After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 637 - 631 Pursuit

The pursuing team caught up with the bait, but couldn’t extract information about Ming Yu’s whereabouts, so they killed them and then split up to search.

But there are three routes to Luoyang, and no one knows which one they’ve taken.

Searching and searching, they had crossed Yan State and were nearing Luoyang without finding anyone. Finally, someone realized, "Could they have gone south, directly into Yu State?"

"General Gou Chun is there."

"The border is so long, General Gou Chun can’t possibly watch everywhere." Moreover, not to mention the small roads, some official roads are so worn out that they look just like wild trails.

If Ming Yu is hiding, they simply cannot find him.

Also, playing mind games with a military strategist, the teams sent out have searched to the point their eyes are nearly blind but haven’t found anything.

Ming Yu and his group are still approaching the Yu State border. They turned, cautiously avoiding the patrols of the Yan State Army, and thus slowed down.

The closer they got, the more villages appeared along their path. Yuan Li was somewhat worried and dispatched scouts to survey the area, finally selecting a path with the fewest, smallest villages.

He was wiping his broad knife, eyes deep and somber.

Ming Yu looked over sensitively and smiled instantly, "Does General Yuan intend to kill and silence after passing through the village?"

Yuan Li’s gaze darkened slightly, "We are the knights hired by Mr. Ming, only following his orders and have nothing to do with the lady, so everyone who has seen us must die."

Ming Yu smiled and shook his head, "Not at all, not at all. Those in power won’t listen to the testimony of ordinary villagers, so whether they know who you are doesn’t matter at all. General Gou will only insist on what he believes to be the truth, and General Zhao will also only speak the truth favorable to himself."

"But ordinary villagers like them will hear," Ming Yu said, "You may think killing them will silence them, but it will only make rumors flourish. General Yuan, not all villagers are fools."

He said, "If General Zhao knew, I don’t think she would agree with your actions. If you don’t believe me, you can ask General Zhao Ju."

"He has always followed General Zhao closely, understanding her best, I think his opinion is just like General Zhao’s."

Yuan Li lowered his eyes to think, and after a moment, he lifted his gaze and said, "I still have to kill them, otherwise when the chasing soldiers catch up, it’s easy for our location to be exposed."

"You kill them, and it still gets exposed," Ming Yu said, "Do not underestimate the Yan State Army. I think they now have guessed we’re heading to join General Zhao Ju and are pursuing this way."

"The boundary is full of Gou Chun’s Qingzhou Army. If villagers betray, we can’t cross the border at all." Silencing is mainly about sealing mouths, preventing exposure of news detrimental to Zhao Hanzhang; preventing villagers and the border patrol army from betraying us.

Ming Yu smiled and said, "I can assure you that the villagers of the villages we pass will not betray."

"Why should I trust you?"

Ming Yu lowered his gaze to look at him, eyes icy, with a slight curve at the corners of his mouth, "Relying simply on the fact that your general sent you countless miles to protect me."

Laughable, if he couldn’t even manage this, why would Zhao Hanzhang want him? For his ability to eat, or his ability to take medicine?

Yuan Li was momentarily at a loss, fell silent, glanced at the knife in hand, and finally put it away without mentioning killing again.

Ming Yu felt displeased, lowering his gaze to the urn of ashes he held tightly, lips pressed firmly together.

After passing those villages, Yuan Li finally understood why Ming Yu said they wouldn’t betray.

A very small village, only with twenty or thirty households, but three or four of them were wearing mourning clothes. As they passed by, they simply stared, not obstructing or questioning, just watching them pass.

By the time they passed through the second village, the sky had darkened, forcing them to stop temporarily for lodging.

Although villagers allowed them to pass through, they did not permit them to stay in the village overnight; the group had to camp outside the village.

Ming Yu got out of the car, supported by a servant, walked to the fields, and gazed down at the wheat field that had already been harvested nearby.

The more he looked, the darker his expression became.

The stalks left in the wheat field were uneven, a sight not typical of normal farmer harvesting, even if adults and children worked together.

This could only mean someone hastily harvested the field, rushing against time.

Considering some betrayals, Ming Yu closed his eyes, his body swaying, and his attendant quickly supported him, whispering, "Sir..."

Ming Yu shook his hand, sneered coldly, turned, and headed back to the vehicle.

The soldiers dispatched to buy supplies and gather intelligence from the village returned quickly, carrying a butchered chicken and a handful of greens.

He handed the chicken and vegetables to others, then reported to Yuan Li, "As per your instructions, I bought a chicken and had them butcher it. I noticed the village has only forty to fifty households, but I counted twelve houses with white cloth hanging; those people died at the hands of Gou Chun’s Qingzhou Army."

Yuan Li frowned, "Why?"

He wasn’t part of the higher-ups, news from Yan State circulated among certain people only, and he, far in Luoyang, just a minor assistant general, was unaware.

The soldier lowered his voice, "It’s said the Qingzhou Army was requisitioning grain and forage, but back then, the wheat had not yet been harvested, so villagers couldn’t comply. Gou Chun was furious and had the Qingzhou Army harvest the wheat themselves, forcibly seizing the entire village’s field at that time."

Even if those soldiers wielded weapons, the villagers were not compliant, resulting in conflict.

The people of the time were still strong-willed, fearful of life and death yet unafraid at the same time, knowing their families would secure some grain despite many casualties.

"I tested their attitude a bit, and heard that the border patrol is strict, any stranger must be reported immediately, but they bear a grudge against the Qingzhou Army, so they won’t report our presence."

Yuan Li sighed in relief and asked, "Have you found out the border patrol’s visiting time?"

"I have. They patrol this part of the border around 1:00 PM every other day, forming a bitter history with these local villages, hence patrols are composed of two squads."

That’s about twenty people.

Yuan Li lowered his eyes to think for a moment and said, "Tomorrow is one of those days; we must cross the frontier before 1:00 PM. As long as we enter Yu State, we’ll be safe; General Zhao Ju should be waiting on the Yu State side for us."

"Understood."