In the evening, Yuxi’s caravan came across an inn on the side of the road.

After getting off the carriage, Yuxi looked at the surroundings and said, “Let’s not stay at the inn tonight and just continue ahead.” She would rather suffer one more night than take the risk.

Chief Huang did not object. “We can do that.” He turned around afterwards and yelled at the crowd to continue to go forward. Having less stuff also had an advantage: their speed had become faster.

The puzzled Zijin asked, “Miss, is there something wrong with this inn?”

Yuxi shook her head and explained, “I’m not sure if there’s any problem, but this inn must have a great relationship with those bandits in Menghu Mountain. So we shouldn’t stay in such a place.”

The group walked for another hour and settled in a village. After everyone had enough to eat and drink, Luo Shuigui and Chief Huang doubled the number of people on night duty, just in case someone from Menghu Mountain came to attack them.

If it were before, Chief Huang would have assured Yuxi that the people of Menghu Mountain would not do anything to kill them all. But with Lu Kai as a variable, any guarantee was useless. Strengthening their vigilance was the safest way. Unexpectedly, nothing happened that night. The breeze was still, and the waves were quiet all night long.

After everyone freshened themselves up, the meal was ready. Mama Bai brought them congee with red dates and two savoury crepes.

Yuxi picked up the spoon. With only a bite, her expression changed slightly. She immediately put down the spoon to stop the Zijin and Zisu from eating. “Do not eat it anymore. This thing is not clean.”

Hearing this, Zijin immediately threw away her chopsticks. Zisu was so frightened that her face turned pale again. “Miss, is there any poison in these meals?”

Yuxi shook her head, “I’m not sure, but it shouldn’t be.” They would have died a long time ago if there were any poison.

Zijin immediately told the others not to eat the food. When Mama Bai heard this news, her face turned a little white. She instantly knelt in front of Yuxi and said, “Miss, I made all these things myself. I didn’t ask someone else to make them.”

Mama Qu also said next to her, “Miss, we checked the rice and those vegetables to make sure there was no problem before using them. If there is a problem, it’s definitely not from the rice or vegetables.”

Naturally, Yuxi would not suspect Mama Bai and Mama Qu. They were people she brought in by herself. How could they suddenly conspire with the bandits? After hearing Mama Qu’s words, Yuxi asked, “Water. Where did you fetch the water from?”

Mama Bai replied, “The well in the courtyard. Miss, I have tested the water with a silver hairpin, and there is no problem with it.” It was also because she had tried it that she was relieved to use it.

Luo Shuigui immediately fetched a bucket of water and looked at the crystal clear water. Mama Bai went to the yard and caught a chicken, which they would eat that night. She fed the chicken half a scoop of water, and after a while, the chicken was still looking fine.

In response, Yuxi said, “It doesn’t have to be poison.” If they put some other things into their food, as long as they could make their body sick and unable to fight back would have been enough. Once they were sick, where would they have the energy to fight with the bandits? In this situation, their enemies could clean them up in a jiffy.

Zijin coldly snorted. “Such an underhanded method.”

Luo Shuigui said with a smile, “Since they are bandits, what else can’t they do?” One should never expect these people to have any moral character.

Da Maotou was somewhat reluctant. He was so hungry that he couldn’t bear to see so many good foods! So at that moment, he could not help but ask, “Miss Han, how do you know this stuff is not clean?”

Yuxi looked at Da Maotou and said, “If you do not believe me, you can continue to eat.” There was a particular way to cook a medicated diet. One must put the medicinal materials just right, neither too much nor too little, and the temperature must be well controlled. Every preparation step couldn’t be wrong, and the final brew medicated food would come out the best. Yuxi had been trained this way by Momo Quan. After several years, she was susceptible to medicinal materials and such things. Today, when she tried the red date congee, even though the fragrance of the red dates managed to cover medicine, she could still taste it. As for what kind of medicine, it was too shallow for her to detect, but it must be harmful to one’s body.

Chief Huang also didn’t say nonsense as he shouted, “Pack up. We’re leaving this place.” Missing a meal wouldn’t kill them, but they would be in a dangerous situation if the food were problematic.

Yuxi instructed, “Take everything with you.” The owner of the house must also be an accomplice of the bandits. If they left the food behind, the bandits would be suspicious. Fortunately, they gave the owner money to vacate the house and did not let the owner know what was happening inside the house.

Yuxi didn’t find it surprising that the house owner would help the bandits in harming them. The owner lived near Menghu Mountain. It was customary for the owner to listen to the bandits of Menghu Mountain.

Since they didn’t have many things, it only took them less than a quarter of an hour to pack up. After they travelled for about a shichen, the chicken that Mama Bai had fed with water before kept emptying its bowel on the board and was looking beyond recognition. Since it pooped too much, the chicken appeared too sickly and not a bit energetic.

When Da Mao looked at that chicken, he could only exclaim, “Miss Han is amazing.” Because of the aroma of the meal they ate, they did not find anything wrong. Even their Chief, who had journeyed north and south, could not discover anything amiss about the food at all!

Chief Huang looked at Yuxi’s carriage and secretly wondered, “Isn’t Miss Han the Duke of State’s meimei? How could she know so much?” Her performance along the way didn’t look like a young lady who never went out of the second gate. If not for Han Ji’s respectful attitude towards her, Chief Huang suspected that this person was an impostor.

When the caravan arrived at a place where there was a water source, Yuxi told Chief Huang, “Since everyone did not eat this morning, we’re going to cook two pots of rice for everyone to eat.” They should have eaten and drunk enough to kill the enemies. Even without making any guesses, there must be an ambush up ahead.

As Yuxi predicted, when they had eaten enough to continue their journey, less than half a shichen later, they encountered an ambush by the bandits. These people had hidden in the shadows with their bows and arrows. If Yuxi’s caravan had not prepared themselves, they would have suffered an enormous loss.

These people had hidden in the mountains for a long time. Thus, they had a geographical advantage. However, when they saw a group of people looking sickly and unhinged, thinking that the powder they put had worked, they let down their guard. Because of the need to capture Yuxi alive, a few became impatient to come down the mountain. At any given time, the one who underestimated the enemy would always pay a heavy price in the end.

Chief Huang and the other armed escorts from Xinglong Escort Agency were holding their breath. Darn it, this time, they had been humiliated to the extreme. Since they couldn’t keep the humiliation out of their minds right now, they became so angry that they killed the bandits right away.

Zijin did not take the initiative to kill the enemies this time around as she just stood in front of the carriage. Her big knife would be waiting for the bandits who dared to approach the carriage. After cutting down seven or eight people, no bandits dared to come near the carriage anymore.

More than twenty out of sixty bandits managed to escape. These people were familiar with the terrain; hence, they fled to the hills as the caravan bodyguards did not dare chase after them.

Yuxi stepped down from the carriage and looked at the bandits lying on the ground with their arms and legs broken. Her eyes fixed on them while the others did not know what she was currently thinking.

Luo Shuigui suddenly opened his mouth and said, “Miss, this is not right……”

This statement pulled Yuxi from her thoughts. “What’s the matter? Is there something wrong?”

Luo Shuigui spread one of the bandit’s hands and pointed out, “Miss, the calluses on this hand, at a glance, you can tell that they are left from years of him holding weapons.” He didn’t tell her his other suspicions since he believed that Yuxi had already realised the big problem.

Yuxi’s pupils shrank before she suggested, “Why don’t we hurry up in getting out of here?” Earlier, she was still speculating whether Lu Kai had a grudge against the Han family or Yun Qing. She couldn’t help guessing that Lu Kai indeed had a grudge with Yun Qing. But in the end, what kind of hatred he had with Yun Qing, she would have to ask Yun Qing himself in Yu City if she genuinely wanted to know more.

By this time, Yuxi could not help swearing in her heart. She had not yet married Yun Qing, yet she had already met his number 1 personal enemy. How could she live peacefully after that? In the past, she was adamant not to believe when people said she had terrible luck. But now, she did think she had that fate as she would be married to Yun Qing. It was already like this even when they were not married yet. As one could imagine, after she finally married Yun Qing, she could estimate that such a thing would happen often.

After everyone had their dinner, they held torches to continue their journey. They all had the same thought: hurry up and leave this place. They could rest after they had passed the boundary.

When Lu Kai heard that he had just lost many of the men he had sent, his hatred increased tenfold. These people were all his trusted subordinates, and unexpectedly, they all suffered defeat in the hands of that woman.

The person who came back to report still had a lingering fear as he said, “Master, we didn’t imagine that they would hit us back. The dozen or so guards escorting Han Shi all had bows and arrows, and they were accurate with their shots. We couldn’t beat them at all. In addition, her maid was even more vicious. She alone had killed seven of our brothers.”

Lu Kai broke the writing brush in his hand and coldly said, “This woman is so powerful. If we just let her get to Yu City safely, won’t Yun Qing be like a tiger that has grown wings in the future? No, this woman must be removed at all costs.” That woman was too dangerous.

Lu Kai’s real surname was Zhang. He was called Zhang Yong and originally came from Yu City. Because of his weak health, he could not participate in the war. His brother, who held a position in the regiment, found him a job in the military supply depot. Their family had a good life, but unfortunately, it was all ruined by Yun Qing. Not only did Yun Qing kill his brother, but he also led people to raid his home. Since Zhang Yong had nowhere else to stay, he had to hide in this bandit den.

Zhang Yong originally wanted to capture Yuxi to be a hostage of the Menghu Mountain and use her to humiliate Yun Qing. However, he did not expect Yuxi chose to die than go with them and even made a bold statement that Yun Qing would take revenge for her. The bandits of Menghu Mountain were cravenly clinging to their life and fear of death, fearing retaliation from Yun Qing. Thus they did not dare to kill Yuxi. Since he had only come to the Menghu Mountain for more than half a year, his roots were not yet stable, and he could not go against the others.

In response, the subordinate spoke worriedly, “Master, in two days, this group of people will cross the boundary of Menghu Mountain, and it will be even harder for us to kill her.”

Lu Kai sneered. “No worries. I’m not the only one who has a grudge against Yun Qing.” The ones with the most grudge against Yun Qing were those northern captives. Those barbarians had long wished they could eat Yun Qing’s flesh and drink his blood. As long as he revealed this information to them, he believed those barbarians would stop at nothing to capture Han Shi. He wondered, what would Yun Qing do once he knew that the northern barbarians had captured his fiancée? Would he save her or treat it with a cold shoulder?

When Lu Kai’s subordinates heard his words, their hearts became tense. For revenge, Master turned his back on his state and even dared to take advantage of the northern captives for it. They didn’t know what crazier things their Master would do in the future.

Yuxi did not know that Lu Kai would be using the northern captives to deal with her, but she realised that she was currently in a dangerous situation. So, she was considering following Zijin’s previous proposal.

When Zijin heard that Yuxi wanted to follow Master Yang and Fourth Brother Yu, she couldn’t agree more with that decision. “Miss, if you follow Master Yang and Fourth Brother Yu, not only will it be much faster, but it also won’t attract unwanted attention.” On the contrary, following the caravan, not only would they be slow, they would continue to become a live target.

Yuxi nodded and said, “Wait until I see Master Yang.” She had agreed to meet Master Yang in Dongping Town before. They were still more than 100 miles away from reaching Dongping Town from their current place!