The “barbarians” the lame man spoke of was the collective term Dazhou people used for the ethnic peoples beyond the frontier.

Ethnic peoples beyond the frontier, such as the Turks, the Khitans, the Uyghurs, and the Mohe, lived in the harsh and bitter lands outside the passes. Their way of life was primarily nomadic, and their customs were fierce and bold. The Turks in particular possessed vast numbers of herders and warhorses, with every man skilled in volley archery — even their women could mount a horse and fight. They had become the dominant power among the border peoples.

The Turks were like a pack of wolves caged behind a fence, their eyes fixed hungrily on the rich and fertile Central Plains of Dazhou. In recent years, they had frequently harassed the frontier passes. Yet Dazhou had been founded by military might and was a nation of great strength; in the short term, there was simply no way to shake its foundations.

Among the tribal leaders of the Turks, there were no shortage of those who admired Central Plains culture. The silk, tea, porcelain, refined salt, and even the brushes, ink, and paper of the Dazhou dynasty — anything that could be smuggled through the passes to the lands beyond would fetch an astronomical price.

It is the nature of merchants to chase profit, and the enormous gains to be made here were truly tempting. Even the threat of beheading for the crime of treason could not stop the smuggling trade from flourishing.

And among all these ventures, none was more profitable than the trafficking of people.

That is putting it politely. To speak plainly: it meant abducting beautiful young men and women and selling them to powerful and wealthy leaders among the Turks.

Ordinary commoner girls could not fetch a high price, so the more audacious ones turned their attention to the daughters of officials and nobility.

The daughters of good families with official backgrounds were not only beautiful but also literate, and many were accomplished in playing the zither, the flute, poetry, and painting. Abducting a girl like that to smuggle and sell would naturally yield enormous profit.

Of course, those who dared to prey upon the daughters of officials were no ordinary criminals.

The gang of outlaws led by the lame man and Scarface — the second-in-command — were the most brazen and rampant of them all.

The first-in-command remained hidden behind the scenes, responsible for “smuggling and fencing.” The second-in-command scattered the majority of his men across various locations, scouting for suitable targets and waiting for the right moment to strike.

A “suitable target” meant a refined and extraordinarily beautiful young lady from a prominent family. Such targets were rare and not easily come by. Sometimes months would pass without encountering even one. And even when one was found, the difficulty of the operation had to be carefully weighed.

Those who could travel on official vessels were all the families of officials, accompanied by no small number of household guards and escorts. One misstep would not only mean failing to abduct anyone, but would also invite deadly retribution.

“How many household guards are on that official vessel?” The second-in-command set aside his impatience and pressed for specifics: “How capable do they look? How many boatmen are on the ship?”

The lame man thought for a moment and replied: “A vessel that size would have roughly a dozen or so boatmen. About eleven or twelve guards disembarked on shore — I’d estimate there are still a few on board. These guards had a very steady stance when they walked, well-built and sturdy. Their skills look decent.”

Scarface listened with a furrowed brow: “Second-in-command, from what the lame man says, the official on that vessel must be of no low rank. The risk of going after a ship like that is really quite considerable…”

The lame man gave a contemptuous snort and cut Scarface off swiftly: “There’s no such thing as ‘quite considerable’ in our line of work! We lick blood off the blade for a living — there’s no such thing as risk-free. Besides, we’ve robbed officials before, it’s not the first time. These officials look imposing, but when they actually face swords and spears they turn to spineless cowards. We’re not taking their lives, and we’re not robbing gold or silver — we’re only taking two people with us. They’ll assume it’s some enemy seeking revenge. And besides, the ones being taken are unmarried young women — they would never report it to the authorities and would never dare make it public. In the end, won’t they just have to swallow the injustice in silence?”

An unmarried daughter snatched away by villains — who would dare spread word of such a thing?

Once it got out, the woman’s reputation would be utterly destroyed. Even if she were fortunate enough to be found someday, she could never hope to marry in this lifetime. It would also bring shame upon the entire household.

Out of this concern, officials who suffered such a catastrophe would mostly send people to quietly search for their daughter’s whereabouts afterward. After a year or two of searching with no hope remaining, they would reluctantly announce to the outside world that their daughter had died of illness.

This was precisely the cleverness of how these criminals operated. They neither killed anyone nor robbed gold, silver, or jewels — they only abducted beautiful young women. In this way they made their fortune in silence without worrying about bringing down soldiers and officers upon their heads.

Scarface had been cut off by the lame man and felt some displeasure, giving a disdainful grunt: “The ones we’ve usually gone after were officials of low rank — county magistrates, junior officials, that sort of thing. From what you’re describing, this is a superior-class official vessel. Anyone who travels on a vessel like that is at least a fourth-rank official or above. Charging in recklessly like that — aren’t you afraid of running into a real tough opponent?”

The lame man and Scarface kept arguing back and forth.

The second-in-command’s brow creased, a pair of triangular eyes flashing with menacing light, and he bellowed in fury: “Enough — both of you shut your mouths. Whether it’s worth the risk is not something I’ll decide until I’ve taken a look for myself.”

After Ling Xiao entered the shop selling the four treasures of the study, she touched this, then reached for that, her face lit up with delight and excitement.

The shop assistant beside her served her with great attentiveness, prattling on without pause as he introduced the paper, ink, and ink stones in the shop.

Ever since leaving Dingzhou, Ling Jingshu had also shed her former gloom and despondency. The corners of her lips curved up gently, her voice soft and graceful: “A’Xiao, if you like something, just buy it.”

The customers and shop assistants in the store heard that sweet and pleasing voice and could not help but steal a glance in her direction. In their hearts they secretly imagined what lay beneath the gauze veil, their minds wandering with fascination.

Ling Xiao hesitated briefly, then felt reluctant: “Let’s buy a little less!”

Good quality brushes, ink, paper, and ink stones all came at quite a steep price.

A’Shu’s money was being saved for medical treatment — it was better to be frugal.

Seeing him like this, Ling Jingshu felt both tender and amused: “If you like them, just buy everything. We’re not short of a little silver.”

Both the Ling family matriarch and Ling Wuye had generously provided funds, and the silver she carried was more than enough for the two siblings to spend.

They lingered in the shop for over half an hour, buying all manner of brushes and ink that might not even be used. Ling Xiao’s face was full of satisfaction.

Ling Jingshu looked at the contented expression on Ling Xiao’s face, and felt extraordinarily content herself.

When they had finished buying their things, Ling Jingxian and the others arrived right on cue. Just from the sight of several maids each carrying lacquered boxes in their arms, one could tell that Ling Jingxian and Madam Jiang had also been quite extravagant at the rouge shop.

Everyone had set out in high spirits and returned fully satisfied!

They had barely walked out of the shop when suddenly a lame beggar rushed forward and fell to his knees with a thud in front of Ling Jingshu and Ling Xiao: “Young master, young mistresses, please show some kindness — take pity on me! I haven’t had anything to eat for three days…”

As he spoke he kowtowed repeatedly, his face streaked with tears and mucus, which did look rather pitiable.

Ling Jingshu’s brow creased slightly, and she instinctively stepped back a pace.

Whenever any unfamiliar man came within three feet of her, she would almost immediately tense her entire body.

Bai Yu immediately stepped forward, and casually drew some loose change from her sleeve, offering it to the lame beggar: “Take your money and be off.”

The lame beggar accepted the loose coins and kowtowed repeatedly in thanks.

As fate would have it, at that very moment a light breeze swept past. The gauze veil over Ling Jingshu’s face was lifted almost entirely by the wind, exposing more than half of her face.

The lame beggar’s breath caught in his throat, and he stared fixedly at Ling Jingshu.

Ling Jingshu frowned slightly but said nothing, took Ling Xiao’s hand, stepped around the lame beggar, and walked toward the official vessel.

Not far away, in front of a general goods shop, stood a powerfully built man. His eyesight was exceptionally keen, and the flower-like beauty of Ling Jingshu’s face had been captured in full by his gaze — a pair of triangular eyes that nearly shone with light.