Chapter 427: The Road Back

The jianghu men in the Inner Guard had originally been wary of talking to one another, but this time they had been brought out, which meant their identities were exposed. From now on, their duties would shift to the open, and everyone became a bit more casual in dealing with each other.

They had long lived lives licking blood from the edge of a blade and viewed life and death as ordinary matters, not particularly bothered by it. They were to leave early the next morning, and after a night of slaughter, no one could sleep for a while, so they all chatted quietly off to the side.

"…Our young master truly has a hero's heart and righteous spirit. This is what you call seeing injustice on the road and drawing a blade to help…"

"…Cut the crap. I reckon Master Jin is also thinking about the private salt trade. Think about it — to do business on this salt route, you'll inevitably have to clash with the Feng Family. This incident is just the perfect pretext…"

"Keep your voices down. Is this sort of thing for you to be discussing?" A cold voice came from nearby.

The two Inner Guard men immediately looked over. The speaker was Nie Hei, who was just walking over. The gaunt man walked with a slight limp, but no one dared look down on him. Along this journey, over a dozen had died under his flying knives — his murderous nature was anything but ordinary.

"…What's he so cocky about…"

"…I heard he was originally in that cult. People from that lot are all twisted…"

Muttered comments came from behind him, but Nie Hei paid no mind. His thoughts were now wholly occupied with how to perform well, how to earn a favorable impression in front of Zhao Jin and Liu Yong.

He had originally seen this place as somewhere to earn a living, and besides, matters in the sect had left him disillusioned. Seeking shelter here wasn't bad. Once he had built up some foundation and caught his breath, he could head south. With his skills, he'd have no trouble keeping himself fed and clothed.

But after coming along on this outing, his thinking had completely changed. Zhao Jin was not very old, yet the rules and methods with which he conducted matters along the way, all these arrangements, and the comprehensive preparation of supplies in every aspect — all of it left Nie Hei astonished and speechless.

Unlike the others, Nie Hei came from the Smelling Incense Sect and had been part of the sect leader's direct elite. In daily affairs, he was meticulous and methodical, quite similar to the official Depot Guards, and his breadth of vision far exceeded that of ordinary men.

With this insight and attention, though his understanding was only partial, he could still sense that what Zhao Jin was doing held limitless promise. To what heights it might reach, and for what goal he acted this way — sometimes Nie Hei did not dare to ponder too deeply.

After this consideration, Nie Hei decided to stay and serve for the long term. Once he had made up his mind, he naturally became diligent and attentive.

Moreover, regarding the thoughts voiced by that Inner Guard jianghu man just now, Nie Hei privately agreed. Since Master Jin's ambitions were so far-reaching, then he was all the more worth following.

The night passed quickly. Before dawn, they lit fires and cooked, using pots left behind by the Feng Family horse convoy to prepare some hot food, mainly for the women and children in the group. Ding Jun's eyes were ringed with dark circles, but his expression was far more resolute than the day before.

As soon as the first light of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon, the entire group set out. Zhao Jin's order before departure was resolute: "Halt every two hours. If someone on the road doesn't stop, leave them. If someone by the roadside doesn't stop, leave them. Do not spare the horses' strength — just switch mounts. If one dies, swap it for another."

The order was given, and everyone answered with a loud shout. The women and children gripped the ropes or the edges of the sacks tightly, and the entire convoy began to gallop along the road.

There were few people on the road. Zhao Jin's mounted group numbered only a few dozen, but they had several hundred horses — three or four horses per person. Moving through the quiet, withered-grass wilderness, their presence was quite imposing. Along the roadside, startled birds kept flying up to circle in the sky.

After running for about half a shichen, they began to see people on the road — some alone, some in groups of three or five. They were heading in the same direction as Zhao Jin, but upon seeing the large convoy approaching, they hurriedly ducked into the grass to hide. Zhao Jin quickly noticed something amiss: these were the routed fugitives from the Feng Family horse convoy.

To get out of the Wild Grass Flats, this was the only road in this direction. They had scattered and fled in all directions the night before, but sooner or later they would have to grope their way back to this road. They hadn't dared to wander at night either, so it was normal for them to be on the road now.

Zhao Jin couldn't be bothered with these people. Anyone who dared block the road would naturally get a blade to the head, but no one had that kind of nerve — they all tried their best to burrow into the grass.

After running for two shichen, there were hardly any people to be seen on the road. Zhao Jin ordered the group to halt and began a brief rest to feed the horses.

"Last night, Li Dajin took the Feng Family men and ran first. That group is well-equipped and seems to have brains. I wonder if we'll run into them on the way!"

"Stay on full alert. If they block the road ahead, we'll fight our way through once. Assign men to watch for movement on both flanks!"

After a brief discussion, the main group set out again. Everyone had already switched horses, and even the horses carrying the women and children had been changed. After two shichen of nonstop hard running, those horses were somewhat on the verge of collapse.

Around noon, Zhao Jin's party saw dense clusters of villages — they had emerged from the Wild Grass Flats.

In the village closest to the Wild Grass Flats, when the large force of men and horses came charging out, everyone loitering outside ran back in, letting Zhao Jin and his group pass unhindered.

The second village, the third village — all were the same. It wasn't exactly fear; Zhao Jin's horse convoy wasn't galloping wildly, and as they passed, there was still time to glance left and right. They could see people in the villages craning their necks and peeking out.

Once they reached this area, even the roads widened considerably, allowing the horse convoy to move more at ease. When they passed the fifth village, shortly after they left, someone rode out from behind to follow. But Zhao Jin had long prepared for such situations. Dong Bingfeng wheeled his horse around and rode back to meet them, stopping on the road to nock an arrow and draw his bow. The first arrow struck a horse, which bucked on the road and threw its rider straight off. The second arrow hit the shoulder of another man behind. Those people immediately dared not continue following.

At the villages they passed next, anyone who dared ride out to follow was frightened back. As for those who ran out on foot to follow, they couldn't keep up anyway.

After passing through this area of villages where refugees had gathered, they were roughly within the boundaries of Suqian County. By this time, the sun was sinking in the west, and night was approaching.

Here, manors were dense — it was a normal, prosperous county town along the river. In such a densely populated place, they could not stop and linger, lest trouble arise. But just as the city walls came into view, a woman's scream rang out from the group, followed by a dull thud. Looking back, they saw a horse collapsed on the ground, and the woman on it had been thrown off.

Everyone hurriedly halted the convoy. When they went over to look, the horse was foaming at the mouth and convulsing all over — it had collapsed from exhaustion. Fortunately, the woman had been tied onto the horse with considerable skill, so this time she suffered no broken bones or torn sinews, only bruises.

"Switch horses! Any horse that's worn out, swap it. Quickly!" Zhao Jin frowned and hesitated for a moment, then immediately gave the order.

The people in the convoy were actually in decent condition. Hearing the call, they hurriedly began to work. By now, even the women and children understood how to cooperate.

But after all, this was near the city, and close to the time when the city gates would close. There were quite a few people coming and going. Zhao Jin's group, with their strange and motley appearance, naturally drew a good deal of attention.

"Big Brother, there's some trouble. With so many people around, even if there are spies, it's very hard to spot them!" Liu Yong said, his face covered in sweat.

Everyone was busy at work. Zhao Jin wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a low voice, "Ignore them. Finish up first and leave quickly."

They transferred people onto the spare horses. Seizing the moment, they hurriedly took out dry rations and fed them to the horses — this was already cutting into their own food supply, but the most critical thing now was maintaining the horses' strength.

Swiftly finishing the reorganization, Zhao Jin's party set out on the road again. "We go until we can no longer see the road!" Zhao Jin gave the order.

When they passed Suqian city, they saw the city gates were already about to close. After passing the city area, the sun had already sunk halfway below the horizon.

"Big Brother, there are people following behind!" Dong Bingfeng rode up and reported.

Zhao Jin spurred his horse to one side, signaling the main group to continue forward, then called out the names of several men — all household troops or jianghu experts skilled in archery and horsemanship. Hearing the call, each wheeled their horse out of formation and stopped with him by the roadside.

Once the main group had passed, Zhao Jin and the others looked back in the direction they had come from. They could see several riders approaching. Earlier, near the city, there had been many people coming and going, making it very hard to tell if anyone was following. You couldn't assume someone was a spy just because they were heading the same direction as you.

But now, with darkness falling and night approaching, there were hardly any people on the road. At this point, anyone following Zhao Jin and his group would be discovered.

"Leave one alive, that's enough!" Zhao Jin said coldly. With a few whistles, the men rode out to meet them.

They could see four riders about a hundred-plus paces away. But unlike those earlier who only knew how to follow foolishly, these four were quite shrewd. The moment they saw Zhao Jin and his men coming, they immediately wheeled their horses around and retreated.

Zhao Jin and his men had been riding all day; their mounts were already exhausted. Trying to give chase would certainly be futile — they probably couldn't even close the distance of those hundred-plus paces.

After a brief hesitation, Zhao Jin made his decision. He turned around to rejoin the main group, ignoring the trackers behind them.

"We go our own way. If they dare get close, we swallow them up!"

When it truly became too dark to travel easily, Zhao Jin and his group set up camp by the roadside, right outside the manor of a certain local landlord.

As night fell, not everyone went to sleep. Such a large force of men and horses stopping outside his manor — the landlord had long since discovered them. At first, he naturally mustered his manor hands to prepare. But when Zhao Jin and his group lit their campfires and he looked from a distance, he saw it was a large convoy of several dozen riders, fully armed and armored. A small manor was no match for them at all. And in the pitch-black night, if they came under cover of darkness to slaughter the manor, that would be a true calamity.

Yet with them so close, the people in the manor didn't even dare send anyone out to report or alert the authorities, because this band of outlaws that had suddenly arrived had also sent men on horseback to patrol around — probably precisely to prevent anyone from reporting.

Left with no choice, the manor had to send someone over to beg for mercy, saying they didn't have much to offer but were willing to present it with both hands, and begged the heroes to spare them.

Unexpectedly, these "heroes" were very easy to talk to. They actually brought out silver to buy grain, fodder, and sheep — and at prices higher than the market rate, no less.

People always bully the weak and fear the strong. Originally worried that the other party were bandits, once they saw how reasonable they were, it was hard not to entertain other thoughts. Moreover, seeing that there were quite a few women and children in the group, all with weary expressions, and that the silver they brought out was genuine, they began to wonder if they could take some advantage.

But the first group that delivered the grain saw that half of Zhao Jin's men were assigned to night watch. One look at those weapons, and another at the bearing and discipline of their movements, and all those petty schemes vanished.