Chapter 137: Woman in a Cage

Chapter 137: Woman in a Cage

Bond and his group of Turks stood there, stunned.

“A new homeland?”

Xiao Ce said calmly, “A new tribe, the Urgen Tribe, has risen in your Turkic Kingdom. Now, this Urgen Tribe has unified the entire Turkic Kingdom. They plan to build a new nation on the Turkic grasslands, and they need manpower and resources to do it.”

Urgen was their Turkic god of death; these people knew that well.

However, they weren’t foolish. Xiao Ce had come from the rear, and his mention of the Urgen Tribe clearly meant that Xiao Ce had already unified their Turkic rear.

They didn’t know how Xiao Ce had done it.

But they understood clearly that the situation had changed.

Bond didn’t hesitate, “Prince, we are willing to fight for you! To wash away our past sins.”

His thought was simple: if they went to the rear, the prisoners captured there would likely be taken too.

Their fate would probably be the same as that of the slaves they had once taken from the Xiao Kingdom.

After Bond spoke, the others quickly made their choice.

Xiao Ce nodded, “Good! I don’t care who you were in the past, as long as you follow me from now on. If you serve me sincerely, your good days are just beginning. Of course, if any of you dares to betray me even a little, I will make your lives a living hell!”

The men nodded firmly.

Xiao Ce wasted no more words and said to Bond, “Bond Ashina, what was your previous position?”

Bond replied, “Reporting to the King of Northern Desert, I was previously a Centurion!”

Xiao Ce said, “Good. Now, this Prince appoints you as a Turkic General, the Chief Commander of the Turkic soldiers. In future battles, the more men you can win over, the higher your rank will be. The same goes for the rest of you.”

Emotion swirled in Bond’s eyes. He knelt, “Thank you, Prince!”

Xiao Ce waved his hand, “Enough. You will now obey the command of General Yan Jia in all matters.”

The group of Turks cupped their hands in agreement.

Xiao Ce instructed Yan Jia to settle them and set up defenses here.

Then, he said to Xiao Jiu, “Alright, take me back to get some rest.”

Xiao Jiu said to Xiao Ce, “Prince, would that be to the City Lord’s Mansion where Wanyan Tiesa lived?”

Xiao Ce nodded, “Sure.”

A meaningful smile lingered on Xiao Jiu’s face.

Xiao Ce asked, “What mischief are you brewing, kid?”

Xiao Jiu leaned close to Xiao Ce’s ear and whispered something.

Xiao Ce’s eyes lit up slightly after hearing it, “Oh? Really?”

Xiao Jiu cupped his hands, “It’s true, Prince. I have never seen such a beauty before.”

Xiao Ce flicked his sleeve, his excitement growing.

“Go! Take me to see!”

Saying this, Xiao Ce mounted his horse and headed toward the City Lord’s Mansion in Yanbei City.

There were already troops stationed there.

These men saluted when they saw Xiao Ce.

Xiao Jiu began leading the way, going directly to a room on one side of the City Lord’s Mansion.

When the door was opened, several cages could be seen in the room.

Inside the cages were several girls dressed in exotic attire.

Looking at their faces, Xiao Ce’s eyes sharpened slightly, a flicker of excitement in his gaze.

Because these women’s faces somewhat resembled those of people from what would be Europe in later times.

The girls curled up in the cages. Seeing outsiders enter, they looked like frightened kittens, their faces full of vigilance.

Seeing Xiao Ce staring at them, Xiao Jiu said from the side, “Prince, these are beauties brought by Wanyan Tiesa. We just don’t know where they are from. We can’t understand a word they say! If you want them to serve you, I can call some Guards over!”

Xiao Ce said to Xiao Jiu, “What are you thinking? Is this Prince that kind of person?”

Hearing this, Xiao Jiu chuckled immediately, saying with his mouth, “Prince, please forgive my offense!”

While thinking to himself, Aren’t you?

Xiao Ce didn’t say anything more to Xiao Jiu and walked directly to one of the cages.

Then, he spoke in English beside the cage, “Can you understand me?”

The blonde, blue-eyed woman in the cage widened her eyes at Xiao Ce’s words, then replied, “You speak our language?”

Hearing the blonde, blue-eyed woman in the cage reply, Xiao Ce confirmed the place she came from in his mind.

Xiao Ce was very surprised, because although this era’s culture and history differed from those of later times,

the geographical layout was the same.

It was over ten thousand kilometers away from Britannia here. With the current seafaring technology, how could they have possibly come here?

Though puzzled, he was in no hurry to ask.

Xiao Ce knew the Tiesa Tribe was the biggest merchant tribe among the Turkic tribes. They might not only trade with the Xiao Kingdom.

If the geography was the same, beyond another mountain range of the Turkic lands, there should be many small countries.

They might have come from those countries!

Xiao Ce smiled faintly, “Yes. I have visited your country!”

The blonde, blue-eyed woman, hearing Xiao Ce’s words, looked utterly astonished, her eyes filled with hope, “Then can you save me?”

Xiao Ce said to the blonde, blue-eyed woman, “Of course. What is your name?”

The blonde, blue-eyed woman said to Xiao Ce, “Sir, my name is Boudica!”

Xiao Ce nodded, “I will help you, Madam.”

Then, Xiao Ce looked at the stunned Xiao Jiu beside him.

“What are you gaping at? Come and release them!”

Xiao Jiu nodded, somewhat concerned, “Prince, were you talking to her? You also speak the language of these foreign people?”

Xiao Ce said with a smile, “This is nothing. This Prince is fluent in the languages of ten countries.”

This wasn’t an exaggeration. While not exactly fluent, he had indeed studied enough for daily conversation.

Xiao Jiu grew even more impressed with Xiao Ce, “I heard these women are quite fierce. Should we add more Guards?”

Xiao Ce waved his hand.

Seeing this, Xiao Jiu had someone open the cage. Boudica looked around warily, shrinking back as if she couldn’t believe it.

Xiao Ce said to Boudica, “Boudica, you are safe now. The man who captured you has been caught by me.”

Only after Xiao Ce’s reassurance did Boudica dare to come out.

Though Boudica had been kept in a cage, she had clearly been cleaned regularly.

So there was no unpleasant odor; instead, she carried a natural fragrance.

Up close, the figures of these people were indeed top-notch. Although after their prime, it wouldn’t be worth looking at.

But during their prime, they were indeed impressive!

After coming out, Boudica bowed to Xiao Ce, “Thank you, Sir! Sir, I still don’t know your name.”

Xiao Ce gave a slight smile. “My name is Xiao Ce!”

Boudica nodded and struggled for a moment before speaking. “Mr. Issaku, may I ask you to release the other girls? They were all sold here just like us!”

Xiao Ce smiled and replied. “That goes without saying.”

As he spoke, he turned to Xiao Jiu. “Xiao Jiu, go and free all these people. Then arrange a place for them to stay and prepare some food.”

Xiao Jiu nodded. “Prince, should we have someone watch them?”

Xiao Ce waved his hand. “No need. These women have only one path: to depend on me. They wouldn’t even try to run if they could…”

Xiao Jiu nodded and gave orders for them to be released.

Xiao Ce said, “Boudica, I will have someone arrange a place for you to rest.”

Boudica’s green eyes showed gratitude as she gave a slight bow.

“Thank you, Mr. Issaku.”

Xiao Ce asked Boudica, “How did you get here?”

Boudica began to explain to Xiao Ce. Her father was a navigator, and they had been separated during a shipwreck.

They drifted until they reached an unfamiliar place, and through a series of transactions, she was eventually sold here.

Therefore, she also did not know where this place was.

Xiao Ce said, “Then settle in here for now. With me here, you are safe.”

Boudica bowed.

With that, Xiao Ce told Xiao Jiu to take them to rest.

Then, he had someone bring Wanyan Tiesa over.

He needed to know through which channel Wanyan Tiesa had obtained these foreign women.

The presence of these foreign women was enough to show that Turkic trade was not only with the Xiao Kingdom.

…

Not long after, Xiao Jiu returned.

“Prince, those foreign women have all been settled! We did not assign anyone to watch them.”

Xiao Ce nodded.

Xiao Jiu asked curiously, “Prince, what kind of people are they exactly? I have never seen anyone like them… They look a bit like the foreign tribes from the Western Regions, but not quite.”

“They came from beyond the vast oceans! Although the races may seem similar, they are actually different!” Xiao Ce explained.

Xiao Jiu was completely confused. He could understand every word Xiao Ce said, but when strung together, he could not grasp the meaning at all.

“Where is ‘beyond the vast oceans’? Could it be… besides our Xiao Kingdom, the foreign tribes beyond Yangguan, and Turkic, are there really other countries?”

Xiao Ce nodded. “I wasn’t sure before, but after seeing Boudica and the other foreign women, I can say for sure! There are mountains beyond mountains, people beyond people, and countries beyond countries!”

Xiao Jiu wore a look of doubt. If these words had not come from Xiao Ce, he would definitely have been skeptical!

“Then how come I have never seen them before!”

Xiao Ce laughed. “Just because you haven’t seen them doesn’t mean they don’t exist! But these people and countries are very far away from us! For now, they don’t have much to do with us. Let’s first deal with the Turks at hand!”

Right at that moment, Yan Jia’s voice came from outside the door. “Prince, the person you wanted has been brought!”

Xiao Ce asked, “Is he cleaned up?”

Yan Jia was stunned. “No.”

Xiao Ce said, “Go rinse him off!”

Not long after, Yan Jia brought over a drenched Wanyan Tiesa, who looked like a drowned rat.

Wanyan Tiesa said to Xiao Ce with a resolute expression. “Xiao Ce, I will not kneel before you!”

Before Xiao Ce could speak, Yan Jia kicked him in the knees.

Thump. He fell to his knees on the floor.

Wanyan Tiesa’s face flushed with embarrassment as he tried to struggle to his feet, but Fu Niu stepped beside him and pressed him firmly to the ground.

He looked at Xiao Ce with a distressed expression. “Don’t think you can get any information out of me! I won’t say a word!”

Listening to his words, Xiao Ce looked at him with a cheerful smile. “You will talk!”