Master and Disciple Reunite

Past noon, the blazing sun scorched the earth as a convoy traveled through the boundless sea of yellow sand.

The cargo-laden carts had sunk several inches into the sand, but the camel-horses pulling them and the specially made wheel hubs allowed them to keep moving steadily, if slowly.

This was the Undercurrent Sea, the most notorious region of the Tengtada Desert. There were no official roads maintained by the imperial court here; with every step came the chance of falling straight into quicksand and being doomed beyond redemption. Yet the harsh environment also meant there were no border troops on patrol in this dead land, much less any of the lords from the Heavenly Supervision Bureau.

Ever since the Marquis had shut down the border markets for trade with the Dachao People twenty years ago, this place had naturally become one of the smuggling routes leading to Dachao.

Every year, countless merchant associations used this route to transport all kinds of supplies north of the desert.

As one of the leading hawks active here for more than a decade, Chao Hanbiao knew this route like the back of his hand. Wrapped in a black gauze scarf and riding the lead camel-horse, his gaze swept over the twenty-odd cargo wagons of varying styles behind him, and he gently shook his head.

A so-called leading hawk was not the head of a merchant caravan, but a middleman for smugglers.

The Dachao People had a tremendous demand for goods from Great Yan. Spices, refined salt, tobacco, tea, silk, and cloth could bring two or three times the profit once transported over.

Such profits tempted small merchant caravans to join in and claim a share of the spoils, but they lacked a way into the trade. His job was to gather a group of