The next morning, everyone gathered under a large tree beside the inn, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.
Lin Yue went to the stable to fetch her donkey, then found a spot to wait.
The red-gowned woman and the white-robed man who had fought yesterday walked over, exchanging a glance bristling with heavy tension.
Small, pinky-thick braids hung from both sides of the red-gowned girl's head, their ends tied off with red string, adding a touch of youthful liveliness to her appearance.
Noticing another girl of a similar age in the crowd, she walked over with a friendly smile, cupping her hands in greeting.
"I am Hong Mei. May I ask your name, young lady?"
"Lin Yue."
"Are you also here to attend the Martial Arts Gathering, Miss Lin?"
"Just going to take a look."
Hong Mei scanned Lin Yue up and down, raising an eyebrow with a tease. "You look quite slight, Miss Lin, with a gentle and refined air. You don't look like someone who knows martial arts—more like the girl next door."
Lin Yue returned the smile. "I've only learned a little martial arts for self-defense. I can't compare to your impressive skills, Miss Hong!"
Hong Mei let out a snort. "Did you see yesterday? That Zhu Guangbai looks all refined and well-groomed, but in truth, he's a predatory scoundrel. If he tries to talk to you, just ignore him..."
As it turned out, Hong Mei and Zhu Guangbai had only met yesterday. At first, Zhu Guangbai had acted like a complete gentleman—courteous, gentle, attentive, and skilled at pleasing girls. Coupled with his decent looks, Hong Mei had felt quite favorable toward him. But who would have thought that after entering the inn, Zhu Guangbai used an excuse to knock on her door, and within moments of stepping inside, he began dropping suggestive remarks and making improper advances.
So Hong Mei grabbed her whip and chased him all the way from the second floor down to the courtyard.
After telling the story, Hong Mei summarized the lesson: "Never let a man into your room, no matter how close you are, and definitely don't go into a man's room."
Seeing her disgusted expression, Lin Yue nodded in agreement with her stance.
Clop, clop, clop~
The sound of hoofbeats echoed as the black-clad wanderer led her horse over. A bamboo hat concealed her face, and her loose clothing rendered her height and build nearly identical to Lu Chuan's when standing beside him, making it impossible to tell she was a woman.
"Everyone's here. Let's set off."
Seeing that everyone had gathered, the green-robed man, Lu Chuan, waved his hand and signaled for the group to get moving.
Lin Yue led her donkey out of the small town, with Hong Mei beside her and the black-clad traveler leading her horse right behind them.
Hong Mei chatted with Lin Yue about the places she had traveled through—Mafeng, Shiyuan, Ling'an, and so on. She had traveled from the west to the east, then north, and finally toward the capital to attend the Martial Arts Gathering. Having been on the road for three full years, she had encountered all kinds of people along the way, but those willing to glance twice at you in a crowd did so either for money or lust.
Only a few were people of genuine character; they were the true knights-errant, treating wealth like dirt, harboring great righteousness in their hearts, and unburdened by romantic entanglement.
Unfortunately, after traveling for so long and over such great distances, she had yet to meet a true knight-errant.
Those hotheaded youths didn't count, nor did she. They were merely hot-blooded martial artists in the prime of their youth, imitating heroes by punishing evil and upholding justice while having just stepped onto this path; they could hardly be called knights-errant.
She believed that true knights-errant were those who sought not fame but righteousness—people who, after years of weathering, remained steady, unshaken, and held fast to their inner convictions.
Hong Mei asked, "Sister Lin, have you ever met a knight-errant?"
Lin Yue paused, thinking of Song Jiqing and that tall fellow, then smiled. "Perhaps I have, perhaps I haven't."
Hong Mei slapped Lin Yue's arm playfully. "Have you or haven't you?"
"I say I have because they were willing to stand up for the common folk. Even when their strength was lacking, they still stepped forward. Though so poor they had nothing left but a broadsword and the clothes on their backs, they still harbored goodwill and never thought of harming others."
"I say I haven't because... they were thieves."
"That's a contradiction."
"People are inherently full of contradictions."
After traveling for a few days, the group decided to take a shortcut through Wangsu Stream to reach the capital; otherwise, they would have to make a massive detour, adding another six months to their journey.
Wangsu Stream was actually a mountain basin created by a massive meteorite crater, surrounded by towering cliffs. With nearly a hundred trails leading in and out, its interior was filled with swamps, venomous snakes, ferocious beasts, and year-round heavy fog. Those who had committed heinous crimes, death-row convicts, or people fleeing pursuers often chose to escape into this place.
Once someone entered, it was extremely difficult to find them, for no one knew where they were, let alone whether they would still be there the next moment.
Originally, there were no roads to speak of in Wangsu Stream, but paths were forged by human feet. High-level knights-errant, large merchant caravans, and those with enough capital and strength were unwilling to waste time, so they ventured inside and carved out a path.
The group left the main dirt road at a small fork, turning into a narrow trail only half a zhang wide.
Leading her donkey, Lin Yue still brought up the rear while Hong Mei walked ahead, turning back from time to time to chat. In this group, only she and Lin Yue were young women traveling alone; the other two women had companions to look out for each other.
As the path grew narrower, the horse moved slowly along the mountain trail, leaving the black-clad traveler falling behind.
The ground underfoot shifted from dirt to sharp stones. Walking on them for too long could easily cause blisters, but the group was unfazed; they channeled internal power through the meridians in their feet, releasing it to soothe soreness. This allowed them to walk with great stability, neither tiring nor blistering their heels.
Darkness fell.
People of the jianghu weren't overly particular, sleeping wherever their footsteps took them. The group found flat spots along the path to lie down, while those who felt unsafe leaped up into tall trees.
After everyone had rested for two ke, the black-clad wanderer caught up and sat down to rest a short distance away.
Lin Yue pulled out a dry cake and began eating. The donkey, having grazed along the way, was now lying down munching on grass by the roadside, eating with far greater relish than anyone else present.
"Donkey meat sure smells delicious!" Hong Mei remarked, smacking her lips as she looked at the donkey.
"Hee-haw~!"
The donkey let out a bray.
Hong Mei suddenly chuckled. "It even brayed back! Does it even know what I'm saying? Silly donkey!"
"Hee-haw~!"
The donkey brayed once more.
"It might not understand our words, but it can sense human emotions."
"I think it senses your cheerfulness, which is why it's acting excited."
"Is that so? It really has spirit. Maybe I'll raise one myself tomorrow!"
Lin Yue paused in silence before advising, "If you're buying one to travel, you'd better choose something else."
Seeing Lin Yue's indescribable expression, Hong Mei let out a loud, honking laugh. "Just how stubborn is this donkey?"
"You'll see soon enough."
That night, wild beasts howled in the distance. The donkey's ears twitched repeatedly, but Lin Yue stroked its neck to soothe it. The next morning, the group set off once again.
They traveled deeper and deeper into the mountains for several days. Along the way, they heard a tiger's roar, which spooked the donkey. Sensing danger ahead, the donkey stubbornly refused to budge.
"Look at that, I'm seeing it already!" Hong Mei gloated from the side.
Seeing that they were about to reach the wide path used by merchant caravans while the black-clad traveler behind hadn't caught up yet, Lin Yue had no choice but to soothe the donkey by stroking its fur, gently patting its back, and coaxing it with food. She led it from ahead so it could see a familiar face. Only after the black-clad traveler caught up did the donkey finally consent to move.
"Tsk, what a hassle. A good beating would fix it right up."
Lin Yue shook her head. Donkeys were opinionated creatures; beating them didn't guarantee they would move and would only erode the donkey's trust in its owner. Unless absolutely necessary, coaxing was always the better approach.
After walking for half a ke, they finally spotted the wide road. Following this path forward would lead them straight into Wangsu Stream.
Looking up, the distant mountains loomed dark green like indigo ink, steep and majestic, like a heavenly barrier blocking travelers from advancing. Ahead, wild grass sprouted from old wheel ruts, while behind, no followers could be seen, instilling a sense of daunting hesitation.
They walked for another few days. The path was seldom traveled, with wild grass ahead growing knee-deep. Not being made of iron and bronze, everyone picked up tree branches to beat the surrounding bushes to avoid stepping on venomous snakes.
"Hey! Hey! Get!"
Hearing the noise, everyone looked in that direction. The broad-shouldered, dark-furred man was swinging a branch forward. Standing erect ahead appeared to be a straight black pole over three chi tall, but looking closer, it was a king cobra!
The thickest part of the king cobra was as thick as an adult's calf, its muscles contracting powerfully, weighing around forty-some jin.
It raised its head in an aggressive posture. Everyone halted and backed away, a few unsheathing their steel blades. The king cobra lunged forward violently, forcing the man at the front to retreat several steps. When it struck again, the man swept his blade across, but the king cobra flicked backward with astonishing speed, dodging the attack completely.
Several men launched a joint attack, guarding against their own blade strikes while dodging the venom spray. They remained locked in a stalemate for a quarter of an hour. The king cobra was blazingly fast and fiercely aggressive; ordinary people would likely have been bitten multiple times by now.
Lin Yue once again felt the contrast between this world and her own.
A black figure darted past her as the black-clad wanderer stepped forward. With a sharp clang, she drew her treasured sword, the crisp ringing sounding like the faint hum of a dragon.
Just from the sound alone, one could tell it was a fine sword.
Holding the sword, she stood before the king cobra. The simple act of raising her blade to set her stance revealed her practiced composure. As the king cobra lunged, she struck simultaneously—not to parry, but to attack.
A flash of cold light gleamed. Her hand twitched—too fast for anyone to see how she moved—and the king cobra was sliced in two right at its seven-inch mark.
Everyone gasped at the sight, their gazes toward the black-clad wanderer turning even more respectful.
Yet the upper half of the king cobra's body seemed utterly oblivious to its bisection, continuing to fly forward through the air with its mouth wide open, fangs bared as it lunged at her.
The black-clad wanderer's hand moved slightly again, and before the sword even seemed to leave its sheath, the snake's head was sliced in half horizontally, flopping limply onto the ground.
"A swift hand! What a swift hand! This knight-errant truly possesses real martial skill. I wonder which school's sword style that is?"
A jianghu traveler exclaimed excitedly, eyes shining as if he had laid eyes on a rare treasure.
Two sect disciples hurriedly stepped forward as well, cupping their hands to probe her background.
The black-clad wanderer paid them no heed, walking back in silence. She unslung her water skin to wash the blade, meticulously wiping it down with a cotton cloth before washing away the venom from the sheath.
It was as though the sword were a delicate artifact that demanded careful nurturing.
Only after a long period of meticulous care did she sheath the sword and hold it in her hand.
Someone went over to inspect the king cobra. With its venom fangs broken but the venom sac intact, they drew a dagger to carefully slice out the sac and place it into a bamboo tube. The snake body was also picked up, skinned, and gutted to serve as dinner.
The group rested for the night and pressed on.
Traveling the jianghu—most of a jianghu traveler's time was spent on the road. It was a monotonous yet peril-filled journey.
Rate on N.U.
