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Dipping his index finger over the mossy grass beneath his dusty feet, his head springs up at a thought. There were in the middle of the road to Ming State, quite far from localities and the forest as well. Only carriages follow this trail towards the capital of Ming.

There was no way these trails left behind on the mossy grass was by a human. Turning behind him, he watches as three carriages trekking the grass with the cranky wheels up from the route they used on their way here.

His fingers press unto the ground while he shuts his eyes to concentrate. Following the bumps in the way of the carriages, the impact of the force causes a few short lived trembling of the silent ground. I glare at him in confusion wondering why he was behaving in a discreet manner.

The two horses accompanying us also stand by feeding on the grass. Their hungry mouths graze the grass in between their teeth when they move forward a bit. Living in their own world, Jing Yi takes it upon herself to walk up to Zhen Lan with his horse. He nods before she moves over to hers.

"The sun's up. I think we should set off now."

Their eyes catch up to his movements while I stand still aimlessly waiting for some clarification. When a growl suddenly erupts the serenity in the air, everyone turns to me letting out a sigh. Embarrassed, I trek backwards, rubbing my tummy and looking away with my widened eyes.

"Wait." My eyebrows curve at his request. Don't move? I was starving from walking for about a day without eating anything and all he could say was that? I thought he'd encourage us to move further. How I wish I could get some dumplings right now.

Salvaging my lips with my tongue, I bite my lower lip day dreaming about eating a bite. Fresh blood gush from my lower lip and draw me back to reality. I quickly squeeze my eyes soothing the pain with my tongue. There was absolutely nothing to eat. My stomach growls again but this time a bit louder than before.

When I attempt to peer my eyes away from their curious gaze, the aroma of a familiar food runs through my nose as I play with a bundle thrown at me in the air. After several attempts of a throw and catch session, I manage to get a tight grasp on it. I quickly unwrap it only to find a large pack of dumplings inside.

"Dumplings?" With blinks, I pick one dumpling out and munch with a hungry perseverance.

As I continue groaning over the feeling of satisfaction, Zhao Yun presses his fingers against the grass closing his eyes for a moment before opening it.

Dressing a peak of powder he finds over the grass on his fingers, he brings his fingers over to his nose and takes a inhale. "Nitre?" Mortification crawls over our skin hearing this conclusion. The third round of the dumpling in my mouth falls out as my jaw drops.

Basking against the floor, the dumpling finally settles down and attracts a tiny bunny in the woods. With the speed of bolt, its mouth grabs the leftover pieces and scurries off. I watch it slowly still perplexed to move a finger.

"Studying the impact of the weight, it seems to be a large load of nitre. There has been no rain for a while so the trails are a bit messy. But one thing is for sure, there has been several transport rounds."

After looking forward, he returns a more negative look enough to keep me bewildered.

"All the more reason to move to Ming."

"You're being rash here. It's too obvious to execute such a plan to take over such a country as Ming."

"So you suggest we do nothing?!"

Tension sets the confusion in her eyes into a cooperative one. They were going to fight if no one stepped in. The worst they needed was attention and they were attracting just that. I quickly lift my hands in the air and stand in front of them with another squeal.

"I think Zhen Lan is right. We need to move out."

As if he knew what was going through my head, he dumps another pack of dumplings in my face. I squeak happily jumping over the grass to catch it in the air. With another munch, I retreat pouting my lips from relief.

"About that, I think we should follow shifu."

A sigh escapes Zhen Lan's lips at my answer. He glares at me with a hint of irritation in them. I knew what those eyes meant but I had gotten what I wanted. Who cares about when we set off?

"After Song's defeat, defense in other states will be very high. I don't think we can just enter without a pass like usual even if there's a banquet tomorrow."

His words seem reasonable. Jing Yi also seems to agree with his words so she nods after. "He's right there. Zhen Lan, why don't we listen to what he has to say?" With the bustling noise from the approaching wheels, I let out a scream when he grabs me by my arm.

The next moment, I find myself squeezing my body into a sack accompanying a large heap of sacks. That wasn't all, Jing Yi was lying beside me. "What are you doing here?" I ask.

She immediately shuts me up with her hand and enclose the gap. Although I try to find space to move in the sack, my lungs scream for air at a point. When I hear the horse's neigh, I swiftly push her hands aside and poke a little hole in the sack with a dagger in my hanbok.

With much difficulty, I peer my eyes into the hole and force my way through to peak at what was going on. My eyes widen in surprise when I see our horses running down the valley towards the city gate.

"Wait, no." A disheartening squeal escapes my lips as I try to move my hands through the knot keeping us cooped up. "What are you doing? You're going to get us caught!" she rumbled under her teeth, pulling my hand over.

"The horses!" Her hands manage to move stealthily through the sack and move over to my mouth to shut me up. I squeak hesitantly kicking her legs to weaken her resolve but she was much stronger than I had estimated earlier. "W-What do you eat a-anyway?"

Creases appear over her lower lip with my question. "Was this the time to think about food?! Look closely and stop bugging!" My lips fall in silence when I think about what she just said. As she shifts her head, I move my head slowly beside hers. But I let out a wince when my head collides with her at each attempt.

With my eyes closed, Jing Yi muffs a sigh rubbing her forehead in irritation. After twitching my head several times, my eyes locate the hole I made. A joyous relief crawls over my skin as the cold air dances over my face. I close my left eye in order to look through successfully.

At that moment, I hear screams and yells of deep tones and the crushing of swords against each other. While spying the moving horses, I find three guards from the city gate chasing after them. Curiosity gets the best of me making me look up a bit higher, tearing a larger amount of the sack material to see better.

Just then, I find three persons each on the speeding horse. "Who the heck rides with such speed?" With that question, I earn a kick from Jing Yi. "Exactly! As his disciple, I thought you'd be smarter." A swill of anger wells up in me at her comment. Was she trying to say that I'm a fool?

"Stop!"

As my tongue rolls in my mouth, I turn back to the hole peeking keenly at the moving horses. After studying the stiffness of the solid figures riding the horse, my eyes perk up. One shoe fall out with a hat at the same time with a gush of wind from the desert. When I open my eyes wider, I realize that they weren't people.

It was a figurine made of straw delicately to seem like a human being. It has all the features except the will to step down for fear of falling. After all, they didn't have feeling. My back falls against hers as I let out a sigh. "Distraction idea." At the end of my statement, the carriage falls to a halt with a harsh tap.

"Where's your pass?" I pull back again and place my eye in a direction enough to find another carriage beside us. Looking at the shape, it was evident the others were inside. The young man nods and hands over a pass, clearing his sweat with his lower arm. His tattered hanfu hang over his body with a band tying his hair up steadily. After the guards confirm his pass, one of them lifts his hand to alert the rest. His eyes move slowly to the sacks for a short study before turning away. The heat from the sun shuns my eyes away for a moment.

I pull back putting the pieces together. The usual number of guards would've probably noticed something wrong with the sack. But since most of them were trying to stop out horses, we can buy some time. So that was the detail of the plan but I was slow to understand.

The bars drag backwards allowing the curator to move into the city, pulling us along the way. I squirm back taking a deep breath. The sack was really hot so I had to take turns with Jing Yi for a grasp of air until the carriage comes to a halt.

The sunlight dim as well with each passing minute. My eyes peep through the hole to check where he had stopped. To my surprise, my eyes settle on two men stepping out of the dark alley ahead of us. Smashing the bricks of wood in front of them, they force their way over to the two carriages.

"Leave the gold behind if you want to keep your neck intact." I rub my temple, cursing at the intruders. Gold? Who told them that it was gold? With a charge, they disperse and surround the cranky trembling guy. But he stands beside the carriage unwilling to yield to their request.

A swamp of dust blows over and binds my eyes when I try to peep closely. Holding his head up in the air, he jumps down from the rooftops, falling over with his arms spreading sideways. Two daggers fly in the air and silence the attackers, scaring the wits out of the curator.

He quickly sends a signal in the air, shaking unconditionally.

I rub my eyes continuously, trying to peep at the commotion. The sacks ahead of us tears apart before Zhao Yun and Zhen Lan are able to stand out on their feet, looking up to the stranger.

With a cute smirk, he swiftly puts his arms around the curator, turning to Zhao Yun with another smile.

"Long time no see. Who sent you?!" The second sentence directed at the curator. Blood spurs from his mouth at his attempt to talk. After falling dead in his arms, the stranger drops his body, curiosity filling his eyes. "Who are you?" I quickly untangle the knot and step down rubbing my chest loudly with a groan.

"Finally!" As I glance at the strange from top to bottom, I notice a strict bubbly face with his clothes neatly tucked up. His shoes were of good quality to remain perfect after stepping down from that height. "You know each other?"

He nods happily pushing a strand of hair over his face to his ears. "Let me introduce myself clearly. I'm the legendary Lu Zhao Yun." After stating this, he lifts his left eyebrow with an large smile.

"Lu Zhao Yun?" We all turn to my shifu with raised eyebrows. Was he kidding us?

"Shifu."

He doesn't mind his words and move over to the carriage, checking the pulse of the curator. "The same poison used on the others." He continues over to the carriage and tears a little part to get the powder on the tip of his fingers.

"Nitre and explosives as I expected. Qiubai, come over."

Qiubai? Lu Zhao Yun? What's his name actually?

"You're right. It's the same one used on Song. His Majesty already knows of your discreet entrance. He requests your presence." Noticing the confusion planted on our faces, be clears his throat.

"For clearance, I'm Zhou Qiubai, Junior Preceptor of the emperor of Ming."

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How is he connected to the Junior Preceptor of Ming?

Who is behind the transportation of explosives?

Is Ming truly the next target?