Ten riders thundered back at full speed. One man in grey robes urgently reined in his horse and reported urgently outside the carriage window. Walker, there is indeed a problem at Seven Li Gorge. The cliff walls on both sides of the canyon have been secretly hollowed out. If someone pushes from the shadows, the cliffs will collapse in an instant. As for the two sides of the canyon, we found no suspicious persons. We were eager to report back and did not search deeper.
There really was a problem! Fu Zuoxuan and Jin Huahai both felt their hearts leap in alarm. Luckily Jiang Yinian had been alert, otherwise the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Fu Zuoxuan suddenly ordered, Lock the carriages!
With his command, a signal arrow shot out. Its sharp whistle sliced across the top of the convoy, issuing the order to the relevant personnel.
Yu Qing, standing on the carriage shaft, turned his head and saw the signal arrow fly past overhead.
A man in grey robes sitting sideways on the carriage shaft, also a Sinan Prefecture escort, immediately jumped up at the sound. He made the driver get down, then pushed Yu Qing. Go back inside and sit properly.
Yu Qing could only obediently return to the carriage. The grey-robed man lifted the curtain and shouted to those inside, There is nothing worth seeing outside. Heads and hands, take them away from the windows. If your head gets chopped off, no one will take responsibility. After confirming they obeyed, he stood up, grabbed a grid-like iron railing above the carriage, pulled it out, and let it drop straight down. With a clang it locked over the carriage exit.
Those inside jumped at the metallic clash. They also noticed that, at the same time the iron grid came down from the roof, iron meshes slid across both side windows, sealing them shut.
The grey-robed man standing on the shaft took a key from his belt, inserted it into the lock above the door, turned it twice, and the iron bars sealing the door were instantly locked by pins all around.
Those inside were shocked. Someone shouted, What is the meaning of this?
The grey-robed man ignored them, slipped the key back into his belt, called the driver back up, and returned to his seat.
Yu Qing grabbed the iron bars and shook them, then quickly checked around. Only then did he realise the four walls of the carriage had hidden metal grids built in all along. The entire carriage had instantly become a metal prison cage. The gaps in the bars were very narrow, allowing at most an arm to reach out. A group of people had been locked up like pigs.
It was not just this carriage. From outside the cage, one could see the carriages ahead had all been locked the same way. Quite a few shouts rang out there too.
The key point was that none of the examinees knew why they were being locked up like this.
The real reason would not be told to them.
Not even the military escort troops following the convoy felt surprised. They asked each other what was going on.
The book boys at the rear of the group all looked forward, wondering what had happened.
The official explanation was that all vehicles had been reinforced. In reality, only forty carriages had undergone special modifications, and only those carrying the examinees had been altered.
Inside the lead carriage, Fu Zuoxuan heard the chaotic shouts from behind caused by the locking. He said, Tell those scholars that everything we are doing is for their own good. Shouting and yelling is undignified. Order them to cooperate with the escort, otherwise we will report them all to the prefect for severe punishment!
Yes! The subordinate obeyed and left.
Jiang Yinian had already gone outside because of the commotion. He ran to check the carriages behind, saw that the vehicles had been designed this way all along, immediately turned back, and climbed into the lead carriage. Seeing Fu Zuoxuan and Jin Huahai looking completely unconcerned, he instantly understood something. These two must know things he did not.
The two did indeed know things others did not. People from Sinan Prefecture had already secretly communicated with Lu Jiwei and reached an agreement that could not be spoken of openly. If any accident occurred during the escort, all examinees were to be locked inside the carriages immediately. Even in death, the examinees must die inside the carriages. Not a single examinee’s head was to be taken by demon cultivators for a reward.
Jiang Yinian immediately asked, Lord Fu, why have the escort carriages suddenly become prison wagons?
Fu Zuoxuan said calmly, Old Jiang, the situation is obvious. The chance of forcibly taking an examinee’s head from such a strong escort force is small. A clever ploy is far more likely. Therefore I believe that, to guard against any possibility, protecting them in advance with fine steel cages is the best choice.
Jiang Yinian said in a deep voice, Lord Fu, if you do this and something really happens, these examinees trapped inside the carriages will have no chance to escape at all. There will be no flexibility whatsoever. They can only stay trapped and wait for death!
Jin Huahai spoke up to help, Old Jiang, you exaggerate. Ask yourself, if even we cannot protect them, could they possibly escape from this area? If we cannot protect them, they have only one road to death in this situation. Borrowing fine steel cages first gives them protection. If they really cannot avoid disaster, the cages can also stop demon creatures from easily taking their heads. If the demons cannot succeed for a long time, they cannot escape either. That will be the moment for us to slaughter them!
Jiang Yinian understood instantly. Once the situation lost control, not only must the demon cultivators be prevented from succeeding, but the examinees’ lives must also be used as bait!
This was no small matter. He did not believe the two men before him could make such a big decision on their own. Added to the fact that the prison carriages had clearly been prepared in advance, he understood. This was an order from above.
Seeing him remain silent, Fu Zuoxuan said, Gentlemen, the decision before us must be made quickly. I want to hear your high opinions.
Jin Huahai said with a stern face, In my view, first let my Sinan Prefecture people guard both sides of the gorge to prevent the demons from collapsing the cliffs. Then the main force will pass through quickly.
Fu Zuoxuan did not comment. He looked at the other man instead. Old Jiang, what is your opinion?
Jiang Yinian shook his head slightly. My opinion is for the whole convoy to turn around. There is no time to lose. Change the rear into the front immediately and withdraw at the fastest speed to leave this area where the fog is growing thicker.
Jin Huahai’s tone became serious. Old Jiang, do you mean that my Sinan Prefecture’s hundred hands, plus Liezhou’s fifty great archers, and over a thousand escort troops, should be scared into fleeing in panic by a bunch of demon cultivators? You may be able to afford losing that face, but my Sinan Prefecture cannot afford to lose this reputation!
Jiang Yinian replied, Brother, you are still worrying about face at a time like this? Battles are not fought that way! Let me ask you, the gorge is seven li long. Even if your Sinan Prefecture sends out all hundred hands to set up defences, what can you achieve? Can you defend the entire gorge completely, or can you scare those demons into not acting rashly? Brother, confidence is good, but there is no need to be overconfident. The demons are not blind. They know Sinan Prefecture people are involved in the escort. Since they dare set an ambush here, they are not afraid of your Sinan Prefecture.
A seven-li-long gorge defended by your hundred men cannot possibly be without gaps. Moreover, with this fog as cover, it is useless even if everyone charges together. The demons only need to knock down the cliff at one point and the whole convoy will be blocked instantly. If the cliff behind is also collapsed, the consequences will be far beyond what Sinan Prefecture’s face can resolve.
At these words, Fu Zuoxuan’s expression changed and Jin Huahai tightened his jaw without speaking.
Jiang Yinian continued, If there were no fog, with my fifty great archers present, the other side would not dare act recklessly. This fog is clearly meant to neutralise the threat of the fifty great archers. Why did the other side not release this demon fog around the post station where we stayed overnight? At night plus the demon fog, would it not be easier to act? Obviously it is because of the advance party’s efforts. The other side had no chance to arrange it and feared alerting us.
Therefore it can be confirmed that such a large area of fog cannot be summoned whenever they want. For the fog to appear here, it must have been prepared in advance. Withdraw immediately. As long as we can pull out of this fog zone, the other side will no longer be able to use demon fog to create illusions so easily. At that time, with the deterrence of my fifty great archers, they may not dare act rashly.
As long as they do not dare act, we will have time to find out exactly what this demon fog is about. Then it will be the turn of those who released the fog to be afraid. I do not believe they will still dare wait here without fleeing. Basically, once we withdraw from this fog zone, the demons will miss their chance to strike at us. Lord Fu, Brother Jin, what old man is worried about now is that those demons may not necessarily let the convoy withdraw.
Hearing this, Fu Zuoxuan no longer asked for Jin Huahai’s opinion. He already knew whose words made more sense. The situation was urgent and Sinan Prefecture’s face could not be considered now. He gave the order directly. Do as Old Jiang suggests. Change the rear into the front and withdraw at the fastest speed immediately!
Jin Huahai remained silent and offered no objection this time.
The rear became the front. The examinees locked inside the carriages, as well as the book boys, all felt panicked. The escort troops had clearly entered combat readiness.
Although Yu Qing did not know the specific situation, he could tell from the scene that the problem was clearly serious. He shook the iron bars again with more force.
If something changed, he had to find a way out. Otherwise what was the point of being trapped in this carriage? If demons really attacked, there would be nowhere to hide. How could the dignified head of Linglong Temple be trapped here and watch himself get killed?
The iron bars were solid and hard to bend. His gaze involuntarily turned to the grey-robed escort’s waist. He had seen clearly earlier that the key to open this prison carriage was on the man’s belt.
However it was obvious that asking would be useless. The man would definitely not open the door for him.
For the time being he had no solution. Until things reached an absolute point, he dared not act recklessly. Otherwise he might be killed by Sinan Prefecture people before the demons even got to him. He could only wait and see for now…
Granny Rat, hiding in the tree canopy, said in a sharp voice, It looks like they have turned around and are withdrawing.
The fog grew thicker and movement on the official road could no longer be seen clearly.
Gao Yuan stared hard at the target spot. Correct. Look at the flags being raised. They have changed direction. They are withdrawing and heading back.
Several of them successively looked towards Hei Yunxiao. Earlier they had not known how they had been exposed. Now, seeing such thick fog, they belatedly understood. It must have been a clever plan that backfired because of this fog.
Hei Yunxiao’s jaw tightened. He stared at the target for a while, then a ruthless look finally flashed across his face. He shouted down below, Send a few brothers to block both their retreat and advance paths!
Yes! The brothers below obeyed and ran off.
Jiang Shan bared his teeth and said, Things have come to this and you still want to force it?