The three children, two boys and one girl, were the most outstanding among the dozen children brought by General Qia Xi. They were educated and skilled in martial arts, and had previously met Gu Qingtong.
Gu Qingtong reintroduced herself, remembering their names: the taller, darker boy was Yu Shi, fifteen years old, and the other, fair-skinned and slightly chubby, was Yu Guang, fourteen. The girl was Yu Rong, not tall, only thirteen, but with extremely sharp eyes.
They had originally wanted to follow General Qia Xi into battle, but the general refused. Upon hearing Gu Qingtong was heading to the border, they eagerly followed.
With the driver managing things, Gu Qingtong felt more relaxed. However, after two days of travel, Gu Qingtong found something strange.
She clearly remembered Yunqiong was in the south and should be heading south, but she noticed recently cut trees with tight growth rings facing forward, indicating they were heading north. Worried she might be mistaken, she asked Yu Rong.
Yu Rong, having never traveled before, hadn’t noticed. After careful observation of the roadside grass and tree canopies, she confirmed the driver was taking them in the opposite direction.
Gu Qingtong wasn’t sure if the driver was Shen Yuqing’s man but knew he wasn’t Han Yuan’an’s. Not wanting to alert anyone, they drugged him at an inn that night and hired a new carriage heading south.
This time, Gu Qingtong had the two boys drive while discussing with Yu Rong how to reach the border faster.
Yu Rong pulled out a sheepskin map of the Yuan Dynasty from her clothes. Gu Qingtong realized this map, a state secret at the time, was only in Yu Rong’s possession, indicating she was the leader among the three.
After some deliberation, Yu Rong hesitantly said, “Sister Qingtong, there’s a way to speed up, but it’s quite dangerous for you.”
“Dangerous for me?”
Yu Rong solemnly nodded: “Just ahead is Min Yang County. North of Min Yang is Mount Qin Mian, which we can cross. However, Mount Qin Mian is extremely steep, with jagged rocks and many fierce beasts. We three can manage, but you, being untrained, might not endure.”
“Why wouldn’t I endure?”
“You’ve never traveled far.”
Reaching halfway up the mountain would be impressive,” Yu Shi added, climbing in.
