Chapter 555: Ghosts Have Their Own Purgatory
Sang Zhixia looked at the man in front of her with a gentle expression, made a gesture of invitation and said, "Boss Zhou, you have gone through so much trouble. There is no need to be bound by the formalities outside. Please sit down and talk."
Boss Zhou had a fierce encounter with Sang Zhixia three years ago, but they had no further contact since then.
We met again in Nancheng a few years ago. Boss Zhou, who originally wanted to refuse Peng Yuanliang's recruitment into the Chamber of Commerce, got instructions from Sang Zhixia and changed his mind and followed the crowd to join Peng Yuanliang's group. He also found an opportunity to travel inside and outside the customs with the caravan arranged by Peng Yuanliang.
Boss Zhou sat down, not caring about being polite. He tilted his head back and gulped down three glasses of water in a row. After barely relieving his dry mouth, he took a deep breath and said anxiously, "I knew your intention a year ago. I was afraid that my subordinates would do something inappropriate and ruin your plan, so I disguised myself as a servant and infiltrated the Li family's caravan."
"I followed the caravan all the way to North City yesterday and was just thinking of finding a chance to look for you."
Upon learning that Sang Zhixia was in the city at the moment, he hurried over.
Sang Zhixia signaled Diancui to refill the tea, paused, and said, "You are looking for me so urgently, but what did you find?"
Boss Zhou's face turned a little stiff, as if he was afraid of something, and he subconsciously glanced at the people in the room.
Sang Zhixia smiled knowingly: "All of you go out first, guard the door outside, and no one is allowed to come in without my permission."
The people in the house left one after another. Boss Zhou clenched the cup in his hand repeatedly, struggling for a long time before speaking in a hoarse voice, "Mrs. Sang's previous guess was correct. The things Peng Yuanliang asked the caravan to transport are indeed mysterious."
"He was carrying weapons."
Weapons such as swords, knives, and daggers are very common. As long as you find the right place and pay enough money, you can buy three or five of them if you want.
But none of these can compare with what Peng Yuanliang transported to the interior.
Boss Zhou was frightened, his face pale and his words trembled, "We all know that ironware from outside the Great Wall is better, but the court has expressly forbidden ironware from outside the Great Wall from entering the Great Wall. It's a serious taboo."
"The caravan leaving the border consists of two groups of people. One group is composed of people who have joined the Chamber of Commerce, and the other group is composed of people assigned by Peng Yuanliang."
"I followed the caravan all the way out of the customs. Peng Yuanliang's men handled all the arrangements and the handover of the goods. The other guys were only responsible for carrying and escorting. The Li family, including the team leader, mistakenly thought we were transporting raw jade, but..."
Boss Zhou took a deep breath, suppressed a shudder, and said through gritted teeth, "I've dealt in jade rough before, and I'm familiar with the weight of these stones. When I saw that scene, I felt something was wrong. So, under the protection of Li the waiter, I found an opportunity to pry open the corner of a box and take a peek."
"That wooden box that's said to contain raw stones is actually filled to the brim with cold, gleaming arrows. All of them."
The imperial court had extremely strict control over iron mines, and the forging of various weapons allowed no ambiguity.
All weapons used in the army, such as longbows, arrows, and broadswords, are specially made by the Bingmasi, and must be marked with special emblems to make it clear where they came from.
Ordinary people do not have access to arrows and other things at home. Even hunters who go up the mountain mostly have wooden arrows that they have polished themselves, and at most the sharp part is wrapped with a layer of iron sheet.
But the batch of goods shipped from outside the customs to the customs weighed more than several thousand pounds and were all made of fine iron.
The number is so astonishing, and it is not a conventional type. Such things are too shameful, and their uses are terrifying when you think about them carefully.
Although Boss Zhou was courageous, he was just a businessman. This was the first time in his life that he encountered such a horrific conspiracy. He was completely out of control and extremely confused.
Boss Zhou swallowed hard and said, "Goods like this shouldn't be allowed through the border. They can't even escape the first round of searches."
"But the caravans flowed smoothly both in and out of the customs without any obstruction, and the soldiers guarding the customs turned a blind eye. This..."
"Although the types of goods are somewhat unexpected, now that they have entered the border, we can't use the words outside the border to make excuses."
Compared to Boss Zhou's visible fear, Sang Zhixia was terrifyingly calm.
Boss Zhou let out a bewildered sigh and said anxiously, "Is this really not going to be a big deal?"
"What big thing will happen?"
Sang Zhixia curled her eyes in amusement, pushed the already cooled tea toward Boss Zhou's hand, and said softly, "Remember, you didn't see anything."
"No matter who asks, you can only say you don't know."
The more you know about things like this, the shorter your life will be.
Although Boss Zhou has selfish motives, he is a smart man who knows how to repay kindness. Sang Zhixia doesn't want him to lose his life over such details.
Boss Zhou held the teacup in both hands with a dazed look in his eyes. He opened his mouth repeatedly but didn't ask anything.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I understand what you mean. I will keep my mouth shut."
Sang Zhixia smiled with satisfaction, resting her hands on the table and speaking slowly, "What happens after the caravan enters the customs? Boss Zhou came to see me, how are the follow-up arrangements over there?"
Boss Zhou quickly downed his tea and said, "After entering the customs, the caravan took the route through the South City and exited the North City. After leaving the city, they continued north for another 300 miles. Anyone in the caravan who wasn't Peng Yuanliang had to retreat. I can't find out what happened after that."
Sang Zhixia dipped her finger in tea and sketched a route on the table, her eyes tinged with sarcasm: "You're quite careful."
Including the routes reported by the spies in previous times, this is the third different one.
It seems that although Peng Yuanliang is doing a job that can cost him his life, he doesn't want to die so soon.
Sang Zhixia wiped the water stains off the table with her palm, stood up and said with a smile: "Boss Zhou helped me a lot, I will remember this favor today."
"If Boss Zhou needs my help in the future, just let me know."
Boss Zhou waved his hands repeatedly, saying he didn't dare. When he stood up, he smiled bitterly: "I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I'm actually a nobody. I can't reach the sky with my hands, and I can't see hell when I look down."
"I just want to have enough food and clothing, and to save my family's lives. I hope all my efforts will be worthwhile."
"Can……"
"But this is beyond my imagination. I accidentally got dragged into Peng Yuanliang's scheme and became a pawn. I don't know what will happen in the future..."
Boss Zhou struggled to speak any more, his heart and eyes filled with regret for not insisting on not joining the Chamber of Commerce, and being hit by such a huge pot for no reason.
Sang Zhixia listened patiently, and when she saw Boss Zhou's throat choking repeatedly, she laughed and said, "Don't worry, it won't happen."
"Ordinary people have their own way of living, and ghosts have their own purgatory to enter. As long as you can keep your heart, no storm will affect you."
Boss Zhou's panic-stricken heart seemed to be reassured at this moment. After a moment of hesitation, he said with red eyes in disbelief, "Really?"
"That Chamber of Commerce..."
"Don't worry."
Sang Zhixia smiled faintly and raised her eyebrows subtly: "After autumn, even if the grasshoppers jump again, they will not be more than half a foot high."
"The Northwest is such a big place, why should we worry about this grasshopper being able to jump out?"
"Boss Zhou, is that right?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
