There really was a tea stand on the road, so they had a hot meal there at noon. Just as they finished eating and were planning to rest a bit before setting out, they saw two horses approaching from the path they had come, the riders dismounting with large luggage on their backs. After asking the vendor for two cakes and a bowl of soup, they sat outside on the chairs to eat.

Several people, including Dayu, couldn’t help but squint at them, and Assistant General Nie and Steward Li also looked over.

Bai Shan and Manbao sensed that something was off and turned their heads to look as well. After watching the two men for a moment, Bai Shan frowned, "I seem to have seen them before."

Manbao gave them a once-over and found them somewhat familiar too. She was about to ask Keke when those two people got up with their cakes and walked towards Steward Li, so she decided to watch and hold off on asking Keke for now.

Fu You and his companion felt uneasy, as if sitting on pins and needles. They originally didn’t plan to approach Steward Li so early, but they had no choice. The scrutinizing gazes made Fu You feel that any delay might make them suspect his identity.

The two of them came up to Steward Li to request to join them, stating that they were also heading to the Western Regions but only had two people for such a long journey...

Steward Li looked them up and down and remembered, "Are you two among the people who came to me the day before yesterday?"

Fu You humbly replied, "Yes," and pleaded with Steward Li, "There is an urgent need for money at home, which is why we have no choice but to venture to the Western Regions at this time. I ask you to talk to the others and let us follow at the rear of the convoy. Rest assured, we will follow from a distance and not disturb anyone."

Such occurrences were not uncommon; individual merchants often relied on larger caravans for safety, and those with scarce resources might give a gift to the large caravan, tagging along without expecting protection, just hoping to follow.

But the excuse from these two...

Steward Li glanced at their horses, nodded, and then got up, saying, "I’ll go ask our master."

He whispered to Bai Shan and Manbao, "Shortly after we arrived in Shazhou the day before yesterday, a group approached me when I went out to restock rice and supplies, saying they wanted to follow our convoy to the Western Regions."

He continued, "I felt our convoy already had plenty of people, and bringing more would be burdensome, so I refused them. These two were among that group. I didn’t expect them to come again today, claiming there’s trouble at home and they urgently need money..."

He glanced at their horses and said in a low voice, "But it seems like a pretense to me. If they truly needed money urgently, they should sell the horses. How would rushing to the Western Regions to earn money help?"

Steward Li intended to refuse them.

Bai Shan furrowed his brows and asked, "Where did you see them? Why do they seem so familiar to me?"

Assistant General Nie immediately said, "Young Master Bai, they also seem familiar to me, but I don’t think I’ve seen them in the last couple of days."

Manbao asked Keke, "I find them familiar too, Keke, where have I seen them?"

Keke filtered through and said, "In the desert inn."

Meanwhile, Bai Shan also lowered his voice and said, "Seems we met them at the desert inn, yes, those were the people we had a conflict with in the bathhouse. Wasn’t that evening someone wrestling outside with you all? I saw him in the crowd."

Even though it seemed he didn’t make a move, he was indeed present.

Assistant General Nie shivered slightly, incredulous, "Could they be here for revenge? So petty?"

Sitting at the next table, Dayu couldn’t help himself and leaned over, asking, "What are you guys talking about? Can you speak louder? I can’t hear anything."

Everyone glanced at him but said nothing.

After a pause, Bai Shan asked, "Do those two look familiar to you?"

Dayu curled his lips and said, "Never seen them, but I’m familiar with their smell."

He said, "The smell on them now is the same as ours used to be."

Without explicitly stating it, everyone understood—they were horse thieves!

Manbao was invigorated, also incredulous, "Do we really look that easy to rob?"

Dayu thought for a moment and said, "It’s odd. Typically, if they were going to rob us, they wouldn’t come forward so early, and taking such a big risk to follow us personally, unless their people aren’t here?"

Fu You and the other person grew restless. They were far away from Zhou Man and the others and could only see them talking in whispers, unable to hear the details.

There was nothing they could do; their convoy had many people, and these two were surrounded the moment they dismounted, making it impossible to approach.

Bai Shan glanced at them and told Steward Li, "Agree to their request but ask for some money from them. Directly expose their lie and say we don’t believe their family urgently needs money, but rather they want to follow us to earn in the Western Regions. In that case, they should show some sincerity."

Steward Li was taken aback, quietly prompting, "Young Master, is it alright to let them follow?"

Bai Shan said, "It’s better to have them follow—in our sight, they’re easier to control."

Then he looked at Assistant General Nie and quietly said, "Please trouble Assistant General Nie to have the scouts check the front and back to see if anyone’s following us."

Assistant General Nie agreed.

Steward Li left and returned shortly after with ten taels of silver, handing them to Bai Shan and saying, "Young Master, I asked them for five taels of silver each."

Bai Shan took the silver, noted Bai Erlang’s eager stare, and passed him one, with the other going to Manbao.

He nodded and said, "Arrange them a spot near our carriage."

That meant a spot in the middle, where the absence of two people behind wouldn’t be conspicuous.

As the convoy resumed its journey, two scouts openly broke out to investigate ahead, and two more discreetly fell behind, quietly leading their horses into the forest before mounting to leave when the convoy was out of sight, heading back in the direction of Yumen Pass.

Although the area outside Yumen Pass was unsettled, there were still post stations and watchtowers.

The post station was quite small, insufficient to accommodate their over a hundred people, but fortunately, it was summer, not too cold at night, just a bit buggy.

Manbao and the others stayed inside the post, while the others camped around it, keeping guard.

The two men ate and drank separately from them. Manbao watched them briefly from upstairs before turning towards the kitchen. After glancing at the soup they ordered, she added a little something inside.

The cook nearby: ...

Manbao hissed a warning and said, "Don’t mention it to anyone."

The cook didn’t mention it but did tell the Post Station Steward.

After considering their exit documents and official seal, the Post Station Steward clenched his teeth and said, "Don’t worry about it, just stay in the kitchen."

He then had another worker bring the soup out.

The most common soup here was mutton soup; the soldiers and guards had two large barrels of it, and anyone who wanted some could serve themselves.

After watching Miss Man add the drug, Steward Li served himself a bowl and walked over to them with a grin, saying, "Apologies, brothers; we’re just allowing you to travel with us, but food and lodging will be up to you."