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As the neighing sounds of the approaching horses draws closer, their feet stomps reach their ears while they stand by turning around to inquire further. The ground begins to shake with the quick ride into the city. Their horses' feet reach a halt when the spooky bars enclosing the city gate is pulled over to completely cover the entrance by three guards.

Their supporting armor and sword remain intact when they stand forward after lifting their hands in the air to stop them. Their horses' feet hang in the air while the straps on their neck tighten to make them stop running. With neighs lurking in the air, Mo Yan's hanging hands start to shake in an attempt to lie down. A'Ying, still studying the intruders remains still in her arms.

Intrigued as well, the young woman looks forward watching the three intruders standing on their horses at the city gate. After looking at each other in contemplation, the two men step down from their horses. Only the woman is left behind sitting on the horse.

As her hands move down, A'Ying spots a bum on her stomach. Was she pregnant? Curiosity fills her eyes as she stretches her neck to look closer. The two guys were definitely from Da Wei. They had discreetly kept their emblems below their belts to keep their identity hidden. But one would notice only if you've stayed in the martial arts world for a long time.

But what was their agenda in coming alone? There were no soldiers behind them and they rather came in with a pregnant woman? What was their plan now?

Mo Yan was curious as well. But his eyes weren't neither on the pregnant woman nor the two men but the intricate design on the horse's strap. A sharp pain rushes through his head when he tries to remember where he saw that design. It was evident he had seen it somewhere during his childhood but couldn't remember exactly where or its connection with him.

While they all pay attention to them, A'Ying quickly strikes her upper chest two times on the right and left side before knocking her out with a palm strike over her neck. She falls out unconscious with her eyes closed I'm a few seconds. Lying over her body, A'Ying sighs and turns to the confused Mo Yan.

"Hey!"

Fallen out of the world, she realizes his eyes were glued to the three intruders. The woman rubs her stomach with a light smile while the two guys walk up to the guards. The guards immediately step forward unleashing their swords to their necks.

"Who are you people? Return or don't blame us for not being polite!" After fixing his sword in his left hand, he lowers his head simultaneously with the hesitant Xu Jing. "Sorry to bother you. The woman over there is my wife, and this is her brother." The three guards didn't seem convinced at all so they quickly scrutinize the direction of his hand and glare at her keenly.

"If you don't have a pass, leave at once. I don't care even if she's your grandma!"

Irritation gets the best of Xu Jing with the harsh tone of the guards. Who were they to yell at him in such a manner. As his patience runs down, Xu Feng quickly grabs his arm to stop him from alerting them. Sighing he clears his throat after turning to her. "As you can see, her time is almost up. The doctors in my area are inexperienced in midwifery. I heard Ming has one of the best doctors from the commoners so we want to give it a try."

Two of the guards stand back and whisper among themselves while keeping a close watch on them. Xu Jing, a bit relaxed from their gestures drops his hands beside him eyeing them from the corner of his eyes. The young woman slowly gets down from the horse and walks up to them.

With folded arms, she greets them with a pale expression on her face. "Darling, you shouldn't have gotten down from the horse. What if you fell? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Although she didn't seem pleased with his words, she forces a smile and rubs her tummy. "I was wondering what took you so long. Is there a problem?" Immediately, he shakes his head but it was obvious there was a problem at hand. Stepping back, Xu Jing creates a space for her to get closer to the guards.

Under a weak composure, she extends her hand out with a faded piece of document sighing. "Sorry to bother you guys, these are my pass papers but they got messed up while we passed through the desert. Could you please let us pass? I'm afraid my time's almost up to get another copy."

As if in contemplation, the two guards meet up with the other guard to discuss whether to let her pass. After glancing through the documents, he realized that it was indeed a pass document from the expensive fireproof paper only produced by Ming State.

While looking at each other, Guili turns her back on them with a fixed expression over the joyous atmosphere in Ming. One could see the busy capital of Ming even from the city gate. As she looks up, she finds several guards patrolling the area in shifts.

Defeating Ming State wasn't an easy feat. Their security systems were very tight with no loopholes. Even the city gate was this tight. The city would probably be flowing with armory. When a clear of throat brushes through their ears, they turn around finding the three guards crossing their arms.

"You can pass. But one of our skilled men must lead you into the city for security measures. Rebels have been rampant these days."

His words seem satisfactory but he wasn't fully convinced. He was letting them in under surveillance.

"Thank you so much! We'll be leaving now." The guards lower their heads in respect while one guard steps out to follow them. Still keeping up the act of being pregnant, she takes slow steps towards the horses and mount with the help of Xu Feng. Xu Jing settles on his horse alongside the guard and they start riding into the city.

The two guards drag the spooky bars behind to allow them to enter. After one last glance at the guards, Xu Feng pulls the horse holding Guili along the sides of the gate while he walks instead.

"Mo Yan!"

Her last call draws his mind back as his brain remains unsettled. "W-Who are they?" Struggling with the stranger in her arms, she pulls her over step by step with grunts. "Won't you help me out first?!" Still confused, he moves over and drops her hand over his neck to support A'Ying.

"They discreetly came over but their emblem still remains untouched. If I'm not mistaken, they're from Da Wei."

"Da Wei?"

Her answer leaves him even more clueless than before. He recognized something from Da Wei? Does he come from there?

"Mo Yan?" Running his hand in his hair in desperation, he turns to A'Ying with a serious look. "The two princes with a pregnant woman? To be specific, a fake pregnant woman." The crevices of her eyebrows raise putting the puzzle together.

"Fake?"

"I'm sure. The guards didn't notice because they're men always going for war. Although she tucked in perfectly, I noticed an uneven tuck on her tummy. It's probably because she used a collection of dresses. That's why she kept touching her belly."

Mo Yan clears his throat as he thinks about the emblem he has just seen. "She doesn't look like a native from Da Wei and not an ordinary woman too. This is interesting."

She completely lets go off the young woman on to Mo Yan's shoulders, making his stand a bit unstable from the sudden load. "Get your thoughts settled. We're going in today." He slowly adjusts himself in a few seconds and stand properly before glaring at her in confusion.

"We'll have to make it quick. Since they came unarmed, they might have a plan to take Ming down. We have to follow them."

She quickly grabs her sword from the floor and look up to the dark, heavy clouds. "Hey. Wait, what about her? Are we leaving her here?" Under different thoughts, she flings his sword over to his chest, forcing him to pick it up in the air with his unsettled stand. "No."

"No? Although you're acting smart today, your points scream to zero. Are you seeking death?" Before he could continue to complain further, she flings a sack of golden leaves at him. He quickly balances them in his left hand, holding her up with his right hand. Out of frustration, he grits his teeth after glaring at her.

"Could you be more considerate? What's it for?" A mischievous gleam fills her eyes at a thought. Throwing her sword's sheath behind her, she starts trotting towards the city gate. With his widened jaw, he lets out a sigh and drops the sack in his hanfu, throwing her over his back.

He follows up behind gradually until they get to the city gate. Just as they get alarmed when the others came earlier, the spooky bars are dragged forward to keep them away. "Show me your pass." She quickly turns to him and flicks her fingers to collect it. His eyes begin to blink at her brazenness.

They obviously didn't have a pass. What was she flicking her hands for? When he looks up, he finds her raising an eyebrow. But her signals were too new to him. What did she mean?

"Yo. Haven't you guys been here already? Was it-"

"-no! Definitely not. We're dancers for tomorrow's banquet." The guard's curvy eyebrows crease in doubt as he rubs his cheeks.

"We'll be late if you keep us here. Then, I don't know how the Empress would deal with you. My companion has already fainted from waiting for the pass!"

The two guards slowly retreat and start whispering among themselves. Their faces were smeared with both fear and confusion. After rubbing his chin, the other guard keeps his eyes on Mo Yan. Mo Yan noticing that begins to clear his throat.

"Haven't you been here before? I'd swear I've seen you-"

A loud itching laughter escapes his lips as he claps. "Me? Probably because we've been performing for the Empress for years now." He forces a smile and turns to A'Ying. Pulling out a sack of golden leaves, he carefully drops it in his hands and taps his palm slightly.

The guard's eyes widen after he opens the sack. Laughing, he walks up to the spooky bars and orders his men to pull it back. "We won't keep you waiting then!" With a smile, A'Ying marches in while Mo Yan walks inconsistently with the young woman hanging over his shoulder.

"Wait!" His heart skips a beat with that call. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he turns around swinging his fan. "Nice try!" Pointing to a bamboo fan, he sighs. "You should have told us you're the young master! Why waste time?"

Young master? Did he just call him young master?

Rubbing off the dirt from his hanfu, he picks up his sword from the tree's bark and turns to the others. Zhen Lan quickly walks up to him as I stand up with Jing Yi. With a stern face, he stops Zhao Yun from taking another step. My eyes trace then from where I stand with curiosity.

Was he going to ask for a duel?

"Follow me."

Heeding his instructions, he grasps on to his sword and follows him to the entrance to the desert while we follow up slowly.

"Duke Wei requests to forward seven words to you."

"And what are those?"

He stops walking and looks up into his eyes after turning to us. "Don't eat more than you can bite."

After he ends his statement, he continues walking forward. Zhao Yun keeps still as his words run through his mind. What was Duke Wei trying to say?

I rush over to his side and grab his arms smiling. "Zhen Lan is always with a stern face. Don't pay too much too much attention to his words." Jing Yi sighs seeing me cling to him and walks over to Zhen Lan.

Twisting his neck slightly, his eyes move over to my hands. The smile on my face fades as I untangle my hands from his arms. I pout my lips and put my hands behind me. When he takes a deep breathe, he swiftly takes a step forward when he spots something on the floor.

While I trace the direction of his eyes, he bends down and smears a sprinkle of powder on the floor. After inhaling, he finds a carriage of boxes moving past him.

"Nitre?" All of us turn to him clutching to our swords. Why was nitre being transported to Ming?

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Why was Mo Yan called young master?

Who was behind transportation of nitre?