Both Qin Yining and Lu Heng were cautious individuals, and since they were fugitives, their bundles were always kept ready at all times. As soon as they saw Ha’er Bala burst in with an anxious expression, the two immediately grabbed their bundles.

Lu Heng ran while anxiously asking, “Are there pursuers?”

Ha’er Bala nodded. “This time it’s not a house-to-house search—they’re heading straight for us. It’s very likely they already know you two are with the Mino tribe.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Heng pulled Ha’er Bala to a stop. “If that’s the case, the surrounding area is probably already surrounded. If we try to escape through the side alleys, we’ll likely be caught immediately.”

Ha’er Bala was startled, his face turning deathly pale as he looked around.

Qin Yining didn’t understand what they were saying, but seeing the expressions on Lu Heng and Ha’er Bala’s faces, she knew the situation was grave.

She quietly inquired about the situation from Lu Heng. After Lu Heng explained in detail, Qin Yining also found it quite troublesome.

“The matter is probably not that simple. If the pursuers are truly heading straight here, it must be that Si Qin, after balancing the forces in court, has finally found time to think about our whereabouts. During this period, the city gates have been heavily guarded, making escape very difficult. Si Qin must have reasoned that we wouldn’t escape so easily, so he determined that someone must be hiding us.”

“You’re right. Anyone willing to risk hiding us must have a blood feud with A’na Ri. The Mino tribe would naturally be the primary suspect.” Lu Heng’s face turned white with anxiety.

At this critical moment, both he and Qin Yining, despite their sharp minds, found themselves helpless. When the pursuers actually surrounded them, they would probably have no choice but to surrender.

Having come this far with great difficulty, being captured now would be too bitter to accept. Moreover, under Si Qin’s powerful position, once they were sent back to Si Qin, apart from being used as bargaining chips against Great Zhou, they probably wouldn’t have any good ending.

Ha’er Bala gritted his teeth, momentarily caught in a dilemma.

He even found himself thinking that if they hadn’t taken in these two people initially…

No, no—there were no cowards in the Mino tribe who would retreat without fighting, no worthless individuals who would go back on their word. Since they had sworn that oath initially—whoever could avenge Abu and Mother would become the new tribal chief of the Mino tribe—they should stick to their word like a nail, without the slightest hesitation.

At worst, death!

With this thought, Ha’er Bala firmly grasped Si Qin’s hand. “Later we’ll charge out. I’ll draw them away while you two escape!”

“No!” Lu Heng firmly refused. “I cannot let you risk danger alone. Listen, if they really come searching later, you must pretend not to know us. Just say we two secretly snuck in just now, and that you weren’t deliberately harboring us! If we’re captured, they might use us to negotiate with Great Zhou, so we might not die. But if you resist, you’ll certainly face death!”

“No! You two are now the tribal chiefs of the Mino tribe. The Mino tribe has never had a rule of letting the tribal chief take risks!”

“But you still have your tribespeople! Not just the thirty-some elderly, weak, sick, and disabled living here—outside, your Mino tribe has over four thousand tribespeople waiting for you brothers to rescue them. If something happens to you, the Mino tribe might never recover!”

Ha’er Bala stubbornly pulled at Lu Heng. Though somewhat frightened in his heart, he didn’t retreat.

Qin Yining couldn’t understand what they were arguing about and was about to inquire when she saw Chagan Bala rush out of the house like flying. Upon seeing the three of them, he immediately pulled them to a woodshed in the corner without saying a word. He swept aside the firewood, revealing a large jar in the corner, then fiddled with the jar for a long time before actually removing the bottom of the jar.

“Quick, get in, quick!”

Chagan Bala urged them.

Ha’er Bala went first, followed by Lu Heng and Qin Yining.

Beneath the jar was actually a quite spacious underground cellar.

After Chagan Bala replaced the jar bottom and covered it with a large pile of firewood, he gathered an armful of firewood as if he had simply come out to collect fuel, then turned to go back into the house.

But just as he reached the doorway, he ran head-on into the group of people conducting the search.

“Where are they! Tell us, where did you hide them!”

Chagan Bala was so startled he nearly dropped his firewood, shaking his head in terror. “What are you talking about? What people?”

“Stop playing dumb with me! Those two Great Zhou people—one man and one woman—where did you hide them!”

“Big brother, I truly don’t know. Our lives are already like this. With such a big incident happening in the city, we can’t even get one full meal a day. How could we have spare grain to feed two strangers we don’t know?”

The official glared with bulging eyes, as if trying to bore two holes through Chagan Bala’s thin body. “Don’t think we don’t know what you’re thinking! The former khan was wise and mighty, destroying your Mino tribe. Your Abu and Mother were eaten by wolves during hunting. You’re unwilling to accept this and are probably waiting for an opportunity to seek revenge! Now that those two criminals who killed Khan A’na Ri have escaped, wouldn’t you help them?”

“Official sir! Please have mercy and stop pinning blame on us!” Chagan Bala appeared powerless and aggrieved, dropping his firewood dejectedly. “All we think about now is how to fill our stomachs, how to survive. How could we have the mood to think about other things? We’re also very sad that something happened to the khan, but you can’t blame such a great crime on us just because you can’t catch the assassins!”

“Big brother, why waste words with them! Let’s search!”

Seeing the two of them getting heated in their discussion, a companion stepped forward to remind them.

The leader also grew impatient with arguing with Chagan Bala and immediately ordered a search.

Chagan Bala lowered his head, appearing extremely aggrieved, but his heart was already so tense he could barely think normally. Every time the pursuers approached the firewood pile, his heart would skip a beat. When they moved away, he would relax slightly, and when they came close again, he would tense up once more.

He restrained his emotions, not daring to show the slightest inappropriate behavior.

But he watched as those people thrust their blade tips into the firewood pile, first stirring it around chaotically. Finding no one hidden inside, they then swept away all the firewood and straw.

A plump, round large clay jar stood there in the corner.

“Sir, there’s a jar here, but it’s empty.”

“Empty?”

Everyone approached and saw it was indeed a large jar covered with dust and apparently abandoned, finding it quite uninteresting.

Such jars were very heavy and once placed in a corner, people generally wouldn’t move them.

The searching officials had no interest in doing such hard labor. They only looked around the surrounding area, and seeing no place to hide anyone, they all felt somewhat discouraged. Some even kicked the large jar hard, but the jar didn’t budge an inch.

Chagan Bala watched with cold sweat nearly breaking out, but still forced himself to remain calm.

Meanwhile, the three people hiding in the underground cellar—Lu Heng, Ha’er Bala, and Qin Yining—were extremely nervous. If they were discovered, they would all be caught at once.