Chapter 702: The Three Things Not to Walk in Wangchuan

Wangchuan City.

It is not a city, but a mountain range.

In his past life, Liu Zheng did not know much about the mountains in the Northeast Region. But the magnificence and vastness of this mountain were not a whit inferior to the mountains of Chuan Shu.

What left him between laughter and tears was this.

Before entering the mountains, Gu Guan even performed a superstitious ritual to worship the mountains.

Once that was done, he waved his hand grandly: into the mountains!

Into the mountains!

Only then did he quickly run back to Liu Zheng's side and say earnestly, "Vice Minister Liu, you must keep up closely; this mountain is extremely eerie!"

Liu Zheng looked surprised: "Has Brother Gu traveled through Wangchuan before?"

He had insisted on walking into the mountains with a group of jailers, and naturally, no one could sway him. But these jailers had a favorable impression of Liu Zheng, so they naturally surrounded him in the middle. Hearing his words, a younger jailer laughed: "Vice Minister Liu, our boss has been escorting prisoners for over a dozen years! Where hasn't he been in these lands of exile? Wangchuan, naturally, he has walked through!"

Liu Zheng was somewhat moved.

At a time like this, having an experienced person was indeed very helpful.

Gu Guan also grinned: "It's a Method born of necessity... this pays well!"

The group burst into loud laughter.

Indeed, for these yamen runners, escorting mortals was the most profitable business. Although the journey was long, the income was substantial. Why did these ancient yamen runners scramble to escort mortals? First, the income subsidies were high. Second, many prisoners' families would bribe them to take care of these prisoners so they wouldn't starve or die of illness on the road. Third, as long as they were out escorting prisoners, they were the bosses, not subject to any yamen supervision; they were free to drink whenever they wanted and visit brothels whenever they pleased. Every time they passed a city, they didn't even have to spend their own money; there were plenty of prisoners' families sending them money for their expenses.

This Gu Guan was an expert among them.

He gave an honest smile: "I did indeed walk through Wangchuan back then, following my master. Although several years have passed, I have never forgotten a sentence my master once told me."

"What sentence?"

The group was very curious.

Gu Guan put on a serious face: "My master said that in Wangchuan, there are three things you cannot walk!"

"First, if there is fog, you cannot walk!"

Everyone nodded; mountain fog was indeed dangerous.

It was easy to get lost, and there was even the possibility of encountering toxic miasmas that could directly cause death.

"Second, if there is a person, you cannot walk!"

The group felt a jolt in their hearts.

In these desolate mountains and wild forests, the sudden appearance of a person was truly chilling. Who knew if it was human or ghost, or if it was a man-eating savage?

Liu Zheng also nodded.

The experiences summarized by these old-timers were all very precious.

Gu Guan continued with a smile: "Third, if there is a road, you cannot walk!"

"What?"

The group didn't understand this time.

At this moment, they were escorting one hundred thousand people, having just entered the mountains, and were walking on a main road. Because they hadn't gone very deep yet, the surrounding mountain terrain wasn't particularly complex. But hearing Gu Guan say this, everyone's expression changed.

Gu Guan laughed heartily: "It's fine for now... these three rules only apply after passing Wangchuan Valley!"

Wangchuan Valley...

Just the sound of it didn't suggest a good place.

The group of jailers fell silent.

This was a real one hundred thousand people.

Because they were still on the main road, it could accommodate ten people per row. But even so, this procession was still stretched very long, and one couldn't see the end at a glance. These prisoners were internally resistant to walking on the Wangchuan road, so the challenges they were about to face could be imagined.

Just like that, they chatted and walked along the way.

At the beginning, people were still very nervous.

But this mountain was simply too big.

After walking for half a day, the surrounding environment hadn't changed much.

But Liu Zheng understood in his heart what he had come here to do.

Along the way, he used paper and pen to record various places that could serve as markers: a rock of a certain shape, a tree that grew strangely. He recorded the various road signs in the southeast, northwest, and center very clearly.

Finally.

A day's journey passed just like that.

In this day, there were no major incidents.

It wasn't that there were no issues on the road, perhaps because the mountains were too deep. Occasionally, a few wild beasts would run out, causing panic among the crowd.

Three wild boars caused panic among the prisoners, and it took a great deal of effort to kill them, but it also left dozens of prisoners who were gathered together injured.

Dusk arrived.

The one hundred thousand people began to set up camp.

The three killed wild boars were happily boiled into a pot of soup by the jailers.

Gu Guan's experience was still quite seasoned.

He knew that as the journey deepened, wild beasts would be the first threat to people's lives.

So during the day, he sent people to collect droppings that looked very large.

The larger the droppings, the more ferocious the animal that produced them.

Afterward, he scattered these droppings around each tent.

Sure enough.

In the middle of the night, chilling wolf howls echoed all around.

Even Liu Zheng was startled awake.

But when he stood up, what he saw was the back of Pei Qianyun.

"Viscount, do not be alarmed. They dare not come over; they have been howling for a long time!"

Pei Qianyun laughed heartily; he had spent the entire night at the entrance of the tent, lighting a fire, specifically to guard the safety of Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng put on his clothes and stood up: "You must also rest for a while; how can you hold up like this?"

Pei Qianyun stared wide-eyed and said: "Viscount, that is absolutely out of the question. You are a person of great importance, while Qianyun is full of energy; I could go seven days without sleep and be fine!"

Liu Zheng feigned anger and said: "What nonsense are you spouting? The deeper we go, the more dangerous it becomes. If there is truly a threat to our lives, I still have to rely on you to protect me. How can you not rest well? Get lost and go to sleep!"

Scolded by Liu Zheng, Pei Qianyun muttered aggrievedly, but he dared not talk back; he dropped the firewood stick in his hand and obediently returned to the tent, yet as he lay on the bedding, he still tossed and turned, unable to sleep, secretly watching Liu Zheng sitting by the fire.

Liu Zheng was both touched and unable to help but laugh.

Pei Qianyun was now completely like a younger brother to him.

The two were inseparable every day, and Liu Zheng cherished this simpleton with innate divine strength from the bottom of his heart.

Sitting by the fire, Liu Zheng looked at the surrounding environment, lost in thought.

Fortunately, the weather was good today, and the sky was filled with dense stars; Liu Zheng looked up and easily found the Big Dipper in the sky.

Night.

It seemed so quiet that one's heartbeat slowed down significantly.

Behind him, the sound of Pei Qianyun's snoring rang out.

Liu Zheng smiled slightly.

Just at this moment.

Suddenly, Liu Zheng's expression changed slightly.

The howling of wolves, why had it disappeared?

He looked around at his surroundings.

Except for the few fires in the camp, everything around was in total darkness.

Suddenly.

From the woods, a chirping sound rang out.

Liu Zheng's eyes lit up.