Fear Strikes the Heart

Chapter 36: Fear Sets In

"Brother Mo, aren't we going about this in a rather strange way?" Zhao Yuncheng asked, looking at the carriages before them.

These carriages, though appearing to be laden with goods, were actually filled with provisions, their weapons, and arrows.

According to Mo Dao's plan, they were to pose as traveling merchants and enter Qing Province to investigate signs of the bandits.

If this method were used within Xingyuan Prefecture, it would naturally be fine.

But the place they were heading to was Qing Province, which had been suffering from a drought. It was so desolate there that not even birds would be found.

For them to go there as merchants, it looked suspicious no matter how you sliced it. Unless one had a vendetta against their own money, who would undertake a business venture that was destined to lose money?

"We're not going to find the bandits themselves, just their traces. If the bandits see us and avoid us, then we'll be safer. If they don't avoid us and try to rob us, we'll fight them if we're outnumbered, and run if we're outnumbered," Mo Hu explained Mo Dao's arrangement.

They were looking for the bandits' traces, not to encircle and eliminate them. In that desolate place, anyone who walked through would surely leave a trace. They just needed to go in and scout the area carefully. Whether they encountered the bandits was not important; not encountering them would be safer.

Mo Dao smiled and nodded. His brother was not wrong; this was indeed his plan.

"Let's hurry. Did we bring enough water?" Chen Mo asked, looking at the barren, desolate, and still dry land ahead.

It seemed that even after he had escaped to Xingyuan Prefecture in Ding Province for so long, the drought in Qing Province had not eased at all. The only anomaly was that the drought seemed confined to Qing Province. Less than twenty miles away, in Small Well Town, the rainfall was still abundant, and the wheat seedlings in the fields were growing vigorously.

Such a starkly contrasting drought appeared quite unusual.

"We're ready. It's all boiled and cooled water, the waterskins are sealed to prevent spoilage, and the quantity is enough for us and our horses to drink for half a month," Ma Cai reported.

The group proceeded together, traveling about thirty miles before each person drove a carriage and, holding a map, they gradually separated. Their task was reconnaissance; a large group would be too conspicuous and inefficient. Dispersing would be more efficient, and the risk wouldn't increase. They would fight small groups of bandits and run from larger ones.

Those bandits definitely couldn't outrun them. Even if they had horses, they would have at most two or three. There was nothing in this area for horses to eat. The provisions Chen Mo's group carried weren't much actual food for people; it was mainly horse feed. Since the bandits were operating in this region, they couldn't possibly have many horses, perhaps none at all. Therefore, unless there was a bandit among them who was a divine archer like Mo Dao, capable of hitting a seven-stone strong bow with ten out of ten shots from a hundred paces, they wouldn't be in much danger. If they encountered such bandits, they could only blame their bad luck.

The group then dispersed, heading in their designated directions. Chen Mo's path was the easiest, being relatively flat. This was Mo Dao looking out for him. Among the leaders of this expedition, Chen Mo had the least seniority. While his strength was sufficient, his experience was lacking. Therefore, he was given the easiest and most convenient route to prevent him from getting lost and to allow him to complete his reconnaissance of his assigned area more quickly.

Chen Mo wasn't very familiar with this path. He felt he must have traveled it before, but at that time, he clearly wasn't in the mood to remember such things. On both sides of the road were many withered trees. Spring had arrived, but they remained as they were. The deeper he went, the stronger the sense of familiarity Chen Mo felt with the area. After more than half a year, nothing had changed; it was still dry, desolate, and devoid of any life.

Chen Mo drove the carriage slowly forward, while Ma Cai and a few other soldiers walked quickly behind the carriage. The area they were responsible for scouting wasn't large, only the part near Xingyuan Prefecture, and this part had also been divided into several smaller sections by Mo Dao. Chen Mo was primarily responsible for only a small portion of it. After a brief survey, whether he found anything or not, he could leave. As for the situation in Anyang Prefecture, the garrison there was responsible for its own reconnaissance, which had nothing to do with them. If the bandits' tracks appeared there, there would only be two possibilities: they were preparing to raid Anyang Prefecture, or they had just finished raiding it and were returning. The former still had nothing to do with them, and they didn't need to interfere. For the latter, the Anyang Prefecture garrison would surely send intelligence, and they would be informed of the bandits' movements.

Although Chen Mo was driving the carriage, his eyes were scanning the ground around him. Although the road was a long-neglected official road, it was still much better than a country dirt path. If bandits had passed through here recently, they would have definitely left traces. Ma Cai and the others were also nervously searching their surroundings. They hadn't been on the battlefield, nor had they killed anyone. Even just searching for the bandits' traces made them both nervous and excited. Although the rewards for killing bandits weren't as great as killing barbarians on the battlefield, killing one bandit could earn three taels of silver. Killing three bandits offered a chance to be promoted from a regular personal guard to a squad leader.

They were all focused on earning merit.

After traveling by horse-drawn carriage for two consecutive days, a low, familiar thatched hut gradually appeared before them.

Chen Mo only felt a sense of familiarity with his surroundings, but he didn't have any particularly deep impressions. However, he remembered these thatched huts very clearly.

It was because he had eaten in this thatched hut. His time fleeing famine had been long, and he couldn't recall exactly how many people he had killed or how many roads he had traveled, but he remembered every instance of eating.

Because compared to other things, eating was undeniably rare during his flight from famine, making it more worth remembering.

"Let's hurry along. We'll rest at that thatched shed at noon today," Chen Mo instructed a few soldiers, flicking the reins to urge the horses forward.

After traveling a few dozen more feet, Chen Mo hastily reined in his horse. He saw a dark figure inside the thatched shed, wearing layers upon layers of clothes, appearing to be a refugee.

However, as far as Chen Mo knew, there hadn't been any refugees fleeing Qing Province since the new year.

It wasn't because the drought had eased, but because everyone had died, and no one could escape anymore.

But the person didn't look like a bandit. Could there really still be refugees who hadn't escaped?

Chen Mo felt a sense of doubt. He slowly dismounted and took out his weapon, a steel spear nearly seven feet long.

"What's wrong, Mo-ge?" Ma Cai asked, hurrying up when he saw Chen Mo rein in his horse.

"There's someone ahead. Grab your weapon and come with me to take a look," Chen Mo instructed cautiously, slowly walking towards the hut.

Even though the person was alone and appeared extremely emaciated, one must still use their full strength to deal with a rabbit, let alone a tiger.

Being cautious and careful was definitely not wrong.

As he got closer to the hut, Chen Mo finally saw the person's face. Instantly, a chill ran through his body, and his hair stood on end.

Chen Mo considered himself not a coward. During his escape, he had even witnessed cannibalism. Initially, he felt fear and disgust, but after seeing it often enough, it became nothing special.

Later, when he fell into the gray fog, he had also encountered strange creatures like blood monkeys.

These things had made him fearful, but never to this extent. He felt a chill, and even his hand holding the weapon trembled slightly.

Because he clearly remembered that face. That person had been killed by Zhao Yu before.

A dagger had pierced three inches into his eye, leaving no chance of survival.

Yet, that person was now standing alive before him!

He was even smiling at him, drooling as he smiled!