Xue Shen spurred his horse straight to Huangfeng Cave.

He sent men to wipe out Huang Fengdong's bandits, not to do a good deed, but to cut off the spies planted by Emperor Cheng'an.

The Northwest is far from the capital, and the spies sent out by Emperor Cheng'an mostly acted independently. Due to the inconvenience of communication, they did not report everything to the capital.

As long as the people are wiped out before they can react, Emperor Cheng'an, far away in the capital, will know nothing.

When Xue Shen arrived on horseback, Huangfeng Cave was brightly lit with fire and filled with the sounds of battle.

The men he sent were the elite of the elite; even outnumbered, they were no match for him. Xue Shen spurred his horse, sword in hand, and charged in, finding the situation already decided.

The real bandits' corpses lay scattered on the ground, while only three were left alive. Their jaws were dislocated, their hands and feet were tied, and they were thrown to the ground.

Xue Shen shook the blood off his sword, then sheathed it with a clang.

"They've all been captured?"

The guard captain replied, "Two died, three were captured alive. The rest were all dead."

Xue Shen nodded, circled the three of them once, casually dragged over a chair and sat down, saying, "Let's begin the interrogation now."

Immediately, someone lifted the three people up and tied them to a rack.

Determined to extract information, the guards showed no mercy. After using every available instrument of torture, someone finally broke down and spoke up.

Hearing the piercing screams, Xue Shen nodded in satisfaction: "Find out how they communicate with Emperor Cheng'an, and leave one alive."

Having learned what he needed to know, there was no need to waste any more time here. Leaving some men to clean up the mess, Xue Shen spurred his horse back to the camp.

The next day, Shen Youying was awakened by the sunlight streaming in through the window. She struggled to open her eyes and saw Xue Shen sitting beside her reading a book. When he saw that she was awake, he put down his book and looked at her with a smile: "Awake? Did you sleep well last night?"

With her worries gone and the daytime travel under the influence of the carriage, Shen Youying has indeed been sleeping more soundly these past few days than she did in Xizhou City.

She nodded and slowly pulled the bell on the carriage wall. Liuyun and Fucui outside heard the noise and soon brought over a copper basin to help her wash up.

After washing and dressing, Shen Youying got off the carriage with Xue Shen.

Today is a bright and sunny day. The rising sun peeks out from between the mountains, and the bright sunlight makes the green mountains look like jade.

Shen Youying took a deep breath of the morning air and asked, "How much longer until we reach Ximen Mountain?"

Xue Shen calculated the distance and said, "It will take about another day."

"Only one day left before I can go to see my father," Shen Youying said softly, gazing in the direction of Ximen Mountain. "I wonder how my father is doing now."

Xue Shen handed her the meat porridge that Liu Yunduan had brought, and comforted her, "You'll know when it arrives tomorrow."

After having breakfast, the two continued their journey. After a day's travel and a night's rest, the group finally arrived at Ximen Mountain early the next morning.

Ximen Mountain is located west of the Tibetan royal court. It is named for the perilous peak on its summit that resembles a gate, as it is situated to the west.

At the foot of Ximen Mountain is a vast grassland. As the terrain rises, the grassland gradually turns into hills, and then into a series of connected mountain ranges.

Ximen Mountain is just one of many mountains in a continuous range.

Shen Youying lifted the carriage curtain and peered out: "These mountains stretch endlessly here. I wonder where Father might be trapped?"

Xue Shen looked at the map and said, "There is an Azha tribe not far from Ximen Mountain. If my father-in-law is indeed trapped in Ximen Mountain, the people in the tribe should know some clues. Let's go and find out some information first."

The horse-drawn carriage traveled along the path towards the Aza tribe.

The narrow road connecting the border of the Great Wei to the royal court was known as the Golden Road by merchants, and the Azha tribe was located at the end of the Golden Road, a necessary route to the Tibetan royal court.

Two days' journey past the Azha tribe will take you to the Tibetan royal court.

Therefore, the Azha tribe was considered a relatively powerful and prosperous tribe on the grassland. Merchants would stop in the tribe to rest and recuperate before heading to the Tibetan royal court to seek their fortune.

When Xue Shen and his group arrived, many merchants were already trading and exchanging information with each other in the Azha tribe.

Upon seeing the newcomers, dressed as Tibetan merchants, the merchants from the Great Wei swarmed around them, asking curiously in broken Tibetan, "What kind of business do you do? You should take a look at my tea cakes. These are precious tea cakes imported from Tokyo, used by the royal family!"

Some people were also selling headdresses and jewelry: "The jewelry here is all the latest trend in Tokyo, and it's very popular with ladies of high society."

Because there were too many people in the tribe, the carriage had to stop after entering. Xue Shen gestured to Shen Youying not to get out of the carriage, and then lifted the curtain and got out himself. He adopted the demeanor of a Tibetan merchant, and his gleaming eyes scanned the crowd. When he saw an old man watching the excitement behind him, he ordered in fluent Tibetan, "Arrange a best tent for me."

Hearing his authentic accent, the old man's initial look of amusement vanished. He rudely pushed through the crowd of vendors and eagerly stepped forward, replying in Tibetan, "Where do you come from, sir? Don't believe the lies of these cunning Central Plains people. If you want the finest tea cakes, you must go to the royal court. They wouldn't sell the truly good stuff here; they'd save it for the royal court to fetch a high price."

Xue Shen said, "I brought my wife back to the royal court to visit relatives. My wife has never seen the scenery of the grasslands, so I plan to stay a few more days and show her the grassland scenery."

When he got out of the carriage, the old man saw through the gap in the raised curtain that there was still a woman inside. Hearing what the other person said, he realized that the woman in the carriage was the lady they were referring to.

He immediately began enthusiastically introducing the place: "You should definitely go to Ximen Mountain. Anyone who comes to the royal court for the first time always makes a point of visiting Ximen Mountain."

Xue Shen nodded and casually asked, "Have many people been going to Ximen Mountain these days? If so, then I won't go. My wife is pregnant and doesn't like noise."

After hearing his question, the old man pondered for a moment and said, "There are quite a few people."

Xue Shen feigned a look of doubt at just the right moment: "There really is someone?"

The old man explained, "Just recently, a group of people from the Central Plains entered Ximen Mountain, claiming they were looking for treasure or something. They were rude and looked like bandits. We don't know what they were up to. If you, sir, also want to go into the mountain, you should be careful."

Xue Shen nodded, tossed a silver ingot to the old man, and after inspecting the tent the old man had prepared, he was quite satisfied. Only then did he signal the guards to bring the carriage over, and personally helped Shen Youying out of the carriage.

Shen Youying helped him down by the arm, quickly glanced around at the various people with different expressions, and asked in a low voice, "You actually speak Tibetan?"

Xue Shen chuckled softly in her ear: "If I can't even speak Tibetan, how am I supposed to pretend to be a Tibetan merchant? A Tibetan merchant who can't speak Tibetan, wouldn't he give himself away as soon as he opens his mouth?"

When Shen Youying heard that he was joking with her, she gave him a sidelong glance with sparkling eyes, then left him and went into the tent first.