People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

After thinking for a moment, he took off his hood to show his face.

Since he has been out of Zhao for quite some time now, he no longer needs to hide it.

"I am Cao Ze. I have a past connection with the Xia Kui. I would like to ask the two hall masters to do me a favor."

"You are Cao Ze?" Tian Hu's eyes widened like copper bells.

Tian Meng, who had been completely oblivious, looked at Cao Ze and asked, "Are you really Cao Ze?"

He had heard from the chivalrous leader that Cao Ze's death was a pity.

Zhu Zhong was taken aback, but upon closer inspection, it really was Cao Ze.

He was somewhat stunned, but mostly furious.

Why didn't Cao Ze die?!

Thinking back to how he had secretly held a grand banquet to celebrate Cao Ze's death not long ago, his face burned with embarrassment.

Cao Ze said slowly, "That's right."

Tian Hu asked in surprise, "Weren't you dead?"

He had seen many peasant disciples who, because of Cao Ze's death, either burned paper money or planted trees, lamenting the loss while also being glad that "Journey to the West" had ended.

Tian Meng pondered for a moment, then looked at Zhu Zhong and asked, "You've been to Handan, is he Cao Ze?"

Zhu Zhong looked at Cao Ze with a mixture of anger and ambiguity.

He thought of Tian Mi, who would rather be Cao Ze's dog than pay him any attention, and of Zhao Gao, who taught him how to climb to the top step by step.

He suppressed his anger, his eyes cold and sharp.

"Reporting to the Hall Master, this person looks similar to Cao Ze, but he is not Cao Ze. In both the martial arts world and the imperial court, who does not know that Cao Ze is dead?"

Cao Ze frowned slightly; Zhu Zhong had met him before.

Such slander against him is clearly driven by jealousy.

If only the honey pot were here.

Tian Hu wasn't very bright to begin with, and upon hearing Zhu Zhong's words, he scoffed, "Hmph! He actually lied to me, he needs to be taught a lesson!"

As he spoke, Tian Hu immediately made his move.

Having just entered the ranks of first-class masters, Tian Hu, wielding the famous sword Tiger Soul, is also a top-tier expert in the martial arts world.

Cao Ze took a light breath, knowing full well that in the world of martial arts, strength speaks louder than words, and explanations are useless.

"Jing Ni, finish this quickly!"

This is farmland; we can't linger here.

"Shhh-"

Realizing the situation was bad, Tian Meng wanted to help Tian Hu, but it was too late.

He watched helplessly as Tian Hu, who had been as fierce as a tiger, was now being held at the throat by a woman with the tip of a sword.

Tian Hu's voice trembled slightly as he asked, "Grandmaster?"

Not long ago, Xia Kui broke through to the Grandmaster level, and he personally experienced the strength of a Grandmaster.

Tian Meng's expression changed slightly; he hadn't expected that the young and beautiful woman in front of him was actually a grandmaster.

For a moment, he felt both jealousy and longing.

Only a woman like this is worthy of him.

Looking around the entire scene, Cao Ze knew that Jing Ni was not yet a Grandmaster, but she was already very close to becoming one.

"Two hall masters, we mean no harm, please do us a favor."

Zhu Zhong was shocked, never expecting that Cao Ze would have such a formidable woman by his side.

Tian Meng's face was gloomy and uncertain.

If a grandmaster is offended for no reason, the leader of the knights will definitely enforce the family law, which will be detrimental to his future competition for the position of leader of the knights.

But what he wanted to know more about now was whether the man in front of him was really Cao Ze.

"Let them through!"

Tian Meng waved his hand and gave the order.

Cao Ze cupped his hands and said, "Thank you very much."

After they had traveled some distance, Tian Hu was released.

Tian Hu returned looking dejected and said to Tian Meng, "Brother, this woman is really something else."

Tian Meng didn't answer, but glanced at Zhu Zhong and said, "He's really not Cao Ze?"

Despite the pressure, Zhu Zhong's eyes darted around. "Master, I've only met Cao Ze a few times in Handan, and there are rumors that he's dead. I'm not sure if the person in front of me is Cao Ze."

Tian Meng said, "Go back to the farmhouse and see the chieftain."

He knew that the chivalrous leader cared a lot about Cao Ze, so he took this opportunity to ask him.

After Cao Ze and the others set off, Cao Ze said, "We will travel day and night, and we will not stop before we leave Daze Mountain."

When the chivalrous leader Tian Guang heard Tian Meng's description, he knew that Cao Ze was not dead. He hurriedly led his men to chase after him, but Cao Ze and the others had already disappeared. He couldn't help but feel regret.

He glanced at Zhu Zhong indifferently, "You good-for-nothing, more trouble than you're worth. Go and receive ten lashes as punishment."

Zhu Zhong trembled. "Yes."

His hatred for Cao Ze intensified; it was all Cao Ze's fault!

It's the end of September.

Cao Ze and his party arrived at Xiangling City, southeast of Daliang, the capital of Wei.

Just as they were about to leave the dense forest and enter the city to rest for the night, the ground suddenly began to shake.

But then they saw a bald giant nearly ten feet tall and a beautiful young woman flash past them.

The woman wore a bright red suit of armor on her upper body and a black high-slit long skirt on her lower body. Her delicate little feet, encased in black boots, propelled her long, fair, and shapely legs as she moved swiftly, her feet seemingly flying through the air.

Behind the burly man and the woman, dozens of soldiers on horseback, carrying bows, crossbows, ropes, and swords, shouted and chased after them.

Cao Ze took a light sniff of the fragrance emanating from Yan Lingji and murmured to himself, "It's definitely the Fire-Starting Princess..."

He once secretly commissioned a lighter shaped like Yan Ling Ji; it ignited very well, and the switch was...

Chapter 229 They really know how to have fun!

"Catch them!"

"Don't hurt that woman who's worth a fortune!"

"Loosen the lock net!"

……

The sounds of horses' hooves and shouts filled the air.

Cao Ze looked at this group of well-equipped soldiers, who were unlike any of the seven kingdoms.

Cheng Jiao snorted and said, "This group of slave hunters is really arrogant."

Cao Ze asked, "What country are these soldiers from?"

In his memory, Yan Lingji was captured by South Korea, but he didn't know the specifics.

"They're not from any particular country; they're just bandits and thieves from the martial arts world. Of course, many of them are also kept by wealthy merchants, gentry, and high-ranking officials who specialize in buying and selling slaves."

Cheng Jiao despised these people. Anyone with a bit of status or position would look down on these slave-catching teams, let alone keep such creatures.

They emphasize voluntariness and adherence to rules.

Cao Ze understood. No wonder these people were not only fierce but also skilled, chasing Yan Lingji and Wushuang Gui away.

He sighed softly, thinking of the slave market he had seen at the Great Wall pass of Zhao last year when he entered Zhao. It was also called the human market or the brokerage.

Although this era is now defined as feudal by later generations, it was very common for people to be bought and sold like livestock.

They openly sell people as goods.

Every country has this, and the military is involved.

Wartime is when the human market is at its busiest.

Therefore, the largest slave owners were the most prestigious royal families of the seven kingdoms.

"Let's go take a look."

Cao Ze changed direction.

Cheng Jiao chuckled: "Brother Cao, have you taken a fancy to that Baiyue woman? To be honest, I've never seen many women as alluring and beautiful as her."

Perhaps only his nominal mother, Empress Zhao Ji, could compare to her.

That's right, the title of the number one goddess of Chinese animation back then wasn't just for show... Cao Ze smiled faintly, without explaining.

Everyone loves beauty, and he naturally admires a beautiful woman like Yan Lingji, otherwise he wouldn't have commissioned a figurine of her.

However, the reason he chose to turn back was more to get some information about the Baiyue runes from Yan Lingji.

He searched through a lot of materials in the archives of the Zhao royal family in Handan, but couldn't find any of the Baiyue runes on the "Seven Mansions" scroll.

It's likely that only the Baiyue people would understand this.

……

On the other side, Yan Lingji and Wushuang Gui were surrounded by dozens of people.

Yan Lingji's fair forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, and a glistening drop of sweat quietly dripped from the tip of her delicate nose, landing on her rosy lips.

She licked her lips slightly; they tasted a little salty.

With her alluring and passionate peach blossom eyes, she sharply stared at the well-equipped slave-catching team around her.

She had originally planned to sneak into Xinzheng with Wushuang Gui to investigate Tianze's whereabouts.

However, not long after entering the Korean penal colony, they were spotted by the slave-catching team and chased all the way into the territory of the Wei Kingdom.