Chapter 257: Chapter 259: Meeting an Old Friend in a Foreign Land

Ka City is located in the south, and even the pastries are different from those in Chu City. The tea is butter tea, and the pastries are various milk cakes.

“I thought that a place like Ka City must have a cheap method of making candles. Now it seems, the candles sold here in the market are half the price of those in Chu City. But they’re still made of beeswax, which isn’t very useful.”

Feng Bailing spoke just as the waiter brought over the tea.

He saw several candles on Feng Bailing’s table and thought she was a merchant selling candles, and casually mentioned,

“Guest, are you looking for cheap candles? You won’t find them on the market, you have to buy from the Mercenary Corps people to get a good deal.”

Upon hearing this, Feng Bailing gave the waiter a little small silver change.

“Waiter, clarify for me, what’s this about the Mercenary Corps? And what’s the deal with cheap candles?”

“Guest, is this your first time in Ka City? You don’t even know about the Mercenary Corps; they are the ones who take people’s money to rid them of their troubles. Our teahouse often has members from the Mercenary Corps coming in for tea. Especially recently, for some reason, there’s always warfare among the nations, and the activities of the Mercenary Corps have become even more frequent. They have methods to obtain cheap candles.”

After the waiter finished speaking, the shopkeeper called him over to make tea, and with a nod and a bow, he walked away.

“Mercenary Corps? I’ve also heard about them, those mercenaries who lick blood on their knife’s edge.”

Ouyang Chenchen noticed Feng Bailing’s interest and recalled.

The Mercenary Corps, as the name suggests, are paid helpers.

They are mostly martial artists, and mostly have their own corps, acting together. They live off commissions, providing services from protecting civilians to joining the military for combat. As long as it can earn them money, the Mercenary Corps are willing to do it.

This kind of corps was initially a concept from other nations and gradually spread to Great Chu.

In a frontier city like Ka City, mercenaries are frequently seen.

“Mercenary Corps roaming from the south to the north indeed might have some unconventional methods. The candles they have could be ill-gotten or made with special methods. If we really want to buy, we should inquire a few mercenaries. However, those people are quite mercenary, and we must be cautious when dealing with them.”

Ouyang Chenchen warned.

While they were speaking, they heard someone yelling loudly.

“Shopkeeper, bring a pot of tea.”

The man who entered the door looked like a savage, with tattoos on his arms, clearly Dugu Wu’s brother Dongfang Yong.

What’s he doing here?

Feng Bailing was puzzled.

Ouyang Chenchen gave her a meaningful glance.

“Speaking of the devil, these few are mercenaries; look at the corps totems on their arms.”

Feng Bailing had not encountered mercenaries in her past life.

Rumors had it that mercenaries were introduced from abroad, initially composed of ex-soldiers from foreign lands.

They took on civilian protection tasks and, over time, grew in numbers, establishing a reputation among both the public and officials.

Some of the larger Mercenary Corps could even gain national recognition and participate in various battles.

Different Mercenary Corps were distinguished by their totems, with men on the left and women on the right, their arms adorned with tattooed totems.

The teahouse was crowded, and Feng Bailing and Ouyang Chenchen blended in, not drawing any attention from the others.

The group entered and happened to sit next to Feng Bailing and Ouyang Chenchen.

Dongfang Yong.

On closer inspection, Feng Bailing became even more certain of the man’s identity, and couldn’t help but feel surprised.

“Ah Ling, doesn’t that person look somewhat familiar?”

Ouyang Chenchen vaguely remembered seeing that person at Prince Shun’s Mansion.

Seems like he was Dugu Wu’s brother?

At the banquet, everyone was dressed to the nines except for Dongfang Yong, who stood out with his beard, looking even older than Dugu Wu.

Ouyang Chenchen remembered asking Lu Yin about it out of curiosity.

With an expression that suggested he was hiding something, Lu Yin divulged a few details while under the influence of alcohol.

“Dongfang Yong and Dugu are half-brothers with the same father. Dongfang Yong is the illegitimate son and isn’t highly regarded within Prince Shun’s Mansion. He thinks of Dugu Wu as an illegitimate wild seed, yet Prince Shun holds Dugu Wu in high regard. Especially after Dugu Wu ‘married’ Nalan Chun, Dongfang Yong completely fell out with him. He didn’t accept an official title, choosing to venture out and join some Mercenary Corps, spending most of his time abroad.”

From what Lu Yin said, Dongfang Yong and Dugu Wu didn’t get along at all, almost like sworn enemies.

Feng Bailing stopped talking and just paid attention to the movements at the next table.

She and Ouyang Chenchen were new to Ka City and needed to build connections.

Dongfang Yong’s left upper arm indeed bore a totem, resembling both a wolf and a dog, likely the symbol of his Mercenary Corps.

“Gentlemen, here’s your tea.”

The waiter greeted the mercenaries with a big smile.

The mercenaries were generous with their money, far more so than some traders.

The men accompanying Dongfang Yong tossed some small silver change to the waiter. After sitting down, Dongfang Yong gulped down his tea and spat out a mouthful of tea leaves.

“What lousy tea this is, it has a strange taste.”

“Brother Yong, you’re not used to the yak butter tea of Ka City; this is how it tastes. You’re from Chu City; how could you get used to drinking this rough stuff?”

The mercenaries were old acquaintances of Dongfang Yong and were familiar with his temperament.

Dongfang Yong had just returned from Chu City, supposedly on a family visit.

But on his return, his temper had only worsened.

“Brother Yong, I don’t understand. You come from a good family, why suffer with us? We were born into poverty, without a family to support us, that’s why we lead this life on the knife’s edge. Isn’t your elder brother a high official in Great Chu?”

One of the mercenaries teased.

“Don’t bring him up in front of me.”

Dongfang Yong said irritably.

His visit to Chu City was so he could see Chunchun.

But that heartless bastard Dugu Wu had the nerve to disown him.

And that newcomer, Feng Bailing, was no better.

Now Chunchun was mad and in the nunnery, surely being bullied by others, but his words fell on deaf ears with Dugu Wu who just sent her away regardless.

If he hadn’t been so weak back then, Chunchun wouldn’t be in this state.

Dongfang Yong stared into his cup, where the turbid tea reflected a beautiful face.

He remembered it very clearly.

The day he took Dugu Wu’s place at the wedding, lifting the veil to see those innocent, deer-like eyes.

If only he had been stronger, defeating Dugu Wu, he would have been the one to marry Chunchun.

“Ah, my apologies, my mouth runs ahead. Let’s drop it. Speaking of this mission, what do you think? We’re transporting something and we still don’t know what it is. I’ve heard that several Mercenary Corps are vying for this mission. After all, a hundred thousand taels of patterned silver is no small sum.”

“It must be something valuable if they’re requiring a series of tasks just to accept the mission. The client is certainly cautious.”