The people in the caravan had been waiting for Zhou Chao to return, but due to fear and trepidation in their hearts, they did not dare to go out searching or sleep easily. Together, they embraced their swords by the fire and endured the entire night. It wasn't until the next day, when the sun rose, that some brave individuals ventured out to search, while the others stayed at the camp, lest someone take advantage and rob their place. Those daring to go out had some martial arts skills. They moved in groups of three, each holding a knife, but even so, they were still filled with fear and anxiety. Ma Yu felt as if he had stepped into a pitch-black darkness. As he walked, he experienced dizziness, and thought after thought arose uncontrollably in his mind, making him almost unaware of who he was, where he was, and what he was doing. Although there were many possibilities, he had a premonition that directly pointed to the possibility he least wanted to face. As he walked and pondered, he accidentally stumbled over a rock, nearly falling down. After steadying himself with a tree, he noticed Wang Anfeng sitting against a tree trunk a dozen steps away. Yet he found Wang Anfeng still indifferent, seemingly unconcerned with the current situation, and not planning to search for Zhou Chao, who had been missing for an entire night. Ma Yu licked his dry lips, unable to ponder further before a shriek came from the southeast. Those still at the camp shivered with fright, gathered together, exchanged a glance, and cautiously moved towards the source. The short journey of just a few miles took over an hour, and then their faces turned pale. At the camp, Wang Anfeng had rested enough and built a fire to cook porridge, slicing some lamb into it. Watching the flames roar, he waited for the porridge to cook until mushy, then served himself a bowl, quietly drinking it while pondering. From here to the Northwest Xiong City, it was still a day's journey. He had waited until now to take action against Zhou Chao precisely because of this reason. With another day remaining, there was a chance some bandits might be bold. He thought for a moment and decided to continue traveling with the caravan until they reached Xiong City the next day before departing. As he was pondering, he noticed a skinny horse approaching him. This creature's attitude had drastically changed after he burned the mountain, from apathetic to somewhat affectionate. Wang Anfeng always felt that the horse seemed to want him to perform another mountain burning act, judging by the way it looked at him. The thin horse lowered its head and nudged Wang Anfeng's arm, its eyes staring intently at the boiling chaos pot. It snorted a few times and nudged him again. Wang Anfeng realized, thought about it, and took a wooden basin from the saddle bag, poured the porridge into it, and placed it in front of the thin horse. The latter neighed twice, lowered its head, and eagerly ate. Wang Anfeng reached out a hand to straighten the horse's mane, a quiet smile appearing on his indifferent lips. Ma Yu's breath nearly halted. He looked ahead, where a stout man nearly two meters tall knelt on the ground, eyes wide with terror, holding half a blade. The blade's edge stuck into the ground in front of him, the wind blowing, producing a clear sound. No one knew how much time had passed, someone struggled to speak, saying: "Zhou Chao... is dead?!" No one answered; the one with the highest martial arts among them had simply died so readily and thoroughly—not only dead, but dead while kneeling, as if begging for mercy or atoning. But regardless of the reason, it was evident the murderer possessed superior martial arts, far surpassing Zhou Chao, a gap large enough to invoke despair. A bolt of lightning suddenly flashed across Ma Yu's mind, and he shouted: "Return at once! Return! That pharmacist, the goods!" "There is only him there now!" Their hearts trembled fiercely; in that instant they understood, each turning around and abandoning Zhou Chao with his deadly knife, sprinting back as if they had gone mad. It took over an hour to arrive, but returning took only a brief moment. Upon returning, the thin horse had finished eating the porridge, while Wang Anfeng groomed its coat. As soon as Ma Yu returned to the camp, he rushed anxiously towards his goods. After checking, he discovered nothing was missing, letting out a heavy sigh of relief. He scanned around and saw that the others seemed not to have lost anything either, each feeling at ease. At that moment, his gaze involuntarily fell on the three nearby carts, as he knew they were loaded with Jianan Road's Shu brocade, Jiangnan Road's silk and ceramics, and spices, all stuffed full. These were scarce items from foreign lands and the Northwestern frontier. Especially the Jiangnan Road spices. These things were already quite valuable at the fortress, and if transported all the way to Yuezhi or Baiyue, each ounce of spice wouldn't be inferior to gold of the same weight. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel[f]ire.net He knew this so well because the owner of these goods had gone shopping with him, and all three carts belonged to his friend Sun Ren. Four days ago, after Sun Ren's family was captured, he willingly transferred the ownership of these goods to Zhou Chao to enable Zhou Chao to leave quickly. But now, Zhou Chao was dead... These goods were once again without an owner. His gaze turned fervent, his eyes moved slightly, noticing that the gazes of several other merchants around seemed nonexistent at that moment, but they gathered here. As traders, when their gazes met, it was clear that everyone was having thoughts about these three carts.