Soon, everyone in the camp had finished their dinner.
However, there was still no sign of the escort at this time.
Now everyone in the camp became anxious. The escort had not come back for so long. There was no doubt that they were in great danger.
Maybe they've already been killed.
In the middle tent of the campsite, the caravan captain of the Alashan League summoned all the managers of the caravan together and held an emergency meeting.
Of course, the guard captain of the Jinlin Alliance and several important members of the guard team also participated.
After all, they have now decided to go with the Alashan League's caravan, so they have temporarily assumed the responsibility of the escort at this time.
"Now it is certain that our escort team must have encountered danger."
"Yeah, I don't know what exactly attacked them."
As soon as he finished speaking, several caravan elders looked sad.
Now it is 100% certain that the escort team is in danger.
After all, it has been so long, if the escort team has not encountered any danger, they must have returned by now.
At this time, they would definitely not choose to compete with the scattered goods. They would definitely try their best to come back first.
The delay in making up for it is undoubtedly because there is no way to come back.
"I think it must be that kind of monster. That monster has been targeting us for a long time. It will attack us every time we enter no man's land, and this time is definitely no exception."
An old caravan man spoke.
His words immediately received a round of approval.
Everyone here basically thinks what he said makes sense.
The only danger in this no-man's land is an attack by a ferocious beast, but if a ferocious beast attacks, the escort team will definitely have a way to deal with it.
Either escape on horseback, or fight off the beast with a gun.
Only that kind of terrifying inhuman monster can kill the escort team before they have any time to deal with it.
So after analysis, the only possibility is that that kind of monster attacked the escort team.
At this time, an old man from the caravan looked at the guard captain of the Jinlin Alliance and said, "Are you sure you didn't encounter that kind of monster when you came here?"
"No."
The guard captain of the Jinlin Alliance shook his head decisively.
They really didn't encounter anything this time. Although they had already explained it to the caravan leader twice, when people in the caravan asked about it, he still explained patiently.
As soon as he finished speaking, another old man from the caravan said: "Could it be that the monster was chasing you all the way, and then after finding our people, it turned to attack our people?"
Upon hearing this, the guard captain of the Jinlin Alliance immediately shook his head and said: "It shouldn't be possible. We escaped all the way and kept observing what was going on behind us. There are absolutely no monsters following us."
"What's going on?"
Seeing that he was so sure, everyone believed what he said.
In fact, if you think about it carefully, you will know that the Jinlin League's escort team was indeed not chased by that monster.
If they were being chased by that monster, they would never dare to slow down or stop midway.
At this time, the caravan captain said: "It is meaningless to analyze the reasons now. We have to make a decision quickly. Should we send people to search for them, or should we just continue to wait."
The caravan captain's words immediately brought everyone back to their thoughts.
Yes, the most urgent thing now is not to worry about these, but to quickly decide whether to search for the escort team.
"No one in the camp has practiced martial arts. Most of them are ordinary people. I'm afraid they won't be able to do it."
An old caravan man shook his head slightly and said.
The convoy that went out to collect the scattered goods was already the strongest group in the caravan. They were all in danger. Wouldn't the people in the camp be seeking death if they continued to go there?
Therefore, it is obviously unrealistic to send people to search for them, unless the escort team of Jinlin Alliance can organize people to go there.
But this involves a question: why do the Jinlin League's escorts take risks for their Alashan League people.
Yes, they took in the people from the Jinlin Alliance and provided them with dinner.
But it's all because of the partnership they already have.
The escort team of the Jinlin Alliance went with them and provided them with protection on the road, while they gave some food in return.
Such a deal is fair.
Therefore, based on these words alone, it is impossible to ask the Jinlin League's escort team to risk their lives.
"Forget it, why don't we just wait like this."
An old man from the caravan suggested.
At this point, there is no better way. Waiting here is the safest choice.
Otherwise, if these people in the camp who have never practiced martial arts are allowed to go out rashly, the final result may be just to lose a few more people, and nothing else will be gained.
"Okay, then keep waiting."
The caravan captain nodded, then looked at the other caravan elders and said, "What do you say?"
"Just wait."
"Me too, just wait."
"..."
Soon, everyone reached a consensus and decided to continue waiting in the camp.
It would be best if the escort could come back by then. If not, we would have to wait until daybreak before thinking of a solution.
After all, the danger is much less after dawn, so it would be perfectly reasonable to ask the Jinlin League's escort team to help search for it.
The matter was thus settled.
Then, the captain of the caravan looked at the captain of the Jinlin Alliance's escort team and said: "I have to leave it to you to keep vigil tonight."
These escort members of the Jinlin Alliance have all received professional training and have practiced martial arts to some extent.
Naturally, we have to rely on them to keep watch.
"That's natural, it's all on us."
The guard captain of the Jinlin Alliance readily agreed.
To be honest, even if the caravan captain of Alashan League did not make this request, he would take the initiative to make it.
Because he also knew the strength of these people in the Alashan League camp, he would really not be at ease if these people were allowed to keep vigil at night.
Maybe the monsters have entered the camp and these people haven't even reacted.
Such professional matters must naturally be left to people like them who have received professional training.
There is no doubt about it.
"Okay, then these two things are settled. Let's go back and rest first. We will wait until daybreak to discuss everything."
The caravan captain announced.
Afterwards, everyone got up and left the camp.
Several caravan elders from Alashan League were walking towards their camps, preparing to take the time to rest and replenish their energy.
The guard captain of the Jinlin Alliance took people to arrange the vigil.
They have done a lot of night vigils. It turns out that when they were in their own caravan, they also had to do night vigils every day.
It's the same now here, they are already familiar with the road.
The caravan captain of the Alashan League watched the guard captain of the Jinlin League lead his people away. Then, he slowly turned his head to look at the camp where Xiao Ning was.
Xiao Ning is very powerful and is most likely an immortal cultivator who has acquired ancient inheritance.
If he could be persuaded to take action, everything would be much easier.
But, how should I tell him.
After all, letting the escort team collect the scattered goods was their own decision and had nothing to do with Xiao Ning.
If I hadn't tried to make up for the secular world at that time, I wouldn't be in so much trouble now.
So after taking this into consideration, the caravan captain really didn't know how to speak to Xiao Ning.
What if Xiao Ning showed impatience after saying the words.
"what to do?"
The caravan captain stood blankly, unable to look back or move.
To be honest, he couldn't sleep under the circumstances today.
First of all, the missing escorts were their long-term partners, almost like relatives and friends.
Their whereabouts and life and death were unknown, and he was really uneasy.
If they can safely cross the no-man's land and return home, how should they explain this to their families?
Secondly, since the escort team encountered something unexpected, it means that the danger has been lurking nearby.
Once there is an opportunity, it is possible to launch an attack on the camp.
Now the monster has been reluctant to take action, probably because he is afraid of Xiao Ning's existence.
"Forget it, let's go talk to brother Xiao Ning. At least let him know what happened."
The caravan captain frowned slightly, thinking in his mind.
Immediately afterwards, he walked towards Xiao Ning's tent without hesitation.
Soon, he arrived outside the camp.
"Brother Xiao Ning, are you still awake?"
The caravan captain shouted softly outside the camp.
There was no response from inside.
After waiting for a while, the caravan captain felt disappointed and wanted to leave.
But when he turned around, Xiao Ning's voice suddenly came from the camp.
"Come in and talk about anything."
"Hello!"
The caravan captain cheered, then opened the tent door and walked inside.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw Xiao Ning meditating on the bed, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling regularly.
It seems that Xiao Ning's practice has not stopped.
Seeing this scene, the caravan captain suddenly felt shocked.
He felt that if he rashly interrupted Xiao Ning's practice, he might make Xiao Ning unhappy.
And if Xiao Ning is really unhappy, he might just leave.
Then they will really be in trouble.
After all, the guards of the Jinlin League and themselves cannot withstand the attack of that kind of monster at all.
If this happens, you will have no choice but to turn around and go back.
Thinking of this, the captain of the caravan hurriedly said respectfully: "Brother Xiao Ning, if you are not free, I will go back first. This matter is not urgent. We can talk about it tomorrow."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Ning immediately stopped him and said: "It's okay, just say it."
These people were the ones he planned to keep as guinea pigs, so he had enough patience.
On the other side, the caravan captain felt relieved when he saw Xiao Ning being so easy to talk to.
"Brother Xiao Ning, it's like this. Didn't our escort just go to collect the scattered goods, but after they went out like this, they haven't come back until now."
"Then while we were waiting for them, another caravan's convoy fled all the way and came to us."
"I heard from them that they were attacked by that kind of monster and had no choice but to run away."
"So we were thinking that maybe the monster chased them all the way, and after discovering our escort, it attacked our people."
"Maybe they are already in danger."
The caravan captain quickly explained the general situation.
After saying that, he lowered his hands and waited quietly for Xiao Ning's reply.
Xiao Ning slowly opened his eyes and said, "I know all this, you don't need to explain it to me."
When the caravan captain heard this, he thought that Xiao Ning was indeed a cultivator of immortality. He could know what was going on outside even while sitting in the camp.
But this way things will be simpler. Since Xiao Ning knows the whole thing, he doesn't need to waste time explaining it in detail.
"Brother Xiao Ning, there's nothing else. I just came here to tell you about this, so that you don't know."
"Since you already know, I will leave first and not disturb your practice."
The caravan captain said goodbye immediately.
He did not dare to suggest that Xiao Ning go search for the escorts. If Xiao Ning was offended, the rest of the people in the camp would also suffer.
Besides, they brought this situation on themselves.
If we had not thought about retrieving the goods to make up for the losses, we would not have ended up in this situation.
After saying that, the caravan captain turned around and left.
When Xiao Ning saw this, he called out to him: "Wait, don't leave in a hurry."
Upon hearing this, the caravan captain immediately turned around and asked, "Brother Xiao Ning, please tell me."
Xiao Ning looked at the caravan captain up and down, and then said: "I see that you are also an experienced person. Why haven't you found any problems with the people of the Jinlin Alliance?"
When the caravan captain heard this, his heart suddenly tightened.
From what Xiao Ning said, it seems that things are not simple.
"Brother Xiao Ning, please give me some advice."
The caravan captain said with great respect.
Xiao Ning looked at the caravan captain and said, "Have you ever thought about why the people from the Jinlin Alliance fled south and all the way here?"
Upon hearing this, the caravan captain's expression suddenly froze.
Yes, there is a very serious problem here, that is, if the Jinlin League's escort team wants to escape for their lives, they should not flee south.
Because the trade roads in the no-man's land all run east-west, in order to exchange goods from the east and west.
Under this premise, after encountering danger, the Jinlin League's escort team would either flee westward and return to the Tianshan Prairie, or go all the way east to the ancient city of Zayi.
Normally, fleeing east is the wisest choice.
Because the journey east to the ancient city of Zayi is much shorter than the journey west back to the Tianshan Prairie, and much shorter.
Now the Jinlin League's escort does not go east or west, but instead heads south all the way to their Alashan League's trade route. The problems there are very serious.
[To be honest, I have been using Yeguoyuedu to read and catch up on books recently. I can switch sources and read aloud with many sounds. www.yeguoyuedu.com is available for Android and Apple.]
"Did they do it on purpose?"
The caravan captain couldn't help but speak.
"I don't know if it's intentional or not, but I think you should investigate this clearly."
Xiao Ning sat on the bed and said calmly.
The caravan captain rolled his eyes when he heard this, then nodded slightly and said: "Brother Xiao Ning is right, we should figure this out first."
Xiao Ning's words indeed make sense. In this situation, we must first find out why the people from the Jinlin Alliance came here.
Only by understanding this can we make a correct judgment.
"Brother Xiao Ning, then I will take the first step."
The caravan captain said goodbye again.
"Okay, let's go."
Xiao Ning nodded towards him and said.
Upon seeing this, the caravan captain immediately turned around and left, quickly walking out of the camp.