Yuan Li spurred his horse to rush to Xinping City. Even before entering, he sensed something was amiss; there were many scattered soldiers outside the city, lining up to be collected.
He pulled his horse around for a look and instructed his personal guard, "Go ask around."
Before the guard could go, someone quickly spotted them. A team of soldiers ran over, pointed their guns, and suspiciously asked, "Who are you?"
Yuan Li said, "We are Han people, merchants from Luoyang."
"Merchants? Just a few of you? Where's your goods?"
Yuan Li replied, "We are scouts; our caravan is behind us. It's a large caravan. We are unaware of what's happening here — why are there so many people?"
The soldier did not answer him, instead asking for his pass.
Yuan Li showed him a backup pass.
As the head of a covert department, he had various passes.
