Chapter 352 - 222: The Chest (2)

Chapter 352: Chapter 222: The Chest (2)

There must be something important in this cargo for these bandits to take such a desperate risk.

After all, they weren’t far from the county seat. It would be easy for word to get out and attract the pursuit of the county’s City Guard Army.

Realizing this, Fang Yue was filled with a powerful sense of curiosity.

’What exactly are these bandits after?’

Just then, one of the masked men heaved a chest out of a carriage and set it on the ground.

Fang Yue glanced over. The chest was half his height and looked heavy.

’Could that chest be their target?’

Soon, several other masked men moved a few more similar chests from the carriages, stacking them all together.

Fang Yue, lying on the ground, watched the scene through squinted eyes, growing ever more curious.

’What in the world is in those chests? What would make these bandits go to all this trouble?’

Just then, a masked man who appeared to be the leader walked over. He surveyed the surrounding carriages and cargo, then nodded in satisfaction.

"Excellent," the masked leader said with a smile. "Move these chests away and replace them with ours!"

The group of bandits quickly got to work. They carried away the target chests, then brought over several similar-looking ones from the side and loaded them onto the carriages.

After a short while, the bandits seemed to have finished their task. They mounted their horses again, preparing to leave.

"Let’s go!"

With a wave of his hand, the masked leader led the other bandits away.

Fang Yue remained on the ground, only opening his eyes and sitting up after the sound of the bandits’ hooves had faded into the distance.

He looked around and saw that everyone else was still unconscious.

’Why did these bandits go to all the trouble of swapping the caravan’s cargo?’

Fang Yue walked up to one of the cargo carriages, lifted the tarp, and looked at the three chests neatly arranged inside.

He frowned slightly, a strange sense of doubt rising within him.

’These chests look perfectly ordinary on the outside, nothing special about them. But I know they can’t be just normal cargo. Otherwise, the bandits wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to swap them.’

’Could these chests be filled with...’

A glint flashed in his eyes. He reached out and tapped lightly on one of the chests.

"THUD THUD THUD..."

The chest emitted a dull thudding sound, as if it were packed full.

Fang Yue’s brow furrowed. That wasn’t the sound he was expecting. If the chests were filled with gold, silver, jewels, or other valuables, they should have sounded different.

’What could it be, then?’

Fang Yue grew more and more curious. He glanced around again, confirming that everyone else was still unconscious.

After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to open a chest and see for himself.

’The bandits are long gone, anyway. It’s not like I’ll be in any danger if I’m discovered. Besides, I’m just too curious about what’s in these chests. I can’t suppress the urge to find out.’

Fang Yue ran his hands over the chest and quickly found the latch. With a gentle twist, it sprang open with a click.

He lifted the lid and peered inside.

The chest was filled to the brim with densely packed scrolls and books, which gave off the faint scent of ink.

’These are... books?’

Fang Yue was stunned for a moment. He never expected the chests to be filled with books.

He casually picked up a scroll, unrolled it, and saw that it was covered in dense text that looked like some kind of ancient manuscript.

A thought struck Fang Yue. He realized these books must be incredibly valuable. Otherwise, the bandits wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to swap them.

He closed the lid, locked the chest again, and returned to his own carriage.

Sitting inside the carriage, Fang Yue felt a strange sense of excitement and anticipation welling up within him.

He realized he might have been drawn into an unexpected conspiracy, and these books were the key.

’What secrets do these books hold?’ Fang Yue wondered. ’Why would those bandits risk swapping them? What are they really after?’

He closed his eyes and began to ponder.

However, after thinking for a long time, he couldn’t make any sense of it.

’Forget it. It’s none of my business. Why worry about it so much?’ Fang Yue let out a small smile. But just as he was about to close the chest for good, his eyes caught something.

In a corner of the chest, Fang Yue discovered a mark. It was a special sigil used internally by the Observatory.

’Were these books—or rather, the original cargo—meant to be delivered to the Observatory?’

’And to the Observatory headquarters in Yujing City, no less!’

Fang Yue stared at the familiar mark, a strange feeling rising in his heart.

He knew of the Observatory. It was one of the Great Zhou Dynasty’s most mysterious and powerful institutions, responsible for observing celestial phenomena, predicting fortunes, creating calendars, and many other crucial tasks.

And, of course, for guarding the "nodes" in various regions.

And these books were actually being sent to the Observatory headquarters.

’What secret could be hidden in these books? Why would they attract the covetous eyes of bandits? And why a swap?’ Fang Yue wondered.

He knew he had too little information to draw any firm conclusions.

But he was certain of one thing: these books were anything but ordinary.

An intense curiosity gripped Fang Yue. He wanted to know what secrets were hidden within these books.

Fang Yue had a faint feeling that he might have just stumbled upon an earth-shattering secret.

’If I keep investigating, I might have a chance to uncover the truth.’

But with so few clues, he couldn’t deduce the specific nature of the secret.

Fang Yue took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing his curiosity, and pushed the chest back into place.

’For now, the most important thing is to act as if nothing happened.’

Before long, someone started to stir.

"What just happened? How did I fall asleep? Where are we?" a burly, fierce-looking man asked.

"I... I don’t know either!" another man replied, shaking his head in confusion.

"Quick, check the cargo! See if anything’s missing!" the man who appeared to be the leader barked.

The men immediately scrambled to the chests and began a careful inspection. Soon, reports started coming in that some valuable goods and silver were missing. It was clear they had been drugged unconscious and then robbed.

The leader’s face was as dark as a thundercloud, his eyes flashing with a vicious light. He scanned his surroundings and roared, "What the hell happened? Who did this?"

However, he was met with only silence and confusion.

Just then, Fang Yue also pretended to have just woken up. He rubbed his eyes and asked with a bewildered look, "What happened? How did I fall asleep?"

Seeing Fang Yue awake, the leader frowned but didn’t say anything. He was too agitated to bother with someone insignificant.

"Everyone, wake up and check the goods!" he continued to yell.

As his voice echoed, the others also began to wake up one by one and check the cargo they were responsible for.

Soon, all the cargo had been checked, and the leader had a general idea of the situation.

"Besides some valuables and silver, the rest of the cargo is still here," he said in a low voice. "Looks like we were robbed."

Hearing this, the men burst into discussion, each one filled with righteous indignation. They started cursing the bandits for their audacity, daring to cause trouble in their territory.

The leader waved his hand to quiet the men. "There’s no use talking about that now," he said. "The priority is to get the cargo to its destination as quickly as possible."

He looked around and continued, "We only lost some silver. We should be glad we didn’t lose our lives. Let’s get moving."

At his words, the men all nodded in agreement. They began to reorganize the cargo and prepare to set off.

The caravan set off once more, continuing along its original route.

Along the way, everyone remained vigilant, afraid of running into the robbers again.

Fortunately, the rest of the journey was uneventful. Ten days later, they reached the Prefecture City of Liangzhou Prefecture.

In the Prefecture City of Liangzhou Prefecture, the bustling street scenes and noisy crowds made Fang Yue feel a sense of familiarity and warmth.

The caravan slowly entered the city. As they passed through the gates, the guarding soldiers only gave them a routine inspection and found nothing out of the ordinary.

The leader apparently had some connections in the city, as he quickly found a spacious courtyard for them to use as a temporary base.

Everyone disembarked and began to busy themselves with unloading the cargo.

Having arrived at their destination, Fang Yue left the caravan. He took a look at his surroundings, asked for some directions, and then headed toward the Prefecture City’s Observatory post.