I'm Already the Richest Man, Why Did My System Just Arrive?

Chapter 345: Chapter 197: Pillar

The abrupt change in scenery left Zheng Xiu with a deadpan expression, and he couldn’t help but tap his own head.

"You idiot."

Seeing this, Xie Luohe couldn’t help but chuckle, chiding him with a laugh, "The town was left behind by those who came before us."

"Those who came before?"

Through Xie Luohe’s explanation, Zheng Xiu came to understand the origin of the buildings before him.

It was the same group of people who had established the Green River trade route.

After opening the Green River trade route, they arrived at Richan Valley and settled here for a time.

They brought the culture of Daqian here—its writing, clothing, traditions, and ceremonies. This was also why the Sun Tribe, despite having their own unique dialect, could speak the language of Daqian.

The flat streets were paved with finely polished stones.

The oasis paradise had virtually become a small town.

Streets, roads, alleys, and wells were all laid out in an orderly fashion.

Pedestrians hurried along the streets. Some were dark-skinned, others had blonde hair and blue eyes, and there were also groups of Sun Tribe members, clad in animal hides and carrying spears, patrolling the town.

They were merchants from the Western Regions, exuding a unique and exotic air.

The pioneers who opened the trade route all those years ago founded Richan Valley, establishing this small trading town that connected Daqian with the various nations of the Western Regions.

Richan Valley was far less prosperous now than in the past, but from this small glimpse, Zheng Xiu could still imagine how the town must have once bustled with surging crowds during the previous dynasty.

In the center of the town stood a stone stele.

The stele was about twenty feet tall, square and solemn. At its very top was a sculpture of a Golden Cicada cast from pure gold. Behind the cicada was the image of a Scorching Sun.

The Sun Cicada Stele, the town’s landmark.

As Zheng Xiu passed by, his gaze unintentionally lingered on the Golden Cicada, and he froze for a moment.

At that moment, two young women from the Tribe came jogging around the corner, panting as they ran up to the Grand Elder and said something, as if looking for praise.

The old man looked at Xie Luohe with a respectful expression and said, "Lord Xie, your... room... clean now."

Perhaps the old man hadn’t spoken the Daqian language in a long time, as his words were halting, but his meaning was clear.

From beginning to end, the old man never gave Zheng Xiu a second glance.

It seemed they truly regarded Zheng Xiu as Xie Luohe’s "captive."

After a few twists and turns, the Grand Elder of the Sun Tribe led Xie Luohe to the room he had arranged for her.

It was a quaint, single-story house with a small courtyard.

There was a pile of dry firewood in the corner, and inside the courtyard was a water well.

Piles of hay were stacked against the surrounding walls.

The house looked like it hadn’t been lived in for a long time; cobwebs hung from the rafters. At first, Zheng Xiu thought the place was crude, but when he saw the water well, he had a sudden realization. In the Great Desert, water was an incredibly precious resource. To have a private well in one’s courtyard meant this was practically a "mansion" in Richan Valley.

"Why is there only one room?"

When Zheng Xiu saw this, his heart dropped.

Tucking back a stray strand of hair, Xie Luohe calmly explained, "According to the customs of the Sun Tribe, captives are not allowed to wander Richan Valley on their own. They must either share a room with their ’master’ or be locked up."

What a wonderful coincidence. Upon hearing this, Zheng Xiu was overjoyed and raised his hand. "I choose to be locked up!"

Xie Luohe froze. Only then did she remember that "being locked up" was probably a reward for this guy. She shot Zheng Xiu a fierce, menacing glare. "They’ll lock you up with those girls from earlier and give you to them as a ’war prize.’ You’d be happy with that?"

Zheng Xiu thought about it.

He shook his head and said, "I’m not that kind of person."

"Then that settles it."

And so it was settled.

A single man and a single woman, sharing a room.

’On second thought,’ Zheng Xiu recalled their journey across the Great Desert, where he and Xie Luohe had often huddled together under a single blanket. ’This doesn’t seem like such a big deal. I’ll just get used to it.’

They had arrived at Richan Valley at dusk.

The Grand Elder had someone deliver brand-new clothes. Zheng Xiu felt the material; it was coarse and rough, likely made from hemp. But the dust and hardship of their journey had lowered Zheng Xiu’s material standards to rock bottom. He didn’t say much and simply changed into them.

The light gray linen clothes were embroidered with flashy patterns. He stood at the doorway like a post for a moment before Xie Luohe emerged, barefoot in a long skirt. She wore a golden floral wreath on her head, from which dangled ornaments made of bird bones.

Zheng Xiu looked down at his own clothes, then back at Xie Luohe’s... ’Why do these look like matching couple’s outfits?’

But Zheng Xiu didn’t dwell on such a small detail. When no one was around, he leaned in close and whispered in Xie Luohe’s ear, "Don’t forget about the mural."

"Don’t worry," Xie Luohe said with a wave of her hand. "I remember."

Zheng Xiu nodded.

That evening, the town held a grand welcome Ceremony.

A welcome for Xie Luohe.

Logs as thick as a man’s arm were stacked into a bonfire a good ten feet high, illuminating the night as bright as day. From a distance, it looked like the scene of a massive fire.

Many scantily clad women of the Tribe danced hand-in-hand around the bonfire.

Beside the bonfire were several other fire pits, with whole wild boars and sheep roasting on spits above them.

The Tribe’s people used hollowed-out sheep horns as drinking cups. Hundreds of these horn cups hung on a rack. A burly, sweat-drenched man stood on a high platform, beating a drum. DRUM DRUM DRUM. Every so often, he would stop, raise a wine jar, and pour wine over the rack, filling the cups and splashing liquor all over the ground.

The young women danced and sang, their eyes occasionally glancing toward the handsome Zheng Xiu, a mixture of regret and envy hidden within them.

Being in a foreign land, Zheng Xiu felt a bit out of place at first. But after a few cups of strong liquor, the alcohol went to his head. Xie Luohe, grinning, pulled him to the bonfire to join the others dancing hand-in-hand.

Zheng Xiu had no idea what kind of dance he was doing; he was simply led along by Xie Luohe. All he remembered was that her hand was as soft as if it were boneless, her palm slightly damp with sweat.

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