Manbao and the others waited in the Small Town for a day, and sure enough, the guards chased them quickly and brought back a letter from General Meng.

After Bai Shan and the others read it, they put it away and then packed their things. The next day, they entered the desert.

Manbao and the others had camels, and aside from loading some heavy goods, they curiously climbed up to sit for a while, and then started to feel sorry, "They’re so heavy, aren’t the camels tired?"

"The food prepared for them doesn’t seem to be much either..."

Dayu rode a horse beside them and rolled his eyes, "They’re so big, carrying just this bit of cargo is nothing tiring."

However, Manbao and the others refused to sit any longer and got off the camel to continue riding horses.

After all, the horses only carried them, but the camels had quite a lot of goods hanging on both sides.

The group moved swiftly towards the west, and along the way, they were very cautious, as there was still a group of horse thieves watching from the shadows.

Although Assistant General Nie constantly sent scouts to check ahead and behind, they didn’t find anyone following.

Manbao even spent credits to have Keke scan, but found no one, so they could only speculate that those people were not nearby, at least not close.

Unfortunately, the information didn’t flow well; otherwise, they could have asked General Meng if he got any information from those two people.

Alas, Teacher Mo and they can communicate across time and space, yet they’re just a few days apart and communication is difficult.

Manbao felt the sun growing stronger, so she got off her horse and into the carriage.

The others also switched to the carriage, had some tea, and started talking while watching the yellow sand outside. Dayu didn’t understand why they had so much to say, as if they couldn’t finish talking every day.

But in the vast desert, the biggest fears besides lack of food and water are loneliness; with them around, it’s not lonely.

The moving caravan lost contact with the outside world, not only Jin Kui’an and others, who rushed again to Shazhou City could not find their trace, but Batur, who arrived a day earlier at Shazhou City than Jin Kui’an, couldn’t find them either.

As soon as the three arrived at Shazhou City, they first went to an inn familiar with their Small Town to inquire about the situation. Their intention was to ask if they knew anyone from Zhou Man’s group, whether they’re still in the city or if they left, and when, so they wouldn’t need to go to the yamen.

Although the Town Leader said this time they’re doing a good deed and could ask openly, however...

Thieves naturally fear the authorities, not because they’re afraid, but they just don’t want to see soldiers, don’t want to greet them, so why go to the yamen if they can get information at the inn?

As soon as they entered, the innkeeper said, "You really came to look for someone; Dayu and the others have left."

Batur was stunned for a moment and said, "I know they’ve left, they should have returned to the Small Town by now. Innkeeper, do you know about the caravan Dayu escorted into the city? Are they still in the city?"

The innkeeper looked at him, puzzled, "What are you talking about? I said Dayu and the others left with the caravan, I didn’t say they’ve returned to your Small Town. He said they’ve taken the caravan’s order to escort them to the Western Regions, and I don’t know how much they got paid, but they seemed quite happy, so it must be a lot."

The three of them were stunned.

Dayu actually left with Imperial Doctor Zhou’s group?

Batur took nearly an hour to figure this out, not only knowing their departure time but also that Dayu bought a lot of things from Shazhou City to sell in the Western Regions.

It’s said that before Dayu left, he proclaimed that when he returns from the Western Regions, he would go to Suzhou or Liangzhou to marry a Han bride, and his money should be enough.

The two other partners looked at Batur, "What should we do?"

Batur wiped his face, "Kurban, you go back and tell the Town Leader, the two of us will go chase them. There are wolves in pursuit, and we must find them before the wolves catch up."

But they didn’t actually need someone to go back and notify the Town Leader, as he already sensed something was wrong since there was no news of Dayu, whom he thought should have returned to the Small Town.

If it’s just a delay on the road, being two or three days late is understandable, but it’s been seven or eight days without a shadow?

The Town Leader thought of the time Zhou Man and her group stayed in his Small Town, his back stiffened, "Could they have backfired and still be staying somewhere in the desert?"

The steward said, "Impossible, there aren’t many people in this vast desert, what’s so fun about it?"

Though they don’t have oases as big as their Small Town, it doesn’t mean there aren’t any oases. Other places still have water and people living there.

Who knows if Zhou Man and the others might stop just like they did in the Small Town?

The Town Leader pondered deeply, finally unable to sit still. He said, "Gather the brothers, split into three teams to search for them. Forget Zhou Man and her group, we have twenty brothers in there too. If they really came across..."

The Town Leader suddenly paused, then leaned back on his chair, rubbing his chin, and pondered, "If they really encountered them, they shouldn’t be afraid. There are only seventy or eighty people on Zhou Man’s side, and we have about a hundred. Besides those few who can’t fight at all, the others should be experienced fighters, plus Dayu and the others..."

The steward laughed, "It’s solid!"

The Town Leader nodded, "As long as they don’t have reinforcements, it’s solid."

So the Town Leader withdrew his orders and continued to stay in the Small Town awaiting the return of his brothers.

Meanwhile, the person sending the message to the Town Leader was hiding at the gate of Shazhou City, watching as Jin Kui’an and his group entered the city, only then quietly pulling the horse out of the city, taking food and water and heading back along the desert road.

As soon as Jin Kui’an and his group entered the city, General Meng knew about it, "You say it’s a caravan, but there are no vehicles, just some goods on each horse. When the soldiers at the gate checked, they secretly felt it, and it’s not food, just bran and other things, but they paid city entrance tax as cloth."

"There are seventy-nine of them, all armed. As soon as they entered the city, they searched for an inn to stay in. Subordinates have been keeping an eye on them. Just after they checked in, someone familiar sought them out. I reckon they’re the people Imperial Doctor Zhou spoke of."

General Meng frowned, "They didn’t try to find information?"

"No, they’re buying food and water now, and someone went to the checkpoint to collect documents. It seems they’re planning to leave the pass tomorrow. General, should we withhold their documents and interrogate them?"

General Meng pondered for a moment and then shook his head slightly, "First, don’t give them the documents. Investigate if they’re people from within the pass or if they entered from outside. Have Governor He send people to check their cargo."

"Could this alert them?"