Bai Shan and his group settled the price and immediately went to find General Meng for the travel documents.

Though General Meng frowned slightly, he still signed and handed over the documents, saying, "Come to my residence for dinner tonight. Governor He and I will give you a farewell banquet."

If it weren’t for Yin Huo in the team, he wouldn’t be too willing to have much interaction with them, as Zhou Man and Bai Shan both carry the label of the Crown Prince.

Manbao and the others happily agreed. After all, getting a free meal is quite delightful.

Of course, they weren’t just there for a free meal. During the meal, they mentioned their accommodation, "We are staying at Laike Inn next to the post station. If Governor He needs us to bring anything from the Western Regions, he can send the list to Laike Inn."

Then they casually mentioned the current state of the post station.

Governor He, who realized they were reporting: ...

He looked up at General Meng.

Laike Inn could barely be considered General Meng’s business.

General Meng wasn’t too concerned about the matter. Seeing Governor He looking over, he said, "Years ago, Liao Ning had some clashes with me. Coincidentally, Suzhou had generals coming to Shazhou needing accommodation in the post station. The post station steward opened an inn across the street, which made the post station somewhat neglected. People under me were displeased and complained to Liao Ning, but he ignored the matter on my account. That annoyed my brother-in-law, who spent money to open another inn next to the post station."

He added, "You are aware of the current situation, Governor He. If you want to rectify the post station, feel free. Don’t worry about Laike Inn."

The post station is actually a minor issue, so even though Governor He was dissatisfied with the neglect of the post station, due to the inn across the street being opened by the post station steward, and Guo County’s county magistrate investing in the inn after Liao Ning left, while General Meng’s faction also opened an inn next door, it’s essentially the two most powerful factions in Shazhou competing for the post station’s business.

To better carry out his work, he turned a blind eye to it. After all, the post station receives only a few officials throughout the year, mostly serving civilian purposes.

Though some money was lost, it was better than confronting the county magistrate of the largest county under his jurisdiction and the stationed military leader.

Since General Meng didn’t care, then the county magistrate in Guo County need less care. He’s at least his superior, isn’t he?

Mr. Zhuang hadn’t expected this development and raised his eyebrows. Bai Shan smiled and commented, "The post station steward can be ignored, but the young fellow in the post station, named Ren Ergou, is a rare honest and diligent person."

He just casually mentioned it, but Governor He kept it in mind.

He already knew these young people were not simple, even without mentioning Yin Huo. Liu Huan is the grandson of the Ministry of Revenue’s Book of Documents, the youngest son of Suzhou’s chief historian, Bai Cheng is the future son-in-law of the emperor’s daughter, and Bai Shan is a young scholar highly favored by the emperor.

One after another, none of them were ordinary; promoting a young guy only to sell a favor was very worthwhile.

However, Manbao and the others wouldn’t see this. On the second day after obtaining the documents, they packed their luggage and left the city.

Old Master You reluctantly went to the city gate to see them off. Half of his goods were gone, sold to heavy rain.

Initially, only the heavy rain group bought them, but later Bai Shan and the group reviewed their luggage and decided to buy some fabrics from Old Master You with gold and stuffed them into their luggage, resulting in half of Old Master You’s goods being sold. Even if he gave them a bit of a discount for the sake of acquaintances, he still made quite a profit.

Old Master You thought that he might leave two or three months later and perhaps travel together with them, so he stood at the city gate, waved, and said, "Mr. Zhuang, Lord Zhou, if I’m still in the city when you return from the Western Regions, let’s go back to Xiazhou together."

Traveling with them was indeed safer, except that it took more time, nothing problematic.

Manbao also waved back, sitting on the horse, and replied, "No problem, if you’re still in Shazhou by then, we’ll definitely call you."

By then, they would choose a different route, and Old Master You seemed familiar with the journey, so it would be good to hear his explanations.

General Meng stood on the city wall watching them ride their horses away, shaking his head slightly.

Junior General Meng couldn’t understand, "Father, since you’re worried about them, why still give them the documents to leave?"

General Meng replied, "One is not young if they are not reckless. Do you think any of them are ordinary? Although there’s a lot of risks, who knows if it’s not their opportunity? I’ve already fulfilled my duty to remind them; the rest is up to their decision."

After speaking, he glanced at his son, feeling he was good in every aspect except being a bit too full of himself, contrasting with the more spirited youths below.

He wasn’t aware that Bai Shan and the others were more prudent, spending a hefty sum to hire former bandits as their guards.

Bai Shan rode up to catch up with Heavy Rain and curiously asked, "Did you send a message to the Town Leader?"

Heavy Rain casually replied, "We went out yesterday to look around, and since there were no traders from the Small Town, we didn’t bother to send one."

He said, "We left a message at a familiar tavern in the city, so if anyone comes from the town to inquire, they will know."

Bai Shan thought they were quite careless.

However, Heavy Rain wasn’t concerned, as they were once horse bandits who risked lives for money, and when there’s money to be made, it should be made. Missing it would mean it’s gone, especially since making money has been difficult this year due to the epidemic and regional unrest.

The group chatted and laughed as they sped ahead, with the carriage also picking up speed...

Manbao and the group ran ahead with a few guards, looking for tea stalls in the front, otherwise finding an open space to rest at noon.

Outside Yumen Pass, the green mountains stretch on. According to Heavy Rain, after traveling for two days, they would enter a desert, where they’d have to move slowly. He said, "There’s an ancient path in the desert with scarce water and grass, quite different from our place. It’s said there used to be a Loulan Kingdom there; reaching there means entering the Western Regions."

Heavy Rain and his group had traveled this route before, though it’s unknown whether during their bandit days or after starting escort businesses. However, he seemed knowledgeable, talking about the towns and tribal points they’d pass along the way.

In short, once entering the desert until reaching Gaochang, they’d essentially be in the desert. Oases are scarce inside, so every time they pass one, they must replenish enough water and food.

He advised, "The desert is different from the grassland; don’t wander around. If lost, you won’t find your way back."

He declared beforehand, "If you get lost, we won’t go searching for you. We’ll keep the caravan moving forward until Gaochang."

The group: ...you can rest assured; we definitely won’t wander off.

Only then was Heavy Rain satisfied, running ahead with them, disdainfully stating, "Your caravan is truly slow."

Manbao replied, "I don’t believe you’ve had a trading caravan faster than ours."

That’s true; typically, trading caravans aren’t as affluent as Zhou Man’s group, almost achieving one person per horse, but!

Heavy Rain glanced at them, "You promised not to waste time on the road." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Manbao and the group repeatedly nodded in agreement, "Don’t worry, don’t worry."