Chapter 54: He Must Not Know

The members of the escort agency, led by Head Escort Lin Biao, had originally thought that paying the city entry fee in Jinwu City, as well as buying water, firewood, and renting a courtyard inside the city, had consumed too much of their provisions, and that they would have to tighten their belts and live frugally for the remainder of the journey.

Unexpectedly, after leaving Jinwu City, they were picking up items all along the road.

The road north to escape was full of variables, and many times it also depended on heaven's will and luck. Those who failed were buried halfway.

No one knew how many people had fallen along the way.

This time was the same.

A sudden change in weather that no one could have predicted, and a wave of evil entities gathered to attack.

Some groups were not sharp enough or lucky enough, and they happened to run into a cluster attack of evil entities; they neither broke out of the encirclement nor reached a safe zone. They, along with their supplies, were all lost right there.

Wen Gu's group encountered quite a few such situations on their way from Jinwu City to the Zhao Clan.

Although they expressed regret for the fate of these groups, from their own perspective, they were very happy.

For these groups that were attacked, the livestock pulling the carts had run away, or those that couldn't run had been eaten by the evil entities, but the supplies on the carts were still there.

Seeing the locations where these supply carts were left, one knew that the people in these groups had tried their best to save themselves at the time, but unfortunately, they had failed.

Those who encountered a group attack head-on were basically trampled over, and the vast majority of their supplies could not be used.

However, for those attacked during the process of evil entities clustering, many supplies remained intact.

After inspecting and selecting, they moved edible food and usable goods to their own carts, and used fire to exorcise the remaining metal weapons so they could continue to be used.

Watching the carts that had been mostly empty now filled up again, the escorts in the agency chatted privately with Head Escort Lin Biao, saying:

"No wonder Wen Scholar told us to leave the city as soon as possible. Perhaps there were indeed other concerns in the city, but outside the city, it is truly 'gold' everywhere! You have to be quick!"

The teams that arrive first make a fortune, while those who come later can go eat dirt!

With food, they felt at ease.

The members, who had originally been heavy-hearted and in low spirits, were once again invigorated.

The weather was getting colder, and they added thick clothing, but their moods were becoming more and more relaxed.

Cold meant safety.

Wen Gu thought about the information he had gathered in Jinwu City.

In the autumn and winter seasons, the major clans hold an Autumn Hunt.

This year, due to weather reasons, the Autumn Hunt was delayed by some days; it should be called a Winter Hunt.

He wondered if they would encounter the Zhao Clan's Autumn Hunt army.

This was actually secondary; what Wen Gu wanted to know more was whether the cavalry troop he had met earlier had delivered the letter?

With the sharpness of those few cavalrymen, they should have broken out of the encirclement before the evil entities gathered.

My dear aunt and uncle, have you seen the letter I wrote?

The north wind blew south with murderous intent; the cold air current that had previously retreated was now forcefully moving south, bringing the scent of frost.

The cold wave of early winter officially kicked off the Xianshou of the Beidi.

Migratory birds migrate from north to south, but in this special chaotic world, people in autumn and winter are the opposite of migratory birds.

A large number of survivors from the South are moving north; their goals are not necessarily the same, but most people have clear destinations, and the great noble families have already made their choices.

The Xianshou operations of the major clans in the Beidi, while clearing threats from their territory, are also receiving these people.

The various noble families and powerful clans from the South bring supplies and people, which will expand the strength of these great Beidi clans.

Beidi, Du Clan.

A caravan moved forward along a narrow path.

This area had dangerous terrain, easy to defend and hard to attack. A plank road was built along the cliffs, and soldiers led them across. Along the way, one could see deep ravines; a moment of carelessness could lead to a fall.

Only by passing through this treacherous place could one reach the towns behind it.

The livestock pulling the carts and the heavy goods being carried took another road.

The people in the caravan who walked lightly onto the plank road felt no annoyance at all; instead, they had an excitement of finally reaching a treasure land.

This place possessed a natural barrier; according to the information collected, this territory of the Du Clan was rarely attacked by external clusters of evil entities.

Besides this, the owner of their firm also heard that this Du Clan had Well Fire and Well Salt!

Truly a treasure land!

In such a chaotic world, preserving oneself is the most important thing, and they just wanted to find a stable place to operate!

The Du Clan, they had come to the right place!

If one of the Northern Six Great Factions were to die first, it would definitely be another family!

Beidi, Qi Clan.

A northward-migrating group from a certain Southern noble family, having traveled hard, with people exhausted and horses spent, finally arrived at the Qi Clan's territory, just in time to encounter the Xianshou army setting out.

The light cavalry in front were robust and mighty, vast and imposing, stern and sharp.

Following them were iron cavalry clad in thick armor, rushing like thunder, shaking hearts and souls!

The ground was shaking, and people's hearts were trembling along with it; the leader of the noble family had fiery eyes.

"I heard that the Qi Clan preserves the most cavalry and has gathered many tribes from the North, with excellent warhorses. Seeing it now, it is indeed extraordinary!"

He also taught the younger generation of his family: "Your vision must be long-term; don't just look at the present, but seek a future!"

He who gains the cavalry gains the world!

When the Evil Plague subsides in the future, under their iron hooves, the other five clans will be nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs!

Beidi, Dong Clan.

Also a northward-migrating group from a certain noble family from the South.

They had previously been pursued by a small group of evil entities, but fortunately, they encountered the Dong Clan's Xianshou Army.

Outside them were some strange-looking vehicles, with thick wooden planks and iron sheets added to one side of the carriage.

It was these strange vehicles that, while hunting down those evil entities, also protected them, these people migrating north.

The leader of this northward-migrating group looked excitedly at the surrounding Autumn Hunt Army of the Dong Clan.

"Dong Clan War Chariot, truly lives up to its reputation!"

A few dozen war chariots can hold off an army of thousands!

Cavalry? An outdated thing!

Do you still think this is an ordinary chaotic era? Whether it is man or horse, they are all flesh and blood!

Facing those evil entities, how can flesh and blood compare to steel?!

Beidi, Jiang Clan.

Arrows carrying flames flew through the sky, shooting toward their targets, followed by a burst of fire, scattering smoke, and the sound of thunderous roars!

The leader of a certain northward-migrating group who had just arrived was trembling with excitement, and when he thought of others choosing other families, he wanted to laugh out loud.

With the Thunder God Might, the other five clans are all trash!

Zhao Clan, Xinzhou City.

A small cavalry unit traveled a long distance, dusty and tired, returning to Xinzhou City.

They came from the South, but they were not those northward-migrating groups; they were originally people from here, just having gone south to carry out a mission.

Now, they had finally returned.

They were also the small cavalry squad that Wen Gu had encountered earlier.

The letter they brought along was not sent to the incense shop Wen Gu had written, but was sent by someone to another place.

In a slightly elegant study, there was already a small stack of accumulated letters.

An Incense Burner was burning on the side, and a middle-aged scholar in brown clothes sat there, slowly sipping tea while continuing to open letters.

After reading one, he would open the next.

His expression did not change throughout, only his mouth smacked from time to time, not knowing if it was because of the content written in the letters.

He threw the letter in his hand to the side and continued to pick up the next one.

"Huh?"

The middle-aged scholar sat up slightly, and looked again at the pattern on the envelope, the sender's surname, and the address.

Only then did he pick up the Letter Opener, his posture for opening the letter more careful and cautious than before.

After opening the envelope, the brown-clothed scholar scanned it quickly and checked the pattern again; he did not look closely at the content of the letter, but carefully packed it away.

He roughly flipped through the covers of the letters he hadn't read yet, and seeing no other special ones, he took the letter with the pattern he had just packed, checked the time, and got up to head to another place.

He walked quickly through the corridors and pavilions, arrived at a solemn courtyard, waited a moment, and was then led in by the attendant inside.

A young man sat in the room, writing something on paper, his posture steady and composed, but when his gaze looked over, it gave people an undeniable pressure.

The brown-clothed scholar bowed and saluted, holding the letter with both hands: "Young Master, a family letter!"

The young man's eyebrows twitched slightly as he took the letter.

Ever since their Zhao Family rose in Beidi, a bunch of relatives had come knocking, some real and some fake.

So there were dedicated people responsible for screening. The ones finally sent here were all those with relatively high credibility of identity.

At this moment, this Zhao Clan Young Master's attitude was indifferent.

For more than a year, people with very distant kinship had also come to climb the family tree; these were all fine, if they had ability, they would be heavily used.

But most of the relatives who came were just trash who only knew how to open their mouths to eat and ask for benefits!

However, trash had the uses of trash, so for that type of relative, he had arranged them elsewhere. It did not require his parents to step in.

Today another one was received; the young man looked at the pattern on the envelope and remembered some things.

He waited until he had read the content written in the letter.

Zhao Shaozhu said in surprise: "A cousin from the Wen family? Actually still alive?!"

At the beginning of the chaotic era, they had also inquired about news of the Wen family, but the news received was not good, and he had originally thought there was no one left there. His mother had even been sad for a long time.

Unexpectedly, there were actually still survivors!

It was nothing much; if the Wen cousin only had mediocre aptitude, it was just a matter of a few more mouths to feed, raising him by his mother's side to make the old lady happy.

But, to be able to send such a letter at a time like this...

A bit more of a smile appeared on Zhao Shaozhu's face, and he nodded with satisfaction.

He should have some ability!

Wait!

The smile on Zhao Shaozhu's face vanished instantly, and he looked again at the time written at the end of this letter.

If he remembered correctly, that area had just experienced a cluster of evil entities; was this cousin still alive?

Zhao Shaozhu specifically found people from that cavalry squad to come and ask questions.

He learned that the cavalrymen had given a warning when they left, and also learned about the hundred-person group that the cousin was leading.

"That scholar looked a bit weak, and was very easy to trust people."

This was what one of the cavalrymen told Zhao Shaozhu.

Zhao Shaozhu felt a bit more curiosity about this cousin.

If one could have a say in a hundred-person refugee group in such a chaotic era, one must certainly have capability.

As for the impression of Wen Gu that the cavalryman spoke of, "weak" might be true, but "easy to trust people" might not be?

Zhao Shaozhu very much hoped that this cousin could arrive alive.

Better not tell his mother yet, wait and see a while longer.

He sent word to the Autumn Hunt team and the people in the County Town and Town ahead, that if they encountered Wen Gu, they should send men to escort him over, but there was no need to state his identity.

After finishing this, Zhao Shaozhu instructed the brown-robed scholar, "From now on, if you receive any letters sent by Cousin Wen, deliver them to me immediately."

This frail Cousin Wen surely does not yet know the current status of his aunt, uncle, and cousin, right?

(End of chapter)