Su Qing was overjoyed. This meant he could put the entire cage into his Synthesizer at once.
But he didn't dare to move. The only thing Su Qing had on him now was a set of tattered clothes.
His Wooden Bow and his bundle were both gone.
He had nothing left.
A voice came from outside.
"Lao Er, go see if we've reached Broken Water Stronghold."
"Remember to give them some silver."
"I know, I know. Those jackals are always demanding money. We've been through this so many times, we're used to it."
"Mm."
"..."
Silence fell outside again.
But Su Qing felt no peace. The voices outside confirmed his fears—his journey had gone terribly wrong.
Su Qing was extremely anxious. There was more than one person outside, and they were definitely stronger than him.
If they had knives, Su Qing wouldn't stand a chance.
'Even if I use the Synthesizer on this cage and make it disappear, it would be useless.'
Su Qing's mind raced.
They had to be human traffickers of some kind, and brazen ones at that. The people in the cart weren't even gagged, and the cage was only simply covered with a black cloth.
Connecting these dots, Su Qing roughly understood the situation.
Slavery must not have been abolished in this ancient world.
'Actually, that's not what's important. As long as I don't die, I'll definitely be fine with my Synthesizer.'
For now, all he could do was wait in this prison cart.
「...」
His stomach ached with hunger. Su Qing sensed that night had fallen again.
Then, the black cloth was pulled away.
The two children to Su Qing's right woke up.
But they didn't make a sound. Neither did Su Qing.
With the cloth gone, Su Qing saw five burly men.
They wore long blades at their sides, and the sight sent a chill down Su Qing's spine.
They were carrying a large basin of porridge and unlocked the cage door.
The man holding the basin looked at Su Qing and the others as if they were livestock. Su Qing didn't dare to meet his gaze.
「...」