Chapter 227 – Loss of Son and Grain (Part Three)
After a brief rest at the tea house, the grain transport team resumed their journey. Hejian County was not far ahead; just half a day’s effort and they could finally escape the burdensome mission of transporting grain… With this thought in mind, the many cooks felt a surge of energy coursing through their limbs.
Eventually, they arrived at the city gate of Hejian County just before sunset.
Due to the long procession, the Escort Group Leader could no longer charge in on horseback like before; he had to stay patient and wait for the team to slowly file in.
At that moment, a clever-looking cook jogged up to inquire, “Sir, as soon as we deliver this grain inside the city, we’re done, right?”
The Escort Group Leader rolled his eyes and barked angrily, “Who told you that? Just wait for the orders and stop prying into things that don’t concern you!”
The cook was left wondering who it was he was supposed to ask.
This grain transport was massive, and they had drawn quite the attention along the way; Meng Hunyun should’ve known they were coming by now.
However, even now, it was still unclear what that elusive bandit was planning or when and how they would take over the grain shipment. All he could do for now was wait for the other party to send someone, then hand over both the people and the grain in one go.
Lost in thought, the queue was finally nearing his position, and the Escort Group Leader glanced at the tall, magnificent city gate, his brow furrowing slightly.
The city gate guards were on a rotating shift, and today’s guards were not the same ones as before, so they didn’t immediately recognize the Escort Group Leader as the mastermind behind the gate’s bloody incident. All eyes were on the grain caravan, and suspicion began to brew.
A city gate guard stepped forward and asked, “Where are you from? What do you have loaded on your carts?”
His beady, darting eyes scanned the cooks and the soldiers escorting the grain, calculating how he might squeeze out a little profit.
Such antics were nothing new for them; they often took a cut in the shadows, compelling the townsfolk passing through the gate to pay a little “respect” money. The common folk wouldn’t dare confront officials, and even though city gate guards weren’t precisely officials, most commoners still bit the bullet and allowed themselves to be squeezed dry, spending their riches to avert disaster.
As long as things didn’t escalate, the higher-ups usually turned a blind eye, making the city gate guard a pretty lucrative position.
After asking, the guard swaggered forward to inspect the cart’s grain, even shoving a blocking cook aside.
The cook dared not protest and could only watch the Escort Group Leader anxiously.
“Seems rather solid… Do you folks have someone in charge? What’s loaded on the cart?”
The guard pressed his hand against a grain sack; by feel alone, he had mostly guessed what was inside.
But he was looking for trouble, wanting the person in charge of the grain transport to offer a bribe, so he wasn’t ready to back down. He staged a motion to draw his knife to stab open a grain sack, saying, “I suspect there’s something wrong with the cargo on this cart; let’s open everything and check it out!”
However, he had only drawn his knife halfway when a shadowy whip zipped down from above, cracking against his arm and drawing spouts of blood.
“You blind fool.”
The Escort Group Leader coldly tucked away the whip, watching as the guard rolled on the ground in pain.
Other townsfolk, sensing the commotion, wore expressions of alarm, fearful that they might be collateral damage from the Escort Group Leader’s whip.
“What? You think you lowly dogs can touch the grain transported by the Meng Clan?”
With a cold snort, the Escort Group Leader lightly commanded, “Go!” and his horse obediently stepped forward, ready to enter the city.
At that moment, the cook responsible for one of the carts noticed something and pulled out a suspicious item wedged beneath a grain sack.
This thing… hadn’t been here before, right?
Unraveling it, he saw a crude black drawing of a human head on coarse cloth, startling him to scream, which attracted the Escort Group Leader’s attention from up front. Irritated, he tightened his brow and bellowed, “What kind of ghostly shouting is that?!”
Ignoring the rocky ground, the cook hurriedly knelt, hands trembling as he held up the crude cloth.
“Sir, it’s not that I intended to disturb you; it’s just… this ghastly thing…”
The item in the cook’s hands caught the Escort Group Leader’s interest.
He dismounted, bent over, and snatched the crude cloth that the cook was clumsily holding up. Upon unfolding it, his complexion instantly turned grim.
If a mere cook couldn’t recognize it, how could he fail to see it?
The crude cloth depicted a head that unmistakably belonged to their Meng Clan’s Second Young Master—Meng Liang!
Even though the sketch was rough, it retained the most distinctive features of the person, making it instantly recognizable.
The Escort Group Leader clenched his fists and shouted, “Quick, tell me, where did this come from?”
The city gate guard, still writhing in agony on the ground from the whip strike, gave up any pretense of secrecy, spilling the truth in fear.
“Reporting to you, Sir, this was found under the grain sack! Previously… it wasn’t here!”
Just thinking about the head depicted on the rough cloth sent cold sweat coursing down the cook’s back, his heart racing with anxiety.
“Grain sack?” The Escort Group Leader murmured, leaping off his horse, brushing aside a blocking cook, and walked straight to the grain cart. Upon inspecting it closely, he found another piece of the same coarse cloth, which bore no head but instead had peculiar patterns.
Instantly, cold dread gripped his heart as he shouted, “Everyone, check the grain carts for any suspicious items!”
He was reeling with unease, and at that moment, the on-duty city gate guards were relentless, pressing forward to draw their blades.
“How dare these rabble challenge authority and harm others in public?!”
The Escort Group Leader sneered coldly, “I don’t just dare to harm; I dare to kill! You come any closer, and I’ll put you down!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers escorting the grain surged forward, their weapons pointed at the city gate guards, creating a tense standoff. But there were only about twenty to thirty city gate guards, while those escorting the grain numbered over two hundred!
At this point, every grain cart had uncovered one to three pieces of the coarse cloth, ranging in size, all looking as though they had been haphazardly torn.
Most of the coarse cloth bore strange patterns, while some displayed crude, ugly texts.
With a frosty expression, the Escort Group Leader slowly pieced together the recovered materials, revealing a complete image!
Beside this image were some small characters. The Escort Group Leader closely scrutinized them, and after reading, his face turned deathly pale.
[You’re taking your sweet time; if you want Meng Liang to live, hurry and deliver the grain here, or else… time waits for no one. Left by the Meng Clan traitor, Meng Hunyun.]
This… was truly the height of arrogance!
The Escort Group Leader felt an urge to tear the rough cloth apart. However, he couldn’t; Meng Hunyun’s message was clear—they were in desperate need of grain, and patience was running thin. If they delayed any longer, Second Young Master Meng Liang’s life would be in jeopardy.
If Meng Liang died, so would he.
