Martial Arrogance Dragon Soul-Chapter 258 - 247: Escorting the Convoy

The sky had not yet brightened; it was the hour of Yin, with the hour of Mao still to come.

Scattered stars hung faintly in the sky above.

"Ready to set off!"

Zheng Baohe, holding a torch, walked out.

Alongside him were five other escort guards, all carrying torches as well.

They came out and placed their torches on the ropes beside the tree trunks, then led out the horses that had been fed the previous night.

Old Yang, Zhang Ding, Zhou Wanfu, and others also followed suit, one after another, and everyone checked the goods one last time.

Just as the convoy was about to leave the escort agency, suddenly, two figures quickly approached from the darkness.

The world outside was still shrouded in darkness, blanketed in pitch black.

It was not until these two approached that they could see clearly; they were two frail-looking young lads.

The older one looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, his appearance delicate and pretty. The other seemed about eleven or twelve, his eyes filled with timidity and fear.

It was unclear whether they had been startled by their nighttime journey.

"Head escort, we would like to join the convoy!"

The older boy stepped forward, planting himself in front of the escort team.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Baohe’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"You want to join the convoy?"

He scrutinized the two young lads, noting they carried no goods with them.

"What would you like us to escort?" Zheng Baohe asked.

"We..." the elder lad hesitated for a moment, then spoke up, "want to go to the Northern Pass, but since it is just the two of us, we fear the journey may be unsafe. We wish to accompany you!"

Fearing that Zheng Baohe may decline, the boy hastily added, "We are willing to pay!"

"Pay?" Zheng Baohe looked at the two young lads dubiously: "Where are you from, and what business do you have at the Northern Pass?"

"We’re going to the Northern Pass to find relatives..." the older boy replied. "Our parents went there before the new year and have not returned since... My brother and I want to find them!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Qing couldn’t help but frown slightly.

A feeling of sympathy for the two young brothers naturally emerged in his heart.

He could completely understand the brothers’ longing for their parents’ return, for it mirrored his own past.

Back then, he and his sister had waited at home, ardently hoping that one day, perhaps at dawn or dusk, their parents would suddenly appear at the Qin Residence’s doorstep.

At that moment, Qin Qing believed he would be overwhelmed with tears.

There would be so many things he would want to tell his father and mother...

But the years went by, and they never came; that longing gradually withered as time passed by.

Yet, Qin Qing fully understood the feelings of these two brothers.

If he had been in their position, knowing his parents had not returned from the Northern Pass, he would likely do the same, taking his sister to search for their parents.

"Hmm?"

But at that moment, Qin Qing’s brow furrowed again.

Due to the distance and the dense night, he had not noticed before, but now he could see more clearly that there was something unusual about the two brothers.

The older one appeared to be in disguise?

And his identity...

A sense of doubt formed in Qin Qing’s mind.

Were these two young lads truly going to the Northern Borderlands to search for their relatives?

"How much money do you have?"

Then, another escort named Lu Ping spoke up.

"We can offer ten taels of silver. That’s all the money we can muster!" the older lad declared.

"Ten taels of silver?" Lu Ping’s eyebrows knit slightly. "Are you sure you can’t offer more?"

"Lu Ping!" At that point, Old Yang intervened, "Ten taels is not a meager sum. They don’t have any goods; it’s just taking two people to the Northern Pass. Just take them!"

Old Yang spoke kindly, moved by the plight of the two brothers, so he chimed in.

"Don’t you have any other family members?" Old Yang then asked the two lads, "Did you make arrangements with any relatives before going to the Northern Pass?"

"No more!" The older lad shook his head.

"What are your parents doing in the Northern Pass? Why would they leave just the two of you at home? Without any other family, how could they have peace of mind?" Old Yang rambled on, lighting his old pipe and taking several puffs.

The tip of the pipe flickered several times in the night, spreading a pungent smoke that invisibly filled the air.

The two lads, however, did not respond, seemingly uninterested in continuing the conversation with Old Yang.

"All right then. You’ll follow us; don’t wander off, you hear?" Zheng Baohe said.

Zheng Baohe then arranged for a horse for the two young lads.

Ten taels of silver was not a large amount, but it wasn’t minor either; it was more than enough to buy an ordinary horse.

The convoy soon officially set out.

This convoy, nearly twenty strong, with over a dozen horses in tow, quickly exited Tianjue City in the veil of night, heading steadily towards the Northern Borderlands.

As the sky gradually brightened, they had covered more than twenty miles from Tianjue City.

The scenery of the outskirts became clearer, the sun on the horizon grew bright, and the morning sunlight spread across the land.

All things as if awakening, a vibrant sense of life filling the space between heaven and earth.

The further north they traveled, the colder it became.

The landscape by the ancient road grew increasingly desolate.

The vegetation here was sparser due to the colder climate of the Northern Pass.