Of course, there was more than one mountain path from Delarion into Carson Rick over Sicar Mountain, but Windy Path was the most accessible and smoothest route for carriages, and also the easiest to travel.
Even in this era, with steam trains already operating at the foot of Sicar Mountain, this ancient mountain path remained the most important trade route in the surrounding area.
Windy Path wound its way up Sicar Mountain, finally leading to a foreign City on the other side of the mountains after crossing the border.
And Red Water Camp was the largest outpost and military camp established by the Delarion Royal Army in the border region. On one hand, it bore the responsibility of defense and reconnaissance, and on the other hand, it cooperated with checkpoints and tax officials to manage cross-border goods.
Of course, there were other military camps in Sicar Mountain besides Red Water Camp, but those were not something ordinary people could know about.
Red Water Camp itself did not allow any unrelated personnel other than soldiers to enter, but resting in the mountains and preparing goods also required a place, as it still took time to descend from Red Water Camp into the City.
Therefore, travelers spontaneously gathered into a small camp outside the military camp. As merchants, who saw business opportunities, somehow managed to get the Red Water Camp’s officer to agree to construct buildings, the traveler’s camp also gained small inns, warehouses, and taverns.
Although the buildings were crude, having them was better than not having them.
When Xia De went up the mountain, he happened to encounter a farmer from Middlesburg who wanted to cross Windy Path, pulling a donkey cart full of grain to sell in the southern country.
So he paid two pence for a ride, sitting in the back of the grain cart and chatting with the old man who was driving as they headed into the mountains.
Xia De was very curious why the other party, who looked to be over fifty, was still transporting grain. The old man smiled and told Xia De:
“My children have all gone to big cities like Middlesburg, but the land cannot be left barren; this is land passed down from our ancestors.”
Even by donkey cart, Xia De didn’t finally see the towering watchtower of Red Water Camp until almost one in the afternoon. It should be noted that although he only set off after ten o’clock, he started from a ruined tower in the mountains, not entirely from the foot of the mountain.
This meant that unless one was riding a horse or taking a carriage, an ordinary person entering the mountains in the morning would not reach Red Water Camp until close to evening.
Xia De bid farewell to the very talkative old man at the edge of the camp. The latter had to go to the checkpoint ahead to pay taxes before he could get his clearance documents.
Xia De waved his hand, then stood beside a signboard written in both languages, looking to his right.
To his right was a small peak, with wooden stairs and corridors built on the steep sections, leading to the military camp surrounded by rough stone fences and wooden palisades at a higher elevation.
Whether the peak of the small mountain was artificially leveled or naturally flat, Red Water Camp was situated upon it. Only a few arrow towers and cannon muzzles would be needed to easily block any enemy attempting to attack from here.
Standing by the roadside, one could see the patrolling soldiers standing on top of the wooden wall at the higher elevation, and also hear the faint sounds of shouting.
And the “Traveler’s Camp” written in two languages on the signboard referred to the camp that encircled the small peak, located next to the checkpoint on Windy Path.
Trees in the forest had been cut down and flat ground cleared, with wooden buildings, no more than two stories high, scattered throughout the camp, while simple wooden fences for defending against wild animals crookedly enclosed the area of the Traveler’s Camp.
Although it was in the mountains, it looked very lively here. Merchants driving carriages and travelers passing through the area moved through the camp, people speaking different languages gathered together to complain about the inconvenience of getting water, fire and theft prevention slogans were carved everywhere, and soldiers on leave laughed and walked arm-in-arm in and out of the taverns.
There was even a hotel owner specifically serving travelers, trying to nail a wooden board with an advertisement onto the wooden fence on the outskirts of the camp, but as Xia De approached the camp, he was driven away by a rude butcher who collected mountain goods, standing near that fence and holding a knife for chopping steaks:
“This is my territory, go hang your filthy sign somewhere else!”
That butcher with a very heavy accent added two words to the sentence that Xia De didn’t know how to translate, to describe the hotel owner’s despicable behavior, which made the people who witnessed the scene burst into laughter.
Although the camp had an entrance, no one was there to block or collect tolls or similar fees.
An Outsider who had never seen such a scene, after entering the camp, looked around with great interest. But the Traveler’s Camp was at most three times the size of Saint Delan Square, and at least a quarter of its area was warehouses, so while it seemed fresh, after a few glances, it felt like there was nothing really interesting.
Captain Lades had arranged to meet Xia De today at the Blue Rose Tavern in the Traveler’s Camp, following the Middirburg Mechanical College incident last week.
This should be the relatively high-end tavern in the camp, and the reason for this judgment was not because of its slightly elegant name, but because those entering and exiting it were travelers who appeared to be dressed more decently.
Pushing open the tavern door, a cacophony of noise and the smell of alcohol mixed with fermented food rushed out.
After a quick look, Xia De didn’t find Captain Lades, so he guessed that Captain probably thought he wouldn’t arrive until the afternoon. Thus, he first went to the tavern counter and ordered a glass of cider.
The prices in the Traveler’s Camp seemed a bit higher than in the City, but this was understandable, as there was a transportation fee for bringing anything from the City into the mountains.
The tavern had quite a few customers at lunchtime. Besides cider, Xia De also ordered a plate of fried pork with carrots for his lunch.
He sat down at a table in the corner, then hailed the tavern waiter and asked for a copy of this morning’s “Sicar Morning Post” to have something to do while eating.
A newspaper that only sold for three pence in the City was surprisingly sold for four pence in the Traveler’s Camp. Although it was only one pence more, expensive was expensive.
Xia De knew that bargaining was probably not allowed here, so he didn’t say much, but as he counted out the change and handed the four small coins to the waiter, the tavern door was pushed open again.
Xia De subconsciously looked in that direction, and the person entering also noticed Xia De’s gaze and looked back at the same time.
“Hmm?”
Unfortunately, the person who entered was not Captain Lades, but an acquaintance of Xia De. He had very short hair, only showing fuzzy stubble, dark skin, and extremely pronounced double eyelids on both eyes.
He looked to be in his thirties, with a lean build. He was wrapped in an old-fashioned brown robe, similar to what people in desert regions often wore. In his right hand, he held a notebook, and his eyelashes were very short, with exceptionally bright black eyes.
“Mr. Sean Asmon?”
This was the Demon Scholar Xia De had met at the Pink Rose Inn in Coldwater Port. This gentleman, in that not-so-proper inn, even lost a rhode cards of the demon series to Xia De and told him a story about a person without wishes and a demon.
