Chapter 219
Chapter 219
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 219
>Chapter Title: Woman Mountain
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Li Huowang slowly limped along on his crutch, leading Bai Lingmiao with her eyes covered. He wasn’t walking fast—after all, his severed leg hadn’t grown back yet.
The ox cart wasn’t fast either. It had traded speed for extra carrying capacity, matching Li Huowang’s pace perfectly right now.
“Is this Woman Mountain?” Li Huowang squinted and shaded his eyes with his hand as he gazed at the distant hills.
Only after seeing those mountains did Li Huowang understand why this place was called Qingqiu. There wasn’t a single tree on any of them; they were covered entirely in green grass instead.
That might also have something to do with how low the hills were here. There were no towering peaks piercing the clouds. These grass-covered mounds formed just a series of connected ridges.
“Senior Brother Li, if you look at them sideways, don’t those mountains look like the profile of a woman lying down?” Sun Baolu pointed excitedly in that direction.
Li Huowang stared carefully for a long time before finally shaking his head. He couldn’t see it at all—those abstract hills bore no resemblance to a woman. These low mountains were peculiar, neither too many nor too few, just a sudden cluster with no connections between them.
“This year is a Moon Year. According to our ancestral rules, our families should be camped about a hundred li ahead, herding. It won’t be long before I reunite with them!”
Li Huowang ignored the excited words from Sun Baolu. He cared more about supplies. They’d been traveling through Qingqiu for so long with so many people—if they ran out of food, they’d have to start eating the draft oxen.
“There’s really a market inside Woman Mountain where we can buy grain? If we can’t get more food soon, we’ll be left drinking the northwest wind.”
“There is, no doubt about it. Herders from hundreds of li around go there to trade. I was there myself when I was seven.”
From Sun Baolu’s explanation, Li Huowang learned that in the vast, sparsely populated lands of Qingqiu, to circulate goods, the nomadic Qingqiu people picked certain spots for trading.
Over time, those spots turned into fixed gathering areas. Even Qingqiu’s officials collected taxes from them.
When Li Huowang spotted tiny black specks like ants moving at the foot of the mountains with his sharp eyesight, he knew the man was telling the truth—there really were people there.
“Let’s go. Everyone put on your veiled conical hats to avoid drawing attention.”
With that, Li Huowang donned his own. His face was mottled red and white now—no better than anyone else’s.
As the ox cart drew gradually nearer to Woman Mountain and followed a small path into the space ringed by the low hills, the view suddenly opened wide.
A vast tent settlement alive with clamor appeared before Li Huowang and the others.
The sounds of horse hooves, human shouts, and donkey brays never ceased. Li Huowang even felt for a moment like he was at a bustling market fair.
In the lively market, Qingqiu people dressed utterly unlike those from Later Shu shouted and bustled about with their business.
So many livestock meant plenty of manure, and the animals’ distinctive stench filled everyone’s noses, making them all furrow their brows.
Perhaps from long exposure to the sun, the biggest difference between Qingqiu people and those from Si Qi or Later Shu was their ruddy faces, heavy with freckles no matter the age or gender.
Qingqiu folk were generally a bit shorter than Li Huowang’s group. In every way, they looked completely different.
Everyone wore rough hide garments, with women’s braids and men’s waists strung with polished round bone fragments.
Here, besides bone and hide, anything that could be made from woven grass was—grass shoes, grass hats, even grass baskets for sale.
Li Huowang’s group clearly caught the Qingqiu people’s eyes. Every outlander drew wary, cold stares from the locals.
“Thwack!” On a nearby grass stall, a cleaver rose high above the chopping board before slamming down, cleaving a hairless, vicious-looking dog head in two.
“Woof.” Mantou tucked his tail between his legs and flattened his ears before scurrying timidly under the ox cart.
“You’re really a Qingqiu person? You don’t look much like them.”
Li Huowang peered through the black veil at Sun Baolu beside him.
“Because... my mother was from out of town.”
Sun Baolu’s expression dimmed as he said it, but his eyes lit up in an instant. He rushed off through the crowd toward the front.
Weaving this way and that through the throng, he finally hugged an elderly-looking Qingqiu person and jabbered excitedly.
Only when they drew closer did Li Huowang realize he couldn’t understand their words.
“We can communicate anywhere else, but this hellhole has its own language.” Li Huowang was at a loss for words. It would make the rest of their journey through Qingqiu far more troublesome.
After chatting with the man for a bit, Sun Baolu returned to Li Huowang, beaming with excitement.
“Senior Brother Li, no mistake—that man’s from my clan. My family’s just up ahead.”
“Fine. Even if it’s close, we still have to get there one step at a time. First, help us buy some food. We’re running low.”
With the language barrier among the Qingqiu people, dealings like this had to rely on Sun Baolu, who spoke it.
Sun Baolu nodded vigorously in agreement and turned to plunge into the bustling crowd.
But Li Huowang called him back.
“Hold on. Is there a place to eat here? Everyone’s hungry—let’s rest first.”
Soon they all entered a noodle shop. The grass shelter was festooned with hanging strands of green noodles, like stepping into a forest.
Sun Baolu explained that everyone shared a single big pot—you cooked your own noodles and took as much as you wanted. The meat sauce came portioned from the owner, paid per serving.
This very Qingqiu style of eating was new to the others, but it didn’t stop them from wolfing it down. The noodles’ grassy aroma went perfectly with the spicy mutton sauce—quite the appetite opener.
The noodle shop bustled with diners. Fortunately, the hanging noodles blocked the view, so those nearby couldn’t see Li Huowang’s group remove their hats.
“Where’s Mantou?”
Li Huowang, stuffed and satisfied, suddenly noticed his dog was gone.
Just as he turned to search, Mantou came darting through the underside of the noodle forest with something in his mouth.
He spat it at Li Huowang’s feet, then sat and panted with his tongue out, tail wagging as he begged for a reward.
“What’s this?”
Li Huowang stared in surprise at the chunk of white bone by his foot.
The others might not know, but local Sun Baolu did. He explained in a fluster,
“Senior Brother Li, that’s a horse bone. Qingqiu people raise horses, so of course they eat horse meat too. It tastes great.”
(End of chapter)