Isaiah, now, yearned for freedom.

As a dark-skinned slave who had lived on the Plantation since childhood, his name, like those of his companions, came from the 'bestowal' of his master.

The Beaton Family was a relatively meticulous sort, giving their slaves names with origins; for example, the name 'Isaiah' came from the holy book and meant 'salvation'.

Compared to many Plantations where names were arbitrarily decided by the day of the week, month, tool names, or simply by what the master read in the newspaper,

Isaiah was at least quite satisfied with his name.

So, if he managed to escape tonight, he had no intention of changing his name; he just needed to choose a suitable surname for himself and Alicia.

In fact, more than a year ago, people from the Underground Railroad had officially contacted Isaiah; the initial contact was even earlier.

No one would arrange a teacher for slaves, but enlightened slave owners didn't mind slaves learning on their own—as long as it didn't interfere with their work—and the person who contacted Isaiah back then was a gardener's apprentice on the Plantation who was happy to teach slaves simple literacy in his spare time.

Escaping was a serious crime; recaptured slaves often faced flogging, imprisonment, starvation, and heavier labor, and were more likely to be branded with a red-hot iron or even executed.

But more seriously, it would also implicate their families and companions, just as some Plantations where runaways had appeared would thereafter make all their slaves work and live wearing iron collars and chains—the Beaton Family was quite lenient in this regard and had not yet gone to such an extent.

Isaiah originally did not want to take such a risk,

But he had no choice.

His lover, Alicia, was a light-skinned biracial woman, exceptionally beautiful among slaves. As her figure matured, her treatment on the Plantation began to differ from other slaves. She no longer had to participate in collective labor, nor did she have to worry about being easily punished by the overseers or being taken to strange corners.

Members of the Beaton Family were not interested in biracial female slaves, but slave owners who were interested were not uncommon. So, they would send such slaves to auctions, at their most suitable age and in their best condition, to get the most valuable return.

Slaves' marriages were not decided by themselves, and when Alicia would be sent away, even the stewards on the Plantation had no right to interfere.

But it was evident that, given Alicia's current situation, that day was drawing closer.

So tonight,

Might be their only chance.

In the dim shed, Isaiah observed the moonlight while recalling the other party's instructions:

“In a few days, the Church will hold a funeral for Bishop Corleone. During this time, the entire high society of Richmond should be busy with socializing, and many police and slave patrol officers will also attend. No one will focus their energy on the slaves.”

“We will arrange a pickup the night before the funeral. Take this 'ticket' and arrive at the 'station' on time, and our people will take you out of Virginia.”

Slaves did not have much personal privacy; after sunset, everyone would gather together according to their sheds.

Someone seemed to have noticed Isaiah's unusual behavior tonight but did not ask. His lame father just shared some of his dinner with him, telling Isaiah to "eat his fill."

It was a porridge made of chopped pig offal and ground corn, with a good amount of minced meat, considered quite a decent meal—the food supply for slaves on the Plantation was rationed, and for any insufficient portions, slaves could only supplement it by growing their own crops and catching fish.

Because many Plantations were adjacent to each other, and there were a certain number of stewards and overseers living on the Plantations, when they arranged to slaughter pigs and cattle, the slaves on the Plantations would occasionally get some unpopular offal or meat trimmings. Meat was not considered 'scarce,' especially after the master held a ball, which was often when the slaves had the most abundant meat.

Isaiah originally wanted to leave a simple letter for his father, but he didn't know many words, and his father and mother probably wouldn't understand it. So he could only secretly put all the things he had saved under his father's bed, planning to say goodbye to him in person before leaving.

As for his mother, she, like his father, had difficulty walking… and male and female slaves were not necessarily able to live according to 'families,' sometimes only by 'gender.' He could only relay the message through Alicia, hoping her actions would also go smoothly.

The crescent moon climbed to the treetops, and snores began to sound in the shed.

Isaiah quietly approached his father's bed and gently patted him, "Papa…"

"Shh!"

Isaiah's wrist was firmly grasped, then relaxed, and finally, a sheathed homemade dagger was slipped into his hand.

His father's palm helped him grip it, patted it twice lightly, then pushed his hand away, turned his back, and rested his head on the straw.

The words of farewell ultimately remained unspoken. Isaiah hugged his father's shoulder before turning to leave.

Outside the shed, the moonlight was not very bright. He couldn't help but look back before stepping out, and unexpectedly, his gaze met his father's again.

His calloused hand, slightly thin, waved silently in mid-air.

…

"We've found the people from that Detective Agency. They had a carriage that left in the evening and eventually entered a Plantation, a property under the Beaton Family. They seemed to have stayed there for half the night."

On the open ground next to the steam train route, several carriages and a number of riders converged.

The leader, after hearing his subordinate's report, felt a slight relief but also some confusion.

The Beaton Family?

That Wayne held a special permit signed by Bishop Corleone, barely counting him as half a 'Church person,' but the Beaton Family should not be involved in this matter.

They did have some connections in politics, but to antagonize all Southern pastors and interfere with the internal affairs of the Church, they would face more than just pressure from the Church.

This doesn't make sense.

Unless the pastors' judgment was wrong from the beginning, and that Wayne, taking people away from Richmond at this time, had nothing to do with Church matters at all.

While he was thinking, someone else on horseback was approaching from a little further away.

The horse quickly drew near, bringing the latest news: "Because everyone in that Detective Agency is an Extraordinary Person, I didn't dare get too close, but I just heard sounds of fighting and shouting. And just now I saw their parked carriage move again. It feels like they have more plans for tonight."

The leader reacted quickly, "Specific direction and location? We'll split up and surround them. We absolutely cannot lose them this time."

Everyone present could be considered a local and was very familiar with the area around Richmond.

A simple diagram was quickly drawn on the ground. The leader was about to arrange personnel when a subordinate next to him already turned to look in another direction.

Two dark-skinned slaves, a man and a woman, were walking quickly towards them. The man seemed a little uneasy, "Are you the people coming to meet us?"

After speaking, he also extended a hand, holding a piece of paper that looked like a ticket.

The leader's brow furrowed.

Runaway slaves?!