Soon, Zhou Chen returned, looking alright except for his pale face.

"Get in the car," Su Jin said calmly.

Zhou Chen climbed onto the car, entered the carriage, and sat down. The warmth dispelled the chill from his body, making him feel alive again.

Yue Ziqi also jumped into the car and pulled on the reins.

Because Zhou Chen had just vomited too much, Yue Ziqi was worried about his health, so he didn't tighten the reins too much, and the horse walked slowly.

"Have some fruit tea to calm down." Su Jin got up, poured a cup of hot tea, and handed it to Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen accepted it, "Thank you, sister."

Su Jinxia asked calmly, "Did you ask about the conscription process?"

Zhou Chen...

He blinked and then remembered that someone had said that conscription was what led him to become an outlaw.

If there is a large-scale conscription, there must be a war about to break out. It's just unknown which force is conscripting soldiers and where the conscripted soldiers have gone.

These were all extremely important matters, but Zhou Chen paid them no attention at all.

"Young Master, it was my oversight!" Yue Ziqi apologized from outside.

Zhou Chen had never served in the army, so he was naturally not sensitive to conscription, but Yue Ziqi should not have made such a mistake.

Zhou Chen bit his lower lip slightly, his little fingers clenched together, looking uneasy.

Su Jinxia must have been testing him by asking him to come along, and he clearly failed the test.

Su Jinxia said calmly, "It's alright. Recruiting soldiers is a major matter. Let's investigate slowly."

One afternoon, Zhou Chen huddled in a corner of the carriage, unable to muster any interest in reading, feeling utterly dejected.

On the one hand, witnessing the deaths of so many people was a huge shock to him, and on the other hand, he felt guilty for not being able to help at all.

Su Jin ignored Zhou Chen and let him struggle with his own thoughts.

We stayed overnight in the city.

The city was sparsely populated and desolate.

"It seems the atmosphere has become unusually strange ever since we entered the Northeast border," Yue Ziqi whispered to Su Jinxia.

Su Jin nodded. Occasionally, women and children walked on the street, but young adults were rarely seen.

"Could it be because of conscription?" Zhou Chen guessed, but then thought it was impossible. "Even if there is conscription, each family would still have one male member, so it shouldn't be this desolate."

Su Jin walked into an inn. The inn was deserted and there were hardly any people. Business was at its worst during wartime.

A female shopkeeper came out to greet everyone.

"Are you all looking for a place to stay?" It was already late when they entered the city, so they were obviously looking for a place to rest.

Su Jin nodded. "Two superior rooms, but let's eat something to warm ourselves up first."

"Alright, please have a seat, everyone."

Su Jin and the others then took their seats in the hall and ordered a few dishes.

During this time, Su Jin casually asked, "It must not be easy for the shopkeeper, who is a woman, to run such a big shop."

The shopkeeper nodded dejectedly.

"I see you're not young anymore. Where are your husband and children?" Yue Ziqi continued to ask.

The shopkeeper paused for a moment, then forced a smile, "They've all gone to other places. Business hasn't been good these past two years, but I can manage on my own."

The shopkeeper immediately changed his attitude.

"I see many shops on this street are closed, why is that?" Yue Ziqi asked.

The shopkeeper casually said, "They probably closed down because business was bad. Please have a seat, everyone. I'll go tell the kitchen."

Su Jinxia suddenly spoke up, "It's a bit cold in this hall, let's go eat in our room."

“Okay.” The shopkeeper nodded eagerly.

A short while later, a boy of about ten years old led a group of soldiers into the inn and asked as soon as he entered, "Where is everyone?!"

The shopkeeper clutched his chest in fear and pointed to two rooms upstairs. "They came in and immediately started asking about the population. I quickly sent someone to find the official."

The government has ordered that all outsiders inquiring about the whereabouts of people must be reported!

Without saying a word, the officers and soldiers rushed into the room, only to find it empty.

"Where is he?!" the official shouted angrily.

"They were in the room! I saw them go in with my own eyes!" The innkeeper hurriedly ran upstairs, only to find no one there.

"You! Go check the city gate!" The leading official assigned a errand boy, then asked the shopkeeper, "How many people are there, and what do they look like?"

“There were three people. Two of them wore cloaks, so I couldn’t see their faces. The other was a strong man with a goatee,” the shopkeeper recalled.

The official frowned. "Wearing a cloak? Sneaking around!"

A short while later, the man sent to check the city gate returned and said that a carriage had left the city, and it looked like the group that had left the inn.

"Should we give chase?" a soldier asked.

The official glared at him and said, "What are you chasing? Don't tell anyone about what happened today!"

As long as the people giving the orders don't know, then it's fine. So many people are entering and leaving the city every day; who can possibly manage them all?

"With so many men missing from the city, it's no wonder people ask questions whenever someone comes in. They've arrested so many outsiders every day that even the prisoners can't stand it anymore. I don't know when this will end," the official said with a gloomy expression.

"Let's go back!" With the official's order, the group of people left in a flurry.

Outside the city, the carriage sped along.

Inside the car, Zhou Chen's eyes sparkled as he asked, "Sister, how did you know the shopkeeper was up to something?"

Su Jinxia rubbed her rumbling stomach and sighed, "She looked uneasy and embarrassed, and avoided answering our questions. She was obviously up to something. Of course, I wasn't sure what she was up to, so I sent Ziqi to check. Then we found out that she had sent someone to notify the government."

Zhou Chen was full of praise. If it were him, he would definitely have been arrested by the authorities today.

Su Jinxia's identity is unusual and cannot be easily exposed. If she confronts the government directly, things will definitely go wrong.

Su Jin looked at Zhou Chen's admiring gaze and sighed. This was all standard procedure; anyone with a little attention would have noticed the problem.

When will Zhou Chen, with his naive personality, ever grow up?

The next day, Su Jin and his companions stopped in a small town, but couldn't find an open inn. They bought some food at a shop and continued on their way.

In the afternoon, the carriage suddenly stopped.

"Help, help me..." A weak voice came from inside the carriage.

Yue Ziqi said, "Young Master, there is a woman blocking the road."

Su Jin glanced at Zhou Chen and said, "Go and handle it."

Zhou Chen's eyes lit up, and he nodded solemnly. He was certain he could handle this well.

Zhou Chen silently cheered himself up, put on his mask, and stepped out of the carriage.

In front of the carriage, a young woman in tattered clothes collapsed to the ground. She was startled when she saw Zhou Chen, as if frightened by the mask, but she quickly continued to plead for help, "Young master, please save me, I really can't walk anymore."

Zhou Chen got out of the car, walked over, and asked, "Who are you? Why are you here?"

The girl hurriedly got up and knelt on the ground, kowtowing to Zhou Chen. "My name is Li Qingqing. I was originally from Lijia Village, but later I married into Wuzhen. My husband's family was poor and had no land. They were living off their savings. My husband was conscripted into the army, and my heartless father-in-law wanted to sell me to a brothel for money. I didn't want to go, so I secretly ran away while they were sleeping. I was originally going to go back to my parents' home, but I have no money. I have walked for a long time and I can't walk anymore. Please, sir, have mercy and give me a ride."