If Yu Han trusted everyone based on their words, he would be long gone. Just a moment ago, he encountered a perfectly normal-looking woman who took out an entire troop. People in this world could look like the most normal beings out there, yet carry out instances far beyond their appearances.
Therefore, skepticism was a given.
Yu Han scanned the two figures from head to toe. On the surface, they looked normal. The elegant man who claimed himself to be a doctor was indeed wearing a box of medical supplies along with an acupuncture pouch. His hair was shoulder length, blonde in color, contrasting with his blue eyes.
The other man whose affiliation was unclear seemed sensitive to the harsh weather, dressed in layers and layers of heavy clothing. His brown hair was trimmed short, and his brown eyes had nothing but cold to show.
Yu Han narrowed his eyes, clearly skeptical of their normal appearances.
The elegant doctor smiled upon seeing his reaction, "I see how it is," he chortled, "We forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Lei Chen, the brother of the Minister of Health. I'm usually a traveling doctor, but I'm heading back to the Capital for an important meeting."
Yu Han slowly nodded. He was still skeptical. Having a normal background didn't clean the person before him of any evil intentions. His eyes slowly moved to the packed gentleman, who nervously chuckled upon meeting his eyes with Yu Han.
"I'm Sun Kang. A lieutenant sergeant in the military. I'm escorting Doctor Lei back to the Capital," he casually uttered, "What about you little bro?"
Yu Han narrowed his eyes, "I'm Yu Han from Meitong Tea Village. I've been summoned to the Capital."
Lei Chen leaned closer to Yu Han and frowned in confusion, "You must be an influential figure. Didn't you just ask us about soldiers? Were they escorting you? What happened?"
Those were questions Yu Han felt uncomfortable answering. As it was, he wasn't sure how much of his identity could be revealed to third parties.
The veiled lady from earlier claimed that the 'paranoid Emperor' sent his bodyguard for a 'mere' boy. From the sound of it, it seemed that the lady wasn't even there to kill Yu Han. She was there to test whether or not Yu Han was important to the Emperor—and it seemed he was.
Lei Chen instantly backed off, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to barge into your personal life," he nervously uttered, "If it's okay with you, you can travel with us. Our destination is the same. Plus, you're injured. I can take care of you."
Yu Han had to weigh his options. He could either walk on his own, aggravate his wounds, and fail to make it to the Capital in one piece. Furthermore, another group could come to assassinate him. He had already gone under two assassinations in one day. It wouldn't surprise him if people kept coming. Traveling alone was dangerous in that sense.
His other option was trusting the two fellows. One was a doctor, and the other was a soldier. The chances of survival were greater. The only problem was their appearance. They were too normal to be trusted. What if they were assassins in disguise? What if they wanted some information out of him?
Both his options had cons. But traveling alone was stupid.
"I apologize in advance for being a nuisance," Yu Han tried to sound friendly.
Lei Chen shook his head, "Don't be. We're more than glad to help," he politely murmured before glaring at his friend, who instantly nodded. Their dynamic reminded Yu Han of Zhang Meng and his wife. He smiled for a second before diminishing it.
With that, Yu Han joined the two skeptical yet average-looking young men. They insisted Yu Han rest for a day and booked three rooms in a nearby inn. Unlike Yu Han, the other two were loaded and took all the responsibility for payment.
Left alone in his room, Yu Han lay down on the bed, feeling all sorts of things. He felt uncomfortable using their money, wanted to know if Longwei was alright, and wanted to understand why he was so important.
Ever since he woke up, people had looked at him as if he didn't belong here. The villagers, although kind, made it clear that he was an anomaly. The school refused to take him in. The assassins all wanted something to do with him.
All of this was going on and he didn't even know who he was, why he was here, and what his future plans were. What if the people in Zhongping State weren't up to any good either?
The next morning, Yu Han had breakfast with the two young men and embarked on a trip to the capital. They had a whole route planned, using public trains. They bought train tickets for themselves and Yu Han and picked a nice spot to sit. This train was slightly different from the one Yu Han had seen earlier with Zhang Tao.
It had a separate compartment for larger groups of people. Where the rest of the train was quiet and adhering to the custom of not speaking, the compartments were a private space for those who needed it.
As they all sat before one another, Lei Chen pulled his phone out and started marking locations on the map.
"Yu Han, can you tell us how urgently you need to arrive at Zhongping State?" he asked while his eyes were glued to the phone.
"As early as possible, I suppose," Yu Han answered ambiguously. He didn't even know when he was supposed to arrive.
Lei Chen looked up from the phone and then glanced at Sun Kang.
"Um," Sun Kang tried to come up with an excuse, "Can we be slightly late? Just slightly, of course."
Yu Han's suspicions about these two were taking color. He narrowed his eyes, asking for more information.
"The meeting I'm supposed to attend requires me to stop around some rural areas on the way to the Capital. I just need to assess the general public health, nothing more," Lei Chen explained, "We'll just have to make two more stops than usual."
"Just add a night's worth to it. That's how late we'll be, max," Sun Kang tried to convince Yu Han.
It wasn't like Yu Han had a choice. Without money, he wasn't going to get anywhere far anyway. Since they were willing to help, he had no reason to complain.
"I mean, we need to stop for rest and meals anyway. Might as well assess the general public health," Yu Han expressed his opinion which seemed to please both the young men.
For now, Yu Han had to trust these men no matter what. He couldn't let Longwei's family die because of him.