At this moment, Chen Xiang was leading his men to hide beside the rocks in the suburbs, keeping a close eye on the situation at the city gate.

Zhu Wen anxiously watched the officials coming out of the city gate, then looked at Chen Xiang with unease.

"Boss, just as you predicted, the government of Minghai City is colluding with the shady shops to cheat their customers."

Fortunately for Anqing, the eldest son and Old Lady Zhu had foreseen their conspiracy in advance.

Otherwise, the eight of them might not have been a match for the bandits.

Chen Xiang squinted and looked in the direction the officials had gone, raising his hand to signal them to be quiet.

"Don't alert them. If these people don't find what they want, they'll probably come after us again."

"Old Lady Zhu instructed that, just in case, we should find an opportunity to kill them all."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wen and An Qing both revealed fierce expressions, drew their broadswords from their waists, and followed Chen Xiang in the direction the officials had gone.

The group quietly followed the officials, but before they got close, they heard a scream.

The officials and constables all ran toward the city gate with terrified and disheveled expressions, followed by camels with drooling humps and deflated bodies.

"Oh no! Old Lady Zhu warned us that camels that are drooling and have deflated humps are extremely ferocious, and they must be starving. We must run away in this situation."

Seeing the camel rushing after the officials, Chen Xiang quickly turned back and gave instructions to Zhu Wen and An Qing.

"Get out of here quickly."

Zhu Wen and An Qing had never seen anything like this before. Their faces turned pale, and they stood there stunned for a while before turning around and leaving at Chen Xiang's urging.

The three of them ran quickly towards the woods to the west, and only after entering the woods did they catch their breath and quicken their pace to find Old Lady Zhu.

Grandma Zhu was pacing anxiously outside the woods when she saw Chen Xiang return safely, and she rushed over to him.

"How is Lord Chen?"

"Madam, just as you suspected, the camel has gone mad and has bought us a lot of time. We need to get out of here quickly."

Chen Xiang looked back in a panic towards the direction outside the woods, and helped Old Lady Zhu to the cart.

"Alright, everyone, let's get going and not delay any longer."

Old Mrs. Zhu was also worried that the cannibalistic officials would find a chance to come, so she hurriedly sat on the cart.

Chen Xiang and Zhu Chenfeng each drove their camel carts, preparing to head towards the desert.

However, just as the vehicle was about to start, Xixi burst into tears, her face turning red.

Her cries were not loud; only those around her could hear them.

Zhu Chenfeng and Chen Xiang were both startled by Xixi's crying and quickly turned around to look.

[We can't leave. There's been a murder ahead; it's terrifying.]

The bandits chopped off the fat man's hand; the scene was extremely bloody.

Xixi cried out to tell her family that she had been observing her surroundings.

They saw the lavishly dressed guest being robbed by bandits in the desert while crossing it.

The scene was horrific; the man's fingers were all severed, corpses littered the ground, and blood stained the desert sand red.

Liu shook Xixi helplessly and looked anxiously at Old Lady Zhu.

"Mother, what should we do? Could it be that Xixi is feeling unwell?"

Having already heard Xixi's warning, Chen Xiang swallowed nervously and cleared his throat before speaking.

"How about we calm Xixi down first before we set off? If she keeps crying like this, it will arouse suspicion from others."

Just as Grandma Zhu was about to suggest setting off a little further, Chen Xiang unexpectedly brought it up first.

She nodded quickly, "Okay, let's find a secluded place to adjust."

The message that Xixi conveyed had already caused panic and unease among those who heard it, especially Pei Sining.

He knew the desert best; before the war, the government protected them, so these bandits didn't dare to act arrogantly.

But now that the Yuan Dynasty has been destroyed and the borders are in chaos, these bandits have become rampant.

He pondered for a moment, then came to Chen Xiang's side and offered his suggestion.

“Lord Chen, we cannot sit idly by and wait to die. As far as I know, there are also many bandits lurking in the desert.”

"Why don't we go ahead and check out the situation in the desert?"

Zhu Chenfeng shared the same thought; rather than waiting for the bandits to attack, it was better to learn about their situation beforehand.

"That's right, let's go check it out beforehand and make full preparations."

Chen Xiang immediately agreed to their suggestion and turned to explain to Zhu Wen and An Qing.

“Anqing, you stay here and protect everyone. I, Zhu Wen, will come with you.”

Although Zhu Wen didn't understand his boss's actions, he still obediently followed.

The group set off immediately, heading towards the desert beyond the forest. After passing through the forest, they arrived in the desert.

However, they saw many scattered clothes on the road to the desert, all of which were of the finest silk.

Besides clothing, there were also many books and ancient paintings scattered along the way.

Chen Xiang felt increasingly uneasy as he looked around. Standing still, he vaguely saw figures walking towards him from not far away in the desert.

He quickly gestured for everyone to hide, saying, "Hide quickly, it's not safe here."

At Chen Xiang's prompting, the group quickly moved behind the rock, nervously observing their surroundings.

A moment later, they saw bandits wielding large knives, their faces covered with tattered veils, walking towards them while cursing.

"Damn it, there wasn't much money when we got our share, and we had to do all the dirty and hard work."

"That's right, but this time we caught a big fish, so the boss should give us a bigger share of the silver!"

"Hmph, you're overthinking it. It has to be given to the prefect and then distributed to Manager Chen before finally ending up in our hands."

"Alright, hurry up and pack up, then take the Qinghui car into the city for the boss."

After picking up all the scattered items along the way, the group carried their belongings and walked forward.

Chen Xiang breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the rock after seeing the others leave.

"This is troublesome. We've escaped the government officials, and now we also have these bandits."

"They must have had the officials search the place first, and if the officials accidentally let the guests go, then the bandits would set off."

Through these people's conversations, Pei Sining roughly figured out their division of labor.

Moreover, these people were very familiar with the desert, so they had no chance of escaping their pursuit.

"Lord Chen, is crossing the desert the only way for us to get to Mohe City?"

Zhu Chenfeng pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Chen Xiang and asked anxiously.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiang took out a map from his pocket, placed it on the ground, and pointed to the route on it.

"According to the map, the only way to reach Mohe City is to cross the desert."

"If that's the case, is the only option to force our way in?"

Zhu Chenfeng stared anxiously at the route on the ground, letting out a helpless sigh.

Pei Sining, however, did not think that forcing their way through was a good idea. "Forcing their way through would only make enemies with these bandits. This person is very vengeful. We can only use strategy to cross the desert."

"Strategy? Your Highness, do you have any good ideas?" Chen Xiang didn't understand Pei Sining's meaning and asked in confusion.

[Strategy? Is Pei Sining planning to impersonate a bandit?]

Two factions exist in the desert, locked in a struggle for control, and have reached an agreement.

[By adhering to the rule of never competing with each other for desert resources, the two forces have remained peaceful and unscathed.]

After hearing the information Xixi was talking about, Pei Sining pursed her lips and secretly smiled.

“That’s right, strategy. As far as I know, there are more than just these bandits in the desert. Besides what we’ve seen, there’s another force.”

“They check and balance each other, without interfering with each other, and our people can play the role of another force.”

Chen Xiang asked, seemingly understanding but not quite, "These bandits are dressed differently from us. How can we fool them?"

[It's very simple. People often get lost in the desert. Just stealthily tie up two people and strip them of their clothes.]

There's something else that's particularly important; has Pei Sining noticed it?

The other group all had tattoos on their bodies, each one a python, and the snake was incredibly realistic.

But no one has ever seen the sashimi on their bodies.

Only after Xixi's reminder did Pei Sining realize that she had overlooked crucial information about the bandits' identities.

Thinking of this, he quickly turned around and gestured for everyone to gather around. Then, he stood in the middle of the crowd and spoke softly.

After learning of Pei Sining's suggestion, Chen Xiang and Zhu Chenfeng exchanged a glance and quickly ran forward.

They lay in ambush behind the rocks, constantly observing the bandits who were cleaning up the battlefield.

The bandits threw the body into the quicksand, and two of them drove the Qingsui cart toward the city.

Seeing this, Chen Xiang and Zhu Chenfeng hurriedly ran after the Qing Sui vehicle, and then, covered by the sandstorm, they quickly climbed onto the vehicle.

Then, while the two men were rubbing their eyes, they lurked behind the bandits, pulled out their daggers, and swiftly slit the bandits' throats.