It was one of the caravan’s foremen that was whipping people the whole time. He sported a fiendish and overbearing look, which was out of place among the surrounding commoners.
“Stop!” Wu Mantian rushed over with two of his personal experts. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the foreman that was committing assault.
That person was a typical boorish beer belly. He was about forty years old and wore a washed-out dark blue robe. His image, at least, allowed him to put on airs of sophistication.
“Do you know who I am? You, a tiny Five Moon City City Lord, also dares to be insolent before me?”
Two level-10 experts stepped out from Wu Mantian’s side. One of them grabbed the boorish beer belly and dragged him down from his horse in one move.
The boorish beer belly broke out into curses. “You’re all revolting! I am Second Manager Qi of Northern Mo’s State Uncle Zheng’s Estate! Even you, a city lord, dares to manhandle me?”
“So it was Second Manager Qi.” Wu Mantian cupped his hands with a sarcastic smile. “Let’s talk out any issues you have cordially. If you need to hasten on with your journey, we can just clear out a path for you! You don’t need to thrash people with your whip; it’ll scare others.”
“Humph!” Second Manager Qi turned his nose up to the sky and humphed loudly. He cast a glance at the two level-10 experts who wore foul expressions, and he didn’t dare to unscrupulously blame Wu Mantian any further for having a bad attitude.
“Since the city lord understands the situation, I won’t say anything more! Please clear the path, then! My trip this time is by the order of our Noble Consort Zheng.” Second Manager Qi went through the motions and cupped his hands towards the northern sky. “Her Highness is waiting for this subordinate to hurry back and make a report.”
“Certainly, certainly.” Seeing that he had even brought out that whoever Noble Consort, Wu Mantian couldn’t argue with him further. He whispered to the two experts beside him to have them first disperse the congested citizens ahead.
The eight-year-old Wu Lingqu pursed her small mouth as she stood beside her mother. She muttered quietly, “Mother, I dislike this person’s ugly face.”
The City Lord Madam tugged her daughter’s small hand gently, gesturing for her not to speak.
Qiao Mu looked on coolly as a bystander at the edge of the crowd. The disturbance just now had caused the area to be even more crowded, so she temporarily stood under the eaves of a house nearby.
At this time, she swept her gaze over and saw that around a dozen people were escorting the caravan, which was pulling along two wooden prisoners’ carriages.
About five to eight people were imprisoned inside each wooden cage, which amounted in total to 12 to 13 people of all ages and sizes.
A five to six-year-old girl was standing inside the wooden cage. Her skinny and feeble hands clung tightly to a wooden post as she looked yearningly at the people outside.
The crowd was starting to become restless.
An elderly person beside Qiao Mu sighed as he shook his head to lament, “Sigh, they went to the Dark Sea to capture merfolk again.”
“It’s really pitiful. Some of them are still children.”
Qiao Mu’s gaze landed on the elderly and young in the two carriages, and she saw each of them look at the citizens outside with hopeful eyes.
But even their city lord Wu Mantian couldn’t interfere with Noble Consort Zheng’s affairs, not to mention them as common people.
If they wanted to stick their nose in other people’s business, they first had to have the life to do so.
“Merfolk?” Qiao Mu muttered to herself.
The elderly person turned to glance at her but was shocked by the facial features of this cold little girl dressed in red.
Under the fiery-red robes, the little girl’s waist was so slender it seemed like it would break with a grasp. Her lips were naturally vermilion, and her hands were tucked into her sleeves, holding onto a small hand warmer. She had crescent brows and starry pupils, and her beautiful pair of pitch-black eyes were like a deep and revolving abyss that could seemingly suck people in with just a glance.
