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Chapter 142 Runzhou
Official road.
A sizable caravan was parked on the open ground nearby. The dozen or so guards responsible for escorting the caravan immediately dispersed and formed a circle around the area, keeping a close watch on their surroundings.
Those men, all dressed in tight black robes embroidered with a large golden sword emblem, and equipped with identical blue iron broadswords, were clearly not to be trifled with.
Their main targets on this mission were wealthy merchants and tycoons in Dinghai City, and their destination was remarkably consistent: the capital of the Holy Dragon Empire, Yanjing City.
It seems that in their minds, Yanjing City is the safest place in the entire empire, and the absence of turmoil allows them to continue doing business.
These merchants were extremely risk-averse; they were willing to pay ten times the usual reward to the escort team, sparing no expense to speed up the journey, just to leave the border region as soon as possible.
Since the wealthy merchants were willing to reimburse the escort team for losses such as horses, they naturally complied with the request, using almost all of the best and fastest horses in the entire escort agency.
Of course, besides these merchants whose needs need to be constantly monitored, there is also a benefactor in this caravan who needs to be taken care of.
That was Ye Mo.
Li Biao had followed Jiang Yueming's instructions and, as expected, had not aroused Ye Mo's suspicion. On the contrary, when Ye Mo heard that the caravan's destination was Yanjing City, she immediately agreed to go with them.
This relieved Li Biao. If Ye Mo hadn't wanted to go to Yanjing City and had gone somewhere else, their escort team would have had to allocate resources to escort her. If the wealthy merchants found out, it would have caused quite a stir.
After all, when Jiang Yueming tried to exchange their food for the promise of improving his cultivation technique, they firmly refused.
The reason given was that once the grain was distributed, the common people would frantically follow the caravan, which would create unnecessary trouble.
A little food was enough to enrage them, let alone the thought of diverting the caravan's strength, something that directly impacted their lives.
"Jiang Yueming, do you think you can escape my grasp just by giving me this?"
Ye Momei leaned against the wooden railing of the carriage, her eyes lowered as she gazed at a golden scroll in her hand, her voice tinged with a lingering anger.
She suddenly realized that if she left Jiang Yueming in a fit of anger, she would be at a huge loss!
The reason I suffered so much with Jiang Yueming was so that I could use him as a test subject for my dishes, right?
If she were to leave now because of his few words, then all the time she had spent following him this month would have been wasted. She might as well not have come at all and had stayed at the inn to study how to cook.
It is an undeniable fact that Dinghai City has now fallen. Unlike Jiang Yueming, who had read the textbooks of her previous life, Ye Mo thought that the border war had ended. Besides, as a woman with no power or background, how could she get involved with the royal family and the army?
We can only settle for second best. Since we have no right to interfere in the border war, we should do our best to save and protect the people!
"Hmph, once we get to Yanjing City, I'll definitely give you a good welcome," Ye Mo said, putting away the golden scroll with her delicate hand and a hint of resentment burning in her bright eyes.
She knew Jiang Yueming would definitely go to Yanjing City, because Taoism was there. He wanted to create a fourth family to rival the three, and the Holy Dragon Empire obviously had a better chance. If it were the Heavenly Mystery Empire or the Starfall Empire, this idea would probably be nipped in the bud by the three families before it could be implemented.
Moreover, the Holy Dragon Empire has a royal family that can serve as an ally, so it seems that Jiang Yueming will eventually go to the Holy Dragon Empire.
Ye Mo will prepare a lavish welcome feast for him to vent his anger.
"Master Wang, I beg you, please take Sisi as your servant and give her a way to live."
Ye Mo was suddenly drawn to the pleading voices coming from a carriage not far away, and turned her head slightly to look over.
In the distance, a man dressed in simple brown clothes was kneeling on the ground, pleading desperately. Standing in front of him was a wealthy merchant dressed in a magnificent brocade robe.
The wealthy merchant was slightly overweight, with a goatee on his chin and a string of expensive white jade carvings around his waist, suggesting that he came from a very wealthy family.
"Li Gui, Li Gui, weren't you quite the hero when I docked your wages before?"
Master Wang's face darkened, and he kicked Li Gui hard, saying, "So you've finally got a day when you need my help!"
"Master Wang, it was all my fault before. From today onwards, you can deduct as much of my wages as you want, as long as you take Sisi in!"
As he spoke, Li Gui disregarded all sense of propriety and kowtowed repeatedly to Master Wang, begging for forgiveness. His forehead was covered in blood after the two thuds.
Chen Sisi was his neighbor across the hall. They had known each other since childhood and secretly pledged their lives to each other. But who would have thought that Dinghai City would be suddenly engulfed in war, and Chen Sisi's parents died on the spot in the flames of war.
Their last words before they died were to ask Li Gui to take good care of Chen Sisi and help her survive in this turbulent world!
Li Gui, being of humble origin and powerless, could only beg Master Wang to take Chen Sisi in so that she could have something to eat. Otherwise, how could she survive in this remote area?
People like them, who are migrant workers, can only rely on the powerful and wealthy to survive.
As for grand pronouncements like "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river," and "Never underestimate a young man's potential," Li Gui didn't even dare to dream of them. All he wanted now was to survive; in this chaotic world, survival was his only need!
"Fine, I can accept Chen Sisi, but you have to sever all ties with her!"
A shrewd glint flashed in Master Wang's fox-like eyes, and he changed his attitude, smiling.
Upon hearing this, Li Gui was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.
He and Chen Sisi had already pledged their lives to each other. Now, asking him to sever ties with Chen Sisi would only break her heart.
Chen Sisi's parents have passed away, and now he is the only one she can rely on. If he does this, how cruel it would be for Chen Sisi!
"Li Gui! Think it through. As a lowly scoundrel, what ability do you have to protect her? You might as well let go sooner!" Master Wang's face suddenly turned ferocious as he reprimanded him.
"If she stays with you, she'll only suffer endless hardships, and might even die on the way. If I take her in, at least I can guarantee her a life of comfort!"
These words not only deeply stung Li Gui, but also shocked Ye Mo, who was watching from the sidelines.
At that moment, she seemed to understand everything, why the young man that day was so resolute, showing no mercy whatsoever.
Ye Mo pursed her red lips slightly, a hint of heartache quietly surfacing in her eyes, and after a long while, she slowly uttered two words.
"Fool"
The next moment, she jumped off the carriage and prepared to return the way she came, but first she heard the cry of an eagle.
A strong eagle soared and circled in the sky, its two sharp claws gripping a rolled-up letter. After circling a few times, its sharp eyes locked onto Ye Mo's direction, and it swooped down directly.
The eagle's form grew larger and larger in Ye Mo's eyes, her small face turned slightly cold, and the spiritual energy at her fingertips gradually condensed into a small ancient sword, as she prepared to strike and kill the eagle.
Tweet!
The eagle screeched twice as it flew past Ye Mo's head, making no move to attack her. It simply released the letter with its claws when it was closest to her, and then quickly flew away.
Ye Moyu paused for a moment, then bent down to pick up the letter from the ground and opened it. A beautiful string of characters came into view.
Runzhou, Jiang Yueming's life is in danger.