Holding onto the crevices between the huge stones, Dudian clung to the wall and quietly climbed up.
"There's one soldier about 150 meters to the left and one about 150 meters to the right. There's a soldier stationed and guarding approximately every 300 meters," Dudian sensed the smells. The place he had chosen was precisely in the middle between the two soldiers. When he climbed to the middle section of the wall, dark clouds rumbled overhead.
Dudian pressed against the wall and waited silently.
After a while, a torrential downpour descended.
Dudian immediately took the opportunity to quietly grope his way up. When he climbed to the sharp wooden stakes at the top, he looked left and right and saw that the two soldiers on the left and right had already left and returned to the pavilion five li away to take shelter from the rain.
When it rained, the stationed soldiers would retreat and change from stationary guarding to intermittent patrolling.
Dudian seized the opportunity, immediately turned over, quickly crossed the passageway on the high wall, and climbed down from the other end.
Although the smells were suppressed when it was raining, he could still roughly sense the area within about seven or eight li around. He sneaked along, keeping his body low. Occasionally, when he encountered the intersection of patrol teams and had nowhere to hide, he would lie down and hide in the accumulated rainwater on the ground. Although this disaster rain had a great harmful effect on the human body, he was already soaked through by the rain and couldn't care less.
Half an hour later.
In the living area on the outer edge of the commercial district, a figure dashed forward in the gradually lessening drizzle. There were no pedestrians on the suburban wilderness. After the rain stopped, he took off his clothes and wrung out the water, then put them back on and arrived at the nearest suburban town.
"I'm back..." Dudian looked at the town with cold eyes and silently said a word in his heart. Then he entered the town quietly.
He went to the town's post station and hired a horse from the boss.
The boss was a bit puzzled when he saw Dudian wearing wet clothes. But seeing the silver coin Dudian handed over, he didn't ask any more questions and led two horses for Dudian.
Dudian mounted one of the large horses, and at the same time, held the reins of the other horse and galloped away.
After leaving the town, Dudian rode full speed along the suburban path. He didn't enter the commercial district. There were many people and prying eyes on the streets there, and it was inevitable that he would attract attention. Moreover, in some streets, horses were prohibited from entering unless one had the status of a noble.
Clip-clop!
He rode along the suburban streets.
Dudian changed between the two horses while riding. Although taking the suburban route was a bit roundabout and he would occasionally encounter attacks from wolves and porcupines, it was much more confidential.
"It's getting dark soon..." Dudian looked at the sky and whipped the horse even faster.
Two hours later.
In front of one of the six boundary walls between the commercial district and the residential district, the boundary wall closest to the direction of the Great Wall, there weren't many people coming and going. At this moment, a black horse galloped over. A thin and frail figure was sitting on the horse. It slowed down only when it reached the path in front of the passageway and entered the passage of the boundary wall together with the sparse crowd.
Dudian, who was sitting on the horse, saw from a distance that his wanted poster hadn't been posted on this boundary wall yet. He finally let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the news hadn't reached here yet, saving him some trouble.
Entering the residential district from the commercial district didn't require inspection, but entering the commercial district from the residential district required strict verification.
Therefore, Dudian rode on the horse and safely passed through the passage all the way. As for the other horse, he had already abandoned it on the way here. Otherwise, it would be rather unusual and noticeable for one person to lead two horses. After all, the wanted poster would be spread here sooner or later, and the pursuers would also come after hearing the news sooner or later. If he was too noticeable, it would be easier for the other side to find his trail when they were chasing him.
After coming out of the passage, Dudian gently spurred the horse to increase its speed and galloped away again.
"The residential district... I wonder how Uncle and Aunt are. Have they been implicated by my matter? Three years have passed. Does Aunt's leg still hurt on rainy days..." While galloping along, Dudian couldn't help but think of the Jura couple. If there were people in the world that he felt most guilty towards, besides his biological parents and sister, it was the Jura couple.
However, despite his yearning, he knew his current identity and that it was not appropriate for him to appear in front of them. Moreover, he didn't have the time to look for them.
It was already dark.
Dudian galloped at full speed, hoping to enter the slum district before the curfew.
A few hours later.
In front of the boundary wall leading to the slum district, Dudian rode past and returned to the long-lost slum district. His keen sense of smell immediately detected the turbid air and various strange and unpleasant odors rushing towards him.
He rode the exhausted black horse and headed towards the abandoned factory that Barton and the others had once found, which was located on the outskirts of the slum district.
It was already curfew time. There were soldiers patrolling the streets. If they saw pedestrians, they would either scold and beat them lightly or arrest them and lock them up for a few days severely.
Halfway through his ride, Dudian encountered a curfew patrol team. He immediately abandoned the black horse and casually tied it to a post of the shed outside a certain inn. Then, taking advantage of the night, he sneaked onto another street and took a detour.
With the help of his sense of smell, it was almost impossible for this sparse curfew patrol team to come across him.
A few hours later, Dudian arrived in front of the abandoned factory in the outskirts of the slum district. There were weeds all around. Looking up, the abandoned factory stood in the wilderness and weeds like a pitch-black skeleton.
Dudian didn't smell the scent of Barton and the others and frowned slightly. However, thinking that more than three years had passed and he hadn't come back, it was normal for them not to be here. He immediately pushed aside the weeds and entered the factory.
The darkness didn't affect his vision at all. Some weeds had grown inside the factory. It should have been desolate for a while. He walked around inside and quickly found some of the materials that he had once specified for Barton and the others to buy. He didn't expect that after three years, these materials were still piled up here and hadn't been sold by them.
Dudian silently stroked the wooden boxes storing these materials. After a moment of silence, he found some coal from them and smeared it on his face. After finishing, he found a relatively clean place and lay down to rest.
From digging the passage and traveling on the road, he hadn't slept for two days and one night. He was already extremely exhausted at this moment.
The next day.
At the break of dawn, Dudian woke up. In the warm golden light, he left the abandoned factory and went to the square where he and Barton and the others had their communication signals. He immediately saw the special coded symbols that he had taught them engraved on the square.
"Dian, we've already bought the things..."
"Dian, are you okay? Everyone is waiting for you..."
"Dian, we're waiting for you at Yuanshan Factory on Green Street in the North District..."
Dudian looked at the messages left one by one and was slightly stunned. Judging from the mark of the last message left, it should have been more than a year ago. He took a deep look and then turned and left.