The Pan Household of Yuxi Prefecture
The six survivors on the ground were tightly bound. No matter how much Lin Yue kicked, shouted, and threatened them, they all gritted their teeth and refused to utter a single word.
Shen Jingchuan watched coldly, knowing that the women were watching and he couldn't get them to speak, so he turned to Lin Shan and Lin Yue and said:
"Eldest brother, second brother, I'll take the women ahead first. You can take your time interrogating them and catch up when you're all settled."
Lin Shan nodded in response:
"Okay, be careful and don't go too far. We'll catch up as soon as we're done."
Shen Jingchuan agreed, turned around and beckoned the women to get into the carriage, then mounted his horse. Liu Hu quickly followed on Little Red, and the group slowly moved forward.
After walking about two miles, there was a tall grove of trees by the roadside. The trees provided ample shade and the road itself offered a bright and open view. Shen Jingchuan reined in his horse, indicating that they should rest there for the time being.
He dismounted, first tying Big Black, Treading Snow, and Little Black to a tree trunk, then took some water and a cloth and began wiping the bloodstains that had congealed on his armor and saddle.
Liu Hu quickly ran to the high slope ahead and stood on the high ground to look around and keep watch.
The women also disembarked from the carriage and rested and drank water under the shade of the trees.
Lin Qingyao squatted down beside Treading Snow to stroke her fur, while Bai Ruoli wrung out a damp cloth and handed it to Shen Jingchuan to help clean the remaining blood from under her nails.
They waited for nearly half an hour before the sound of carriages and horses finally came from behind. Lin Shan and Lin Yue led their caravan to catch up, and both dismounted as they approached.
"The interrogation revealed that it was someone sent by the Pan Household." Lin Shan walked up to Shen Jingchuan and spoke in a deep voice.
Shen Jingchuan paused, his brows furrowing slightly.
"The Pan Household? I don't know anyone with the surname Pan. Why are you trying to ambush me?"
"The Pan Household is one of the four major families in Yuxi Prefecture. They own a large manor outside Chang'an City and maintain dozens of elite guards year-round."
Lin Shan explained:
"These people are the guards of the manor. They were ordered by their master to intercept and kill you. They know your appearance and your entourage very well. They came specifically for you. They don't know any deeper reasons, they just say they were acting on orders."
What about those other people?
Lin Yue, standing to the side, curled his lip and said in a gruff voice:
"A bunch of useless trash, we couldn't get any more information out of them, and keeping them around wouldn't be a good solution, so we disposed of them all, dumped the bodies by the roadside, and didn't bother burying them."
Shen Jingchuan nodded and casually put away the used cloth.
"Let's get going first. We'll investigate the Pan Household again once we get back to Yuxi Prefecture and see what's going on."
Without lingering, the group rested briefly before regrouping and continuing their journey towards Yuxi Prefecture in their caravan.
The team set off early on the third day, and fortunately, nothing else went wrong along the way, allowing everyone's tense nerves to gradually relax.
Around 9 a. m., they were less than half a day's journey from Yuxi Prefecture. They saw a small grove of trees, and Lin Shan gestured for everyone to rest by the roadside for a drink and a snack.
It was late autumn, the sky was clear and blue, and a flock of wild geese flew overhead in a neat V-formation, leisurely heading south. Bai Ruoli and Lin Qingyao looked up for a long time, then suddenly turned to look at Shen Jingchuan and whispered:
"My lord, is the place where you buried those two geese nearby? I'd like to go and take a look."
Shen Jingchuan, who was wiping the saddle, suddenly stopped, his mind going blankly. He had only casually expressed his feelings using the allusion that day; there was no real place to bury the wild geese.
Lin Qingyao, who was standing next to him, also turned around, raised her eyebrows at him, and her eyes clearly showed that she also wanted to join in the fun.
Shen Jingchuan mentally considered the matter twice, realizing he couldn't continue this story—he couldn't just conjure up a Wild Goose Tomb out of thin air. He simply tossed aside the cloth, smiled wryly, and said to the two of them:
"To be honest, I didn't bury the goose. I just mentioned it casually because I was moved by a story I heard earlier; don't take it seriously."
Lin Qingyao was taken aback at first, then playfully punched Shen Jingchuan lightly, and chuckled:
"You liar! We thought it was something you experienced firsthand, but it turns out you just heard it from someone else."
Bai Ruoli was also a little disappointed, but then suddenly raised her head and said:
"But, my husband, what if someone comes looking for you later and can't find you? Won't they say you're lying?"
Shen Jingchuan paused, then turned to look at the Fen River not far away. The riverbanks were lush with vegetation and lined with old trees. He suddenly smiled.
"What's so difficult about that? No, we can just make one right now."
Bai Ruoli blinked. "Make it fresh?"
"That's right." Shen Jingchuan pointed to the riverbank, "Let's find a spot by the river, build a small mound, and who'd bother to dig it up to check if it's real or fake?"
The two thought about it and agreed that it made sense.
Shen Jingchuan then led them off the official road and along the riverbank for a while, choosing a spot under an old locust tree—a small mound, high in elevation and overlooking the river, easily visible to passersby from afar, a perfect location.
Just then, two ragged refugees strolled over from the Fen River beach in the distance. They were walking south along the riverbank when they saw Shen Jingchuan and immediately stopped in their tracks.
The two whispered a few words to each other, then turned and ran off. Shen Jingchuan glanced at them, assuming they were just ordinary refugees, and didn't think much of it, returning to his work.
The group worked swiftly, first digging a shallow pit under the old locust tree, then picking up a few goose feathers from the riverbank and placing them inside as a keepsake.
Then, they filled the mound with soil, tamping it down layer by layer. They also brought in stones of various sizes and piled them up in two layers around the outside of the mound, making it solid and sturdy. Even if wild dogs dug it up or heavy rain washed it away, it wouldn't be easily damaged.
After the Wild Goose Tomb was completed, Shen Jingchuan found a flat bluestone about half a person's height and placed it steadily in front of the mound. He didn't bring a special carving knife, so he simply used the tip of the tiger-head gold-carved spear to carve on the stone surface.
The bluestone was hard, and although the spearhead was sharp, it was difficult to apply force. He squatted on the ground and painstakingly carved each stroke, only managing to carve two characters after a long time. The characters were crooked and had no structure whatsoever.
Suddenly, two or three hundred people emerged from the distant fields. They were all ragged, emaciated, and carrying simple tools such as wooden sticks and machetes. Four people in the middle carried a makeshift stretcher and swayed as they made their way to the riverbank.
Lin Shan and Lin Yue's faces immediately darkened. They both mounted their horses, grabbed their spears, and sternly ordered the bodyguards to form a defensive formation.
The sentry at the front had already drawn his bow and arrow and rushed forward, shouting from afar, "Halt! One more step and I'll fire!"
The group of people were so frightened that they stopped in a hurry. No one dared to take another half step forward. One of them, a tall and thin man, raised his hands and took two steps forward, shouting at the top of his voice, "Guardians, please don't do anything! We are here to find someone! Can I ask Mr. Lin from Zhenyuan Escort Bureau in Yuxi Prefecture in person? Our boss came here to express his gratitude!"
Lin Shan spurred his horse forward a few steps and looked down at the stretcher—the man was half-sitting, his chest wrapped in layers of dirty, tattered cloth, his face as pale as paper. He was none other than the leader of the group of refugees who had robbed the caravan in the mountain valley a few days ago.
Lin Yue spurred his horse to catch up and recognized the man at a glance. He was both annoyed and amused, and pointed his spear at the man, shouting:
"Good lad, you've got some tough luck! You survived such a heavy bullet. What's wrong, Chief Hu? You're not satisfied with just one loss? You want to rob me again?"