After more than half a month of arduous travel, the party finally reached their first destination, Ji City. The massacre had actually taken place another hundred and fifty li west of the city, and their plan still called for them to go there. But after so many exhausting days, they needed to rest and regroup in Ji City, and gather some information while they were at it.
On entering Ji City, they found that inspections at the gate were strict. They had come disguised as merchants and brought some goods with them, mainly tea and silk. Liang Yinghao approached a guard and discreetly slipped him some silver. Sure enough, the guard accommodated them, making only a show of searching them before letting them through. Clearly, Guo Guangbi was lax in his military discipline; this rabble under his command had no fighting strength to speak of.
They had already established a foothold in Ji City. The Windblown Sand Hall there was a trading house the Tang Family used as a transfer station.
Its current proprietor, Fu Xing, was a longtime retainer of the Tang Family and Tang Wenzheng's sworn brother. His loyalty was beyond question. Hu Xiaotian's party went straight to the Windblown Sand Hall. Apart from Tang Qingxuan, none of them revealed their identities. On learning that the eldest young lady had come in person, Fu Xing hurried out to greet them and ushered everyone inside. Once they were settled, he went to pay his respects in the small courtyard where Tang Qingxuan was staying.
After greeting her, Fu Xing sighed. "Young lady, when the eldest young master went to trade horses this time, he didn't choose to pass through Ji City. I received no notice beforehand, either. I only learned of it after the incident." First, he had to