She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

Zhao Youcai stammered, "Reporting to the general, those people were just escorted to Jinhua Street by my subordinates. Later, we encountered you chasing your horse, so I helped you chase the horse and abandoned those people!"

Zhao Youcai spoke in a softer and softer voice, afraid of angering Meng Qi.

"You are truly loyal!"

After Meng Qi finished speaking coldly, he said to the guards following behind him, "Immediately issue the order to close the city gates! No personnel or livestock are allowed to enter or leave without my general's written order! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

The military order sounded like thunder, and the soldiers on the city wall immediately sprang into action. The creaking of the winches and the clanging of the chains mingled as the massive city gate was slowly closed in an instant.

Then, he pointed at Zhao Youcai and shouted, "You, immediately take men and find that group of horse traders for this general, or you will be punished for dereliction of duty!"

Sweat rolled down Zhao Youcai's forehead like soybeans, and his body trembled involuntarily. After clasping his hands in response, he stumbled as he turned around and almost tripped over the stirrup.

He composed himself, forced a calm demeanor, and led a group of soldiers hurriedly to the place where he had previously abandoned Song Siyuan and the others.

However, when they arrived, the scene before them made Zhao Youcai's heart sink instantly—the place was deserted, and there wasn't even a trace of Song Siyuan and the others.

His face turned deathly pale, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead even more profusely.

"Search carefully! Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find those people!" Zhao Youcai's voice was filled with despair and fear.

He knew that if he couldn't find the person, he would not only lose his position, but might even lose his life. His heart was filled with anxiety and unease, as if the whole world had collapsed at that moment.

If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have helped Meng Qi chase the horse. Now, they haven't caught the horse, and they've even lost sight of Meng Qi.

This is truly a case of shooting oneself in the foot!

When Zhao Youcai led his men to search the entire city for Song Siyuan and the others, they had already reached the city gate and happened to learn that Meng Qi had ordered the city gates to be sealed off and them arrested.

The group quietly left, found a secluded corner to hide, and discussed their next move.

"I never expected that Meng Qi would turn back after chasing us out of the city!" Song Siyuan said in frustration.

They had thought their plan would go smoothly, but Meng Qi's wariness turned out to be so great that things fell into a stalemate once again.

"Boss, the city gates are closed now, and they're searching us everywhere. What should we do?"

"Knowing that the trapping plan has failed, the city lord will definitely devise a new one. We need to find a safe place to hide quickly and wait for an opportunity. When the city lord and his men make their move, we'll act as their inside men."

On the other side, as Wanfeng ran, it slowed down when it realized that the people behind it were no longer chasing it.

When they reached the edge of the woods, Shen Man spotted it immediately and called out, "Wanfeng, why are you back so soon? Have you finished your business?"

Wanfeng neighed at Shen Man: "Master, I did as you instructed and went to the most bustling street in Mi Kingdom, and turned it into a complete mess."

Later, a man dressed in silver armor and riding a white horse tried to capture me and chased me all the way to the city gate.

"Master, today was so exciting!"

After hearing Wanfeng's neighing, Shen Man's expression grew even more solemn.

The chaos in the most bustling street of the Mi Kingdom would surely arouse Meng Qi's high vigilance, and the man in silver armor and riding a white horse might just be Meng Qi.

He chased Wanfeng to the city gate but suddenly turned back, which meant that he might have realized something, and also signaled the failure of their trapping plan.

Just then, the team members that Shen Man had sent to gather information near the city gate returned.

"Lord of the city, General Meng, something terrible has happened! Meng Qi has ordered the city gates closed, prohibiting all personnel and livestock from entering or leaving. Furthermore, he has ordered a search for Song Siyuan and his group..."

"Man'er, Meng Qi is so alert, I'm afraid he won't be easy to deal with!" Shen Han said worriedly upon hearing this.

"Yes, we should have ambushed him at the city gate. We never expected him to be so cunning!" Cui Jinrong was also very annoyed.

“If the covert approach doesn’t work, then we’ll have to take a more direct one. Tomorrow, I will go and meet him as the city lord of Crimson Flame Border City!” Shen Man said after thinking for a moment.

"Man'er, what reason do you have for seeing him?" Shen Han asked curiously.

"I'm not going to see him, but to request an audience with the Emperor of Mi Kingdom. The reason is that I want to discuss an arms deal with him."

Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard Shen Man say this.

Shen Han nodded and said, "That's a good idea. If we ask to see the Emperor under the pretext of buying and selling weapons, Meng Qi won't be able to stop us."

Cui Jinrong chimed in, "That's right, and our Chiyan Border City has excellent weaponry, which the Emperor of Mi Kingdom might be interested in."

"However, if Meng Qi interferes with the Emperor of Mi Kingdom, this matter may not be easy to handle." Shen Han was still somewhat worried.

Shen Man smiled confidently: "It's alright, I have my own way of dealing with it."

Hearing her arrangement, everyone thought it was feasible, so they began to prepare for their meeting with the king the next day, hoping that they could successfully gain the king's trust and break the current predicament.

The next day, Shen Man led a large group of people to the city gate.

"Who goes there? General Shenwei has ordered that no one is allowed to enter or leave the city gate!" The city gate guards shouted as soon as they saw Shen Man and his group.

Cui Jinrong replied loudly, "This is the city lord of my Crimson Flame Border City, who has come to discuss business with the Emperor of the Mi Kingdom!"

"Crimson Flame People? How did you get in?" the guard asked in alarm.

“Of course we came from the road, openly and honestly. Were we going to emerge from underground?” Cui Jinrong’s answer drew laughter from the team members.

"Let's show them how powerful our bombs are!" Shen Man said leisurely.

As soon as he finished speaking, two team members strode forward carrying a pitch-black wooden box.

The wooden box is decorated with the unique gilded patterns of the Crimson Flame Kingdom, and sharp copper nails are inlaid at the corners, gleaming coldly in the sunlight and exuding a sense of intimidation.

Upon seeing this, the guards gripped their weapons tightly and surrounded Shen Man and the others as if facing a formidable enemy.

Cui Jinrong reached out and lifted the lid of the box, and a cold glint flashed before everyone's eyes—the box contained ten neatly stacked iron lumps, the bombs that Shen Man had Lao Luo and the others make.

These bombs are incredibly powerful; a single one can collapse half of a city wall.

"Open your dog eyes and take a good look!"

Cui Jinrong grabbed a bomb, held it high, and deliberately shook the fuse. "If you don't let us through, the city gate might..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly threw the bomb in his hand to the ground some distance away.

With a deafening roar, a huge crater was blasted into the ground.

The guards of the Mi Kingdom had never seen such a powerful weapon before, and they were instantly terrified, their faces turning pale and their foreheads covered in cold sweat.

The guard leader's voice trembled as he said, "Let's talk this out! Let's talk this out! I'll send someone back immediately to report to the Emperor! Please wait here for a moment, esteemed guests!"