Unless absolutely necessary,
Wang Ji would never have dared to call in the dead of night.
Not only would it be rash, it would also draw the scrutiny of Elder Master Xiao and the others.
After turning it over in his mind, Chen Yi concluded that something could only have gone wrong on the Tea Horse Road.
At once, the chessboard in his mind began to shift.
One black stone after another was placed upon the Tea Horse Road.
First, King Landu—because "Jackal" Du Cang had died, that Grandmaster might also send people to Shuzhou to investigate the situation.
Second, the Barbarian Tribe.
Asutai had previously left with that Barbarian Tribe visitor. By now, they should already have fled Shuzhou territory.
They might detour along the Tea Horse Road and run into Zhang Dabao and the others returning from there.
Third, people from Shuzhou.
The military, the yamen, and even the martial world—someone should be heading to the Tea Horse Road to confirm the whereabouts of the Peacock King Banner.
The last possibility... was the Jizhou Trading Company.
The situation within Shu Prefecture City had changed drastically today.
All sorts of news had spread like wildfire. The Provincial Administration yamen, along with Liu Lang and the others outside Lin Manor, had slashed grain prices, making more than half the common people rather go hungry than buy grain.
Several grain merchants and the Jizhou Trading Company behind them were surely running around like headless flies.
It was only natural for them to send people to the Tea Horse Road as well.
If they confirmed that the bulk of the Peacock King Banner was mounting an invasion, those grain merchants would likely endure their losses in silver and grit their teeth to hold on.
With grain in hand, they would have a