Chapter 2: Selling Mobile Phones in the City

On a long official road, sparse figures are hurrying forward, but only two individuals are leaning against a large tree by the roadside: one is an elderly man with white hair, and the other is a youth dressed in peculiar attire

In less than a cup of tea, the pawnshop owner came out. The young man immediately handed the item to the owner, who played with it for a while and said: "Young man, how much silver do you intend to pawn it for?"

The Imperial Guards, under the leadership of Zhao Qing, set out five days ago. Along the way, county towns, checkpoints, and official roads are all guarded by the Imperial Guards, with thousands of them searching the official roads. However, five days have passed, and not a single clue has been found. The same goes for Aguqie, as spies have been dispatched to every county town. On the official roads, countless assassins disguised as merchants and refugees are present, yet despite all the searches, nothing has been discovered.

Before long, the pawnshop assistant arrived at the front of the pawnshop with the horse-drawn cart, carrying three days' worth of provisions on the cart. The young man did not waste any words, jumped onto the cart, cracked the whip, and the horse, feeling the sting, galloped forward.

It took almost two hours to reach the county town, but driving the horse-drawn carriage back, it took less than half an hour to arrive.

With hope comes motivation, and the two-mile journey was completed in the blink of an eye. Gazing at the city from afar, Wang Xu displayed a smile for the first time. Like the other beggars, he encountered no obstacles and easily entered the county town. While the other beggars began searching for shelters that offered porridge as soon as they entered the county, Wang Xu started to look for pawn shops all over the city.

No

Your Highness, I have dispatched multiple assassins, and we have our people in every county along the way. As soon as he makes an appearance, he will surely not escape.

He waved the half-eaten piece of tree bark in his hand and handed it to Wang Xu, saying: "It's quite good, would you like a piece?"

The young man is Wang Xu. After five days of interaction, under his coercion and temptation, the old man finally made a poisonous oath to the Dragon God. At this moment, Wang Xu believed that the old man, who had been with him for five days, must be either wealthy or noble. As long as he safely returned him to the county city, the benefits would surely be his. Would he then have to worry about not having enough to eat?

Alright, please wait here for a moment; the carriage and provisions will be ready shortly

The young man pouted and said weakly, "Old man, we have already been walking for five days. Every time we pass a town, you say we cannot go in, but this time we must enter. Once we get into the city, I will find a way to get food, and perhaps even a horse. Then we can ride like the wind and reach the county town in just two days. What do you think?"

Do not be too careless; such a rare opportunity is hard to come by in a thousand years; he must not be allowed to return to the royal city. Suddenly, a hint of ferocity appeared on Zhou Yi's cunning and treacherous face as he gritted his teeth and said: "Execute on the spot once found, and after the matter is settled, all the assassins you have recruited must also be executed, leaving no survivors"

"Mixing with you?" The old man took a big bite of the baked pancake and laughed, saying, "For now, I will mix with you. Once we reach the county city, you will mix with me, and I will ensure you enjoy a lifetime of wealth and honor without end.

Having spoken, the young man picked up a half-broken twig from the ground and stood upright as he walked towards the city.

"No silver coins? Then what do you wish to exchange?" the pawnshop owner asked in confusion

After the guy left, the young man wiped the cold sweat from his brow, damn, it's almost out of battery

The young man took the object, glanced at the upper left corner of it, and said anxiously: "Hurry up."

In the side hall of the palace, after glancing at the shadowy figure in the darkness, Zhou Yi asked, "Aguqie, have you found that old fellow?"

The young man did not argue with him, but simply took out a palm-sized object from his pocket. With a crisp "click," he presented the object to the pawnshop clerk. The clerk was stunned, for he saw a person who looked exactly like him. Such a treasure was something the clerk had never seen before. Without further hesitation, he handed the object back to the young man and immediately ran to the back room to inform the owner.

The young man astonishingly declared, "I do not want silver or gold"

Wang Xu was astonished; at that moment, he was just speaking casually, not expecting that he would actually start eating tree bark. It seemed he was truly hungry. Wang Xu stepped forward and snatched the fruit knife from the old man's hand, jokingly asking, "Old man, how does it taste?"

The pawnshop assistant cast a disdainful glance at the young man and mocked, "With you, how could you possibly possess anything of the celestial? You should first fill your stomach before speaking of such things"

Are you serious

Finally, there is something to eat

Hehe, old fellow, you have quite the attitude, enjoy your sesame cake

A cart, two people, three days' worth of provisions

In his hand, he held a modern, inexpensive obsolete phone, which he had purchased second-hand for twenty yuan, and unexpectedly, it has now proven to be useful

"Indeed!" the young man affirmed

As the sky gradually darkened, beneath a tall mountain, a large ball of fire flickered, the fireball being as large as half a house. A scruffy old man was searching for firewood, while a teenager of about ten years was circling the fire pit, throwing nearby logs into the flames, shouting, "Old man, hurry and bring the dry firewood, the wood unloaded from the cart is almost burned out."

The young man slowly stood up. Although he felt lightheaded and dizzy, he gritted his teeth and persevered. After handing the old man the small knife he used to peel apples, he said: "Old man, you stay here. Do you see that big tree you are leaning against? If you get hungry, gnaw on the bark; if you get thirsty, swallow some saliva. I will go into the city and have a good meal first, and I will definitely bring you some delicious food later."

The old man pondered for a moment and sighed, saying: "Child, you must never enter the city; that is a path to certain death. It is better to go around this city."

At this moment, the elder is utterly speechless towards the youth. In the initial days, it was tolerable, as he seemed polite and well-mannered. However, after spending the last couple of days together, he has undergone a complete transformation, not only speaking in a vulgar manner but also occasionally resorting to insults.

"Who would eat this? Come, take a look at what this is." He took a piece of baked cake and a bag of water from the cart, waving them in front of the old man. The old man grabbed them and took a big bite of the cake.

Ancient West County

"Enough of this nonsense, I only know that if we do not eat soon, we will die. If you are timid and prefer books, then stay here. I will definitely return before nightfall."

Wang Xu was not slow either; he took another sesame cake and devoured it ravenously. While eating, he said, "Old man, don’t go begging in the county town anymore. From now on, stick with me, and I guarantee you will eat well and live comfortably."

The old man still leaned against the large tree, vigorously wielding a fruit knife, tearing off small pieces of bark to eat, savoring each bite.

The scruffy old man heard the shout and quickly picked up the wood from the ground, heading towards the fire pile. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he said: "You child, I told you that roasting just a horse leg would suffice, yet you insisted on roasting a whole horse. With such a large horse, can the two of us finish it?"

The pawnbroker was overjoyed, thinking to himself that what value could a cart and provisions possibly hold? Such treasures are rare in the world, at least he had never seen anything like them, and even if one were to spend money, they could not be purchased.

In a pawnshop located in the eastern part of the city, a young beggar dressed in unusual attire limped in, holding a half-broken branch as a walking stick. The shopkeeper gently shook his head and sighed, then retrieved a bun from the back room and handed it to the boy. The boy snatched it eagerly and finished it in three bites. He then angrily said, "Kid, don't look down on people with your dog eyes. Do I look like someone who begs for food? Hurry up and call your boss out; I want to pawn him a celestial item."