Kezhou.
"Hu Tingzhi is dead."
After Xi Yan finished reading the secret letter, his face became frighteningly gloomy.
Fu Yuchi's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, and his lips moved slightly. "It was Yu Ying who did it. I should have expected it, but I was still a step too late."
"Where is the medicine person?"
Xi Yan threw the secret letter into the charcoal brazier, and it instantly turned to ashes. "Your girl is remarkable. Not only did she handle the refugees in Pingnan City properly, but she also hired the bandits who had been recruited as bodyguards and opened a bodyguard company."
"We are currently escorting the medicine-using people to Kezhou."
The cup in his hand shattered instantly, the sharp shards slicing across the man's palm, leaving a red mark from which blood seeped. "Nonsense."
He had clearly instructed her to stay in Pingnan City and not go anywhere, so why did Xiao Miao'er still take such a risk?
Doesn't she know that danger lurks everywhere outside?
"What, you want to go save your little girl?" Xi Yan teased him in a half-joking tone, "Let me make this clear, you can't go anywhere right now."
Fu Yuchi smiled disdainfully, "If I want to go, even the prince can't stop me."
How could he let Xiao Miao'er take such a risk? He was hoping that Xiao Miao'er would cook delicious food for him when they got back, and he even wanted to marry her.
He would know without hesitation if there was even the slightest danger around her.
Xi Yan's expression suddenly turned serious, and he said solemnly, "Alright, I'm not joking with you anymore. I have already dispatched a team of men from Kezhou, hoping to intercept them before the Yu Camp."
"What if we can't stop them?" Fu Yuchi felt a growing unease. "What if something goes wrong..."
No one can compensate him for Xiao Miao'er.
Xi Yan raised an eyebrow with considerable confidence. "I have made thorough preparations."
“The Feather Camp used to abduct young women everywhere to make medicine figures, but they never made any breakthroughs. Now that you have made medicine figures before them, they must have heard the news and will probably abandon their old methods and just take the ready-made ones.”
Fu Yuchi still couldn't accept it; how could his little girl have come to Kezhou without saying a word?
It seemed that the closer he got, the more uneasy he felt.
His unease was indeed justified.
Kezhou occupies the natural barrier of Lushan Mountain. To enter Kezhou, one must pass through Lushan Mountain, but the official roads are currently closed, prohibiting merchants from traveling together. Therefore, one can only detour around the southern foothills.
Leading a caravan on the road was extremely difficult.
Fortunately, Tu Zhenshan had lived at the foot of Lushan Mountain before and knew the climate of the Lushan area very well.
"Manager, let's rest here for today." Tu Zhenshan waved to signal the group to stop when he saw fog rising in the woods ahead.
Sun Miao'er smelled the stench of rotting animals in the air. It was getting dark, so there must be many animals that had been hunted down by wild beasts ahead.
The old forests of Southwest China are mostly inhabited by tigers and black bears.
The镖行 (escort agency) members set up camp on the spot, and no one dared to venture into the dense forest ahead under the cover of night.
Sun Miao'er took out a map. Unlike the hills of Yingzhou, Kezhou was all mountains.
The climate in the high mountains is unpredictable, often alternating between sunshine and rain. After the rain, miasma can easily form, which is very dangerous for people from other places.
However, if they didn't go through this forest, they would have to pass through Anyang City, which was absolutely impossible. Anyang City was heavily guarded, and not only would they not be allowed to enter the city, but if the medicine people were discovered once inside, their group would definitely not be able to leave the city.
"Brother Tu, have you been to this forest before?" Sun Miao'er's fingertips traced the dense forest on the map.
Tu Zhenshan's expression was also not relaxed. "Shopkeeper, the forest at the foot of Lushan Mountain is pretty much the same. Although my home is far from here, even we locals don't dare to easily venture into similar forests."
"Not only is there deadly miasma, but the key is that you can't get out in a day. If you stay inside, the wild animals will come out at night, which is the most dangerous thing."
Sun Miao'er suddenly remembered the intricate nets she had seen outside before, "What if we set up hunting nets in the forest beforehand?"
Tu Zhenshan was surprised that she knew a little about hunting, so he said, "A hunting net might work, but none of us brothers are hunters by trade, so we don't know how to make one!"
"I can!"
Hope flickered in Sun Miao'er's eyes. Of course she remembered that her master had explained the Starfall Net to her in detail, and she had memorized it well.
All she needed right now was some rope and animal traps, which she had prepared before leaving home.
Without further ado, they gathered the group of workers, took out a thick roll of hemp rope, and Sun Miao'er simply sketched the basic shape on a piece of paper. The workers then began to weave the intricate web with great enthusiasm.
"We'll rest outside the forest for a day, put the animal traps in the forest tomorrow, and then set off into the dense forest the day after tomorrow. This way, the threat from wild animals will be much smaller."
Tu Zhenshan led his brothers to weave a net. Sun Miao'er was worried about the medicine man in the box, fearing that something might happen to him. She called Wang Xiaohu to come with her to the box.
"Brother Wang, shall we open it and take a look?"
Sun Miao'er listened through the box for a while but heard no sound. She knocked on the wooden box again, but still received no response.
"Don't bother, Manager Sun. Have you forgotten what I said? The medicine man won't make a sound when he's in hibernation."
No sooner had Wang Xiaohu finished speaking than a commotion suddenly arose inside the box.
The commotion startled Sun Miao'er, who took several steps back.
"Brother Wang, didn't you say?" She pointed at the box, which was shaking more and more violently and was about to be pushed open.
We've been on the road for so many days and there's been nothing unusual about the box, so why today?
Wang Xiaohu acted decisively, drawing his knife from his waist, so that he could be prepared should the medicine-carrying figures inside break out of the box.
"What's going on? No, we can't let him break the box!"
Sun Miao'er mustered her courage and took two steps forward, trying to push the box open.
"Manager Sun, danger!"
Wang Xiaohu roared, and the box was overturned by the drug-using man inside. The drug-using man stood up, staring at the person in front of him with bloodshot eyes.
Wasn't it in hibernation? Why did it suddenly go berserk?
Sun Miao'er calmed herself down and saw that the medicine man had no intention of attacking, but instead stood there motionless. "Hibernate, hibernate!"
"That's right!" She suddenly remembered the datura pollen she had prepared before leaving home. "Brother Wang, you watch him, I'll go think of something!"
Sun Miao'er fetched some Datura pollen and sprinkled it on the face of the medicine man, hoping it would have some effect.
Wang Xiaohu ordered several of his men to hold tightly onto the chains binding the drugged man, so they could restrain him should he go berserk.
After coming into contact with the pollen of the datura flower, the person slowly fell towards the box behind them and remained motionless.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"I don't know how he suddenly woke up." Sun Miao'er looked at the medicine man in front of her, still in shock. "Master and the others should have received my letter by now."
"If only Master were here."
The strange contraption her master created was too unreliable; it would go berserk at any moment. Now, she could only pray that she could reach Kezhou safely.
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