The group traveled forward with the merchant caravan in a grand line. They walked for seven consecutive days until merging with another trade route up ahead, heading north together.
After a few more days of walking, they reached the very center of the forest, where a village was situated. Houses lined both sides of the road, mostly inhabited by the elderly, the weak, women, and children. They would warmly entertain passing travelers, and exchange goods or money with caravans for supplies.
Children by the roadside with innocent, flashing eyes, loving mothers, elders with kindly smiles, and hospitable villagers—it felt as though this place was a sanctuary within Wangsu Stream.
Yet the merchant caravan did not stop here.
"Honored guests, take a rest here!"
"I have fine wine and delicious food here, come give it a try..." The landlady of a roadside shop waved her handkerchief at the passing travelers.
"Sister, you must be tired from traveling. Come inside and have a drink of water." Emaciated boys and girls held up bowls of water toward Lin Yue with pitied looks.
Lin Yue lowered her eyes for a glance before averting her gaze, letting her donkey carry her off toward the distance. Seeing this, the children carried their bowls over to Hong Mei behind her.
Even when a cold glare swept over from her, the children stubbornly held their bowls out in front of them anyway.
"Sister, come inside and have a drink of water."
A female sect disciple traveling with them knit her brows, her gaze lingering on a little girl for a moment. Immediately, the swarm of children surged forward to surround her, tugging at her clothes and pulling her away from the convoy.
"Hey, I'm not drinking, don't pull..."
The female sect disciple tussled back and forth with the children for a long time, and even the adults joined in. She even drew her blade, but no one feared her; in the end, it was the caravan guards who stepped in to pull those people off her.
They encountered no more robberies along the way, walking for a month and emerging safely from Wangsu Stream.
Seventeen had entered, but only nine walked out; one person had died along the way while fighting against desperadoes due to severe injuries.
Lin Yue looked back at the moat-like entrance that separated two worlds. Some people had been left here forever.
After leaving Wangsu Stream and walking along mountain paths for another two days, they reached a flat dirt road. The black-clad wanderer mounted her horse and rode off into the distance, leaving only a cloud of dust.
Just like when she had arrived.
Seeking neither fame nor fortune, starting as strangers, escorting them part of the way, and turning away to leave—perhaps this was a true knight-errant.
The members of the group gradually dispersed; those who were injured needed at least a month to recover, so they turned into towns along the route, leaving only three people in the end.
Lin Yue, Hong Mei, and the yellow-robed woman of the Huajian Sect, Ren Siyan.
Another month of walking would bring them to the capital city.
As they rounded a corner, the clashing of weapons and shouts rang out ahead.
The three exchanged glances and quickly slipped into the bushes by the roadside.
Hiding in the brush, the three peered through the gaps between the blades of grass.
Two groups of people were fighting fiercely with blades in hand. One side consisted of masked men in black, while the other comprised guards and house servants protecting a carriage.
The carriage was luxurious, and the reddish-brown horse was sleek, tall, and sturdy—clearly, the person inside was no ordinary individual.
The masked men had strength in numbers. Though their martial arts were mediocre, every move reeked of murderous aura. The twenty-some guards were clearly outmatched. The head guard, possessing higher martial skills, finished off the enemies nearing the carriage, slapped the horse, and the reddish-brown steed neighed, bolting forward.
"Stop them!"
At the critical moment, two masked men cut off the horse, leaving the people inside in dire straits.
"Ah!"
"Mother!"
The horse slammed to a sudden halt, causing the carriage to lurch forward. Sounds of tumbling items rattled inside, followed by screams from a woman and a child.
"Madam, Young Master! Are you alright?"
The head guard anxiously lifted the carriage curtain.
Watching secretly, Lin Yue and the other two saw a three-year-old child crawl out of the carriage, followed by a panic-stricken woman. Both wore fine silk robes, clearly wealthy or noble.
Because the carriage had been abruptly stopped, the woman's forehead was scraped, blood trickling down. Terrified, the child clung tightly to his mother's hand, whimpering softly with eyes full of terror and helplessness.
A masked man launched a sneak attack, slashing toward the mother and son, but a servant blocked the blow.
"Madam! There are too many of them, we must hurry and escape!"
The head guard gathered the remaining guards—now down to barely ten men—and fled forward while protecting their master.
"Should we help?" Hong Mei asked.
"If it were local mountain bandits, they wouldn't slaughter women and children. This must be a targeted assassination," Ren Siyan analyzed sharply.
"They're just defenseless women and children..." Hong Mei said, her tone laced with pity. "Lin Yue, what do you think?"
"They have strength in numbers; we can't beat them." Lin Yue shook her head. Although her internal power was high, her martial foundation was basic. She could barely hold her own in a single bout, but if swarmed by a mob, she could only run. The risk was too high.
This was also why Lin Yue was traveling in a group with the two of them; lacking jianghu experience, traveling together helped avoid many risks.
Furthermore, the enemies' identities were unknown, and good could not be distinguished from evil. Rashly intervening could easily bring trouble upon themselves.
In the end, Lin Yue and her companions did not step out.
Once both groups had vanished into the distance, the three of them entered the mountains, spending half a day crossing a mountain toward another path.
This was a narrow trail winding through the mountain forest, its surface covered with loose dry leaves and showing no signs of prior footprints.
As the three stepped on the dry leaves, the crunching sound of their footsteps rang out with unusual clarity in the woods.
After walking for a day, the small trail merged into another major road, and the three continued toward the capital as though nothing had happened.
Hong Mei glanced back, startled, and knit her brows. "Sister Lin, that little child..."
The child had hidden in the roadside bushes at some point, following behind once he saw the three of them pass by.
Lin Yue's expression turned stern. "You want to take him along?"
Hearing this, Hong Mei fell silent for a long moment before turning to Ren Siyan. Ren Siyan shook her head and said, "My Huajian Sect is merely a small, obscure sect in the jianghu."
"The child is too young to walk far. If we leave him be, he will only be left to die in this deserted place."
"You weren't this softhearted back in Wangsu Stream," Lin Yue shot back.
Hong Mei shook her head. "That was completely different. Those were bad kids whose wicked nature had been engraved into their bones. If I ignored them, they wouldn't die because of me."
"But how old is this child? What does he know? If we don't help him, he really will die."
Lin Yue said nothing, nor did Ren Siyan speak.
Behind them, the little child trudged forward, unable to keep pace with the three of them as the distance between them grew wider and wider.
Hong Mei pondered for a moment before stopping resolutely. Facing the two who had turned around ahead, she said, "I travel the jianghu not just to make a name for myself, but because I heard that chivalry exists here."
"I saw one in Wangsu Stream, and I thought I could become one too." She ventured into the jianghu not just to observe noble knights-errant, but in hopes of becoming one herself, rather than not even daring to save such a child and living the rest of her life in regret whenever she recalled it.
Lin Yue and Ren Siyan exchanged a glance. Seeing the flicker of hesitation in her eyes, they fell into thought.
"Judging by the child's age, he should understand a few things. Let's ask who he is first. There are some people we can't afford to offend."
The masked men's martial arts were average, so they likely weren't sent by imperial nobility or top influential families. The opposing force wasn't huge, but one had to be cautious regardless.
"Lady Lin speaks truly. We should ask about the situation first," Ren Siyan agreed, nodding. With no signs of human habitation nearby, leaving the child here meant he would either be killed by someone or eaten by wolves; it was best to get a clear picture first.
After discussing for a moment, the three walked toward the child. Frightened, the little boy took a step back before standing rooted to the spot, timidly staring at them.
"What's your name? Why are you following us?"
Hong Mei squatted down and patted the child's head, asking gently. Seeing that he didn't speak, she comforted him a bit more before the child whispered in a voice as tiny as a mosquito.
"Chen Zhiyi."
"Where are your family members?"
Hearing this, the child pouted, weeping softly as his eyes turned red.
"Don't cry, don't cry. Sister is here. Only if you tell me can Sister help you..."
Hong Mei tried coaxing him for a while without success, and Ren Siyan joined in to soothe him as well. Lin Yue turned her head to observe their surroundings as the child whimpered and sobbed until he coughed, refusing to speak.
"Zhiyi, don't cry. Are you hungry? Sister has food." Hong Mei brought out a dry flatbread to distract the child.
Seeing this, Lin Yue knew they wouldn't get an answer anytime soon. Since the child was alive, those searching for him might be nearby. Handing the donkey over to Ren Siyan, she said, "I'll head up front to check out the situation."
"Be careful," Ren Siyan cautioned.
Lin Yue gave an affirming nod, pushed off with her toes, and leaped onto a tree. Sweeping her eyes over the surroundings, she stepped lightly across tree leaves as she bounded through the forest into the distance.
Seeing this, Ren Siyan couldn't help but marvel in admiration. "Flying across leaves without stirring a breeze... Her lightness technique is exquisite and her internal power profound. To possess such talent... yet I wonder which sect she hails from..."
She was young with superb lightness skills, though her combat techniques were lacking—perhaps all her time had been spent practicing lightness techniques.
Ren Siyan also walked toward the rear to observe the surroundings, while Hong Mei picked up the child, coaxing him, bringing him over to pet the donkey while trying to gently glean information.
Perhaps sensing Hong Mei's goodwill, the child relaxed and began to talk.
"Mother is dead." Having said that, he pouted again, looking utterly helpless.
"Where were you and Mother going?"
"Aunt's house."
"What about Father?" Hong Mei continued to ask.
"Father isn't here." Chen Zhiyi shook his head, wiping away his tears.
"Where did Father go..."
As the two were chatting, someone suddenly rustled through the nearby bushes with a loud whoosh.
Hong Mei tensed up, nervously reaching for the red whip at her waist. Only when she clearly saw who it was did she breathe a sigh of relief, lightheartedly scolding, "Lin Yue, what are you doing? You scared me to death."
Ren Siyan, who had been observing the rear, hurried over as well. "How is the situation?"
"People are searching the mountain." Lin Yue's expression was anxious. Glancing over at the child, she asked Hong Mei, "Did you find anything out?"
Hong Mei quickly replied, "The child kept crying so I couldn't get much. He said he and his mother were going to the capital to visit his aunt, but encountered an ambush on the road. Mother is dead, and Father isn't around."
"Quick! Give me the child first." Lin Yue stepped forward with a solemn look and pulled the child from Hong Mei's arms, though the child grabbed onto Hong Mei's clothes, refusing to let go.
Hong Mei realized the severity of the situation and handed the child over to Lin Yue.
Seeing the child still weeping and crying, Lin Yue didn't know how to coax him, so she could only resort to harsh words: "If you dare to cry, I'll throw you to the wolves!"
"No!"
Hearing this, the child shook his head, tightly clutching Lin Yue's clothes as his eyes welled up. "I'll be good! Don't throw me to the wolves!"
Lin Yue had no mood to reply to him. Holding the child, she channeled her internal power and sprinted into the forest. This time, she exerted her full strength, wind howling past her ears, bounding several zhang in the blink of an eye.
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