Chapter 37: Map

Just as Butcher Yang was about to walk out, Su Yin pulled him back.

“Wait a moment,” she said.

Butcher Yang nodded.

The three of them crouched behind the bushes, waiting quietly. The wait stretched on for two cups of tea.

Su Yin scanned the area, ensuring that the chasing group had left. Then, she stood up and emerged from behind the bushes.

She took out three pieces of cloth she had prepared earlier and distributed them to Yang Dahe and Butcher Yang.

“Cover your mouth and nose,” she instructed.

The two of them followed her lead.

With their mouths and noses covered, the three of them approached the location of the corpses.

The strong scent of blood had attracted countless flies, mosquitoes, and carrion crows. As they drew near, a swarm of flies and mosquitoes rose into the air.

Su Yin knelt down and began to search the bodies for identification tokens, clothing, jewelry, or anything of value.

She examined each corpse, but found no useful information until she reached the leader. The man’s clothing had been ripped apart violently, and a token lay at his feet.

It was about the size of Mo Yue’s hand, made of pure iron, and engraved with three words: “[Cloud Thirteen].”

“Yun Shisan,” Su Yin read aloud.

This looked like an identity token.

The man had been stripped naked, leaving only his underwear. Considering the other bodies were still well-dressed, it was clear that something valuable had been taken from him, and that something was likely the source of the trouble.

There was no need for Su Yin to search further; anything useful on his body would have been removed.

As she was about to leave, she noticed a piece of fabric tangled among the clothes, its material distinct from the rest.

She picked it up and saw it was a map.

This is good stuff!

This map was useless to the people chasing her, but invaluable to Su Yin.

In ancient times, maps were typically owned by the upper class, and commoners had no access to them. The trade of maps was prohibited in the market.

When she had been buying supplies earlier, Su Yin had specifically looked for maps. The merchants would often look at her with disdain when she inquired about them.

In the eyes of the Yong Dynasty, this map was worth more than gold.

Su Yin spread out the map, which was not large in area. The terrain, mountains, rivers, and cities depicted were different from modern maps, but they were clear enough for her to read.

The only downside was that the map covered only two counties in Meizhou: [Lingxi County], where they currently were, and the neighboring [Nanping County].

With this map, Su Yin was no longer in the dark about her next route.

During the two days of fleeing, they had been wandering around their hometown of Lingxi County, not having left yet.

Usually, they would end up taking the wrong path, and once they did leave, they would have to ask for directions along the way.

Now, with this map, they wouldn’t have to worry about getting lost when they reached Nanping County.

As Su Yin tucked the map close to her body and prepared to leave, she accidentally tripped over something. It was the hand of a corpse.

“Sorry, sorry, no offense intended,” she muttered, kneeling down to move the man’s hand away.

To her surprise, she uncovered a silk money bag. As soon as she picked it up, she felt its weight.

Opening the bag, she poured out three gold ingots. Weighing them, she discovered they totaled about ten taels each.

Three gold ingots amounted to thirty taels, which converted to approximately three hundred taels of silver.

While gold was not uncommon in modern times, in ancient society, it was typically owned only by the upper class or wealthy households.

For the common people of the Great Yong Dynasty, even having a little money was one thing, but owning gold was quite rare.

Aside from the three gold ingots, there were some broken silver coins, bringing the total amount to around seven or eight taels.

The haul was quite fruitful this time. The value of the map alone was immeasurable, not to mention the extra three hundred taels of silver, which provided Su Yin, who wasn’t wealthy, with newfound confidence and resources for her future escape.

Meanwhile, Butcher Yang and Yang Dahe were not idle either. The two rummaged through the pile of bodies for anything valuable, their voices mingling with the sounds of their search.

“This one has a lot of money,” Butcher Yang exclaimed as he sifted through the belongings.

“This one is a bit poor. He only has a few copper coins,” Yang Dahe noted, shaking his head.

“This knife is good,” Butcher Yang said, examining a particular blade. Su Yin observed the knife closely; it had a unique design, with the word “Cloud” engraved on it.

A knife with such an obvious mark was not suitable for carrying openly. If someone noticed it, it could easily lead to troubleor even death.

Su Yin quickly tossed aside the leader’s weapon without a second glance. “Uncle Yang, this knife cannot be taken away. There’s a mark on it. If someone misunderstands it, it could lead to dire consequences.”

Butcher Yang immediately discarded the short blade in his hand.

Su Yin turned her attention to the items her uncle and Butcher Yang had found. Most of it consisted of money and a few pieces of jewelry. The bulk of the haul was cash, with only one or two jewelry items mixed in.

Butcher Yang had collected fifty-two taels of silver, primarily from the group pretending to be refugees.

Yang Dahe managed to gather thirty-seven taels and eight coins, along with two pieces of jewelry. One was a jade pendant, which was of mediocre quality, while the other was a jade hosta, which was much more translucent and had a better texture.

Each of the three stowed their finds carefully.

However, as Su Yin looked at the corpses lying on the ground, her brows furrowed, and a feeling of unease settled in her heart.

The possessions of this group were not something ordinary people like them should be involved with.

Only when she was certain that what they were taking wouldn’t implicate them did she feel comfortable allowing them to take it with them.

“It’s not a good time to linger here; we have to leave,” she urged.

The two men had no objections, quickly packing up their belongings and departing with their significant haul.

Not long after they left, another group arrived at the scene. Each person was dressed in black clothing, with long knives at their waists.

The leader was a young man in his thirties, sporting a bun typical of the warriors of the Yong Dynasty.

Someone dismounted to inspect the area and soon returned, standing before the leading man’s horse to report, “Master, the things are gone.

They must have been taken away by the people who intercepted them.”

“This group of trash,” the leader muttered, frustration evident in his voice.

Another figure approached cautiously and said, “Master, we found their trail. That group of people headed toward Yongqing County.”

Yongqing County lay to the south of Lingxi County, adjacent to Nanping County and Nanshan County, serving as the intersection of the three counties.

The group’s objective was clear; once they entered the intersection, it would be nearly impossible to trace which direction they took.

“Let’s go!” the leader commanded.

The group mounted their horses and hurried away, sending clouds of dust flying into the air, which eventually settled on the cold, lifeless corpses left behind.

No one cared about the fate of those who had died, nor did they consider the ordinary people who might be caught in the fallout of their actions.

Meanwhile, the three of them made their way back through the woods toward their meeting place.

“Girl Su, should we give this money to Li Zheng and let him share it with everyone?” Butcher Yang suggested.

“No need!” Su Yin replied softly, her tone firm. She explained gradually, “We are taking risks by coming out this time. With risks come rewards.”