...
Not far from the foot of the mountain, an ox cart slowly arrived and stopped in a small grove.
On the ox cart, stacks of iron cages were covered with large black cloths—clearly a mobile warehouse for Black Market live goods.
Someone alighted from the cart and tied the reins.
The old ox began to "moo", licking the ground and rolling up dry grass.
Soon after, a few burly men with weapons jumped down.
These were the brokers, specializing in live goods trade.
And the burly men were their guards.
One of the brokers looked at the mountain path and said, "The bandits have retreated, they must have left behind some good stuff. Maybe we could even find some live goods."
Another said, "Yes, the Black Market has seen more people lately. More people means a higher chance to sell things... If we can make an easy profit, that would be nice. Let's go up and have a look, if there is, we'll catch it and transport it to the Black Market directly.
