Chapter 154: Six Cities and Eighteen Posts

“The First Post, the Second Post… all the way to the Eighteenth Post, each guarding a crucial pass.

There are six cities in Guanzhou. Three of them are border cities. The closest major city to us is Tiger Roost.”

“Tiger Roost City,” Yan Lao’er repeated, chuckling. “That’s a bold name for a city!”

“The other two border cities are Dragon Rise and Phoenix Cry.”

Yan Lao’er: …

Individually, the names sounded imposing, but together, they felt a bit… downgraded.

“Uncle! Which city are we heading to?” Yan Yu, eager to know, couldn’t help but ask.

“We are entering the province from here…” Yan Huaiwen himself wasn’t entirely certain.

Logically, this northern border post should only see foreign tribes from beyond the pass or the stationed troops of Western Province.

For them to appear here was highly unusual.

Who knew how Tianyou managed to navigate through the wilderness of Western Province, avoiding official roads, and still arrive without the slightest deviation?

“The remaining three cities—Yongning, Changping, and Gufeng—of these, Yongning is the provincial capital, making it the natural first choice,” Yan Huaiwen explained. “Changping is closest to Linhai Prefecture, and the two towns under its jurisdiction, Pingbo and Pinglang, both have seaports. Ships from there can sail via Linhai to the capital.

Further south, however, the journey becomes more difficult.

It would require transferring to larger ships, and the voyage would be dependent on calm winds and waves.

Gufeng City is near Leshan Prefecture. It was our originally planned first stop upon entering Guanzhou. If we can’t register in Yongning, Gufeng City would be the next best option.”

Yan Yu thought the names of these cities carried such hopeful meanings.

Eternal peace.

Long-lasting tranquility.

A bountiful harvest.

From a geographical standpoint, she would choose Gufeng, as it seemed to be the farthest from the border among the major cities in Guanzhou.

Her second choices would be Yongning and Changping.

However, with Yongning being the provincial capital, it instantly outshone the others and became her top choice.

“Uncle, let’s go to Yongning! The capital city has to be the best!”

“Big Brother, then let’s head to Yongning. The provincial capital is safe!” Yan Lao’er grinned.

The father and daughter exchanged glances and laughed together.

Yet another moment of perfect understanding!

“Tianyou, slow down. We’ll take a break here,” Yan Huaiwen instructed.

Yan Lao’er was anxious. “We should be close. Big Brother, let’s rest when we get there.”

“Entering the province won’t be easy. We don’t know how long it’ll take. Let’s eat something first so we won’t grow impatient while waiting. Besides…” Yan Huaiwen paused before continuing, “We are arriving due to a famine. It wouldn’t be appropriate to eat and drink openly in front of others.”

Yan Yu blurted out before she could stop herself, “Ha! Sitting and lying down aren’t an issue. We’ve been walking for so long, we’re exhausted. Uncle is worried about people seeing us eat meat, right?”

Yan Lao’er suddenly understood and nodded. “That’s right! We can’t let others see us eating meat—especially horse meat. We mustn’t let even a bit slip out. I need to remind everyone to hide it well. If anyone asks, we won’t be able to explain.”

Yan Lao’er pulled on the reins, and Sanbao came to a steady halt.

Laughter rang out from behind them.

The Yan family’s ox cart had stopped, meaning the kids could get off and play.

One by one, little ones were lifted down from the upper bunk and joined in the fun.

Yesterday, Yan Erniang (Second Madam) had taught them a new game.

The children had carefully memorized the rules.

Today, they were playing it for the first time.

It was the classic handkerchief game—all the kids held hands, forming a big circle, squatting down obediently as they sang a cheerful tune:

“Drop it, drop it, drop the handkerchief…”

Yan Yu paused upon hearing the familiar children’s song and watched for a while.

The littlest ones ran around with determination, their round little faces full of seriousness. Simply grabbing a piece of clothing wasn’t enough—only hugging the person counted as a victory. Those who weren’t careful ended up tumbling into a heap of giggles.

Each time that happened, laughter erupted from the surrounding villagers of all ages.

Yan Yu was among them, laughing harder than anyone.

Luckily, the kids were low to the ground, light, and soft-bodied. There were no injuries, except for some minor scrapes from the rough dirt.

To the villagers, these were nothing.

But Yan Erniang was very concerned, grabbing the scraped children and insisting on applying Yan Lao’er’s precious medicinal liquor.

The villagers relented and let her be.

The little ones might not understand all the adults’ words, but they could sense the relaxed atmosphere.

They played to their hearts’ content—running, chasing, their flushed faces eventually leading them back to their mothers, who wiped their sweat and fed them.

Meanwhile, Yan Lao’er went around reminding everyone, over and over, not to let the horse meat be seen.

The village elders, worried as well, followed him.

By the time Yan Lao’er finished, the elders joked that their ears had been nagged raw.

Liang Manshan came to find Yan Huaiwen. The two, both literate men, discussed entering Guanzhou for half a day.

Yan Yu happened to be out on patrol and missed the conversation.

But that was fine—she had Fengnian as her source of intel.

“My father said Guanzhou Province welcomes outsiders to settle. Uncle Zhao—oh, my father’s senior brother—moved his entire family here a few years ago.”

“Which city did Uncle Zhao settle in?” Yan Yu asked.

Liang Fengnian thought for a moment. “My father mentioned it before… I think it was Gu…”

“Gufeng?”

“Yes, Gufeng City.”

Yan Yu pressed on. “What else did they say?”

“My father said we need to plan our story in advance. One issue is that we didn’t take the official route—we took a long detour, and our household records won’t match up. Another issue is that mountain folks don’t have official residency documents, so we need a way to deal with that. Lastly, there’s the matter of our weapons—the bamboo crossbows—should we destroy them beforehand?”

Yan Yu’s expression grew serious.

These were all problems they would soon face.

No wonder her uncle decided to stop the caravan. Moving forward without resolving these issues would be unwise.

“Did they reach a decision?”

“My father said the residency issue is manageable. Many families have incomplete household records. We can temporarily use their missing slots and then separate once we’re officially registered. If any real relatives show up later, we can say we were seeking family and re-register accordingly.”

Liang Fengnian had a great memory and repeated everything in detail.

“My father also suggested revealing the bandit attack, so the crossbow and route change can be explained.”

“But your uncle said the crossbows shouldn’t be exposed—it’s better to destroy them. We’re newcomers to Guanzhou, unfamiliar with the people here. This is the northern border post, close to Western Province. If word got out that we have bamboo crossbows, we’d be in trouble.”

“My father agreed. Then they discussed the route change. Your uncle said we should mention the bandit attack. Other refugees entering Guanzhou likely experienced the same. If we don’t mention it, it’ll seem suspicious. We can say our group was attacked, many relatives were lost, and we ended up banding together as a result.”

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—Erniang (二娘) means “Second Madam” or “Second Mother”, referring to a second wife, concubine, or a respected second-born woman in a family or community.