That strategist was even more troublesome than most soldiers.

With that in thought, the man disappeared into the darkness once more. He couldn't let anyone saw him openly.

…

An You City

In the past, An You City was known as a prosperous city because there were a lot of rich people here. Of course, the main reason why many people head there was because An You City was located at a distance away from Huang River and never got flooded.

A small river was connected to the main river, providing them with the water they needed for farming and living.

But right now, none of the liveliness could be seen.

The previously bustling city had turned desolate. A lot of people were hiding in their houses as they didn't dare to come out. Several people were standing on the previously bustling street with weapon on their hands. There were several other people who were lying on the ground, unconscious.

Blood stained the ground along with several other items. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that some of them might even had died in this situation.

A young man who wore fur robe was sitting on the ground. Despite being surrounded by so many large man at least twice his side, there was no sign of fear in his eyes. He stared back at them while holding onto his wounded attendant.

"If you want me, you should have said that from the very beginning," the young man, Shi Yan, said in a cold tone.

There was no trace of his previous playfulness and childishness that he usually had. Only cold gaze that was filled with anger could be seen. His dark eyes were looking at the men without any hint of fear.

Despite knowing that he would not win against them in a battle of martial arts, Shi Yan had no intention to run away.

"Young Master… run."

"I won't." and I can't.

With his limited martial arts, Shi Yan knew that he wouldn't be able to defeat these people. In fact, it would be nothing short of miracle if he could stay alive after facing these bulky men.

Just what did they eat to grow so much?

"You're quite brave, Merchant Shi Yan," one of the men said with a laugh. "Unfortunately, your bravery wouldn't bring you anywhere."

Shi Yan didn't bulge and kept his calm. "What do you want?"

"Where's your trade token?"

Trade token?

There was only one trade token that he had with him, which was the token that Prince Ji Sheng had given him. That was a special token that was issued for those who wanted to cross the border. With that token, it would be easy for him to bypass the border and take a visit at Prince Ji Sheng's city when he needed it.

Not all merchants have the token because Yang Xian strictly watched the distribution for each token. The merchants who were given the token would be inspected heavily to prevent spies from entering.

After all, the two sides were having war with each other for a long period of time.

'Why are they…ah, illegal traders.'

At this moment, Shi Yan finally understood that these men purposely targeted him today because they wanted his token. He might be quite stupid most of the times, but he could guess that they were either spies or soldiers from the other side.

They wanted the token so that they would be able to infiltrate easily into Han Shi Kingdom's territory.

The thought only made Shi Yan's blood boils in anger. Prince Ji Sheng and Yang Xian had worked tirelessly to create a long lasting peace that was not the result of war. But these people just had to come and break everything they wanted to create.

What a group of ungrateful ingrates.

"What token?" Shi Yan asked with a sneer. "There are a lot of tokens that I have with me."

"Give it all to me."

"Why should I?"

Swish!

The sword on the man's hand was rested at Shi Yan's neck. He looked at the dandy merchant in front of him coldly. "If you don't wish to see your severed head, you better give it to us."

Shi Yan's eyes were cold. He had already sent the distress signal, but the distance between this place to Dong Shan City would take more than a day's journey. It was unknown whether he would be still alive at that time.

As for the soldiers in other areas, Shi Yan didn't have much confidence.

He raised his hand and searched his robes. Taking out several tokens, he threw it to the ground, far away from him.

"You b*stard!"

Kick!

Being kicked back, Shi Yan watched as the men scrambled to collect the tokens. Of course, he would never take out the real tokens. Those were only inn tokens that he gathered during his visit there.

Some inns didn't ask him to return the tokens back because it was unnecessary.

As for the rest… they were nothing more than poems that Yang Xian wrote as code for their messages. It was not known what the men's expression would be if they were to read those cringed poems.

After all, Yang Xian's poetry skill was not that good.

"Young Master?"

"We're leaving," Shi Yan muttered and pulled his attendant to the nearby house. He opened the storage room and pushed the attendant inside before he closed the door once more.

"Young Master Shi!" the attendant was stunned.

However, Shi Yan paid no heed to his attendant's words as he rushed over to turn in the next corner of the building. The only chance for him to run was when the men were busy trying to search for the right token.

Before they figure out that the real one was not there, he should leave.

Bang!

"Where do you think you're going, Little Merchant Shi?"

The voice stilled Shi Yan's movement as he raised his head. Seeing the unfamiliar clothing, realization dawned to him. They were not Han Shi Kingdom's citizen.