Chapter 7

At dawn, when it was the darkest, everyone started to stumble along again, not even daring to light a torch, despite being far from the Black Ridge where the battle had just taken place. The atmosphere was a bit cold. Not only had soldiers been killed, but several villagers had also died in the battle, and several others were injured. Being a mule was dangerous, a rumor that had now become a reality for them.

They ran for over ten miles without stopping, and as the eastern sky gradually brightened, they finally sat down, took out their dry rations, and ate hastily by a small stream. The women and their maids kept their distance from the group.

They were eating too, a few pieces of flatbread made from real white flour. Wang Ju walked over and asked, "May I ask for your noble surname and given name?"

"Da..." Before the maid could finish, the woman stopped her. It was a bit impolite, as in the Song Dynasty, one would typically ask a woman for her surname and her position in the family, such as "Lady Zhao, the ninth daughter." No one would ask for her given name unless during an interrogation of a female criminal.

But Wang Ju had to ask. After this incident, there were two women of unknown origin in the group, and he couldn't just let them be. He couldn't kill them, could he?

"My name is Zhao Nian Nu."

A very common name.

"Nu Nu, a good name."

The woman's nickname was Nu Nu. Hearing the young man say her nickname, a blush of embarrassment spread across her long neck.

"Where is your husband?"

"My husband is in the Central Plains."

"Who did you come to Yan Prefecture with?"

The woman hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "My mother-in-law is fierce, and my husband is rough. I left the Central Plains to clear my mind."

He had to believe her. She had no reason to lie. Even if she did, if there were family members in Yan Prefecture, they would have been searching for her for days, and Zhu Qing would have found out.

But Wang Ju still said, "Clear your mind? Mount Tai, Yangzhou, West Lake in Hangzhou—anywhere could clear your mind. Why come to the border?"

"Coincidence, I suppose." The woman lowered her head, clearly not wanting to discuss it.

"Further ahead, we will part ways with the boss. They will go to Yan Prefecture, and we will return to the village. You must come with me." Wang Ju glanced at Zhu Qing, who was not far away, and spoke in a low voice.

"Why should we go with you?"

"Otherwise, you will be... in danger."

"What do you mean?" the maid asked.

"You saw how dangerous this journey is. There are many unexplained taboos. Although I have made some arrangements, changes always disrupt plans. To put it bluntly, since your origins are unknown... you must come with me. Don't worry, I'm not like the other villagers, and I'm much younger than Lady Zhao. I won't take you as my wife."

Wang Ju tried to use a joking tone.

The young woman understood. Their appearance was somewhat strange, and they had no connection to the illegal salt trade. Now that so many soldiers had been killed, the mountain people might not understand, but the other side might kill to cover their tracks.

She nodded to the maid, and the two of them went to the side to discuss for a while.

The maid walked back and said, "We can't go to your village."

"Trust me." But how could he make two women trust him? Wang Ju had no way to ensure their safety if he let them go. Could they even make it back to Yan Prefecture?

"My lady said we want to go home."

"Are you not angry?"

"Don't say such things."

"How will you go back?"

"I want to ask you to escort us back."

"Me?"

"Please, young sir," the woman walked over and said politely.

She came from a noble family and was not very familiar with the lives of common people, especially those in the border region. But she was not ignorant. She had seen clearly yesterday that among so many fierce men, there was only one leader, the young man in front of her.

Wisdom is true power.

"Madam, I can't. I have younger siblings in the village."

"Please."

"Even if you beg, I can't. Let's just say I didn't say anything." Wang Ju was a bit angry.

"This is my reward for you." The young woman took a jade hairpin from her head.

A jade hairpin, with very pure jade and exquisite craftsmanship.

"Give it to that Zhu manager. He should know its value. If it's not enough, I have a maid in Yan Prefecture who has some money."

Wang Ju stared at the hairpin. "Where is your home?"

"Kaifeng."

"The capital."

"We can hire a carriage. It won't take more than twenty days to reach the capital."

"Wait a moment." Wang Ju turned to find Zhu Qing and began to discuss with him. Actually, Zhu Qing was now in a state of confusion and had no clear ideas.

"Mr. Zhu, it should be fine. I think the Black Ridge is now in chaos. Would the government really ignore the people's feelings?"

"Tell the villagers not to go out for a while, and not to be mules."

Wang Ju nodded. His mind was racing with countless thoughts, and his eyes were fixed on the east, where the largest city in the world, Tokyo Kaifeng, lay...

...

"Sir, Lady can't walk anymore," the maid said.

"Up ahead is the main road. We might be lucky and find a carriage or a cart. We need to leave here immediately."

"Let's rest for a moment."

"Not even a moment. We need to leave quickly, and we need to leave Yan Prefecture quickly. You are not smugglers, and you are not part of our group!"

The two women had no choice but to push forward as fast as they could.

Soon, they reached a road, a real road! The road from Baoan Army City to Yan Prefecture was once very busy before the mutual market was banned. Even after the ban, there were still many pedestrians on the main road.

The three of them reached the main road, and Wang Ju asked again, "Do you have money in the city?"

"Do you want money?"

"Are you going to pay for the carriage with the hairpin again?"

"We have money."

Wang Ju immediately stopped a vacant ox cart and promised the driver one string of coins for the fare. The three of them climbed onto the ox cart. It was a very simple cart, without even a canopy, essentially a large flatbed cart with a bull in front and a two-wheeled cart behind. The two-wheeled cart had only two wheels, and the large flatbed was made of several wooden planks. But it was better than walking and faster too.

The three of them sat on the cart in silence.

After a while, the driver said, "Up ahead is Zha'an Village. It's getting late. Do you want to stop and rest?"

"No, we agreed to travel through the night."

"Alright," the driver, enticed by the one string of coins, said nothing more.

The sky gradually turned to dusk.

One side was in chaos, and the other side was also in chaos.

"No suspicious goods have been seen," a large man said by the road.

"Have you seen any on the northern road?" another large man asked. Suddenly, he squinted his eyes. He saw a cart with three people. The battle had been too fast for him to remember most people's faces, but he could remember three: two strange women and a thin, handsome young man. It was that young man who had shot and killed Meng Duto.