Chapter 800
Chapter 800
Upon entering the city, Shen Lang pinched his nose. The stench that assaulted his nostrils was overwhelming. This was a city best viewed from a distance, not up close. From afar, it boasted countless golden and magnificent buildings, but once inside, he found people in tattered clothes everywhere, and the streets were like open sewers. Beneath the many splendid structures were even more numerous small hovels, packed tightly together.
The city had two kinds of roads. One was a wide road, over ten meters across, paved entirely with stone slabs. Only people in luxurious attire walked upon it, and it was sparsely traveled. The other kind was a narrow, dusty path, filthy and foul-smelling, crowded with the poor. It seemed to be a city with a rigid class divide and a stark gap between the rich and the poor.
Shen Lang noticed something else. A massive slave trade was underway in the square outside the city gates. Thousands of slaves were being herded endlessly into the city, each branded on the forehead. They were all robust black men, but they were clearly not ordinary slaves; it looked as if they were being raised to form a slave army. What could this city possibly need such a large army for?
***
The carriage proceeded along the wide, neat stone-paved avenue, making its way steadily up the mountainside. Though it was a port city, the entire metropolis was built upon a mountain. The higher one went, the more beautiful the houses became and the fewer people there were. The poor lived at the foot of the mountain, the rich on its slopes, and the nobility at the top. And at the very peak were magnificent and beautiful castles. Shen Lang had seen these castles as soon as he disembarked. They were stunning from a distance, and their beauty was immeasurable up close.
They were decorated with milky-white marble and vast amounts of gold, and the outer castles were encircled by high, massive, sturdy walls. The royal palace of the Qiang Kingdom also used a great deal of gold, but Arugan had no aesthetic sense, which only made his palace look tacky. But these castles before him were so masterful, both architecturally and artistically, that they could even be called masterpieces. At the very least, it was the first time Shen Lang had seen such beautiful Western-style castles in this world.
The tan-skinned pirate captain who had brought Shen Lang here had been full of swagger and bravado on the ship. But standing before this castle, he was all bows and scrapes, utterly obsequious. Upon reaching the castle gate, he hastily stopped the carriage. Dozens of warriors on the gate wall aimed their bows at him, while dozens of fully armored warriors guarding the entrance swiftly surrounded the carriage.
Shen Lang noted that their weapons were sharp, long spears. Outside, the pirate captain said something that sounded like an opera performance, but Shen Lang still couldn't understand it. From his demeanor, however, he could guess that the man was praising the master of this castle—the ruler of this great city. Anyone who owned such a city must be a formidable figure of immense power. Shen Lang estimated the city's population to be over two hundred thousand. How wealthy, and how much land must one possess to sustain a city of two hundred thousand people? Judging by the merchant ships packed tightly at the docks, this was a city of trade.
After several long minutes, the pirate captain's praise finally ended. But the guards did not open the gate, nor did they lower their bows. The pirate captain humbled himself even further. Then, he put on a show like a magician.
"Now, for the moment of magic."
Of course, he didn't actually say those words, but that was the impression he gave. Then, with an almost ceremonial air, he opened the carriage door, revealing the 'miracle' inside to the castle warriors. Shen Lang. The warrior captain guarding the gate saw Shen Lang, and his eyes widened.
*A man from the East, and one so beautiful?*
"My gods! Has another fortunate—no, unfortunate—soul arrived?"
Shen Lang understood the warrior captain's words. He had spoken in Latin. It wasn't quite the same as the Latin of later eras, but with the help of his supercomputer, he could understand it. The Eastern world primarily used Chinese, so did the Western world speak Latin? If so, what was the ancient civilization of the West? Besides Latin, was there also Greek?
After voicing his thoughts, the warrior captain gestured, and the castle gate opened. The pirate captain shoved a half-full money pouch into the warrior captain's hands. Was it filled with gold coins? If he was paying that much, just how valuable was Shen Lang?
***
Once inside the sprawling complex of great castles, Shen Lang was once again struck with awe. These were truly castles and manors of unsurpassed beauty. The roads, paved with white marble, were completely spotless. Even the patterns on the roads were exquisitely detailed, and the roadsides were lined with intricate and beautiful statues. Some statues were encrusted with gems, others gilded with gold. The gardens along the paths were immaculately manicured, appearing far more beautiful and luxurious than any castle or manor seen in movies, creating a stark contrast with the filthy, chaotic city below.
Every corner of these castles and manors must have been built with a fortune in gold coins; they were far more extravagant than even the Jin Clan's Count of Xuanwu's Estate. The master of the castle was likely the ruler of the city, a person of exceedingly high status. There were many slaves within the castle as well, especially beautiful female slaves dressed in scandalously sheer, almost transparent garments.
The pirate captain led Shen Lang into a room. The floor of this room was also paved with marble, but this marble was not white, but crimson. It was polished to such a flawless sheen that one could see their reflection in it.
The pirate captain waited in the room with great deference. Shen Lang then realized that the captain had bathed, changed his clothes, and even applied perfume before disembarking. They waited for over an hour, but the pirate captain showed no sign of impatience. Another half-hour passed before footsteps were heard outside, at which point the pirate captain immediately dropped to his knees.
The door opened, and a pale, fat, middle-aged man with a greasy face entered. He was beardless, wore a magnificent silk robe, and had several gold rings on his fingers, each set with a different gem. He was followed by a dozen fully armored warriors. At first glance, he looked like the master, but Shen Lang knew instantly that he was a eunuch.
Kneeling on the floor, the pirate captain once again began to praise his master as if singing an opera. The lavishly dressed eunuch listened half-heartedly, his eyes scanning Shen Lang up and down as he clicked his tongue in wonder. Then, with a look of disgust, he covered his nose with a silk handkerchief and moved farther away from the pirate captain. He acted as if the man exuded an aura of filth. Although the pirate captain had changed into silk clothes, washed himself thoroughly, and trimmed his hair and beard, the pale eunuch still showed his displeasure.
Shen Lang knew that even in the ancient Western world of Earth, places like ancient Egypt and Greece had employed eunuchs extensively. So, was this eunuch a phenomenon unique to this city, or were eunuchs a common profession in the Western world? The pirate captain remained on his knees, desperately praising the master of the castle. In truth, the pirate captain's status was not low. He owned at least one pirate ship and commanded several hundred pirates. Yet, before this eunuch, he acted as lowly as a dog.
After a full eight minutes of praise, the eunuch waved his hand in annoyance. Two warriors brought a chest, placed it before the pirate captain, and opened it. The rather large chest was filled to the brim with gold coins. There were over three thousand gold coins, weighing well over two hundred and fifty pounds. The pirate captain was overjoyed, repeatedly kowtowing to the eunuch. From the looks of it, had Shen Lang just been sold for three thousand gold coins?
When entering the city, Shen Lang had seen the slave trade in progress, where a strong, large black slave was worth a mere three gold coins. And yet, he alone was worth more than a thousand slaves? Shen Lang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. No wonder the pirate captain had been ecstatic when he saw him, feeding him only the most exquisite and delicious food, dressing him in the most luxurious silk robes and jeweled accessories, and dousing him with expensive perfumes.
The pirate captain had treated him like a delicate piece of jade, terrified he might get even the slightest scratch. It was now clear that the profit from Shen Lang alone surpassed that of a ship full of slaves. But why was he valued so highly? Even in the Great Yan Empire, the most renowned courtesans didn't fetch a price of three thousand gold taels.
Just then, the eunuch gestured again. It was a signal for the pirate captain to take his gold and leave quickly. The pirate captain seemed to be incredibly strong; he lifted the chest of gold coins without any sign of strain and practically ran out with it.
"Such a lowly person, speaking such a lowly tongue. Bring clean water at once. I must wash my ears. And have the slaves come in and scrub this floor. I wouldn't want to be contaminated by his filth."
The eunuch also spoke in Latin. Was Latin perhaps considered a high-class language in this world? At first, Shen Lang thought he was joking, but the eunuch actually did wash his ears, and several female slaves entered and began to scrub the floor. The eunuch examined Shen Lang's skin closely, then carefully lifted his hands, using a silk handkerchief to hold them. After a moment, he nodded and spoke in Latin.
"A one-in-a-million beauty from the East."
***
Shen Lang was moved to a grand and opulent chamber that contained a large bathing room. Several beautiful female slaves entered, undressed him, and led him into a massive marble bathtub, where they began to wash every inch of his skin. The female slaves were careful, but they also seemed a little excited.
"He's so beautiful. Like someone out of a painting."
"I heard that Eastern men were small down there. Why doesn't he seem small?"
"It's getting hard. You don't think he's excited by us, do you? If he wanted to, I'd sleep with him."
"Are you trying to get yourself killed? Do you want to be beaten to death and then burned at the stake? Don't provoke him. If he sleeps with you, you're a dead woman."
Of the four female slaves, one was white, and three had the tan skin of South Americans. They had excellent figures and an exotic style. Moreover, they wore only a single layer of thin, gauze-like fabric. Shen Lang was not made of stone; how could he not feel a stir of impulse? After they finished bathing him, they brought in another large tub. It was filled entirely with milk. To use a whole tub of milk for a bath. It was excessively extravagant.