For the first few days, since they were still within Great Kang, no one was particularly worried about safety. They had chosen official roads leading north, and towns were densely scattered across the three hundred li north of the Kang Capital, with no bandits prowling about to rob homes and travelers. Since the sixteenth day of the third month was still more than two months away, there was no need to hurry. Apart from their first day, when they had left the Kang Capital after dark, they set out only after daybreak and entered a town to rest before dusk each day. Everyone was in a relaxed mood.
The warrior Hu Xiaotian had thrashed on the first day had broken ribs and was forced to remain in the Kang Capital to recover. Hu Xiaotian's actions had united the warriors under Wen Boyuan against him, though there were exceptions. Zhan Peng certainly did not hate him. They deliberately kept their distance, however, pretending to be strangers even when they brushed past each other. For now, they could not let anyone discover their connection.
Like Zhan Peng, Zhou Mo was also concealed within the procession. He had slipped in among the porters, eating and sleeping alongside them and the grooms, under the authority of the brothers Tang Tiehan and Tang Tiexin. Although the Tang brothers had old grudges against Hu Xiaotian, they had not had any direct dealings with him over the past two days.
Ever since Hu Xiaotian had unleashed his fury over his mother at the North Gate of the Kang Capital, he had become much more restrained. He spent most of his time guarding Princess Anping, constantly turning his grand scheme over in his mind. Plans could never keep pace with change; even the most perfect plan had to