Wang Shuncai heard a lot about Lu Shiyan from Lu Fusheng. Some of the information matched the news he had received, while others did not.

To confirm whether the person Lu Fusheng mentioned was indeed the one he was looking for, the best way was naturally to bring Lu Fusheng before Lu Shiyan. Even if they couldn't see Lu Shiyan himself, seeing his attendants would suffice.

Based on the information he had gathered, Lu Shiyan had several trusted confidants. If Lu Fusheng wasn't mistaken, he suspected these confidants were villagers from Dawan Village.

If you can't see Lu Shiyan, it's fine to let Lu Fusheng see these people.

So, while Wang Shuncai ostensibly led Lu Fusheng's family on a aimless stroll around the city, his actions were actually purposeful and planned.

During this time, Wang Shuncai would occasionally share some food with Lu Fusheng's family.

Even the harsh Liao family treated him like their own son. As for Lu Fusheng, he had long since become sworn brothers with him, regarding him as their elder brother.

On the other side, Jiang Tangtang finally found a large amount of sulfur through the scanning system.

But this place is not far from Fengyang.

As far as she knew, Prince Rui's residence was located in Fengyang, and his management of this area was certainly better than that of other places.

If they were far from Fengyang, they could arrange for people to mine some sulfur and then use her space to transport it away without anyone noticing.

But if they were to send people to mine sulfur here, it would surely alarm Prince Rui.

Gunpowder was their secret weapon, to be used to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy when necessary.

Naturally, it must not be noticed by others in advance.

How to extract sulfur from Prince Rui's territory without anyone noticing and transport it back to the valley became a major problem.

Just as Jiang Tangtang was worrying, Lu Shiyan said, "After we return from Fengyang, I will take you around Puzhou. Puzhou is actually larger than it appears. It's just that many places are considered harsh and cold places and have not been utilized."

She suddenly realized that she had only been thinking about checking the valley for raw materials such as sulfur and saltpeter, and then she got stuck on that, only thinking about moving forward. She had forgotten that there were actually many places in Puzhou that she hadn't explored yet.

Moreover, as Lu Shiyan said, Puzhou actually has a large number of barren forests like the valley.

Furthermore, after Lu Shiyan became a captain, the area under their jurisdiction also expanded.

Within his jurisdiction, there might be two raw materials: sulfur and saltpeter.

Her mood instantly improved. "Okay! When we get back to Puzhou, you can take me around. I want to see all of Puzhou."

As for the sulfur found near Fengyang, let's just consider it a backup option! We'll find a way to extract sulfur from this area once we can't find it within the Puzhou area!

She temporarily put aside the matter of finding raw materials, packed her things, and went to Fengyang City with Lu Shiyan.

Just like their last trip to Baiyue, Jiang Tangtang and Lu Shiyan were dressed as herbalists. However, the checks outside Fengyang City were particularly strict.

Local residents had to bring their household registration documents and explain why they wanted to enter the city. Only after all the checks were completed and everything was in order could they pay to enter the city.

For non-locals, a local resident needs to act as a guarantor for them, providing their household registration and specifying the reason for entering the city, the time of entry, etc., before they can pay to enter the city.

Such complicated entry procedures have caused widespread complaints from ordinary people.

A local resident who frequently travels in and out of the city muttered, "I'm just going into the city to sell vegetables, why are they checking so strictly? Is something wrong?"

"That's right, they didn't ask for my household registration certificate when I came here before. What's going on?"

...

While everyone was discussing it, a man said mysteriously to the crowd, "This matter is most likely related to that person."

He didn't say who it was, but he squinted and pointed towards the location of the Prince of Duan's fiefdom. People immediately understood and asked curiously, "What does the strict screening of people entering the city have to do with that person?"

The man glanced at the crowd, looking at them as if they were ignorant mortals. "You don't know this, do you? I heard that a few days ago, that person's secret vault was robbed."

The treasury was filled with countless gold and silver treasures, and more importantly, military rations. Now the Western Rong have attacked, and we've lost our rations. Don't you think that's a matter of life and death?

Everyone agreed, and some even put themselves in that shoes and couldn't help but feel sorry for that person.

If they had so much money and grain missing, they would probably have fainted from heartache long ago.

Despite the heartache, people still didn't understand what this had to do with their strict checks on people entering the city.

"You wouldn't know this! I heard that the secret vault of that person is heavily guarded, and it takes several keys to open the vault."

But the contents simply vanished. It's said that all the guards were interrogated, and no one could have stolen them. The person suspected a notorious gangster had stolen them.

After finishing his sentence, the man concluded, "I bet the reason the city gates are so heavily guarded is related to the theft from that man's treasury. You tell me, that notorious thief is coming to Fengyang and has stolen..."

He didn't dare say the rest, but everyone understood what he meant.

Some people expressed doubt, asking, "If there really are such skilled thieves, is simply investigating them useful?"

Lu Shiyan can answer this question.

It's naturally useless.

After learning that Prince Rui was strictly checking people entering the city, he took Jiang Tangtang and left the city gate.

Once they were far from the city gate and out of sight, Jiang Tangtang approached and asked, "Where are we going now?"

Her expression was quite complicated.

I never expected to hear gossip about myself.

Besides, isn't it said that news traveled very slowly in ancient times?

She thought the news spread really fast!

Her breath tickled his ear, and Lu Shiyan subconsciously reached out and rubbed his ear, saying, "Let's find a place to rest first, and go into the city after dark."

Jiang Tangtang looked at him and asked, "What are you planning to do this time?"

There wasn't much space left in her room; she couldn't fit any more of the things from the entire storeroom.

If she were to actually visit Prince Rui's private treasury and only take half, she would be upset.

Lu Shiyan could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her conflicted expression. He chuckled and ruffled her hair. "What are you thinking about? This time you don't have to do any work. I'll just take you to the city for some fun."

Jiang Tangtang didn't believe it, but since he wouldn't say, she was too lazy to ask again. She just assumed he was going to the city for fun.

Lu Shiyan took her to a nearby mountain and found a cave to rest. After traveling hundreds of kilometers, even he was feeling a bit tired.

Today, instead of meditating as usual, I lay down on the mat that Jiang Tangtang had laid out.

Jiang Tangtang turned her head and looked at him with some surprise.

Just as he was about to say that he had changed recently, a long arm swept him away.

Lu Shiyan pulled Jiang Tangtang into his arms, closed his eyes, and said, "Sleep with me for a while."

His voice was slightly hoarse.

She sounded slightly weary, yet also possessed an indescribable sexiness.

Jiang Tangtang felt as if someone was tickling her heart with a feather; her heart softened inexplicably, and the words of refusal stuck in her throat.

She stared blankly at his sleeping face, at his chiseled features, at the faint dark circles under his eyes, and at his thick, long eyelashes...

Seeing this, her heart started pounding uncontrollably again.