Manbao raised her head to carefully observe them. Their faces showed a bit of concern when they spoke, but the fierce aura on their faces was too strong; otherwise, they would be more believable.

The others didn’t have much expression on their faces, but Mr. Zhuang looked completely trusting. He even appeared more worried than the other party, "There are many wolves on the grasslands. The children are so young. Could they have been taken by wolves?"

Second Brother’s eyes twitched, "No, with so many cattle and sheep, the wolves would take the sheep first."

Only then did Mr. Zhuang seem relieved, "That’s good, that’s good. But the grassland is so vast, and the five children are so small. Where would you go to find them?"

Second Brother lowered his eyes and said, "If someone abducted them, they would certainly move somewhere, so heading toward a city is the right choice. Did you depart from Liangzhou City today?"

Mr. Zhuang nodded, "Yes, we left early in the morning. We originally planned to camp further ahead, but I’m old and frail, and can’t endure the bumps. The children are also playful, running around everywhere along the way, so we traveled slowly. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have met tonight."

Mr. Zhuang sighed, "It’s really fate."

The bandits:... It could have been more fateful. If they didn’t have something going on tonight, they might have invited people up to the mountain for a visit tomorrow.

Second Brother also nodded and then asked, "So, you’ve traveled all the way from Liangzhou. Did you encounter any suspicious people on the road?"

He said, "You know our tribe has lost five children..."

Mr. Zhuang sighed and shook his head, "We only encountered some herdsmen. Oh, there’s another tribe five li ahead. We played with them for a while before setting up camp. If any suspicious people passed by, they would have noticed, even if we didn’t."

He appeared to be worrying for the other party and offering advice, "Perhaps they didn’t head towards Liangzhou. I know that past here is Suzhou, but are there official roads to other places nearby?"

Second Brother seemed to be pondering and didn’t answer the question but instead expressed thanks, "Thank you, I’ll send people to search around."

A servant brought a stack of bowls and a pot of tea. When opened, the strong tea aroma spread among the group, and Mr. Zhuang invited them to drink tea.

Second Brother took a bowl, blew on it, and was about to drink when he noticed that only their side had tea while the others didn’t even have a bowl. He paused for a moment and then casually put the bowl down, asking, "Why aren’t the gentlemen drinking?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled, "Tea wakes you up. We don’t drink tea after nightfall; it’s a habit."

Manbao and Bai Shan nodded, indicating that their teacher was right.

Second Brother smiled and said, "Is that so?"

He lowered his eyes to look at the tea bowl and said, "This tea is too hot."

He placed the tea bowl on the grass beside him, his gaze sweeping over the others. Seeing this, the others also put down their bowls, those who had already taken a sip regretted and wished they could cough up what they’d swallowed.

Second Brother withdrew his gaze and looked toward the opposite group.

Mr. Zhuang and the others seemed completely indifferent, their expressions unchanged as they continued to sit.

Second Brother recalled something and again shifted his gaze to Zhou Man, "The gentleman is an official of the Honglu Temple, does it mean you came from the capital?"

Mr. Zhuang nodded.

"I heard there’s a young female physician in the capital who even became an official in the palace, the first female official of her time. Is it true?"

Mr. Zhuang nodded with a smile, "It’s true."

"Recently, I heard a female imperial physician arrived at Liangzhou City and treated the Old Madam of the Governor’s residence. Could this female physician have come to Liangzhou City?"

Mr. Zhuang just smiled and said nothing, and Bai Shan added, "My brother is well-informed. Where is your tribe currently stationed, and how long does it take for news to travel from Liangzhou to your tribe? By the way, we’ve talked for a while, but I still don’t know your name."

Only then did Second Brother look at Bai Shan, and Bai Shan raised his eyes to look at him. Their gazes met, one full of wolf-like fierceness and the other as calm as water. Neither spoke again nor looked away; Bai Shan’s smile barely changed.

Finally, Second Brother averted his gaze and said, "My name is Erge, I’m ranked second, so everyone calls me Second Brother. I look a few years older than my brothers, so if you don’t mind, you can call me Second Brother like they do."

Bai Shan smiled, nodded in agreement, but didn’t call him.

He didn’t warrant being called Second Brother.

Erge glanced around the camp, then stood up directly to bid farewell.

Mr. Zhuang did not hold him back but instead advised, "You don’t have to be too anxious. According to me, you should search towards Liangzhou again. Report it to the authorities in the yamen; maybe they’ll help you find something."

Erge was inwardly mocking but outwardly agreed and left with his men.

Assistant General Nie watched them leave and squinted to say, "They aren’t heading towards Liangzhou; they’re going back."

Mr. Zhuang stroked his beard and asked, "How much do you think they believed of what we said?"

Bai Shan said, "If not seven parts, at least five?"

Manbao suggested, "Tomorrow we’ll continue camping here, connect with the tribe behind us, foster relationships, and spread the news that someone got sick from last night’s winds so we’ll stay a few more days."

Assistant General Nie immediately said, "Tomorrow I’ll send people to gather firewood and scout the area."

Manbao nodded.

Mr. Zhuang sighed, "I hope Governor Duan arrives quickly, hopefully by noon tomorrow. My old bones don’t ride horses well."

Manbao reassured him, "Sir, you should come with us to visit that tribe tomorrow. Then you and Yin Huo can stay there while we return."

Mr. Zhuang asked, "Why would they risk sheltering us?"

Manbao boldly replied, "Because we have money!"

Bai Shan nodded, "Right, Governor Duan said people haven’t fared well these past two years. They must be short of money."

Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but laugh, "Not worried about money now?"

Manbao sweetly remarked, "Oh, money is nothing compared to you, sir!"

Mr. Zhuang wasn’t hearing Manbao’s sweet talk for the first time, but he couldn’t help laughing heartily again, happily nodding, "Okay, I’ll go with you tomorrow."

And Erge and his men, far from the camp, slowly stopped and then turned their horses around and looked back.

After a while, a rider came from afar, reporting, "Second Brother, no one chased us, but scouts followed for a distance until you were far enough, then they returned to report."

"Second Brother, Fifteen and the others shouldn’t be there, right? We’ve looked carefully, and there are only a few tents."

"Who knows if they’re hidden in those tents?"

Erge suddenly recalled the confused-looking youth they saw when entering, shook his head, "They shouldn’t be there. If I’m not mistaken, the leader of that team is not Lord Zhuang, but the girl sitting beside him."

"A girl as leader? Is she royalty?"

"What royalty? Don’t you remember Sixth said a female imperial physician came to Liangzhou City?"

"Is it that little divine physician?"