Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies

The commercial route of the Four Seas Commercial Alliance has become very mature. Even in places like the Yang Kingdom where there are large-scale ferocious beasts, they still have their own safe passage—of course, a large part of it relies on the official roads of the Yang Kingdom.

In order to allow such a large commercial organization as the Four Seas Commercial Alliance to enter and develop, the Yang Court has made many concessions.

The bald-headed leader of the guards who escaped from Qingyang Town, Chen Yong, led the team on the commercial route of the Four Seas Commercial Alliance. They directly left the Rizhao County and entered the Qi Kingdom from the border city of Baichuan City.

There was no official announcement within the Four Seas Commercial Alliance about the plague and abnormal changes.

For the Four Seas Commercial Alliance, they have made great efforts in order to take on the entire relief "business" of the Yang Kingdom. They have invested a large amount of manpower and resources in the Yang Kingdom and are reaping the benefits. They are unwilling to leave unless absolutely necessary.

For this reason, they are willing to take some "risks" with their subordinates.

Qian, the steward, learned the news through his own private channels and then escaped at the first opportunity, without intending to inform anyone else.

The bald-headed leader of the guards, Chen Yong, who was shaved in Qingyang Town, also received the news through personal connections. He was righteous and brought back the entire guard team that he was responsible for.

Of course, if the news was false and the matter in Qingyang Town was left unattended, he would still be responsible.

The city of Baichuan was named not because there were a hundred rivers near the city. In fact, there were no famous rivers in the city at all.

The name of the city comes from the meaning of "embracing all rivers." As for which rivers are embraced, it depends on one's perspective.

Baichuan City belongs to the Dingyao County. When Jiang Wang came to the Yang Kingdom, he also passed through Fengxian and Dingyao, following this route to the Rizhao County of the Yang Kingdom.

At that time, he had no obstacles, but now, the guard team led by Chen Yong was stopped outside the city.

More accurately, they were at least three miles away from Baichuan City.

"Stop right there! We are ordered to block the border. If you dare to approach, you will be killed without mercy!" A loud voice came from a group of soldiers from the Qi Kingdom.

Chen Yong broke out in a cold sweat.

His subordinates, who used to be arrogant because of the reputation of the Four Seas Commercial Alliance, were now all standing still, afraid to make a wrong move and cause a misunderstanding.

These were regular Qi Kingdom soldiers! From their elite level, they might even be from the Nine Soldiers.

Chen Yong could even hear the sound of the crossbows being loaded.

The large-scale use of crossbows in the army was a weapon specifically designed to deal with transcendent cultivators. It was not available on the market, and trading it was a serious crime.

A volley of crossbow bolts would leave him, a transcendent cultivator of his level, with no chance to resist.

"Sir! Sir!"

Chen Yong dared not move and shouted, "We are all people from the Qi Kingdom! We are good and innocent civilians. Please do not harm us!"

"People from the Qi Kingdom?"

He heard someone ask in this way.

Then a man who looked like a general walked out of the formation, still keeping a sufficient distance from them.

"How can you prove that you are from the Qi Kingdom?"

The entire Yang Kingdom admired the Qi Kingdom, and there were countless people who wore Qi clothing and spoke the Qi language, so it was very difficult to distinguish the true from the false based on language alone.

"We are the guards of the Four Seas Commercial Alliance. We have waist badges on us. Sir, you can come and check for yourself! I dare not lie!" Chen Yong said with flattery. "Sir, please make it convenient. We are all truly from the Qi Kingdom and are eager to return home. May I ask why we cannot return today?"

"The border has been sealed. Even if you are from the Qi Kingdom, you cannot return home now." The general said casually, then ordered, "Take these people from the Four Seas Commercial Alliance to the camp and detain them as before!"

Chen Yong was trembling with fear and did not know what the "as before" meant. But the Qi Kingdom's military was very strict, and the Nine Soldiers of the Qi Kingdom were famous throughout the world. Once the military order was given, there was no turning back.

He dared not speak out.

Led by the Qi soldiers, Chen Yong and the others were taken to the camp. Chen Yong gradually began to calculate in his mind.

From the strict distance maintained by these soldiers, it seemed that they might already know about the plague and abnormal changes in the Yang Kingdom, and the border blockade was probably due to this reason.

In this case, temporarily detaining those who returned from the Yang Kingdom made sense.

It was just a matter of isolating the inside from the outside.

From this, he could conclude that they were currently very safe, as long as they had not contracted the plague and did not cause trouble in the army.

After understanding this, Chen Yong felt much calmer and even had the leisure to joke with the group of anxious and confused brothers behind him.

"What are you afraid of? With the invincible Qi army escorting us, is there a safer time than now?"

A younger guard sniffed and said, "I just don't know how long we will be detained... By the way, why are they detaining us? Are they not even allowing us to return home?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask! " Chen Yong sternly reprimanded him. When he saw that the soldier leading the way ahead showed no reaction even when he hinted at bribery, he felt relieved and comforted the others, "The Four Seas is the largest business in the Qi Kingdom. How can the entire Qi Kingdom's daily life be separated from us? We haven't done anything wrong, so we won't be detained for long. Besides, if we really need to go home urgently, we can just give some blood and let Steward Qian get us out!"

From start to finish, the soldier leading the way did not say a word. Even when Chen Yong hinted at bribery, there was no response, showing good discipline.

This made Chen Yong and the others more or less self-disciplined, and they followed obediently.

Chen Yong's confidence disappeared after he saw Steward Qian.It was his second day being detained in the military camp.

A soldier came over and called him out alone.

He was anxious all the way, trying to make conversation, but the other party simply ignored him.

Asking too much would only earn him a kick, so he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

He had thought it might be some kind of extortion and was prepared to pay a hefty sum. He even had terrifying thoughts of military punishment and execution—when one is lost and in a vulnerable state, it's all too easy to scare oneself.

Fortunately, they only wanted him to identify someone.

It didn't seem much better, though, because the person he was supposed to recognize was none other than Steward Qian...

He had been hoping that Steward Qian would get him out soon! But now, the man himself was in trouble and even seeking his help.

Chen Yong approached the checkpoint set up by the Qi army and saw Steward Qian from a distance.

At that moment, the man's topknot had been chopped off by someone, and he knelt on the ground, utterly dejected and devoid of his usual demeanor.

Hadn't Steward Qian fled back to the Qi state the day before?

What had happened in between?

How did he only arrive at Baichuan City today? He was even a day later than himself?

Qingyang Town... Jiang Wang... The Four Seas Commerce Alliance... Steward Qian... Yang State... The Qi army...

Chen Yong felt his mind in disarray, his bald head chilling.

...

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PS: There will be an extra update at midnight.

Joyful Literature