Chapter 128. The Plan
At dawn on September 28, while the sky was only beginning to brighten,
Han Li led Huo Gang, Yuan Danqing, and the others in a grand advance toward the front line.
Before departing, Xiao Han made a special detour to Changlin Ward to bid Xu Yuan farewell.
“You’re running logistics on this trip, while I’m heading to the front line. It really does feel like our duties are clearly divided.”
Xiao Han shook his head with a smile. “Once we get back, let’s et up again.”
Xu Yuan nodded. “Take care.”
Xiao Han patted him on the shoulder, said nothing further, and turned to leave.
Only after watching that group disappear at the end of the street did Xu Yuan withdraw his gaze and step onto the carriage that had long since been prepared.
The wheels rumbled as it rolled out of Changlin Ward and headed in the direction of the Shangyang Residence.
…
At the storehouse of the Shangyang Residence.
Xu Yuan swung himself down from his horse and swept his gaze across the busy courtyard before him.
Seven or eight carriages stood lined up in a row, each one piled high with neatly bundled wooden crates. Seals had been pasted onto the outside of the boxes, and a faint dicinal fragrance could be slled drifting from them.
“Workshop Master Xu!”
A slightly plump middle-aged man hurried over, all smiles, cupping his hands in greeting.
This man was Liu Kun, the five-ridian steward responsible for dispatching this shipnt of supplies.
Xu Yuan gave a slight nod. “Steward Liu.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t dare!”
Liu Kun waved his hands repeatedly, his manner respectful. “If Workshop Master Xu does not mind, just call Old Liu.”
Xu Yuan smiled faintly without bothering with formalities, his gaze falling on the carriages. “Eight carriages? There are actually this many?”
Following his line of sight, Old Liu let out a bitter smile and lowered his voice.
“There’s no helping it. The previous batch was intercepted, and certain places in the Level Four zone are said to be close to running dry as well. So we had no choice but to transport a larger load at once, just enough to hold out for a while.”
Xu Yuan’s brows drew together slightly, but he said nothing. He rely circled halfway around the carriages, his eyes sweeping one by one across the wheels, the crates, and the faces of the escort personnel.
Old Liu followed behind him. Seeing him act like this, he began to feel uneasy, yet found it awkward to ask too many questions.
A mont later, Xu Yuan stopped and suddenly asked, “Old Liu, whenever we’ve transported resources in the past, have we always taken the sa route?”
Old Liu was taken aback, then nodded. “Yes. We’ve always moved together. Concentrating the escort force makes things safer too. Workshop Master Xu, are you saying…?”
He did not finish the sentence, but a trace of searching curiosity had already appeared in his eyes.
Xu Yuan did not answer imdiately. He rely lifted his gaze and looked around.
Beyond the courtyard wall, he could vaguely see a few figures dressed like nial workers moving about. It was impossible to tell whether they were rely passing by or deliberately spying.
He withdrew his gaze and lowered his voice. “What I an is, do we absolutely have to move with the main convoy?”
Old Liu froze, then quickly understood. His expression shifted slightly. “Workshop Master Xu, are you saying… the Bai Family might co to raid us again? That can’t be possible, can it? They still dare?”
He paused, then added, “Besides, I heard that even when the two families fight, there’s still a certain tacit understanding and so rules between them. Would the Bai Family really dare go that far?”
Xu Yuan shook his head. “I’m only saying it’s possible.”
His expression remained calm as he briefly recounted the various incidents that had occurred recently in the Level Three zone, along with the sudden appearance of the Bai Family’s seven-ridian expert.
“Now that the Bai Family has been forced to this point, I’d say they probably do have the nerve.”
Xu Yuan looked at Old Liu and said evenly, “Besides, the more impossible sothing seems, the more unexpected it becos when soone actually does it. Don’t you think so?”
Old Liu nodded instinctively, then frowned again. “Did you report all of this to the higher-ups?”
“I did.”
Xu Yuan said flatly, “Battle Overseer Han did not adopt the suggestion. He probably believes the Bai Family won’t intercept another convoy, since the front line is the true main battlefield.”
Hearing that, Old Liu relaxed slightly. Since the higher-ups had already said so, then the problem should not be too serious… right?
But then Xu Yuan changed the tone of his words.
“However, those above us can afford several mistakes in their decisions. We only have one life.”
The words were spoken lightly, yet they hit Old Liu like a bucket of cold water, jolting him on the spot.
Xu Yuan looked at him, his gaze steady. “I believe that anything not yet certain should be considered from the worst possible angle. What do you think?”
Old Liu fell silent for a mont, then nodded heavily. “That makes sense.”
He had survived within the Shangyang Residence for many years and climbed to the position of five-ridian steward by relying on exactly four words: careful and cautious.
Now Xu Yuan’s speech had struck directly at the heart of his instincts.
“Then what thod are we using on this trip…?” he asked in a lowered voice.
After a brief pause, Xu Yuan slowly explained.
“We divide the supplies into several groups and send them along different routes. The truly important resources will be personally escorted by … the rest will serve as smoke and fog, bait we can release for them.”
“After all, Old Liu, you don’t want anything to go wrong this ti either, do you?”
Old Liu’s heart shuddered.
This shipnt concerned the supplies of two separate zones. If sothing went wrong again, life afterward would not be easy.
In the future, even applying for a little bit of resources would probably get blocked at every step.
Those people above would not care whether you had run into an unforeseen accident.
“I understand.”
He nodded solemnly.
Xu Yuan inclined his head, then added, “Rember to scramble the routes as much as possible. As for exactly how to split them…”
He pondered for a mont, then began giving detailed instructions.
Old Liu listened with great attention, nodding from ti to ti and committing every detail firmly to mory.
…
That night, the moonlight was dim and hazy.
A convoy flying the banner of the Shangyang Residence rumbled along, its horses trampling dry branches underfoot as it slowly crossed a stone bridge.
But just as the convoy reached the center of the bridge, countless shadows suddenly poured out from the darkness on both sides and surrounded it like a flood.
Slashed throats, broken necks, muffled clubs…
In less than half the ti it took a stick of incense to burn, the entire convoy had been completely subdued.
“Street Guard Yang, we’ve already searched everything.”
A man in black hurried forward and reported in a low voice,
“There wasn’t a single five-ridian fighter in this team, and what the wagons were carrying were only ordinary supplies like bandages and hemostatic dicine.”
The martial artist addressed as Street Guard Yang frowned, suspicion flashing through his eyes. “Did you verify it clearly?”
“We interrogated them.”
The man in black replied quietly, “The Shangyang Residence learned its lesson this ti and split the supply line into six teams. Only the most critical one has a six-ridian fighter leading it. The others are all decoys.”
“Split into six teams?”
Street Guard Yang stroked his chin, thoughtful. “Then who is the six-ridian leading the real one?”
“They said it’s Xu Yuan, the Workshop Master of Changlin Ward.”
At that, Street Guard Yang arched a brow. “Xu Yuan? The one who made both Workshop Master Chen and Workshop Master He suffered losses?”
“That’s him.”
Street Guard Yang fell silent for a mont, then suddenly gave a cold laugh. “I’d long heard that this man was cautious and prudent. Seeing it for myself this ti, the reputation is indeed well deserved.”
“Quickly send this information back. Just because I ca up empty here doesn’t an the others also failed to find anything.”
The man in black accepted the order and departed.
In the night, the looted convoy remained motionless atop the bridge, the supplies on the wagons turned over into complete disarray.
Far away, a few night birds could vaguely be heard taking startled flight before vanishing into the boundless darkness.
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