After the encounter with the bandits of Heifeng Stockade at Wanshang Pass, the atmosphere of the caravan had changed.
The escorts no longer held back, becoming cruder, and would frequently hurl insults at Old Yang and the other merchants.
The road brought two more encounters with robbers.
One time, they gave two thousand silver taels; another, three thousand.
If Qin Qing were truly a merchant, this trip would undoubtedly result in a total loss.
Zhou Wanfu initially thought that pleasing Zheng Baohe and the few escorts would prevent him from suffering too much loss, but in the end, he had to offer a hefty sum of silver taels just the same.
Furthermore, the escorts could not even be bothered to waste any more words.
Now, the entire caravan was in a bad mood, with nearly everyone sharing the same thought: to safely return to Wu City would be good enough, as long as the losses weren't too severe.
As for turning a profit?
That was simply out of the question.
Night fell quickly.
