Chapter 944: Chapter 3: The Nine Cauldrons Change, Encounter with the Demon Sect
"Nothing has changed, huh."
"The nobility say, this is fate."
Li Guanyi asked, "Fate?"
Saatanati, while cutting horse grass, naturally replied:
"Yes, the king’s statutes in the Western Regions say that people of the highest status are immeasurably meritorious. One drop of their blood is worth an ounce of gold or silver, while people of middle status have blood worth a cent of gold or silver. We are the lowest class, and our blood is filled with filth."
"We are born into this world for atonement."
"People are not the same."
"Lord Buddha says, in this life, we should endure hardship properly; that way, we will pay off our karmic debts, and in the next life, we can live well."
"I don’t care about the next life."
Saatanati pressed her lips together: "I want to cut more horse grass, so the horses can eat well, and we can hunt more prey. That way, we can exchange more things in the city, and maybe more people can survive."
"When we reach the age of fifteen, our tribe will gather with other tribes, bringing a foal, a bow, and three stacks of sheepskin to wed a hunter or samurai in another tribe."
"Then, after having sons or daughters, when Flying Eagles have flown back and forth across the desert fifty-five times, they will stop at the lake, returning to the embrace of the goddess."
She lifted her head, smiling, "This is our fate, Tian Ge’er."
"But I don’t believe in fate."
She clenched her fist tightly, revealing a smile:
"I have such strength, I am so brave."
"I must live to see the fifty-sixth time the Flying Eagles hover!"
"I want to live to the age of fifty-six before dying, Tian Ge’er!"
Li Guanyi looked at this face and couldn’t say anything.
Saatanati continued, "We’ve seen the nobles and the Lords Buddha of the Western Regions, each with their own prestige. But it’s said that when they meet the rulers of the Central Plains, they travel tens of thousands of miles to do so."
"The rulers of the Central Plains wear crowns with hanging beads, and jade crowns and such. Those imposing lords go to the Central Plains, wearing magnificent clothes, yet they must kneel before the rulers of the Central Plains."
Li Guanyi smiled and said, "And the nations bow to the crown."
Saatanati said, "Hmm? That’s well said."
"Have you seen it, Tian Ge’er?"
Li Guanyi kept a straight face, answering:
"Someone like me, how could I have seen it?"
"I’m just a merchant."
Saatanati oh-ed, slightly disappointed, and said:
"Grandpa Azati said that eight hundred years ago, the greatest king of the Central Plains was entwined with a scarlet dragon and wore a sword. In our language, that sword is called [Golden Red Flame Burning the Sky]."
Li Guanyi remained expressionless and moved the Chi Xiao Sword backward.
While chatting here, Changsun Wuchou and Nangong Wumeng were about to seek someone out, but based on desert experience, Changsun Wuchou suggested being prepared, otherwise encountering weather like a desert storm might be hard to endure even for them two who are in the Fourth Layer Heaven.
The tribe was impoverished, and what Changsun Wuchou needed was incomplete.
Just then, there was a city not far away, and Batuer, having received Golden Pearls from Li Guanyi, planned to first exchange them for the tribe’s necessities in the city, so Li Guanyi also decided to check out the city of the Western Regions.
Saatanati couldn’t go along, and Batuer said in a low voice, "Saatanati is only fourteen. At her age and appearance, going into the city might mean being taken as a female slave."
Fan Qing’s expression was somber, "A female slave?"
Something long gone in the era of the Central Plains still seems commonplace here.
Batuer, puzzled, asked, "What’s wrong with that?"
"In such places, when our tribe’s children marry, the lords can replace the groom for the first night in the bridal chamber, so many tribes that depend on oasis cities have rules."
Batuer, riding his horse, said very plainly and matter-factly:
"The first child in the family must be killed."
The group from the Heavenly Strategy Mansion of the Central Plains was momentarily speechless.
They felt a massive, disjointed impact.
Saatanati also nodded, and seeing the girl wanting to go to the city but unable, Li Guanyi thought and said, "In that case, is there anything Saatanati wants?"
Saatanati was stunned and said, "No..."
Li Guanyi smiled and said, "Don’t be polite, I’ve learned a lot from you. Consider it a gift from us."
Saatanati hesitated, shyly tucked her hair behind her ear, and softly asked, "Then, could you bring me a mirror?"
At this moment, this heroic and brave girl, who vowed to live until the flying eagle crosses the sky fifty-six times, revealed a hint of girlishness. Li Guanyi smiled and said, "Alright, I’ll bring you the best mirror!"
Saatanati subconsciously smiled a little.
Then, realizing that it didn’t quite fit the children of heroes from the desert, she coughed and said, "Then, I’ll... I’ll prepare a thank you gift."
"Tian Ge’er."
Li Guanyi smiled and said, "Then I’m looking forward to it."
They truly encountered the Western Regions, with Li Guanyi pulling Yaoguang to have the girl conceal herself and Nangong Wumeng, otherwise, trouble might arise.
They entered the city without incident.
Even though Li Guanyi and the others didn’t look like Western Region people.
But the power of gold and golden beans was more reliable than a face.
They successfully entered, looking around, most of the houses were rammed earth structures made from large bricks and soil, different from the houses of the Central Plains. The sky was azure, and the city’s style was grayish, with colorful silk cloths hanging between buildings, embroidered with the legends of the Buddha’s scriptures.