Liang Mu just wanted to say that it’s not about whether or not to bring luggage, the escort fee of ten taels per person is not low, and the two people riding one camel is just about enough, yet still doing this.

Moreover, he is the dignified Clan Leader of the Liang Family, and naturally has some status.

But before he could speak, the scar-faced man from before said in a hostile tone, "Are you getting on or not, if not..."

"Hu Lv the Leader of the Escort, don’t be angry, don’t be angry, it’s our fault, harmony is best, harmony is best." At this moment, a somewhat robust, very amiable-looking middle-aged man came over with two people, and instructed them to unload the goods from the camel.

The scar-faced man could only swallow his angry words and snorted coldly, urging Liang Mu and his group to hurry up.

Chen Mo noticed that this person was dressed differently from the group of scar-faced men, still wearing a long robe, guessing that he should be from the merchant convoy, while the scar-faced man and those in coarse leather clothing were people from the Hu Lv Escort Agency.

After the goods were unloaded, the amiable-looking middle-aged man mistook Liang Mu for the leader among the four and greeted him with a cupped fist, saying, "This old gentleman, I am Han Yang, the steward of the convoy. I apologize for earlier, and ask for your forgiveness."

With the other party saying this, Liang Mu couldn’t say anything more and had to let it go.

Seeing Liang Mu’s forgiveness, Han Yang cupped his fists again, then smiled at Chen Mo and the other two, gestured, and returned to the central vehicle of the convoy.

Chen Mo raised his eyebrows as he watched Han Yang leave. This person’s strength as a Sixth-Grade Martial Artist, with the power number displayed on his forehead, surpassed that of the scar-faced man.

"Liang, let me ride with you."

Just when Chen Mo was planning to have Nalan Yiren ride the camel with Si Song and squeeze in with Liang Mu, Si Song spoke first to Liang Mu.

Liang Mu glanced at Nalan Yiren and Chen Mo, nodded his head.

"Are you ready?" The scar-faced man referred to by Han Yang as Hu Lv the Leader of the Escort urged again.

Chen Mo couldn’t be bothered with him and was about to say he’d sit in the front when Nalan Yiren got on ahead of him.

Chen Mo sat behind Nalan Yiren.

Although the space between the humps of the black camel was relatively wide, it was still a bit cramped with the two sitting on top.

The moment he got on, Chen Mo felt the fullness of the other’s saddle.

He noticed that Nalan Yiren’s body visibly stiffened, trying to move forward, but with nowhere to go between the two humps, she could only bite her lip and mutter, "Don’t move."

"I’ll do my best," Chen Mo said with a bitter smile.

Liang Mu and Si Song at the other side didn’t seem to mind, both having reached an age of ’Purifying Heart and Reducing Desire,’ being men, they wouldn’t think much of it.

The caravan headed towards the checkpoint.

The checkpoint was guarded by armed men, not from the Court, but more akin to a gang, collecting "passage fees."

When the caravan Chen Mo followed arrived, the scar-faced man only drew his knife, and that "guard" shied away, allowing the convoy to pass through.

Still, Han Yang handed some broken silver to the "guard."

Chen Mo thought to himself, "When I return from the Western Regions, I must send someone to properly govern Xiliang."

...

The road to the Western Regions was indeed difficult, a vast red and yellow desert, with the wind sweeping sand grains in the desert, the howling wind incessantly ringing.

Looking around, there was almost no trace of people, only golden sands.

Initially, riding behind Nalan Yiren, the movement of the camel caused some friction between them, which Chen Mo found somewhat thrilling, but as the sun climbed higher, that enjoyment quickly dissipated, replaced by the blazing heat of the sun.

After all, Chen Mo was pretending to be a normal person, not utilizing any Innate Spiritual Qi or anything.

In such conditions, Chen Mo couldn’t think of anything else.

Chen Mo and the others were in a similar state, as were the escort agency and the merchant convoy personnel; they had to drink water frequently and conserve energy by refraining from talking.

In the desert, it was difficult to tell time, and hard to find a shaded area.

During breaks, everyone would rest under the camels and vehicles.

The escort agency people sat together.

The merchant convoy people sat together.

Chen Mo and the other three sat together.

They ate dry food and drank water.

"Steward Han, isn’t the noble in the vehicle coming down to eat something?" The scar-faced man asked Han Yang, who had come down from the vehicle, speaking with a demeanor entirely different from how he was with Chen Mo and the others, amiable.

"No need, I’ll take some food into the car," Han Yang replied.

The scar-faced man said no more, but took some food and water over to Chen Mo’s side, placed it in front of Liang Mu and said, "Old brother, I’m sorry for offending you this morning. At the time, I thought the sooner we hit the road the less we’d have to deal with the sun, didn’t mind my tone, I apologize."

A completely different attitude from the morning.

"It’s nothing." Several hours had passed, and with Liang Mu’s experience, he didn’t take it seriously, or rather, never considered him worth it, like one wouldn’t argue with an ant, even if Liang Mu’s cultivation had been abolished.

"From your accent, old brother, you don’t sound like you’re from Xiliang? What are you headed to the Western Regions for?" The scar-faced man asked, also casting glances at Chen Mo and the others.

Liang Mu glanced at Chen Mo, with his profound skill in acting, he replied, "Offended someone, going to the Western Regions to seek refuge."

Seeing that Liang Mu was unwilling to say more, the scar-faced man looked them over a few more times. Based on their attire, they indeed seemed like they were in flight, as Chen Mo and the others dressed quite plainly, yet their complexions were rosy, proving they weren’t from poor backgrounds, which made the scar-faced man believe Liang Mu somewhat more.

He asked no more and left.

Once the scar-faced man left, Nalan Yiren quietly said, "It’s not poisoned, you can eat."

While the scar-faced man was asking questions earlier, Nalan Yiren had secretly checked the food and water they had received.

"There’s something strange about that guy," Liang Mu murmured.

"As long as it doesn’t concern us, there’s no need to bother," Chen Mo said.

The group nodded in agreement.

From their conversation, Chen Mo confirmed what he had guessed.

The bare-armed man in coarse leather clothes was from the escort agency.

And the scar-faced man was the Leader of the Escort for the agency, a Sixth-Grade Martial Artist, named Hu Lv Guang, also the "founder" of the Hu Lv Escort Agency.

There were about thirty of them in total.

The remaining ten or so were from the merchant convoy, all dressed in long robes.

Moreover, according to Hu Lv Guang, there was a noble inside the carriage.

...

Resting for about two quarters of an hour, the convoy set off again.

In the desert, with no prominent landmarks for navigation, the tracks left by predecessors long covered by sand, a novice would surely lose their way in such conditions.

After walking for an hour, the convoy stopped again for rest.

Hu Lv Guang once again brought food and water.

Nalan Yiren examined it again and found no problems.

They rested for two quarters of an hour as before, and then the convoy set off again.

By the next rest, it had reached nightfall.

Night veiled the desert, a radiant moonbeam poured down from the sky.

The once blazing desert suddenly turned cold at night.

The convoy hastily set up tents and built several campfires around them.

Everyone, from the escort agency to the merchant convoy, entered the tents to rest.

Chen Mo noticed that the nobleman Hu Lv Guang spoke of had yet to leave the carriage.

Hu Lv Guang brought food and water once again.

Through Nalan Yiren’s inspection, there wasn’t an issue.

All passed peacefully through the night.

The next day, just at dawn, Hu Lv Guang brought food, saying that once eaten, they would hit the road.

This time, Nalan Yiren discovered something amiss with the food and water.

"Something weird," Si Song also noted.

At that moment, as Hu Lv Guang was distributing food to the merchant convoy, he turned to look at Chen Mo’s side.

Si Song picked up the food brought by Hu Lv Guang and started eating, Hu Lv Guang chuckled, and continued distributing food.