Chapter 420: The Smoke Pillar on the Road We Came

They still hadn't found a suitable place to settle, but Zhao Jin wasn't anxious or irritated. He simply ordered his men to prepare camp on the spot.

This place was truly desolate, and some wild beasts barely feared humans. As the camp lit fires to cook, several wolves appeared nearby. Zhuang Liu simply shot two of them dead, which scared the rest away, and they had meat for dinner.

"Riding out from here, how long would it take to reach the official road or a local village or hamlet? Either direction is fine." Zhao Jin asked a question.

Ding Jun was somewhat baffled by the question. He pondered for a moment before speaking: "If you head north another day, you'll reach the official road. East takes a day and a half. South, I've never gone that way..."

After asking, Zhao Jin didn't press further. He assigned others to their tasks, then walked off to the side and began carving in the snow with his short blade.

Once his companions had arranged everything in the camp, they gathered around to watch Zhao Jin at work.

What Zhao Jin drew in the snow was quite simple: a circle with several lines crisscrossing through it. Chen Sheng stared at it for a while, then asked, "Is that Grass Hollow?"

Among the brothers, outsiders all thought Wang Zhaojing was the smartest, but Chen Sheng was not the least bit inferior. He was simply taciturn, so others couldn't tell.

Zhao Jin looked up and smiled. "Da Sheng, you've got sharp eyes. We can set out on the return journey tomorrow!"

Everyone was stunned. According to what Ding Jun had said, they hadn't even covered a third of Grass Hollow. If they turned back now, wouldn't all their efforts be wasted?

"No need to go that far. I've already found a place to settle the refugees." Zhao Jin said with a smile, pointing casually to one side.

Everyone followed Zhao Jin's gesture and saw Ding Jun, who was helping feed the horses. After a brief moment of confusion, they all understood.

"Big Brother, you mean settle them at Ding Family Enclosure?" Dong Bingfeng asked. His voice started too loud, so he quickly lowered it.

Zhao Jin nodded and used his scabbard to poke at a spot inside the circle. "Ding Family Enclosure sits beside the road, making transport in and out convenient. We've traveled so long and there's still a great distance ahead before we get out, which means Ding Family Enclosure is safe enough. And it's only a bit more than a day's journey from Ding Family Enclosure to Suqian County seat—that distance is just right. We'll need to move people and grain in, and too far would also be inconvenient."

At this, Zhao Jin glanced toward Ding Jun and added, "As for the residents of Ding Family Enclosure, they can serve as guides. We could even give them the title of hamlet head or steward. If they're unwilling, that's fine too—a few hundred people can be easily resettled in Xuzhou."

The plan to head back tomorrow morning was known only to the companions. The specific orders wouldn't be issued until morning, but the camp's atmosphere was already far more relaxed than the previous days. Everyone had grown accustomed to this kind of march.

Armor and weapons were brought out, wiped down, and maintained. After that, the horses were fed their fill. Since the return journey was confirmed, they no longer needed to ration the supplies and provisions carried on the carts.

After dinner, there wasn't much to do. Once everything was squared away, Zhao Jin climbed onto a cart. As the goods were consumed, space had opened up on the carts for resting and sleeping—a perk Zhao Jin enjoyed as the leader.

Lying on the cart, Zhao Jin felt he had overcomplicated this matter. There was really no need to consider so much. After surveying the terrain, they could simply send people and supplies over. Even refugees from Shandong had managed to form Ding Family Enclosure and survive there for so long; with the Zhao Character Camp's current strength and scale, they could certainly do even more.

Of course, when it came to actual implementation, all sorts of difficulties would inevitably arise. But they had overcome so many things already—there would always be a way. Amid these thoughts, Zhao Jin fell into a deep sleep.

When he opened his eyes, it was already daylight, but he had been woken by someone. Dong Bingfeng was beside him, looking somewhat anxious.

"... Big Brother, Big Brother..." Dong Bingfeng kept calling.

According to the rotation, Dong Bingfeng was on watch now. It must be just past dawn, Zhao Jin made two judgments. When he wasn't overly exhausted, Zhao Jin was confident he wouldn't wake late.

They all still slept in their clothes. A simple stretch and he rose, turning his head to look west. Sure enough, traces of night still lingered there, and then he saw something else. Zhao Jin understood why Dong Bingfeng had woken him.

A pillar of smoke was rising in the west. Its color was already very faint, but it still climbed straight into the sky. That patch of sky was dark, clearly thick with soot and smoke.

Zhao Jin stood up directly on the cart. He felt no wind. Recalling the night, he didn't remember any wind either. Judging by the sky's color, this smoke pillar had been there a long time. Could it have burned all night...

"Wake everyone up!" Zhao Jin gave the order from the cart. Dong Bingfeng quickly had his men notify the others. Everyone was up in no time. Many grabbed a handful of loose snow and rubbed it on their faces to jolt awake. Only the three guides and Ding Jun were yawning nonstop.

"Master, that's the direction of Ding Family Enclosure." In this kind of experience, Qi San was better than the others. Though he'd been in Grass Hollow a long time and many things had changed, he hadn't lost these instincts.

Zhao Jin turned and glanced at Ding Jun, then said in a deep voice, "In that direction, I'm afraid there's only Ding Family Enclosure."

"Load the dry rations and fodder from the carts into sacks and pack them on the horses. Only two days' worth! Wear the breastplates; put the rest on the horses." Zhao Jin turned around and shouted.

The men below were all momentarily stunned, not understanding the reason for this sudden order. But a few with old jianghu experience had noticed the smoke pillar and the sky in the west.

The quickest to react, however, were the old core of the Zhao Character Camp. They didn't bother with the reason—the moment Zhao Jin's order came, they immediately obeyed.

The three guides and Ding Jun were still utterly bewildered. By the time everyone was nearly done packing, they still hadn't caught on. Ding Jun stared enviously at Zhao Jin and his men. Such iron armor was beyond his wildest dreams, yet here, every man had a set, and it covered more than just the upper body.

Yi Jinbao, meanwhile, had noticed something else. He hurried over to Zhao Jin, bobbing and bowing as he asked, "Master, are these carts and everything on them just being abandoned?"

Over a dozen carts, loaded with all kinds of goods—cloth was the bulk of it, but there was no shortage of miscellaneous items either. From Zhao Jin's tone, these carts were clearly being left behind.

"You want them for free?" Zhao Jin said with a smile. Yi Jinbao's little scheme couldn't fool anyone. Beside him, Liu Yong was helping secure the leather straps of his breastplate.

Yi Jinbao's eyes darted, and he said with a grin, "I've already taken the master's silver—how could I take them for free? I'm just asking the master to sell them cheap. I'll pay the silver once I get back to Yutou Town."

These supplies were urgently needed goods in Grass Hollow. Once in hand, just reselling them on the spot would bring a huge profit. Of course, Yi Jinbao figured that since Zhao Jin was going to abandon them anyway, even if he asked for money, it wouldn't be much.

"Don't think about taking advantage. I brought you in, so I'll bring you out." Zhao Jin shook his armor as he spoke.

Yi Jinbao was about to say more, but the smile had already vanished from Zhao Jin's face. He said in a muffled voice, "Don't throw your life away for this bit of money. Obediently come with us."

Hearing this, Yi Jinbao's expression immediately changed, and he dared not speak further. Only then did he remember how these young men killed without blinking. The matter of money truly could cloud a man's mind.

Dry rations and fodder were loaded onto the horses' backs, along with weapons and armor not needed for the moment. Here, the advantage of knowing how to ride became apparent. Ding Jun and Yi Jinbao could ride, while the Peng uncle and nephew were simply tied onto their horses.

By now, Ding Jun had also sensed something was wrong. He kept looking toward the smoke pillar in the west, his face deathly pale but not daring to speak, utterly uneasy, terrified that asking would make it real.

"Qi San, Old Zhang, and the Bai brothers—you few go ahead and scout. Remember, if you encounter the enemy, don't engage. Just turn and flee!" Zhao Jin instructed.

The men acknowledged and spurred their horses forward. Chen Sheng's face was solemn as he drew near Zhao Jin and said, "The enemy may outnumber us. Going back like this could very well be walking into a trap."

"If it's aimed at us, then the sooner we get back, the better. We can't afford a single day's delay. The Waste Grass Flats are so vast—we'll just make a small detour when the time comes." Zhao Jin answered in a lowered voice.

Chen Sheng merely nodded. In such situations, he would offer his opinion, but once Zhao Jin decided, he would say no more.

Zhao Jin's group spurred their horses along the small path heading out. When they reached the "main road," Zhao Jin rearranged the formation. The men at the very front were all skilled riders of the horse team wearing breastplates. Those who could shoot from horseback were behind them, and the main body brought up the rear. Ding Jun was placed with the archers. Only after this arrangement was complete did they continue forward.

Without the carts weighing them down, the return journey was several times faster. From horseback, they could clearly see the smoke pillar in the west fading. A few who knew the signs murmured that this state only appeared after something had burned for a very long time. Everything that could burn had now turned to ash.

Not long after the smoke pillar thinned, they faintly saw many birds circling in the distance. Ding Jun, who was riding along, suddenly let out a great cry and frantically spurred his horse to charge ahead. But placed in the middle of the formation, he couldn't go fast no matter what, and only caused a brief commotion.

"What can you do if you go back now? Throw your life away? Obediently come with us, or we'll tie you up and take you!" Zhao Jin shouted angrily.

Ding Jun's face flushed crimson. He wanted to speak but couldn't get the words out. In the end, tears streamed down his face, and he kept wiping at them on horseback.

"I'm afraid those are crows going to eat the corpses." Nie Hei muttered a single sentence. Everyone fell silent, spurring their horses and pressing on with heads down.

They had set out early and ridden for an hour and a half before dismounting for a brief rest and to feed the horses, then advanced again. Ding Jun had grown extremely agitated, several times trying to ride ahead on his own. But aside from Zhao Jin and his sharp, meticulous men, the rest were all seasoned old jianghu hands—how could they not see through his intentions? Every move he made was stopped. If not for Zhao Jin treating him reasonably well, he would likely have been pinned to the ground and beaten long ago.

"If we keep running the horses like this nonstop, in another two hours this horse will be nearly ruined. It might even run itself to death. You want to walk back on your own then?"