Back in the carriage, Li Zhao asked, "So, which direction shall we take next?"
Actually, Li Zhao could make the judgment on his own, but to test Jiang Mian, he now left all matters, big or small, for her to decide.
"If what the villagers in Jiaowei Village said is true, Huyong Town is not safe now. We'd better bypass it," Jiang Mian said. "We've replenished our food and water in Jiaowei Village. It's enough for us for five or six days. How about bypassing Huyong Town and going straight to Guangdu County?"
Daoist Yuanzheng was being flippant. He said, "Don't be in a hurry. Let me do a divination, and then we'll know what to do."
Everyone turned their eyes to him. He quickly made some gestures with his fingers, then gave Jiang Mian a silly grin. "What a coincidence! Little Doctor Jiang is right. We'll take the northwest route to Guangdu County."
With Jiang Mian's analysis and Daoist Yuanzheng's divination, they resolutely took the northwest route.
The northwest route led neither to Huyong Town nor to Guangdu County. Along the way, there was no water source, no village, not even a decent mountain range. It was extremely desolate. No wonder the villagers in Jiaowei Village didn't recommend this route.
By the time night fell, they still hadn't passed by any village or post - house, not even a cave where they could take shelter. Finally, they had to find a relatively flat place, light some bonfires around the carriage, and spend the night there.
The firewood crackled. Everyone heated the dried food they got from Jiaowei Village slightly over the bonfire and had a simple meal with water.
Daoist Yuanzheng was on night - watch duty in the first half of the night, and Mo Zhizhang would take over in the second half. Jiang Mian, Li Zhao, and Jiang Zhiqing were inside the carriage. The yellow dog lay on the carriage shaft. It seemed to be closing its eyes to rest, but in fact, it was also vigilant and attentive to any movement from all directions.
Thankfully, nothing unexpected happened that night, and they safely welcomed the dawn.
After a simple breakfast, everyone put out the bonfire and set off again. On the third day, they finally saw the outline of Guangdu County.
Guangdu County was far from Tianyuan County and located in the northwest of Cangzhou. There were no rivers around it, so it wasn't affected by the war between the Southern and Northern Sheng. Although there were also Cangzhou troops stationed here, the inspections were relatively looser compared to Tianyuan County.
At this time, there were many people queuing up outside the city gate waiting to enter. There were also several carriages and ox - carts transporting goods, so Jiang Mian's carriage didn't stand out.
Xiao Jingcheng was originally standing on the carriage shaft, looking around. Then he heard Jiang Mian's call from behind: "Dahuang, come here quickly."
Xiao Jingcheng leaped into the carriage, his tail wagging cheerfully. Jiang Mian pulled him over with a sly smile on her face.
Just when he thought Jiang Mian wanted to get close to him, she suddenly took out something and put it on his head in a flash. The next moment, something tightened around his throat -
"Woof?!"
Xiao Jingcheng was stunned.
She actually put a rope around his neck?!
"Woof!!!"
He struggled desperately, trying to shake off the rope around his neck. But the more he struggled, the tighter the rope got.
He could accept possessing a dog's body, but he couldn't accept being tied with a rope like a real dog!
Its reaction was so intense that Jiang Mian quickly hugged it in her arms and patted it to soothe it. "Okay, okay, it's just temporary. I'll untie it for you right away after we enter the city and check into the inn, okay?"
"There are a lot of people in the city. We really need to tie a rope on you. Otherwise, the local officials might mistake you for a stray dog and catch you to slaughter for meat. That would be terrible."
"Dahuang, you don't want to be separated from your mother, do you?"
Jiang Mian tried to reason with the struggling dog in her arms, appealing to its emotions.
"Stop! Where are you from? What's on the carriage? Why are you coming to Guangdu County?"
The carriage stopped. The struggling yellow dog finally calmed down, its eyes staring warily at the outside.
Mo Zhizhang's gentle voice came from outside the carriage. "We're from Huyong Town. This gentleman beside me is my uncle. Everyone on the carriage is my family. We're all entering the city to seek medical treatment for my elder brother. Here are our identity documents. Please take a look, sirs."
The identity documents of all of them were forged by Li Zhao in Jiaowei Village. He used to be the chief scribe of the State of Chu, so forging such small things was a piece of cake for him.
Moreover, with Daoist Yuanzheng outside, he quietly made a hand gesture. The soldiers doing the inspection just took a quick glance and then returned the documents to Mo Zhizhang.
"The identity documents have been verified. You're indeed from Huyong Town. But we still need to check the carriage. Pull up the curtains."
Jiang Mian put her finger in front of her lips and made a "shh" sound at the yellow dog, then lifted the curtain.
When the soldier saw a young woman in the carriage, he was stunned for a moment, then immediately frowned.
"Wait a minute!"
He took out a piece of paper from his bosom, unfolded it, and compared Jiang Mian's appearance.
Jiang Mian and Xiao Jingcheng both felt their hearts sink. Daoist Yuanzheng quickly stepped forward, secretly making a hand gesture, and said with a smiling face:
"Sir, is there anything wrong with my young lady?"
The soldier only felt a momentary daze. He thought the woman in front of him had a chubby round face and an ordinary appearance. Then he subconsciously put away the paper in his hand.
"Oh, His Highness the Crown Prince issued a wanted notice two days ago to arrest a female thief named Jiang Mian. I saw that your young lady is about the same age as the thief, so I checked."
The Crown Prince?!
A female thief named Jiang Mian?!
Jiang Mian's eyelashes trembled. She smiled calmly. "I see. It's really hard for you, sir."
The soldier looked at Xiao Jingcheng lying there.
Jiang Mian quickly said, "Sir, this is my elder brother. He accidentally fell off the roof while repairing it some time ago and hit his head. He's been in a coma for half a month."
The soldier looked inside the carriage. Besides the unconscious Xiao Jingcheng, there was Jiang Mian and a big yellow dog, as well as some bags and luggage.
In the carriage behind, Li Zhao and Jiang Zhiqing were huddled together.
The soldier quickly shifted his gaze and nodded towards the back. "No problem. Pass."
The barrier was removed. Mo Zhizhang and Daoist Yuanzheng whipped the horses, and the two carriages and a horse entered the city smoothly.
Once inside the city, the houses in Guangdu County were row upon row. Pedestrians came and went in a continuous stream, and the unique hustle and bustle of the city came rushing towards them.
But now no one was in the mood to enjoy the scenery. Whether it was Jiang Mian, Li Zhao, or Jiang Zhiqing, they were all thinking about the wanted notice in the soldier's hand.
At this time, the carriage happened to pass by the bulletin board in the city. There was also a group of villagers gathered in front of the bulletin board, chattering about something. Words like "female thief" could be heard.
"Little sister, stay in the carriage. I'll go down and have a look."
Mo Zhizhang leaped off the carriage and squeezed into the crowd.