Chapter 45: Shangyang City Has Arrived
When leaving, Qin Wanwan asked Langya to take the pasture grass out of the carriage.
The moment the pasture grass was brought out, the fifteen camels on their side immediately crowded around and started snatching it.
They hadn’t brought much pasture grass to begin with, and the camels had eaten some on the way, so only this bundle remained.
The fifteen camels fought fiercely for it.
“What kind of grass is this?”
Master Ma could barely hold back the camels, looking somewhat surprised.
He picked up a blade of grass and sniffed it; it had no other scent but the rich fragrance of grass.
Watching the camels snatching at the food, Master Ma joked, “This is the first time I’ve seen them fight so hard for something. I’ve never seen this breed of grass before.”
Qin Wanwan said without any guile: “I grew it~”
“Uncle Ma, if you like it, Wanwan will give you seeds in the future.”
Hey, Old Man Ma was starting to like this child more and more.
He laughed heartily: “Alright, then I, Old Man Ma, will be looking forward to you sending me the grass seeds.”
“Come, Uncle will help you up!”
The big white camel willingly lay down.
But even so, it was still too high for Qin Wanwan; she needed an adult’s help.
Old Man Ma easily lifted the little girl and settled her between the camel’s two humps.
Langya directly went to grab the reins of Qin Wanwan’s camel. His pair of blue eyes stared at Master Ma. Although he didn’t speak, his intention to lead this camel was very clear.
The current Langya was no longer the skinny appearance he had before.
After being raised in the General’s Mansion for so long, Qin Wanwan occasionally gave him milk fruit, soy milk, and eggs almost every day. With a full belly, his body grew like a blown-up balloon.
The current Langya’s body and face were full of flesh. His features blended the characteristics of the Grassland People, with sharp, deep contours. His eyes truly resembled a wolf’s, wild and sharp.
His frame was large and tall. Compared to others his age, the fifteen-year-old young man looked seventeen or eighteen, and his height was nearly 1.8 meters.
He would definitely be a tall person in the future.
Master Ma looked the young man up and down and then said, “Mixed-blood.”
His tone showed no discrimination towards mixed-bloods; instead, he showed admiration for the wildness Langya possessed.
He had seen this young man before, but he hadn’t paid much attention. He had seen plenty of mixed-bloods.
“Tsk tsk, mixed-bloods from the Wolf Tribe are quite rare. I haven’t seen anyone from the Wolf Tribe for many years. But why did you end up at the border pass? It’s not easy for mixed-bloods at the border pass.” As he spoke, he reached out to pat Langya’s shoulder, but the young man dodged him.
“Tsk, the kid is quite alert. What’s your name?”
Qin Wanwan replied in a childish voice: “Uncle Ma, Langya can’t speak.”
Master Ma showed regret: “Can’t speak, huh? That’s a shame. So his name is Langya.”
Qin Wanwan said with a proud face: “I gave him that name.”
Master Ma patted Bai Xue’s buttocks: “The little girl is quite good at naming. Smart. Sit tight, here we go.”
As the camels moved, the sound of bells rang out.
The sound came from the bells around the camels’ necks.
“Kid, you came to the wrong place. You must have suffered a lot at the border pass. Let me tell you, you should have gone to Shangyang City. Shangyang City welcomes mixed-bloods the most; there are many mixed-bloods there.”
With people from the Shangyang Camel Caravan leading the way, Langya only needed to lead the camel Qin Wanwan was riding.
All the way, Master Ma’s loud voice was talking, and he even brought up Langya.
Langya remained unfazed, as if he were deaf and hadn’t heard.
Qin Wanwan, however, was very curious: “Are there many people like Langya in Shangyang City?”
Master Ma said: “Of course. Our City Lord, Shang Wuyang, welcomes mixed-bloods the most. Most of his confidants are mixed-bloods, and no one in Shangyang City dares to look down on mixed-bloods.”
“That’s truly a strange city.”
These words were spoken by a guard from Yin Yuanli’s side.
Both Grassland People and Central Plains People had reservations about mixed-bloods. This Shang Wuyang seemed to do things his own way.
“Could it be that City Lord Shang Wuyang himself is also a mixed-blood?”
Master Ma didn’t find this remark offensive; many people had this speculation.
“I don’t know about that. I’m just a humble shopkeeper of a small camel caravan. I don’t have the qualification to meet the City Lord. And the City Lord never shows his true face in public.”
“Your City Lord is truly mysterious.”
Who wouldn’t say so? Regardless of where, there were legends about him, but no one could describe what he looked like.
Some said he was ugly, while others said he was as handsome as Pan An.
The journey to Shangyang City would take the camels a full day.
After entering the desert, all one could see was endless yellow sand, and the scorching sun made it unbearable.
Master Ma handed Qin Wanwan a veil.
“Cover your face with this to block the wind and sand from getting in.”
Qin Wanwan, lying on the camel, weakly said “okay,” no longer exhibiting the spirited and cheerful demeanor from before.
Little Fat Goose and the parrot Keke were also listless.
“It’s like this in our desert. During the day, the sun is strong and it’s very hot, but at night it gets very cold. If people who don’t understand it come here without a guide, they’re most likely to get lost in the desert, and they might encounter sandstorms. At that time, life and death would be uncertain. Without a bit of luck, you simply wouldn’t survive.”
Although the camels walked slowly, they didn’t seem dispirited. Every step they took in the desert exuded a sense of ease.
Horses, while fast, would get very tired and require a lot of water.
Camels were different. Once they drank enough water, they could walk for days in the desert without drinking, and they could eat some thorny desert plants, like cacti.
To pass the time on the journey, the people of the camel caravan started singing. It was a language unfamiliar to the Central Plains people. Their singing was loud and, in harmony with the camel bells, possessed a unique beauty.
As the sun set in the west, Master Ma and the others shouted, “Shangyang City is almost here!”
Qin Wanwan and the others looked up. The oasis appearing in the expanse of yellow sand was as eye-catching as a brilliant gemstone.
The oasis was vast, covering an area as large as two cities.
Upon seeing the oasis, everyone’s spirits were instantly lifted.
Entering the Shangyang City oasis area, the camel train merged onto the main road, and the place instantly became lively.
Camel caravans from all directions converged, heading towards Shangyang City.
Qin Wanwan, sitting on the tall camel, saw quite a few beautiful young ladies dressed in exotic styles.
Those young ladies also saw her and smiled at the delicately carved child.
Qin Wanwan also smiled brightly, her eyes like clear, bright little crescent moons, her lips turned up, making her particularly cute.
“She’s so cute.”
The smiles of the young ladies dressed in ethnic clothing became even more cheerful, but Qin Wanwan didn’t understand what they were saying.
Meanwhile, the guard army members who had come along and were witnessing such a scene for the first time were blushing furiously.
This was because the attire of these exotic young ladies was considered too bold and unrestrained by the Central Plains people.
However, they were all military generals, so they didn’t stomp their feet and yell about decency being violated.
Instead, they looked as if they wanted to look but dared not.
