The more cowardly a person is, the more wild they are; I've driven the villainous minister craz

“At this time of year, hunters and woodcutters will not go up the mountain, and ordinary people will not risk encountering wild animals. The sudden appearance of thick smoke from Wushaoling must be unusual.”

County Commandant Cheng immediately understood and agreed, "I'll arrange it right away."

After County Magistrate Cheng left, Yun Shang stood on the city wall watching the thick smoke dissipate, his hands hanging at his sides slowly tightening.

Just then, he heard footsteps and rapid breathing behind him.

Before Zhou Shi'an arrived, his voice preceded his arrival, "Brother Yun, I've found out some things..."

Yun Shang suddenly turned around.

Zhou Shi'an's forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat. After catching his breath, he said, "I found out! Someone did see a heavily pregnant woman talking to my sister-in-law at the spice shop today."

"Based on what the passersby said, I pieced together the story. It seems that the woman used her pregnancy to lower her sister-in-law's guard and wanted her to take her home. The sister-in-law probably became suspicious and wanted to leave, but the woman did something to her."

“Someone did see my sister-in-law and that woman leave together, and my sister-in-law looked strange. At the time, that person just felt something was off, but didn’t think much of it. It was only when I went to ask that I realized something was wrong.”

She said that the last thing she saw was her sister-in-law and that woman entering Chang Le Fang.

Chang Le Fang was the most chaotic place in the East Market, where merchants from all over the country lived. Due to the frequent movement of people, many of them were not registered.

In other words, finding a heavily pregnant woman in Chang Le Fang is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Yun Shang's expression darkened, and he was about to speak when he heard Zhou Shi'an say happily, "Brother Yun, you would never guess how lucky I am!"

"I thought I wouldn't be able to find out anything from Chang Le Fang, but when I asked the ward master, he happened to remember that woman!"

Yun Shang's eyes flickered.

Zhou Shi'an continued, "According to the ward master, that woman came to Chang Le Fang three months ago. At that time, she was already very pregnant. When she rented a house from the ward master, he asked her if she was about to give birth."

"But the shop owner didn't expect that the woman's belly would remain the same size every time he saw her later."

"After three months without giving birth and with her belly not growing, the neighborhood head found it strange and would often go to the house that the woman rented. He often saw her leave at dawn and not return until dark."

Yun Shang asked calmly, "Can her registered identity be found?"

Zhou Shi'an shook his head, "It's a fake identity; we can't find anything about it."

Yun Shang had expected this and was not surprised.

"The owner of Chang Le Fang also said that the woman must have been going to Wushaoling often."

Wushaoling?

Yun Shang looked at Zhou Shi'an.

“There is a kind of thorn that grows on Wushaoling. It sticks firmly to the clothes of passersby. The ward master once saw that woman’s clothes were covered with that kind of thorn.”

Therefore, it is highly likely that the group of human traffickers who abducted Yu Wan are in Wushaoling.

Having basically confirmed this information, Yun Shang put away the map in his hand and walked towards the city gate.

Zhou Shi'an quickly caught up, "Where are you going?"

Yun Shang glanced at him, "I'm going to Huidong Pass."

“These human traffickers will definitely try to transport the abducted girls out of the area. Huidong and Huixi are the only exits. I will guard Huidong Pass, and you will watch Huixi Pass for me. If you find anything unusual, you must detain them.”

Zhou Shi'an readily agreed.

……

At this moment, Yu San Niang appeared at the dilapidated temple in Wushaoling.

The bearded men were all taken aback by her unexpected arrival at night.

"Third Sister, what brings you here?" the bearded man asked as he stepped forward.

Yu San Niang's face was gloomy. She glanced at the woman who was tied up and placed in a corner of the dilapidated temple, and said coldly, "What happened? Why did smoke suddenly appear?"

A hint of anger flashed across the bearded man's face as he said, "Some troublemakers knocked over the candlesticks in the cellar and set the damp straw in the cellar on fire."

Yu San Niang's face grew even uglier. "Didn't I warn you to be careful in everything you do? How dare you put candles in the cellar? Were you deliberately trying to let these people escape?!"

The bearded man was given a thorough dressing-down, and his face turned ugly.

Seeing this, the seventh brother quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Third Sister, what's done is done, there's no use saying anything now. The most important thing now is to get these people out of here as soon as possible."

Yu San Niang gave Lao Qi an approving look and nodded, "Make preparations immediately. We'll leave tonight before dawn."

A drowsy man was quite surprised, "Why leave in the middle of the night?"

Yu San Niang gave him a look as if he were an idiot, and said irritably, "Would hunters and woodcutters be out in a godforsaken place like Wushaoling at this time of year?"

The bearded man frowned, then, as if struck by a thought, his face turned ashen.

Yu San Niang glanced at him.

Suppressing her anger, she explained to the others, "With such thick smoke just now, the authorities must have noticed it long ago. If we don't leave, are we just going to wait for them to come and arrest us?"

The moment the word "government" was uttered, the men's faces changed, and the sleepiness in their eyes vanished instantly.

Not far away, Yu Wan listened silently to their conversation, glancing out without making a sound.

It should be close to dawn, around 3 to 5 a.m. She remembered that Wushaoling was closer to the Huidongguan exit of Huicheng County. If these people were in a hurry to leave, they would definitely choose to go through Huidongguan.

If all goes well, you should be able to reach Huidongguan by 5 a.m. at the latest.

It was just before dawn, and that was when the guards were most exhausted.

The guards will certainly be more lax than at other times.

If Yun Shang hadn't arrived in time, or if the guards hadn't thoroughly checked them, it would have been even more difficult to find them once they were taken out of Huicheng County.

Yu Wanxin felt a little uneasy, but seeing Er Ya's expectant gaze beside her, she did not show any seriousness.

Soon, they were blindfolded and packed into boxes in batches. As they were being pushed into the boxes, Yu Wan smelled a rich aroma of tea.

It seems that these people are using tea merchants as a disguise.

They were most likely hidden inside the tea box.

Yu Wan assessed the size of the box and guessed that these people must have made partitions inside the tea box.

She had previously discovered that these human traffickers were targeting young, petite girls who could be easily packed into large boxes.

But what if someone makes a commotion during the officers' inspection? Wouldn't that expose them?

The moment the thought flashed through her mind, Yu Wan suddenly smelled a familiar fragrance.

Her nerves tensed instantly as a thought popped into her head.

The tea in the box had been adulterated with a strange fragrance that would make them weak in the limbs, lose their voice, and faint!

When she was first locked up, she only smelled the strong aroma of tea; the exotic fragrance was completely masked by the aroma of tea!

No wonder! No wonder these human traffickers weren't afraid of them making a scene and dared to stuff them into the tea box so brazenly!