Chapter 55: Astonishment

The distance from Beiguan to the Capital was three thousand miles. According to the court’s regulations, the convoy escorting the Wei, Liang, and Feng families must arrive within two months.

Although the Wei family had separated from the main convoy, they still needed to adhere to this timeframe. Otherwise, even with the petition explaining their circumstances, given Emperor Xiaoming’s temperament, they would likely not be spared.

Now, with half the time already gone and less than a month and a half remaining, their route was longer due to the detour through Suizhou and the border of Chongzhou and Lianzhou.

However, the good news was that after breaking away from the large group, they no longer needed to rely on foot travel.

If they pushed themselves, they could cover at least over a hundred miles each day, much faster than the fifty miles they had traveled daily while part of the exile convoy.

“Recently, disasters have been frequent, and the Northern Barbarians are eyeing Dayong. The northern region may not be peaceful either. Once we find Mingxuan, we need to hurry along.”

Wei Maolin put down the surveying map, anxiously looking out at the increasingly close forest.

It was hard to imagine that they would voluntarily return to this area, where wolves roamed, after leaving yesterday.

Madam Gao asked with some concern, “Lan’er, are you sure there won’t be any problems?”

“There will be no problems. With Little Black around, those wolves can’t hurt us.”

Wei Yunlan felt uncertain in her heart, but this journey was unavoidable. There was no need to worry her parents further. “After dark, I will go up the mountain with Captain Yu and the others. Six people will stay here to protect you.”

“Dear, you must be careful. I’m just leading them and won’t confront anyone in the mines. There’s no danger.”

“Ah.” How could Madam Gao truly be at ease?

She regretted not inheriting the skills of her grandfather, Master Gao, despite sharing the same bloodline from the Tianshi Mansion. Otherwise, her daughter wouldn’t need to take such risks.

This danger should rightfully fall on her shoulders as the mother!

Dense trees shielded the evening’s dim sunlight.

The Wei family quietly entered the woods, following the path explored by Seventh Lady Yu and Pei Hu during the day, arriving at a cave at the foot of the mountain, concealed by thickets.

Just as they secured their horses, sounds came from within the forest.

The Wei family grew tense.

Two agile figures sprang from the bushes, but they were not wolves; they were two young deer.

They were quite similar to the one they had encountered before facing the wolf pack last night.

Wei Yunlan stepped away from the cave entrance and walked a few steps forward. The young deer, initially prepared to flee, slowed down and turned its head toward her, seemingly unafraid.

Wei Yunlan moved in closer, and the two young deer… Not only did the young deer not flee, but they also curiously approached her.

Seeing their behavior, Wei Yunlan felt a sudden sense of “as expected” in her heart.

She should have noticed this unusual aspect earlier.

From the very beginning, when they left the Capital, the mule under her care had been especially obedient, and later on, the rabbits, squirrels, and the trained hawks and falcons from Tianshu Pavilion they encountered on the road of exile…

She should have realized that these animals treated her differently than they did others.

Could this be the innate ability to befriend birds and beasts that her mother mentioned, inherited from her great-grandfather?

She didn’t know if this ability stemmed from her bloodline, the dimensional space, or perhaps from the black dog that had emerged from that space.

As she pondered these thoughts, she heard the sound of leaves crunching underfoot nearby.

Turning her head, she saw the black dog had come to her side.

The young deer that had been lingering nearby immediately bolted away in panic upon seeing the black dog approach.

Seeing this, Wei Yunlan quickly dismissed her last guess.

She reached out to stroke the black dog’s sleek head and sighed, “Little Black, I wish you could talk. At least you’ve spent more time in the dimensional space than I have; you should know more than I do, right?”

In response, the black dog let out a low growl from its throat.

Then, it began to dig at the ground in front of Wei Yunlan.

“What does this mean? Is there something buried beneath?” Wei Yunlan whispered.

The black dog paused, and after a moment, it resumed digging without actually breaking through the yellow earth in front of it.

Wei Yunlan suddenly realized, “Are you telling me to dig in the dimensional space?”

The black dog abruptly stopped its movements.

Wei Yunlan felt she might have guessed correctly this time.

Returning to the cave, she leaned against the stone wall and closed her eyes, her consciousness sinking into the dimensional space.

But the space was so vast; where should she start digging…?

Suddenly, she remembered where the black dog had been lying earlier.

Since she didn’t have a better idea, she decided to start digging from that spot!

There were no shovels or spades in the dimensional space, and Wei Yunlan tried to manipulate the soil with her consciousness but was unsuccessful. Eventually, she found a spatula among the kitchen utensils she had stolen from the Marquis’s residence and aimed it at the area that had been surrounded by white mist, digging down with one scoop.

She indeed struck something hard.

Wei Yunlan’s eyes widened in surprise. As the small object was unearthed, it gleamed with potential revelation; could the secret of the dimensional space be unveiled?

But the next moment, the small hard object was revealed to be a small plaque inscribed with the words “Heiyun.”

Wei Yunlan quietly took the item from the dimensional space, opening her palm to examine it closely.

Aside from those two words, the plaque seemed to have no other remarkable features.

“Heiyun…”

Wei Yunlan murmured to herself.

The black dog in front of her suddenly sat up and let out a loud “Woof!”

“Little Black?”

“……”

“Heiyun?” Wei Yunlan looked at the black dog.

In response, it barked twice loudly, “Woof! Woof!”

Well, now Wei Yunlan finally understood.

It turned out that the name engraved on the plaque was the black dog’s name!

Most likely dissatisfied with the casual name “Little Black,” it had specifically prompted her to dig up this plaque.

“……”

The night was deepening.

Since the black dog had left last night, Wei Mingxuan began to pay close attention to the situation in the mine.

Currently, there were about four hundred workers at this site, and from what the foreman indicated, this was not the only mining location.

Every day, those captured could only rest for three hours, spending the remaining time in the mine. If anyone fell ill or died from exhaustion, they were simply tossed to feed the wolves.

The mined stones, once weighed, were piled in a designated area.

Wei Mingxuan noted that those piled stones were usually taken away around the hour of the pig.

He recorded these observations, waiting for the next opportunity to contact his sister to inform her of the situation.

Looking at the moon, it should be close to the hour of the pig now.

“Gui Zi, if someone comes, just say I went to the latrine and haven’t returned yet.” Wei Mingxuan left the grass shed, changing his route toward the latrine and hiding behind a stack of stones.

Before long, he heard the sound of horses’ hooves and footsteps approaching from the mountain path, getting closer.

Wei Mingxuan cautiously peeked out. Among the leading figures, one was tall and burly, sporting a scruffy beard, looking significantly different from ordinary people.

Stunned for a moment, Wei Mingxuan suddenly displayed a look of astonishment.

This wasn’t a Dayong person…

Among those coming to collect the stones, there was actually a Northern Barbarian!