Mu Linger ignored Manager Jin as he sat by her side. She was wondering why Qi gege still hadn’t found the secret signals she’d left behind during the entire trip. Could it be that Qi gege ran into trouble too? If Qi gege returned to Myriad rchant Hall, he would definitely know that she and Ning Jing had been kidnapped. He should have rembered the secret signals she’d told him before.
Just what had Qi gege done the day he slipped silently away towards Blacktower?!
Mu Linger creased her forehead at the thought. Seeing this, Manager Jin looked away as if reluctant to see her make such expressions. But after so silence, he still spoke up. “What are you worrying about?”
Mu Linger glanced at him before asking back, “Hey, you are Manager Jin, aren’t you!”
Although she’d never stopped asking and was always sure, Manager Jin still refused to answer her outright. For so reason, he’d started finding Mu Linger to start conversations. Mu Linger didn’t care what he talked about, but always asked him the sa question.
Like always, Manager Jin only turned his head away to look elsewhere. Mu Linger began to fret about Ning Jing and looked back. Once she was sure the older man wasn’t bothering her, she turned around again.
“Jin Zi,” she asked, “This isn’t far from Wintercrow Country, right? If I rember right, this should be Northern Li’s Skyriver City.”
She and Ning Jing had no idea where Manager Jin was taking them, but every since entering Northern Li, they had started to lose hope.
Manager Jin remained silent.
Mu Linger asked next, “Can’t you give us so tips, like if the Di Clan has any news about Ning Cheng yet? I’m not thinking up any sches, it’s just that Ning Jing’s worried for her big brother.”
Manager Jin still didn’t speak.
Mu Linger’s face fell as she prepared to leave. If she couldn’t get any intel, she wouldn’t sit with this guy at all. But abruptly, Manager Jin opened his mouth. “You know about Wintercrow Country?”
Mu Linger’s heart gave a start before she imdiately sat down. “Are you really taking us to Wintercrow Country?”
“It should be snowing there by now,” Manager Jin sighed.
“Didn’t you still want to ransom my big sis and Qi gege? Let’s talk it over, I have ways to get you even more silver. Don’t bring us to Wintercrow Country, I can’t stand the weather there,” Mu Linger was on the verge of tears. That place wasn’t fit for birds to poop or chickens to lay their eggs. She and Ning Jing would never survive if they ended up there.
Manager Jin ignored Mu Linger’s panic and simply said, “East Wu’s winter clothing is silver and white, clean and pure. When the spring cos and the snow lts, warblers fly over the adows. It’s very, very beautiful.”
Mu Linger looked at Manager Jin and saw that his face was filled with chard rapture for sowhere nostalgic. She couldn’t resist asking, “Have you been there before?”
“No, I only heard it from others who’ve been there,” Manager Jin intoned. He was sold to the black markets as a child, so his mories of Wintercrow Country were blurry at best. The Wintercrow Clan was fad for its horses and precious gems. rchants who didn’t fear death would travel there to purchase the goods at low prices and resell them at Three-Way Black Market. Gradually, so of the smarter mbers of the Wintercrow Clan began to imitate their thods and bring horses and gems directly to the black markets for sale. But that was rare, and their numbers could be counted on one’s fingers between the years. Most of the horses and gemstones of Wintercrow Country were heavily controlled by private businesses. The only reason Jun Yixie could get so many horses on his own was because he’d gone as a Northern Li imperial clan representative, not a private individual. Naturally, he’d paid a large sum as well.
“You really want to go back, don’t you...” Mu Linger probed carefully.
Manager Jin nodded.
Mu Linger’s heart throbbed before she asked, “We’ll...be there very soon, right?”
Manager Jin was about to nod when he suddenly sensed sothing amiss. For so reason, he broke into a chuckle. Mu Linger knew then that she’d failed and further probing would be useless. Manager Jin looked at her for a good while before telling her the truth for the first ti. “We’re not going to East Wu, but to et a certain person.”
“Who?” Mu Linger’s head whipped up.
“You’ll know in a few days,” Manager Jin still had his limits.
Mu Linger was full of doubt. If they’d know in a few days, then their person must be near Skyriver City. She didn’t understand much about Northern Li’s situation, nor could she find any clues. She decided to wait until Manager Jin and the older man were asleep before secretly telling Ning Jing. She was smart enough to list a few potential suspects.
“Jin Zi, will you go back to the Wintercrow Clan in the future?” Mu Linger kept probing. Although she considered this a trial interrogation, Manager Jin’s own motives were unknown.
“I will!” he declared confidently.
“Jin Zi, do you have a ho in Wintercrow Country?” Mu Linger asked next.
Manager Jin shook his head. “I don’t know.” He only knew that he had been a slave and nothing else.
Actually, leaving aside the fact that Manager Jin had worked together with Ning Cheng to trick her Qi gege, Mu Linger still sympathized with the man. She even planned to return his gold card originally.
“Is your surna really Jin? Why do they call you Jin Zi?” Mu Linger asked.
“I...” After a mont of silence, he still decided to answer. “I’m just a slave, so I’ve only got a number, not a na.”
“A number?” Mu Linger was genuinely curious. She knew nothing about slaves.
“Slaves from slave markets never have nas. There’s 10 to a cage, so the numbers go from one to ten. They’ll only get nad once they’re sold to new masters,” Manager Jin explained.
“What was your number?” Mu Linger blurted out.
“Qi,” Manager Jin intoned.The number seven.
Because of Qi(Seven) gege, Mu Linger had a good impression of the number seven. She couldn’t help but mutter to herself, “Little Qi...”
Manager Jin had only heard of Gu Qishao’s full na and didn’t know much about him. For a second, he didn’t realize that Mu Linger’s “Little Qi” was Gu Qishao and not himself. Feeling a little awkward, he looked away. Mu Linger suddenly missed her Qi gege and grew sorrowful. She stopped asking him any questions, but Manager Jin spoke on his own.
“The day that Myriad rchant Hall bought , I ran into Ning Cheng by accident. He asked what I wanted, and I said gold. Thus, he awarded with the na ‘Jin Zi’ (金子), or ‘gold.’”
Jin Zi...
He wanted lots and lots of gold, enough to buy his own indenture agreent. His whole life had existed for that purpose. Mu Linger suddenly looked at Manager Jin with a stifled heart. Even she felt perplexed by the emotion. This fellow’s business had nothing to do with her! She wouldn’t pity him a bit. If she did, who was supposed to pity her?
“Jin Zi, I’ll ask you one last ti: are you going to work with ? I swear on my life that my big sis will sell the indenture agreent to you as long as you bring and Ning Jing back to Myriad rchant Hall. We’ll even pay off your debts!” Mu Linger declared.
Manager Jin gave her a scrutinizing look before smiling coldly and walking away. It was as if they’d never chatted at all. After that face-off at Hundred Poisons Sect, Han Yunxi would face the Di Clan’s condemnation very soon. It was impossible for her to wield control over Myriad rchant Hall anymore. He had already thought it over: et Ning Cheng, deliver the hostages. He’d get the indenture agreent and pay off his debts, then imdiately head for Wintercrow Country. He wasn’t a bit interested in the power struggles of Cloud Realm Continent. He only wanted to hide far, far away.
Mu Linger watched Manager Jin’s retreating back and only felt that he was so random! Why did he change moods at the drop of hat? That night, she found a chance to whisper with Ning Jing about everything she’d heard.
“Say, where do you think we’re going? This is by Skyriver City, will they be teaming up with Jun Yixie?” Mu Linger muttered.
But Ning Jing’s first reaction was, “Ning Cheng.”
Mu Linger almost cried out at the na. Fortunately, Ning Jing muffled her mouth in ti.
“Jun Yixie has no money. My brother was kidnapped by Bai Yuqiao, so he must be in Jun Yixie’s hands! My big brother has money, or else that old man wouldn’t bring us here. Neither would Jin Zi co along!” Ning Jin declared.
“Your brother’s teaming up with Jun Yixie? He’s going to betray my big sis!” Mu Linger was more concerned about that.
“Impossible!” Ning Jing was serious. “Mu Linger, rember this: even if the entire Di Clan betrays the West Qin imperial clan, my brother never will! He must have been threatened.” As she spoke, she looked towards the sleeping old man on the pile of thatch and murmured, “I’m rather suspecting that this old man’s colluding with Jun Yixie instead. Rember, if we et them in a few days, don’t say a word. Act according to discretion, understand?”
Mu Linger only murmured resentfully, “Ning Jing, why do you trust you big brother that much?”
“West Qin is his faith and responsibility. Do you understand?” Ning Jing answered.
Mu Linger didn’t, so she shook her head and asked, “Ning Jing, then do you trust Tang Li?”
Tang Li. It had been so long since anyone brought up his na to her face. But she still missed him everyday. In the past, she always want to run far, far away, but now that they were actually separated, she realized that she didn’t feel as carefree as she expected. Day by day, the child in her womb was growing bigger. She was almost at the five-month mark, but the baby’s father didn’t even know of its existence.
Without a word, Ning Jing shut her eyes. Mu Linger hesitated for a long, long while before she scooted over and muttered, “Ning Jing, can I tell you sothing else?”
“Mm,” Ning Jing seed tired.
“I, I was thinking about this ti, if we...we can’t go back, or ending up dying away from ho. Well, if you never found out, you would have lived in vain,” Mu Linger grew serious.
Ning Jing imdiately looked her way. “What is it?”
“A-actually, Tang Li likes you too,” Mu Linger was afraid that Ning Jing wouldn’t believe her, so she quickly told her about Tang Li’s situation in the prisons, and how Han Yunxi had hatched a plan to let him take her away.
Ning Jing abruptly sat up in disbelief. Nearby, Manager Jin sensed the movent and looked their way, causing Ning Jing to still her nerves and lie back down again.
In a low voice, Mu Linger coaxed, “Aiya, don’t get excited. Be careful of hurting the baby again!”
She had spent all that effort taking care of Ning Jing’s womb during this entire trip. If anything happened again, she’d definitely cry.
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