The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

For a moment, the surroundings became quiet again.

Wu Tian scratched his head and began to change the subject:

"Hey Song, did you find anything this time? Want us to share some with you?"

"No need, thank you."

Song Hai smiled and said, "My master took me to Pigeon Market and we exchanged some wood ear mushrooms and other similar items. That's enough."

"Alright then." Wu Tian nodded and didn't press the matter further.

It was almost 1 a.m. when the shift change was quietly called out of the driver's seat.

Li Kaixin exchanged a few brief words and then returned to his car.

Inside the car, Zhou Zhiming was fast asleep, wrapped in a quilt.

Li Kaixin gently opened the other car door, carefully sat inside, and tried not to make too much noise.

But as soon as he sat down, the slight shaking of the car woke Zhou Zhiming up.

He half-opened his eyes, mumbling incoherently, "Master...Master? You've changed shifts?"

Li Kaixin gave a soft "hmm," then pulled the cotton-padded coat draped over the chair tighter and fell asleep.

Zhou Zhiming didn't say anything more, turned over, and started snoring softly again a few seconds later.

After an unknown amount of time, as dawn broke, Li Kaixin was awakened by the sound of a car engine in front of him.

Zhou Zhiming was sitting in the driver's seat, drinking water from an enamel mug.

He noticed the movement in the passenger seat, turned his head and said with a smile, "Master, Captain Wang just told us to get ready to depart."

Li Kaixin nodded and stretched his stiff neck.

Just then, the car in front started moving, and Zhou Zhiming quickly put down the enamel mug and started the car.

The convoy moved slowly along the dirt road, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust.

Li Kaixin stretched as she gazed at the scenery flashing past the window.

"Zhiming, it shouldn't be so cold tonight, I'll drive it this afternoon."

"Alright, Master!"

By noon, the sun was getting increasingly scorching.

The car was as hot as a sauna, a stark contrast to last night.

However, this time the team didn't lack water.

No one knows where Captain Wang got his hands on a few sealable wooden barrels, which he then attached to the front of several vehicles in the convoy.

Probably because he was transporting grain this time, he reported the situation to his superiors, and the county government made a special effort to resolve it.

After all, there's drought everywhere right now, and we can't just set aside a grain truck to find water.

And less than 15 minutes after the convoy left.

A group of more than forty people, each carrying a gun, quietly made their way to the place where the convoy had camped overnight.

The leader was a burly man with a scar on his face. He squatted down, reached out and picked up a few scattered grains of food, and chewed them.

A skinny, monkey-like man immediately leaned over and whispered, "Brother, should we still chase them?"

"Chase them! Why don't you chase them!"

The scarred man stared at the direction the convoy had gone, a glint of greed in his eyes.

"They must be transporting a lot of grain. If we can rob them this time, we won't have to worry about food for several years."

"But these people are too vigilant. We watched them all night, but we couldn't find an opportunity to make a move."

The skinny, monkey-like man scratched his head, looking somewhat worried.

The scarred man stood up and sneered:

"What's the use of being vigilant? People can't stay on edge forever. We'll wait until they relax and then catch them off guard."

After saying that, he waved behind him.

An old, dilapidated military truck immediately pulled up in front of them.

"Brother, our car can't outrun them!" The skinny man looked at his car with a worried expression.

"Xu Ming, are you stupid? Who said we had to catch up?"

The scarred man opened the car door and climbed into the passenger seat.

"They'll always stop eventually; we just need to get there before they set off again."

Xu Ming listened but didn't say anything more, and told the remaining forty or so people to squeeze into the back of the truck.

Soon after, the dilapidated truck started up and followed the tire tracks.

......

Night fell as expected, but the visibility at this campsite for the convoy wasn't as good as it had been the day before.

The main problem is that the surrounding area is all mountains, and there's simply no suitable place to find.

Captain Wang stood in front of the vehicle, frowning as he surveyed the surrounding terrain, clearly not satisfied with camping there.

But by now it was completely dark, and traveling in this terrain was obviously much more dangerous.

"Our campsite isn't in a great spot tonight, so be on your best while we keep watch."

Captain Wang looked around and said solemnly, "Especially in the middle of the night, keep your eyes wide open."

Upon hearing this, the apprentices' expressions turned serious, and they all nodded in agreement.

Wu Tian, ​​Qian Dazhuang, Song Hai, and the others were on guard duty for the first half of the night last night, so it's their turn to guard the second half tonight.

Afterwards, Captain Wang reiterated the precautions for the night watch several times before letting everyone disperse.

When Zhou Zhiming returned to the car, Li Kaixin was not asleep; she was leaning back in her seat with her eyes closed, resting.

He opened his eyes when he heard the noise and saw that his apprentice's face did not look good.

"Zhiming, what's wrong?"

"Master, I don't know either. I just feel a little uneasy, like something bad is going to happen."

As Zhou Zhiming spoke, he wrapped himself tightly in his cotton-padded coat.

Li Kaixin frowned slightly upon hearing this.

"Zhiming, you should get some rest. I'll keep watch for you later."

"No, no!"

Zhou Zhiming quickly waved his hand, "Master, you've been working hard all afternoon, how can you..."

"Don't argue with me," Li Kaixin interrupted him, her tone leaving no room for negotiation.

"With your limited abilities, I'd have to worry about you if something really happened."

As he spoke, he reached out and patted his apprentice's head, "Tomorrow you'll drive all day so I can take a break."

Zhou Zhiming's eyes were a little red, and he nodded vigorously.

Li Kaixin didn't say anything more, closed her eyes again, and gradually fell asleep.

Meanwhile, about 400 to 500 meters away on the side of the mountain.

The scarred man lay prone behind a large rock, holding a dilapidated pair of binoculars, his eyes fixed on the row of cars below the mountain.

"Brother, their stopping here is a godsend!"

Xu Ming lay down beside him, his voice brimming with excitement.

"Keep your voice down!"

The scarred man lowered his binoculars and glared at him: "Are you afraid they can't hear us down there?"

Xu Ming shrank back and quickly lowered his voice: "So when do we make our move?"

The scarred man raised his binoculars again and looked around carefully.

"No rush, let them hold out for a bit, we'll make our move later tonight."

"Big brother, you're so thoughtful." Xu Ming chuckled and gave a thumbs up.

"Alright, stop flattering me."

The scarred man tucked the binoculars into his coat and gave instructions in a low voice.

"Go tell the brothers to keep their mouths shut. Anyone who makes a sound will be punished!"

Xu Ming nodded and crouched down to crawl to the back.