"Hey, what are you guys plotting?" Hong Xiaoduo asked, feigning curiosity as she approached.

The younger ones didn't intend to hide it from her, so they had Tian Shu tell her, "We think Uncle Pavilion Master's carrier pigeons are pretty good, so we want to buy one from him. Then we can use it to send messages for Uncle Wu, Uncle Kaiyang, and Uncle Yuefan."

But we're worried that he might agree to give us one for free out of consideration for you, which wouldn't be good.

"Well, I do know a little about homing pigeons. Let's not talk about whether he will agree or not. The homing pigeons they use are specially trained, and the pigeons they use are not ordinary pigeons. Generally speaking, when training a batch of pigeons, not all of them will be qualified and usable in the end."

Training homing pigeons requires time and patience. Each pigeon owner trains their pigeons to strike specific sounds, such as whistles or gongs, as signals to help the pigeons develop conditioned reflexes.

Then, the routes that homing pigeons take to and from are generally fixed; it's not like you can send them wherever you want them to go.

Even if the lord provides you with trained carrier pigeons, it doesn't mean you can use them smoothly. You still need to build a bond with them, provide them with a comfortable living environment and good feed.

However, even if you do all that, when you release it, it is very likely that it will go looking for its original owner.

So if you want to raise those things, I think we should buy young pigeons instead. As for how to train them, I can look it up for you later.

"Uncle Pavilion Master's carrier pigeons are very useful." Hong Xiaoduo didn't know much about them, so she just told the children what she knew.

It's clear that the carrier pigeons used by the Pavilion Master Lan have indeed lured several children.

After hearing her words, the little ones slumped their shoulders, realizing there were so many intricacies involved.

"Alright, we need to get up early to leave tomorrow, so go to sleep early." Hong Xiaoduo thought they were so cute. As she spoke, she pinched each of their ears and little cheeks.

And you know what? The kids immediately became noticeably happier after she pinched them like that.

The next day, Hong Xiaoduo didn't sleep in. After the children got up, she immediately got up to wash and get ready.

Breakfast consisted of shepherd's purse wontons, large steamed buns, and fried eggs.

Yao Guang ran to the tent of the Pavilion Master and the others and called them to have breakfast.

When the three of them arrived, they were all shouting and yelling as they walked.

"Why didn't you sleep well last night?" Hong Xiaoduo asked, a little puzzled. This was the first time she had seen this situation. The other party were three grown men. It couldn't be that they were sad and couldn't sleep because they were going to be separated from everyone!

Hearing Hong Xiaoduo ask this question, Jin Gui and Guard Liu looked at Hong Xiaoduo with some grievance, thinking to themselves, "Isn't it because you gave our master that music box?"

The master didn't sleep all night because he was fiddling with the music box all night. With the three of them sharing a tent, it's no wonder the other two couldn't sleep.

This music box sounds beautiful, but who can stand listening to it all night long!

After the two sat down, they rubbed their eyes again. Last night, before their master played with the music box, he waved the handheld lamp that Hong Xiao Niangzi had given them in front of their eyes, and their eyes were very uncomfortable from the glare.

The master was happy, but what did the two of them do to deserve this torment, and they couldn't even show the slightest dissatisfaction?

"Sigh, I can't sleep just thinking about having to say goodbye to you all." Lan Zechen casually came up with an excuse, a reason that Hong Xiaoduo had just dismissed in her mind.

Jin Gui and Guard Liu glared resentfully at their master, thinking to themselves, "Master, you're lying through your teeth. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

However, their master's attention was drawn to the large steamed buns on the table, as well as the wontons floating with oil, dried shrimp, and chopped scallions.

Eat quickly, or you might not be able to eat Tianxuan's delicious food again. After you've eaten your fill, you can catch up on some sleep in the carriage.

Lan Zechen grabbed a large steamed bun and took a big bite. As soon as it entered his mouth, he nodded hurriedly. After swallowing, he carefully examined the filling. He recognized the bright green color as shepherd's purse, but he wondered what kind of meat the pinkish-white diced meat inside was, and he had never tasted this flavor before.

Seeing Tianxuan and the others immediately looking at their master with those strange eyes again, Guard Liu looked at his master and was speechless. How come even delicious food can't shut you up? So curious and so eager to ask questions, do you want to learn to cook too?

"Luncheon meat, bought from a caravan I happened to meet on the road," Tianxuan replied again. She had thought of this in advance and prepared her response when she was making steamed buns that morning.

Unexpectedly, the preparations were not in vain. Tianxuan looked at Hong Xiaoduo with a hint of pride in her successful prediction, only to see her eating and laughing.

"Do you remember what caravan it was? It was really delicious. The shepherd's purse was so fresh, and the meat had a unique aroma. It was so good." Lan Zechen said, taking another big bite.

“My second brother said that it was just a chance encounter with a caravan, so naturally he didn’t ask too many questions,” Tianji chimed in, playing along.

Ah, Lan Zechen looked regretful after hearing that.

Seeing their master's reaction, Liu Huwei and Jin Gui couldn't bear to watch any longer and quickly lowered their heads to start eating.

The farewell breakfast was quite pleasant. Lan Zechen and his two servants ate their fill. After they finished eating, Tianxuan filled the food box that she had gotten from Jin Gui the day before with pies and steamed buns.

They also packed a bag of large steamed buns that had been prepared early in the morning into a cloth bag and gave them that as well.

Tianxuan was also very generous to generous people.

Lan Zechen watched as his two attendants helped Tian Shu and the others pack their things before boarding the carriage. After traveling with Hong Xiaoduo and the others for a while, at a fork in the road, both sides clasped their hands in greeting from their respective carriages, wishing each other well and looking forward to meeting again, before departing on their own.

For the rest of the trip, the journey was no longer like a spring outing. Instead, we set off early at sunrise and found a suitable place to camp and rest at sunset.

When we encountered villages or towns along the way, we quickly made purchases and resupply.

When they encountered large cities and prefectures, no matter how prosperous and bustling they were, they no longer lingered there. Naturally, Hong Xiaoduo, who always slept until she naturally woke up, never slept in again after that day.

When she encountered bandits and robbers along the way, she didn't waste any more words and dealt with them in the shortest amount of time before continuing her journey.

The closer we got to Huazhou, the more we began to feel the impact of the war on the people.

Along the way, they began to encounter people from Huazhou who were seeking refuge with relatives. During a rest stop, Hong Xiaoduo went to inquire about the situation in Huazhou, and some people even advised them not to go.

As more and more information about Huazhou was gathered along the way, and it was confirmed from the many fleeing civilians that the general leading the troops to fight against the enemy was Gong Wei, Tian Quan lost his previous composure and calmness...