The game of national destiny, I am a reincarnator for a hundred lifetimes.

he knows!

Shen Yue examined herself, her delicate brows slightly furrowed. Her aura was perfectly concealed; how could the other party have discovered her origin?

She smiled shyly, preparing to take action:

"Brother镖师 (bodyguard/escort), what do you mean by 'jeweled escort'? I don't understand what you're saying... Could you explain?"

Just as Shen Yue was about to kill this person, Lu Chuan's rough fingers gripped the hilt of his sword, his eyes turning cold: "Several villages nearby have been destroyed. It's impossible for an ordinary girl to escape unscathed. The fact that you're unharmed only proves that you're not ordinary... If you insist on finding me, you must have something to gain. I'm a lonely wanderer, and the best thing I have is the intelligence about the escort mission I just obtained."

"The handkerchief that recorded the intelligence about the escort mission was burned. It's all in my head. It's either cooperation or a lose-lose situation."

Shen Yue's smile remained shy as she asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll harm someone? Or that my identity will be in danger?"

Lu Chuan shrugged; "In this vast world, countless people pass by. We've met by chance. As for this cooperation, we'll each do our best. Once it's over, we'll all return to being just another passerby in this boundless mortal world... I don't care about your identity. Once the escort mission is complete, we'll never meet again."

These remarks were quite unexpected, and Shen Yue was somewhat surprised.

Since birth, everyone, regardless of their strength or level, has been eager to get closer to her.

Such a cold attitude

This is truly a novel experience for the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect.

This man seemed to have only royal guards in his eyes.

Shen Yue nodded slightly: "Cooperation is possible. I'm not the only one who's heard about this royal escort mission; there will be others involved, and the Creation Dynasty will likely send powerful individuals to guard it as well. If anything goes wrong, I won't save you."

Lu Chuan smiled but remained silent.

Even if the escort involves many powerful figures, it doesn't matter. In a critical moment, it's hard to say who will save whom!

Shen Yue said, "Everyone calls me Fellow Daoist Yue, but they don't know your name?"

Lu Chuan: "Keep it a secret."

Shen Yue choked.

She usually uses these two words to reject lecherous men, but today she actually feels like her words have been stolen from her.

He said irritably, "Whatever."

Many footsteps sounded all around.

The young men and women packed their luggage, their eyes filled with sadness as they looked at Lu Chuan. They knew that once they left this place, they would never meet someone who treated them so well again.

Lu Chuan raised the torch:

"Let's go. The orphanage will cease to exist, and we'll never have met."

To rob the royal family's caravan, regardless of success or failure.

Both have consequences.

If these orphans are unwilling to leave, they become his scapegoats.

About fifteen minutes later, the entire orphanage was engulfed in flames.

"Brother镖师, where are we going now?"

"Far Stone Town!"

. . .

The town of Yuanshi is filled with small, low-lying houses with snow-white bricks, which turned out to be human bones!

At the center of all the low houses, surrounding a tall restaurant, whose signboard prominently displays three large characters formed by many crows—Tianjilou (天机楼).

At that moment, a man and a woman on horseback arrived at its entrance.

Lu Chuan dismounted, and a chilling, eerie feeling seeped out from the doorway. Tianji Tower was a mysterious force with branches in many dynasties. The one in the small town was the lowest-ranking branch, yet it was the place where all the bodyguards chose to rest.

Shen Yue was both surprised and delighted.

What is the connection between Tianji Tower and the Royal Escort Agency? As a robber, it's quite interesting that he dared to go to a place where the escorts gathered. I'm increasingly confused about this man and starting to get curious.

The guards at the door stopped them.

Lu Chuan displayed the badge of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency and successfully passed through.

As the two entered the restaurant, they overheard some conversation:

"Have you received the news? The renowned Zhenyuan Escort Agency has lost a shipment. Something like this hasn't happened in twenty years!"

"Eighteen elite bodyguards vanished without a trace, neither alive nor dead."

"That was ruthless. We need to be more careful when escorting goods in the future, otherwise it will be really difficult to deal with someone like that."

The bodyguards were shocked and discussed among themselves. Shen Yue wanted to shout that the people who had kidnapped the Zhenyuan Escort Agency's cargo were right in front of them, but when she thought of the royal escort mission, she had to give up in disappointment.

Lu Chuan took his seat, and the waiter served tea.

He made a gesture, and the boy, with a suspicious look in his eyes, leaned closer. After listening to a few words, his expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly ran to shake the shopkeeper.

Shen Yue tilted her head and saw a shopkeeper with a fleshy face rushing over. He then stood respectfully beside Lu Chuan with his hands tucked in. Judging from his appearance, this shopkeeper didn't seem to be the person in charge of escorting the royal guards.

Lu Chuan asked, "Has anyone been sitting in Room One recently?"

The shopkeeper replied, "No."

Lu Chuan pulled out his last ten taels of silver: "If we conceal this, we'll be suspected of harboring robbers!"

He placed the escort token of Zhenyuan Escort Agency on the table.

The shopkeeper's expression changed drastically, and he forced a fawning smile: "Yes, I do. I don't need the money, but please, Zhenyuan Escort Agency, don't start a fight in my humble shop while you're investigating robbers. I can't afford it. Any damage to Tianji Tower will be my sole responsibility!"

Only members of royalty could surpass the status of a镖人 (bodyguard/escort); ordinary people could not compare.

The other party was from Zhenyuan Escort Agency, and the guest staying in room number one was definitely not simple either. Neither side could afford to offend them, but since the fight was happening outside the restaurant, it was none of their business!

Lu Chuan waved his hand, and the shopkeeper left as if he had been granted a pardon.

The yellow cloth only recorded the location of the guards' lodging, which was conveniently used to trick them into revealing whether they had arrived, by using the name of Zhenyuan Escort Agency.

Shen Yue thought for a few seconds, then chuckled sweetly.

In the blink of an eye, he saw through everything.

"I'm telling you, you've got your hands on the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, this fat sheep you're after?"

Lu Chuan smiled faintly: "Besides that, can you think of a second better way to trick someone into revealing their position?"

Shen Yue's dark, grape-like eyes rolled around: "That's true."

Lu Chuan stood up: "Let's go."

The location of the escort has been confirmed, but the whereabouts of the caravan are still unknown. This matter remains unresolved, and there's no point in being anxious.

． ,． ． .

Outside the restaurant.

There is a long alley where horses are kept, and a group of grooms gather there.

The leader was a burly man who removed his turban, revealing four eyes that shone with a strange and frightening emerald green hue. His imposing aura was incredibly powerful, and the surrounding grooms obediently bowed their heads, clearly terrified of him to the extreme.

He said, "Tianji Tower released a ranking of the best robbers this year, and I, Zuo Wuji, am only ranked tenth! Those damned people have no taste, I'll make them re-rank! And I'll also be blessed with good fortune. Yesterday I went to the wasteland to fight the madman, and after I finished fighting, I took a piss and accidentally bumped into a few bodyguards sneaking around doing reconnaissance for a shipment... Haha! There must be a big shipment going on, my chance to finally get my revenge has come."

Detecting the route beforehand involves reconnaissance of the escort route.

It was quite costly. Only for extremely valuable shipments would we send out bodyguards to secretly scout the area and sweep the surroundings in advance to ensure safety. However, this inadvertently created an opportunity for Zuo Wuji, the robber, to discover the shipment, adding countless risks.

One of his trusted confidants asked, "Boss, what are we doing lurking outside the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion?"

Zuo Wuji glared at him: "Idiot! How dare Tianji Tower criticize me like that? Today, we'll lure a few of their镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) out as hostages to disrupt this escort mission!"

now.

Two figures appeared at the entrance of the restaurant: a man with long hair and wearing a black robe, and a woman with a black veil covering her face.