Xuanqing Guard

Chapter 347: Chapter 347: Tailing

January 23rd.

Night moon, slightly chilly.

Compared to the freezing Imperial City, Tan Bin only felt a little cool this deep at night. After starting a fire, you still couldn’t sit too close—too hot to roast for long.

The south is just better, all four seasons are easier to bear. Some who’ve never been up north probably don’t even know what frostbite is. If you were up north right now, you could freeze to death easily in the wild.

Three days ago, Tan Bin and two companions caught three killers from a slave hunting team off guard, killed them, and tied up Old Rat—the self-proclaimed "living map" who’d been chattering nonstop the whole way. Then, all the way, they rushed southeast.

Shaking off the slave trade convoy was easy enough. After all, it wasn’t a proper military unit. The staff were all hired on the spot, signed their own death warrants—every trip someone goes missing, right? As long as there’s no major danger nearby, the convoy wouldn’t waste time and resources searching for a few missing scouts everywhere.

Once they were out of range, Tan Bin and the others were officially in mission mode.

"Boss, we should reach Wu Lake by tomorrow. Do we circle around or go in to have a look?" The map was an old military level topographic one kept by the Xuanqing Guard. The major routes were accurate. The last couple days they’d used Old Rat’s new map to fill in the blanks—now it was pretty complete.

Wu Lake itself was a huge lake some dozens of miles across—an important supply point for the slave caravans. There were people stationed there year round; all the slave trade associations had people present.

Tan Bin glanced at the map his companion handed over, still holding a skewer of meat pie near the fire, trying to soften it up. That was their rations. They kept it all in a single small storage bag before, activated with a general spirit stone for access. The bag was always hidden inside Tan Bin’s clothes.

He tore a piece of pie off, tossed it in his mouth—soft enough—then signaled the others to eat. Turning back to the tied-up Old Rat by the fire, he said, "Old Rat, how many people do they have at Wu Lake now?"

He spoke as he took out a canteen, fed Old Rat a chunk of softened meat pie, and then gave him a sip of water too.

Starving all day, after a few big bites and gulps, Old Rat revived a bit. "Usually, there’re about fifty people stationed at Wu Lake, mainly guarding the baggage. If you count other associations’ men, there’s at least three hundred," he replied.

Three hundred?

"Three hundred isn’t a lot. Haven’t the Barbarians ever raided them?"

"They did, before. But there’s been nothing these past few years. That’s why so few are left now. A few years ago, Wu Lake had more than a thousand year-round."

"Why no Barbarian raids lately? Aren’t they short on food? Or have they gotten so timid they can’t handle even a few hundred?"

Old Rat shook his head. "That I don’t know. Since I started working here, never heard of Barbarians attacking Wu Lake." He paused, then pleaded, "Liu, can you guys let me go? I’ve given you my map, you can go anywhere you want, why keep me tied up? I swear I won’t give you away, really!"

Tan Bin grinned, "Dead men’s mouths are the tightest. Want to test that?"

"Uh... Liu, what are you all after?!" Old Rat was thoroughly frustrated. After his initial terror had worn off, he still had no idea what Tan Bin’s trio wanted. Didn’t look like they were here for money—but if not that, what the hell did they come to this godforsaken place for?

"Ever heard this saying?" Tan Bin, done feeding Old Rat, started tearing at his own meat pie, sitting right by Old Rat’s side.

"What saying?"

"The more you know, the quicker you die."

"..." Old Rat said nothing, having no doubt about their ruthlessness. Really, just as the saying went, the less he knew the better. Maybe he’d survive that way. Know too much, and poof—’just in case you talk’—they’d off you.

Tan Bin just grinned and stopped talking to Old Rat.

Instantly, a quiet fell over the campfire.

The next morning, they set off again, but didn’t head to Wu Lake. Instead, they took a slight detour to keep going southeast—toward White Head Gorge.

...

By January 29th, Tan Bin once again spotted a Barbarian tribe. This time, there were even more people than the last ones he’d seen.

"Are they... migrating?"

Tan Bin and a companion lay flat on a ridge, using a magical artifact scout ball to observe the mass of humanity stretching far into the distance.

By a conservative estimate, there were no fewer than five thousand up ahead, along with livestock, wagons, horses. Lots of people laden with bags and bundles—it really looked like a whole tribe was moving.

But soon enough, Tan Bin noticed something off with the scout ball. "Wait, this isn’t migration. Look, see? There’s more than one tribe among them—several Barbarian clans mixed together. Looks like Cat Race, Monkey Race, Sheep Race... and those Wolf Cavalry at the edges aren’t just keeping order—they’re on guard, watching them."

"This is a population abduction, isn’t it?"

They didn’t put their artifact away until the Barbarians were out of sight.

Not migration—abduction.

Pity the slave convoys, Tan Bin thought, searching for prey for half a stick of incense—they don’t even know the Barbarians are busy plundering their own people over here. At this rate, even the slave trade firms will be left with empty bowls soon.

"Looks like they’re heading for White Head Gorge. Boss, should we follow?"

"Follow them!"

Tan Bin decided on the spot to tail the Barbarians from a distance.

This is why we’re here—to recon the Barbarians. Sticking with them might be way more efficient than stumbling around blindly.

Of course, tough luck for Old Rat. To keep him quiet, they gagged him as well.

The rest smeared themselves—and their horses—with scent-masking ointment. This was another trick Old Rat taught them, the usual method for the Slave Trade Association. Humans can’t smell it, but you never know with Barbarian noses.

The three split into two teams. The front team kept distant watch on the Barbarians’ movements with scout balls, while the rear team lagged far behind, keeping an eye on Old Rat as well.

At night, they didn’t dare light a fire anymore, just gnawed on cold flatbread.

"Boss, I got an idea," someone said.

"Let’s hear it."

"It’s obvious that the Wolf Race is leading the Barbarians ahead. I saw today that they send out squads to patrol around. Maybe we can set a trap and catch one or two Wolf Race guys to question?"

Tan Bin thought about it and had to admit, that would be the fastest way to gather intel. But the risk would be huge, too.

"Those wolf riders we saw by day—they’re just big and sturdy, not cultivators. Plus, we’ve got plenty of talismans, and a magic disc. There’s a chance. Boss, let’s give it a try!"

Tan Bin paced back and forth, weighing the pros and cons. In the end, he couldn’t resist the lure of a direct source of intel and agreed. But as for how to pull it off, that needed careful thought.