Boer drove the carriage while Dunn sat in the passenger seat, the two chatting on and off.
Boer asked if he could ride a horse. Dunn said he had ridden the packhorses in town as a child—not really ridden, more like hung on. Boer laughed and said there would be plenty of chances to learn once they reached the city.
Jurgen sat at the back of the carriage, leaning against a wooden crate. He neither joined their conversation nor looked toward Boer and Dunn.
His gaze remained fixed behind them, on the dirt road gradually receding into the distance and the clear treeline at its end.
Gubo Town grew smaller and smaller behind them.
When they passed the church checkpoint, Boer's laughter stopped.
There were clearly more people there now.
There had been only three or four people per shift when they came through. Now the number had more than doubled. The barricades had not been removed; there were even several more of them.
The inspectors had been replaced by another group, their helmets and hooded robes different in style. The additional people were not stationed at the front to inspect anyone—they stood farther back, spread widely apart, silently sweeping their eyes over every passing carriage.
Boer looked back at Lu Yuan. The smile had vanished from his face.
"Something may have happened."
Lu Yuan nodded.
The inspection was far more thorough than before. Even the crates of medicinal herbs on the carriage were opened and checked.
Dunn sat quietly without interrupting. Jurgen rested a hand on his hunting knife, his gaze sweeping over the church personnel.
Once past the checkpoint, Boer flicked the reins.
The horses shifted from a leisurely walk into a trot. The clatter of hooves grew denser, and the wooden crates inside the carriage jolted several