Ming Shu fell silent for a moment, while Li Yuan walked straight away into the distance.

After a while, three more people arrived at Ming Shu's side, making a total of eight.

They galloped out of the city, heading straight north. In due course... bypassing Antelope Pass, turning west, and then entering the mountains, they would reach the regions of Cyan Pool County and Qiutang County, a journey of about three days.

Above the eight galloping horses, a White Sparrow hovered faintly, and when they passed through Antelope Pass, another White Sparrow followed them from above Antelope Pass.

The two sparrows soared together, flapping swiftly among the clouds, closely tailing Ming Shu's group, now as small as peas from the high sky.

Meanwhile, Li Yuan, still wearing his mask and adjusting his Conical Hat, followed at a leisurely pace from afar.

This group of people was quite peculiar; while the others might truly just be in it for the money, Blood Scissors and Ming Shu definitely were not.

Blood Scissors was Seventh Grade; could he not know Zhao Xiantong was Sixth Grade?

And what about Ming Shu?

Did she not know?

These people all harbored hidden secrets.

Rather than getting embroiled in it and having to be constantly vigilant, it was better to maintain a distance and trail from behind.

After all, with the Mountain Gang Treasure Vault around, Ming Shu wouldn't die prematurely.

As Li Yuan was pondering this, he suddenly heard the sound of "fluttering" wings behind him. His expression turned grave as he gripped the Dragon Blade in his sleeve and turned around swiftly, only to see a pitch-black crow flying in the breeze and sunlight.

Li Yuan hesitated for a moment, and the crow happily perched on his shoulder, calling out, "A-ba-ba..."

The crow's black claws danced around on his shoulder, its eyes wild, and as one got closer, there was a faint stench in the air, reminiscent of corpse smell... but it was so mild that one wouldn't notice unless they were close.

Li Yuan was speechless; he already knew who this crow was.

He pressed down on the crow's head and said, "Go home."

"A-ba-ba..."

"Daddy has things to do; you go home."

"A-ba-ba..."

The crow suddenly flapped its wings and flew high into the sky.

Li Yuan looked up, only to see that although the crow flew high, it didn't leave, instead circling right above his head.

He pointed to the sky, then southward, signaling the crow to return home quickly.

So, the obedient crow flew away...

...

Four days later.

Qiutang County.

From a high vantage point, this county seemed like many houses had closed doors, yet there were some soldiers in soft armor going door to door knocking, shouting, "Open the door, pay the tax," "The past is the past, now is now. Just because you paid the Mountain Gang doesn't mean we won't pay," "Open the door immediately!"

When doors opened, these soldiers barged into the houses, and if they saw anything valuable, they took it, saying it was tax, or calling it "suspicious items" that needed to be taken back for examination.

If they saw a pretty young lady, there were soldiers who directly fixated on her, not laying hands immediately, but having plenty of ways to deal with the family later until they handed over the young lady, only then would they leave them be.

Of course, there were also some who looked like officers acting even more blatantly. If they saw a pretty young lady, they would directly drag her away, saying, "She could be a remnant of the Mountain Gang and needs to be verified," and the fate of the young lady once taken away was predictable.

As for those who didn't open the door, the soldiers simply kicked the doors open...

This scene was everywhere, countless and innumerable.

The people of Qiutang County lived in constant fear, wanting to escape but having nowhere to go, enduring quietly.

The soldiers caused such havoc because those above allowed it.

Zhao Xiantong, born of the Red Lotus rebel background, had taken a new territory with his brothers and naturally shared the benefits, rewarding his subordinates with this new ground.

At this time, the short man was in a bathing pool, with women in his arms, and in front of him was a tall girl, whom he toyed with at will.

The Central Plains were indeed more prosperous, but also more dangerous. One wrong step and it was the end of one's life, better to come back and enjoy.

Zhao Xiantong increasingly felt his decision was correct.

Now that he had reached Sixth Grade, with a lifespan of two hundred years, it was time to enjoy some blessings.

Currently, both Cyan Pool County and Qiutang County were his and General Gu Xiang's. The money here was theirs, and so were the women...

"Hahaha!"

Zhao Xiantong raised his hand and grabbed the long dress of a maid serving wine behind him, yanking her violently, before turning around in the maid's screams and pulling her into the water.

The maid screamed.

Zhao Xiantong climbed to the edge of the pool and dragged all the women in the room over, then chuckled, "Let's play a game."

A moment later...

He wrapped black cloth over his eyes while the maids ran around. He laughed heartily, grabbing whomever he could, and once caught, they were directly tackled to the ground, having affairs.

Just as he was causing a commotion, a light cough came from behind the house.

Zhao Xiantong tore off the black cloth, looked at the women and said, "Beauties, wait for me here a moment."

Saying so, he got up, grabbed a black coat to put on, and opened the back door.

Behind the house, stood a statue-like strong man, none other than General Gu Xiang.

At this time, General Gu Xiang looked at him with a cold and stern face.

"What's wrong, General?" Zhao Xiantong asked.

General Gu Xiang said in a deep voice, "During your pursuit of the remnants of the Mountain Gang, did you let a Mountain Gang young lady named Ming Shu escape?"

"Ming Shu?"

Zhao Xiantong appeared to be recalling, then said, "I don't remember such a person, but... the group I was chasing, I caught them all, then took them to the Mass Grave for interrogation about the location of the Mountain Gang Treasure Vault. They were stubborn, and none of them spoke, so I killed most of them, leaving two or three in the dungeon for continued questioning."

He frowned and asked, "What happened with this Ming Shu?"

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