Chapter 684: How Did It Follow? (1/2, Autumn Subscription)

Fang Yue had just managed to fool Dou Hongyi of the 【Green Division】 on this side; once he obtained the final identity, he could participate in the Martial Decision under his original White Clothes identity, and everything would be on the right track.

If Yang Hongxia's appearance here were seen by someone with ulterior motives, variables might arise.

"Lord Night, you haven't contacted me in two days… I, I'm a little scared."

"Scared?"

Fang Yue looked at her in confusion: "Scared of what?"

Yang Hongxia said nothing, only bit her lower lip and lightly clenched her fist: "N-no, it's nothing."

The Dayang Merchant Caravan suffered a great calamity; family members died tragically, and Hai Guanjia perished.

Now, the entire Dayang Merchant Caravan was being held together by her alone, forcing herself to keep going.

People all seek advantage and avoid harm.

Many of the servants saw the decline of the Dayang Merchant Caravan and began one after another to submit requests to resign.

The Dayang Merchant Caravan was like a candle in the wind, tottering on the verge of collapse.

Although Yang Hongxia raised their wages and temporarily soothed the people's hearts.

But a merchant caravan that cannot display real strength will ultimately fail to keep its people.

The caravan Father worked so hard to build, the caravan Hai Guanjia spent a lifetime maintaining — it absolutely must not fall apart in her own hands.

A flash of resolve crossed Yang Hongxia's eyes; she took a deep breath and asked.

"Lord Night, I wonder when you might return to Dayang Fu? Even staying a few days would be fine."

With Fang Yue stationed there, the idle gossip in the residence would vanish like smoke.

But with Fang Yue not living at Dayang Fu, panic reigned, and everyone had lost hope for Dayang Fu's future.

"It should be within the next day or two. The matter of having you register can be put on hold for now; I've found another way to clear my name and a solution."

Hearing Fang Yue's words, Yang Hongxia's eyes immediately lit up, a smile bloomed on her face, and she excitedly stepped forward and grabbed Fang Yue's hand.

"That's wonderful! I, I'll wait for you to return at the residence…"

As she spoke, Yang Hongxia's voice trailed off, because she realized the hand she was holding was very hot.

The back of that hand, wrapped in a handkerchief, was scalding hot.

Just as she was about to let go…

Drip.

Cool Night Rain fell on the back of her hand.

Accompanied by a '-1' floating up from above her head, she froze completely, her pupils contracting.

"…Night… Rain? Lord Night, what exactly is…"

"Just a curse, it's nothing."

Fang Yue calmly withdrew his hand and instructed: "You go back first; when the time is ripe, I will naturally return to Dayang Fu."

Sensing a hint of distance in Fang Yue's words, Yang Hongxia's heart first sank with disappointment, but she quickly encouraged herself again.

Lord Night's beloved has already died; my chances are very good… When the time comes and Lord Night moves back to Dayang Fu, the one closest to the water gets the moon first…

Thoughts flashing through her mind, Yang Hongxia lowered her brows and ears obediently, about to withdraw, when she suddenly thought of something, paused, and said: "Lord Night, do you know that the Old Eagle Merchant Caravan was attacked last night?"

Hmm?

Fang Yue was stunned for a moment — there was such a thing? He hadn't even gone out last night.

Fang Yue thought it over; he had honestly cultivated last night, and wasn't even planning to go cause trouble for the Old Eagle Merchant Caravan anytime soon.

How did they run into trouble on their own?

After thinking for a moment, Fang Yue said: "The 【Martial Decision】 is imminent; the competition among the other top ten merchant caravans is fierce. It might be them causing trouble for each other; you don't need to pay it any mind."

"…No, according to the information I gathered, the Old Eagle Merchant Caravan was attacked by a Guai! And that Guai, even earlier, slaughtered an entire small merchant caravan — over fifty people in total — not a single survivor left!

This is also one of the reasons I suddenly came to find you… 【Chunuan City】 hasn't been very safe these past few days; if Lord Night were at the residence, I'd feel more at ease."

Having said that, Yang Hongxia put on a slightly pitiful expression, but Fang Yue, after a moment of astonishment, stroked his chin in thought and said.

"【Chunuan City】 is such a big city, and a Guai can still get in? Can't the Sky Merchant Alliance handle it? As for the possibility of Dayang Fu being harmed, if something happens to you, send out a Rescue Order early, and I'll rush over to rescue you as soon as possible. Or you could move to the Sky Merchant Alliance's garrison first and huddle together for warmth — that's also an option."

Yang Hongxia, whose expression had been wasted, bit her lip secretly and said: "Joining the Sky Merchant Alliance's headquarters garrison has conditions; without that kind of special nepotistic connection, or paying a hefty temporary garrison fee, they won't let a merchant caravan in."

As for a Guai getting into 【Chunuan City】, that was actually fairly common.

Because 【Chunuan City】's external strategy placed greater emphasis on commerce — in short, wanting money, not lives.

Regarding inspections, they were basically perfunctory; most of the time they relied on 【Chunuan City】's formation to detect Guai, and the success rate was still quite high.

The remaining Guai that were highly concealed but lacked killing power — the trouble they caused after entering the city was investigated and cleared by the Government, that is, the 【Green Division】.

So 【Chunuan City】 did have its own set of methods and strategies for dealing with Guai.

Only this time… the Guai that entered the city, for some unknown reason, had extremely destructive power, and in terms of concealment, could actually evade the formation's detection.

Although this was the first time encountering such a situation, presumably the Sky Merchant Alliance and the Government would not let the situation continue to escalate.

After all, this was Chunuan City — it was built up relying on foot traffic and commerce as its foundation.

If Guai ran rampant and caused massive casualties, even if merchants were driven by profit-seeking, they'd still need to be alive to enjoy it.

If the risk was too high, even merchants would be deterred.

So the matter of the Guai should be resolved; the question was which merchant caravans might be attacked and die at the hands of the Guai before it was resolved.

Yang Hongxia did not want the Dayang Merchant Caravan to become one of the innocent stepping stones, which was why she hoped Fang Yue would return soon.

As for joining the Sky Merchant Alliance's headquarters garrison to seek shelter.

As said before, they didn't have the conditions.

"I see… looking at it this way, Dayang Fu is indeed somewhat dangerous. Tell me the details of the matter, and tell me everything about that Guai in detail; I'll judge whether to risk coming directly to Dayang Fu to stay temporarily and shelter you."

Fang Yue did have a bit of a small connection with Yang Hongxia and the others, and didn't want them to die at the hands of a Guai.

However, as Yang Hongxia reported the intelligence she knew one by one, Fang Yue was astonished.

"Little Hand… you mean the Little Hand with its mouth open?"

"That's right. Last night the Eagle Merchant Caravan suffered heavy casualties, which drew a huge crowd, and the news has already spread everywhere."

"…"

Fang Yue said nothing, because he had already figured out what the strange creature that caused trouble last night actually was.

Why did the Nuomian Gui appear in Chunuan City??

Could it be that at that time… it followed me to Chunuan City and even slipped into the city without a hitch?!

Fang Yue was shocked at heart and hurriedly asked: "Where's my horse? How is the Liehong Horse?"

Hearing Fang Yue bring this up, Yang Hongxia awkwardly averted her gaze: "N-no, it's fine, perfectly fine."

(End of this chapter)