"Big brother," Fu You glanced at Erge, leaned in to Jin Kui’an’s ear and reported in a low voice, "We’ve searched all the inns in the city, but they’re not there. They haven’t even stayed anywhere at all."

Jin Kui’an couldn’t help but look at Erge, asking with a stern face, "Are you sure they’re heading to the Western Regions?"

Erge’s heart sank, but he remained composed and asked, "Since you saw them at the desert inn, you should know that the road definitely leads to Shazhou. Have you found out if they have reached Shazhou or if they’ve already left?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"No," Jin Kui’an said with a gloomy expression, "they haven’t reached Shazhou."

Erge was taken aback before saying, "Impossible, they must pass through Yumen Pass to reach the Western Regions. Besides that, there’s no other way. And since they’ve been to the desert inn, they would definitely come to Shazhou. Could something have happened to them on the way?"

Jin Kui’an hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Their group is not small, and this desert is not very big. They wouldn’t get lost, and there wasn’t a storm. If something happened on the road, there would be some trace."

He paused and then said, "Besides coming to Shazhou, that road can also divert to Suzhou."

"But what would they be doing going to Suzhou?" Erge questioned doubtfully, "If they’re heading to Suzhou, there’s a shorter route, isn’t there? No need to pass through the desert inn."

"There’s another possibility. They still want to come to Shazhou but detoured back to take another route, and that official road leads to Suzhou."

Erge then looked up at him, eyes filled with doubt.

Jin Kui’an didn’t explain but said, "Didn’t you say they were cautious people?"

Erge asked, "Did you threaten them at the desert inn?"

Jin Kui’an sneered without answering. Instead, he pondered for a moment before saying, "Leave three people behind, and the rest will follow me on the official road to Suzhou. Hopefully, we’ll meet them on the way. The area between Suzhou and Shazhou is unstable; if we deal with them on the road, the government won’t think much about it."

Jin Kui’an quickly made a decision. They were already several days behind, and if they didn’t hurry, they’re likely to lose their target.

After all, it’s carts full of gold and jewels.

Of course, Erge went with them.

Before leaving, he told Fu You, who was staying behind, "If they come back before we return, don’t make a move yet. Try to find out more about them. If possible, infiltrate their group," Jin Kui’an said with a deep gaze, "In any case, we must get our hands on their gold and silver."

"Yes!"

Jin Kui’an quietly left Shazhou with his men to take the route to Suzhou. But what he thought was a quiet departure was not quiet at all.

Once he left, Governor He of Shazhou immediately contacted General Meng of Yumen Pass to inform him that those who needed guarding against had turned back.

After sending the message, Governor He felt something was off, "What kind of people are they to turn back?"

He frowned and asked, "Could they be looking for someone?"

"Sir, should we send someone to inform Suzhou?"

Governor He sighed, "Can our people reach Suzhou now?"

The steward paused and didn’t speak.

Governor He, remembering the current road blockades, became exasperated and gritted his teeth, "These nonsensical rumors, I don’t know who’s spreading them. Go and have someone dispel them. His Majesty is safe, Xiazhou is fine, and the Central Plains are stable. Everyone should just be calm."

"Yes."

Governor He was busy all morning dispelling rumors, while Manbao and the others had just woken up.

She leaned out of the carriage window to yawn, pulled her head back, closed the window, and then helped Zhou Liru with her hair before jumping out of the carriage.

The two of them took a small wooden basin to Steward Li to get water for washing. Since water was scarce in the desert, only enough for a wet cloth was given, and no more.

The dusty and dirty Dayu and others watched from the side, perplexedly turning their heads. Not washing their faces for a day wasn’t a big deal; it was normal not to wash for half a month in the desert.

Thus, Dayu led the group in refusing the water steward Li offered, saying they only needed drinking water and nothing else.

Steward Li gave them an approving look and turned to distribute more water to the young masters and Miss Man.

They didn’t need it, and so the young masters and Miss Man could use a bit more.

The group busied themselves for half an hour. When the sun had risen and the cold had dissipated, with some warmth beginning to appear, they started their journey.

Dayu couldn’t help but ask Zhou Man and the others, "How many days are you planning to take to reach Shazhou?"

Manbao replied, "We’ve calculated; it should take about twelve to eighteen days."

"That’s quite a range."

Manbao said, "We can’t help it. No one knows what we’ll encounter on the road."

"Don’t worry," Dayu said, "before we set out, we calculated there won’t be any sandstorms."

"I mean, who knows if we’ll meet any interesting people, things, or stories on the road. If we do, we might need to stay longer," Manbao explained.

Dayu: ... It feels like the Town Leader miscalculated. He should’ve settled a timeframe with them. What if they find someplace as interesting as our Small Town along the way and have to stay for another ten or twenty days?

It’s too hard to earn this hundred taels of silver?

Split among twenty people, each one would get... Dayu counted on his fingers, but not getting it, just decided to drop it. It probably wasn’t much anyway, or else the steward would have been envious when they left.

Since he didn’t envy them, they’re likely incurring a loss on this trip.

Even a small loss would be acceptable—anything but losing that much.

Thus, Dayu urged Zhou Man and Bai Shan to speed up, preferably reaching Shazhou in ten days.

It was actually possible. If they quickened their pace, they could reach in seven or eight days.

But Manbao refused, citing that there were the elderly (Mr. Zhuang) and the young (Zhou Liru) in the convoy.

Dayu turned to look at Mr. Zhuang, who was happily looking out the window, and then at Zhou Liru, who was riding ahead on a horse, and was speechless for a while.

The group moved forward leisurely, replenished food and water at oases, and tried getting some interesting things whenever they saw them. Occasionally, they’d run far to catch a sand rat, causing the convoy to settle an hour earlier to wait for their return.

Dayu was worn down along the way, and when they finally saw the gates of Shazhou city after half a month, tears almost welled up in his eyes.

Finally here!

Finally here! This was also manbao and their party’s heartfelt voice.

Seeing the tall city gates, they all shouted in excitement, "Wow, wow!" Manbao even tossed her veil hat up, catching it as it fell. She donned the veil hat, lifted her shawl, and pointed ahead with great enthusiasm, shouting, "Charge—we’re entering the city!"

It startled nearby people who turned to look at them, and someone had already rushed into the city to warn others.

Assistant General Nie: ...

He had no choice but to change into his official uniform to prevent any unnecessary misunderstandings later.

Bai Shan and others couldn’t help but laugh at Manbao.

From afar, the people on the city gate saw and turned the corners of their mouths up before turning back to their colleague, "Does that look like an enemy attack? Those youngsters clearly seem like they’re from some noble or wealthy family out here for experience, not a hint of banditry on them."