Choice

As dawn broke, none of the villagers came to the inn shouting for battle.

In reality, after the group that had started the trouble was swept down by the tiger demon with its club and was unable to get up, and the next group was terrified, the villagers were now filled with fear, afraid that they would Demonization.

It was a relatively peaceful night.

Apart from Zhang Xuezhou and Xu Yuan, who was so excited he could hardly control himself, chatting all night, nothing else happened.

The battered and bruised members of the merchant guild didn't regain their senses until dawn.

Some people dragged their exhausted bodies to pack, while others silently prepared their luggage. Zhang Debiao went to find the merchant caravan's horses with a knife in hand, and others began to lift the dead coachman onto the cart.

No matter how unfriendly the weather, fallen leaves must return to their roots, and the bodies of these coachmen will be transported back to Shu County.

As for what would happen next, the members of the merchant guild did not know what they would have to face, nor whether they would be able to return An Ran to Shu County, or perhaps they could only rely on their companions to send the bodies back.

Traveling long distances is never an easy task; a single moment of carelessness can lead to total annihilation.

Dong Zhongshu was in poor spirits after getting up.

He felt incredibly unlucky; things were already going badly before he even got started.

By the time they reach the Northern Border Military Region, there will either be only a handful of people left, Zhao Liang will likely be near death, or Li Guang will not even bother to see him.

Dong Zhongshu deeply believed that wishing for good things would not work, but wishing for bad things would definitely work.

We need to adopt a Huang-Lao philosophy to deal with this!

Remembering Weng Weng's advice, Dong Zhongshu felt that the possibility of changing his own fate by relying on Huang-Lao philosophy was low, but it wouldn't harm others.

"This guy is an oddball!"

Looking at Zhang Xuezhou, who was full of energy and looked satisfied early in the morning, Dong Zhongshu felt that Zhang Xuezhou seemed to have been unaffected and that the other party's luck seemed to be quite good.

If their schedules hadn't differed, Dong Zhongshu thought Zhang Xuezhou would likely have dragged Xu Yuan to the Agricultural School's headquarters.

Based on Zhang Xuezhou's current alchemy skills, Dong Zhongshu felt that Zhang Xuezhou could only fool cultivators at Xu Yuan's level.

However, people like Xu Yuan with low cultivation levels do have a great need for low-grade pills, so pairing him with Zhang Xuezhou would be a good match.

"He'll work hard as long as there's a benefit to be had!"

Xu Yuan's hostility towards the imperial court was almost blatant. Dong Zhongshu never expected that after just one night apart, Xu Yuan would still be willing to go to Chang'an City in the future to find Zhang Xuezhou by searching for him.

This left him deeply disappointed.

If anyone in the imperial court could persuade the various schools of thought to surrender like Zhang Xuezhou did, they wouldn't have gone their separate ways.

For the current imperial court, suppression is almost constant.

If you follow the court, the court will incorporate you; if you don't follow the court, even neutrality won't work.

Confucian School scholars are flexible and adaptable, and can change their views very quickly. However, many people from other schools of thought are inflexible and their ideas are hard to change. They still hold onto the free spirit of the time when heroes were fighting each other more than a hundred years ago.

Times are changing, and these schools of thought failed to keep up with the times, eventually declining one by one.

At its peak, nearly two hundred large schools of thought vied for supremacy through battles of wits, strength, and strategy. But now, there are fewer than one hundred schools of thought with known names within the Han Dynasty.

It is not uncommon for sects like the Yin-Yang School to have only a few members left.

In contrast, there were schools of thought closer to the imperial court. For example, Dong Zhongshu had thousands of students. Even though Dong Zhongshu only represented one branch of Confucian School, he still had the potential to become a large school of thought.

Many thoughts raced through his mind. Only after Xu Ji and Xu Yuan took their leave did the merchant group depart amidst the villagers' gazes, which were filled with a mixture of fear, apprehension, and gratitude.

"This all feels like a dream. Will I really make it to the Northern Border Military Region for treatment?"

In just one month, the merchant group lost three members.

Looking at the two support wagons he had to give up, Zhao Liang felt that the journey ahead was long and arduous.

"Accountant Du, should we continue along the side road or the main road?" Zhao Liang called out from the carriage ahead.

"If you want to reach the Northern Border in the next three months, take the side road; if you wish to reach the Northern Border normally in about six months, take the main road," Dong Zhongshu said. "I originally wanted to take a shortcut while you and Dongfang Shuo are still in good health, but I didn't expect to be stranded at the inn!"

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't told them there was an inn in the village, we wouldn't have entered this village plagued by evil spirits," Zhang Debiao said remorsefully.

"Maintaining order in this area is our duty, and it's no problem for me to do it," Zhao Liang waved his hand and said, "It's just that I'm currently not up to the task and can hardly handle this kind of work again!"

Zhao Liang's eyes flickered.

Trying to hurry up might inevitably lead to risks, while traveling slowly could worsen his condition.

This choice was difficult, not only for Dong Zhongshu, but also for Zhao Liang, who struggled to choose the best option.

Until they entered a rugged, roadless area, the carriage could no longer carry passengers, and Zhao Liang did not make a decision even after getting off the ground to continue his journey.

"Anything works!"

"I have no objection!"

"Follow the young master!"

"We'll listen to the young master!"

As for the statements made by the members of the merchant guild, let's leave that aside.

"Manager Dongfang, what do you think?"

Zhang Xuezhou was probably the only one in the merchant guild who was carefree and unaffected.

No matter where he is, Zhang Xuezhou is always the same.

Zhang Xuezhou's indifference was genuine; unlike the other members of the merchant group who were caught in a dilemma.

Zhao Liang asked in a low voice.

"You guys can decide," Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand and said, "I can't interfere in this kind of thing. If something goes wrong, wouldn't they blame me?"

Many people blamed themselves for the tiger demon's calamity, including Dong Zhongshu.

But Zhang Xuezhou didn't feel anything.

Firstly, it wasn't his decision, and secondly, he had already done his best. Regardless of how many people died, he felt no guilt.

He wouldn't allow Zhang Xuezhou to interfere with the itinerary, lest someone die in the future and he be blamed.

Even Dong Zhongshu couldn't bear this responsibility, let alone Zhang Xuezhou, a passenger who was just tagging along on the tour.

"I don't blame myself..."

Zhao Liang pursed his lips and read it aloud, then belatedly realized why everyone was agreeing with him when responding to this topic.

This gave him a real headache.

As they hurried ahead, Dong Zhongshu asked Zhang Xuezhou in a low voice.

"Um... would taking the main road prevent any accidents?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in a low voice.

"No," Dong Zhongshu shook his head. "Accidents can happen on any road, big or small. If you run into one, there's nothing you can do!"

"Then there's nothing to choose from!"

Zhang Xuezhou shrugged.

The saying "a long night is full of dreams" clearly applies to the planning of this trip.

For Zhang Xuezhou, a slow and safe journey was more important, but for Dong Zhongshu, the risks would increase over time, even if they took the main road.

This is a choice about future risks; no matter which choice you make, you will face unknown risks.

For Zhang Xuezhou, it would be more prudent to end this long journey quickly and decisively.

"Let's take the main road next!"

However, after careful consideration, Zhao Liang chose a more prudent approach that would be more suitable in the short term.

Zhang Xuezhou had no objection to this choice.

Dong Zhongshu frowned deeply.

If the narrow path is unsafe, the main road is obviously no exception.

Traveling down the main road from Ba County, it took only sixteen days for the merchant caravan, including Dong Zhongshu, to encounter trouble.