Chapter 316

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Chapter 316: Messenger of the Gods
Hachikuju saw the Obsidian Beetle flying at low altitude next to his Red Blood, with a hint of astonishment in his eyes.
After adjusting its height, the Obsidian Beetle and Zhang Mu and Hachikuju were at the same level, with the lead horse Red Blood naturally knowing the way back to Fencheng, so Hachikuju didn’t need to steer, and the two quickly started talking.
“Brother Zhang Mu, although I usually deal with a few merchants like you, their personalities are really unpredictable. It’s much easier to talk to straightforward people like you, Zhang Mu. There are some things I’ve been wanting to ask, I wonder if you can tell me.”
Hachikuju and Zhang Mu were originally talking about the customs of the ancient city of Inner Mongolia when he suddenly said.
Zhang Mu laughed and said, “Go ahead, Brother Hachikuju, ask away.”
“Alright then, here goes.” Hachikuju looked at Zhang Mu’s Era Merchant Ring on his right ring finger and asked, “Is this ring on your hand a magical item related to space?”
Zhang Mu touched the Era Merchant Ring on his ring finger and replied, “Yes, it should be. It has storage capabilities, like you’ve seen before, it can take items out and store them inside.”
“This is so amazing! If I could put my Red Blood in it, it would save me a lot of trouble,” Hachikuju looked enviously. Even though special abilities were common now, he had never seen anyone with an awakening ability like the spatial properties of this Era Merchant Ring.
Zhang Mu waved his hands repeatedly and responded, “Brother Hachikuju, that won’t work. My ring cannot contain living things. If we put Red Blood in there, it would probably suffocate inside, especially since living things reject being sucked in, especially lively creatures like Red Blood.”
“I see,” Hachikuju nodded thoughtfully and then asked, “Brother Zhang Mu, what are you and your group busy with between cities? Where do you get your supplies? Do you search for them in other cities? It seems very daring.”
Seeing Zhang Mu hesitate, Hachikuju said, “Zhang Mu, it’s okay if you can’t answer. I asked other merchants before, and they didn’t tell me either. I was just curious.”
It wasn’t a very private matter; perhaps Era Sub-merchants didn’t want other evolvers to know too many details about the Era Store yet. However, Zhang Mu didn’t mind and casually smiled, saying, “There’s nothing to hide. We, like others, have our exclusive trading space in major cities. The supplies also come from there. As for the source, I’m not too sure.”
Although Zhang Mu’s words were ambiguous, they were enough for Hachikuju to understand a lot. He suddenly realized, “So, the temple in Hohhot City is your exclusive trading space, right? No wonder they occasionally refer to themselves as messengers of the gods.”
A temple?
Zhang Mu speculated that Era Sub-merchants had added a mysterious religious touch to their trades to gain people’s trust, create a virtual deity, claim that food was a divine gift, and easily establish a financial market order that they could manipulate to accumulate wealth.
Evolvers with power naturally took things lightly, but among the remaining humans, most were ordinary people slightly enhanced in strength and agility. They had been frightened by the unknown since the Apocalypse, and suddenly, a group claiming to be messengers of the gods appeared, bringing them abundant food that could be obtained through labor, making them ecstatic.
Zhang Mu looked puzzled and asked Hachikuju, “Brother Hachikuju, do the rulers of your city have any objections? They seem to be trying to take control openly!”
Hachikuju glanced at Zhang Mu and said, “Zhang Mu, it’s not that serious. We don’t have rulers in our city, but there are leaders among the Eight Iron Cavalry, including me, who oversee different areas of the city. The merchants and we have a cooperative relationship, and our followers only obey our orders.
Your temple is truly amazing. After the merchants arrived, they built a temple in the place of Hohhot City and claimed that only the envoys of their gods could enter it.
I once sneaked in and found the temple completely empty. I also saw one of the merchants disappear at a certain spot while I remained unchanged when I went there. That’s why I’m so curious.”
Hachikuju has been near Era Store before, but didn’t have the right identity to enter.
Zhang Mu smiled and said, “So you’ve explored it too, Brother Hachikuju. It’s not allowed. This world belongs to us, so you naturally can’t enter. But for the envoys of the gods…”
At this point, Zhang Mu suddenly fell silent.
He suddenly realized that the Era Sub-merchants were not active at all. It wasn’t the time for them to reveal their true intentions so openly. Hachikuju wouldn’t believe it anyway, so he decided not to say anything, and to judge for himself when they reached the city.
Zhang Mu became wary as he thought about how the people boasting as Era Store were gathering resources – any extra benefits would surely favor them, making them difficult to deal with.
As for the eight war horses in Hachikuju’s mouth, they should not be the total number of the entire ancient city in Inner Mongolia. Zhang Mu estimated that they have only retaken Hohhot City and Ordos City now.
Hachikuju interrupted Zhang Mu midway through his words and asked, “Brother Zhang Mu, what’s wrong? Is there an issue with those merchants?”
Zhang Mu waved his hand and said, “There is no issue at all. If they have problems, then as a fellow merchant, wouldn’t I also have problems?”
Hachikuju thought Zhang Mu’s words made sense and continued to ask, “So, Brother Zhang Mu, what about you?”
Zhang Mu quickly changed the subject and looked at the Red Blood under Hachikuju, asking, “By the way, Brother Hachikuju, I was admiring your Red Blood just now. Coupled with thinking about the horse ranch mentioned by Uncle Peng before, I got a bit distracted.”
Seeing the envy on Zhang Mu’s face, Hachikuju also felt a hint of pride as he touched the thick mane of Red Blood and said, “Brother Zhang Mu, my Red Blood is indeed a good horse from our city’s own horse ranch.”
“But I must tell you that Red Blood is not the best among the war horses.”
“Oh? Are there better ones than Red Blood? It looks like a top-tier horse, isn’t it?”
Zhang Mu became very interested now. Are bloodlines like that of Red Blood not enough for the best war horses?