What is your treasure?

"By the way, old Zhan, where are we going? This isn't the direction of Xu clan's manor," he asked as he looked out the window.

"I got a reservation yesterday but forgot about it. We're on our way to pick up that customer," he calmly replied.

"Will it be okay though? With me here?"

Old Zhan shook his head, "That customer only reserved one seat, not the whole carriage."

After that, Xu An and old Zhan chat idly. Xu An asked about how his family was doing and old Zhan replied that his family was doing okay.

His daughter was about to graduate from one of the most prestigious schools in the capital and going to work as a noble's secretary.

Old Zhan was dissatisfied with her daughter's decision but she was going no matter what. This topic continued with old Zhan blabbering and slandering that noble for washing her daughter's mind and his daughter worked for him.

Xu An listened silently but inside he sighed, why are you telling me all of this?

"Then old Zhan, why don't you force her to marry a reliable man?" Xu An suddenly suggested.

"I have my limits as her father, I can't decide her life, I could only guide her. I couldn't force her to marry someone she doesn't like."

For Xu An, old Zhan's answer was unexpected. He fell silent as he lost for words to utter.

"She's a lucky kid," Xu An smiled bitterly.

"What are you saying? You're still a kid yourself! That's right, she's older than you! Call her ma'am next time!"

"How old is she?"

"19," quickly replied old Zhan, and Xu An looked at him in confusion.

Isn't that too fast to call her ma'am? Wouldn't I be killed? He thought to himself as capable of imagining a scene where a girl with a petite figure and face like old Zhan beat him to death.

"This reminds me, how's your relationship with your parents?"

Xu An hesitated to answer that question but before he could utter a sound.

"If you don't want to answer then say it, why are you hesitating?" His voice filled with displeasure.

Xu An moved his head to the right and left, "No, it's not that. I just couldn't find the right words to answer it. Well, in a way, our relationship isn't bad or good."

"In a way? How you don't know it yourself?" Old Zhan asked with his brows furrowed in a frown.

Xu An awkwardly laughed but didn't say anything. Seeing Xu An didn't want the topic to be probed any further, old Zhan fell silent. 

The carriage advanced in silence. From outside, Xu An could hear the crowd's noises, the sound of hooves trampling the ground, the trembling carriage, and the bright light from the outside.

This somehow gave Xu An a sense of calmness and nostalgia. It was as though he came back home from a long journey.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered his small town that looked exactly like this.

A small town where his mother and father lived, a place far away from the city and surrounded by mountains.

Out of the blue, his parents' smiling face flashed by his mind.

Sorrow soon filled his heart as he missed them, as well as that small town.

"Old Zhan, if one day your daughter doesn't come back home. What would you do?" Xu An asked slowly.

His question came out of nowhere but old Zhan replied calmly yet solemnly, "I have to find her even if it means paying my soul."

Hearing his words, Xu An's heart winced. His parents must be worried sick why he didn't come home and upon learning the truth he was killed.

His parents must be crying until their eyes went red. Just imagining such a scene filled his heart with regret and sorrow, for the fact, there were many things he hadn't done to make his parents proud of him.

He let out a long, sorrowful sigh.

"What's wrong? Is your relationship with your parents so bad that they forget about you?" Old Zhan joked with a smile but as he noticed Xu An didn't say anything in response, his smile vanished and he looked at Xu An with narrowed eyes.

He took Xu An's silence for granted.

"Are you serious?"

Xu An nodded, "I don't know what happened, as soon as I woke up from my coma, they didn't recognize me but as my little brother's closest friend." His voice was low.

"I see, sorry brat, for saying that," he apologized.

"It's okay, old Zhan. My chest feels light for some reason, I should be thanking you instead."

Abandoned by his parents, huh? Xu An silently pondered as he felt pity towards the original Xu An's situation.

If Xu An was in that kid's shoes, he would probably blame all of it on his little brother and would do everything to the person who had taken everything from him to suffer.

Yet the original Xu An didn't. Instead, he tried to live a better life. Rather than spending his life on seeking revenge, he rather spent it on something else. Life was limitless, there were many paths and choices. 

So that's how it is, this kid is rather smart, Xu An complimented the original Xu An's decision and admired him for making that choice.

After a long pause, old Zhan said, "thank me? You're a weird kid but that's the part I like about you!" He laughed heartily.

Xu An smiled gently.

"That aside, old Zhan. I've been wondering, is it okay for you to ride the carriage without seeing the road?" He asked.

"It's okay, they aren't normal horses. I simply poured a bit of my qi into their mind and told them all the possible routes to arrive at our destination and they would go unless I told them to stop.

"What I need to do is to make sure they don't forget where we are going."

Xu An grunted in acknowledgment as he silently thought to himself, That is somehow similar to the automatic driving system in futuristic cars... 

"If you tell them many routes, which routes are they going to choose?"

"The faster and shortest way."

It really is like that system but the driver is acting as the GPS, Xu An said to himself.

"How long can they remember the route?" Xu An wondered.

"Fifteen minutes but sometimes can be short, it varies," old Zhan calmly replied.

"Does that mean you can sleep while driving a carriage?"

As the driver itself didn't have to do anything as the horse galloped without its guide.

"I'm a professional, I wouldn't do something that can tarnish my reputation."

Not waiting for his response, old Zhan requested, "Xu An, move to the side, will you? That's the seat that the customer reserved."

"Ah, okay," Xu An said as he changed his seat to the opposite bench.

Then, the carriage slowly came to a halt.

The door opened and a girl in a brown robe covering her entire figure entered.

After sitting, she opened her hoodie. Revealing her beautiful appearance.

She had white hair in short cut and flower hairpin on it, her emerald eyes that seemingly glowing enhanced her charm even further. With her pale lips and her snow-white skin, her refined features, she was one of those girls with abnormal beauty.

However, for Xu An, her beauty was a bit inferior compared to Morgiana.

After silently observing her, Xu An shifted his line of sight outside the window but before that, however, a sweet and soft voice entered his ears, "hello."

The source was from the girl.

"Hello to you too," Xu An smiled as he greeted her politely.

"Are you a traveler?" Xu An abruptly asked.

She shook her head, "No, but I do travel places to places looking for treasures.*

"Treasures?" Xu An's curiosity piqued.

She nodded, "Yes, there are a lot of treasures in this world and I'm looking for something that can be owned by my own."

What a strange answer… Xu An commented inwardly.

"Isn't treasures are something you get? Not owned? Like jewels and gold coins hidden in dungeons or a mysterious island, or maybe something that can help you in life, such as powerful artifacts or items," said Xu An.

"Dumb brat, do you think a treasure is only that?" Asked old Zhan as he suddenly joined in the conversation, he was dissatisfied with his words.

Not waiting for Xu An to utter a sound, old Zhan continued, "treasures are something you cherished, something you care more than your life."

"Something I cherished, something I care more than my life?" Xu An recited old Zhan's words slowly and fell into deep thought.

Subconsciously, his hand touched his scarf.

Old Zhan and the girl smiled as they saw this.

"What is my treasure though?" Xu An asked cluelessly. Old Zhan almost fainted and the girl's lips twitched.

I don't have a choice either! If I'm myself, I wouldn't bother to be this clueless! Xu An retorted in his heart.

"Isn't your scarf can be considered as one? I always see you wearing it," replied old Zhan in irritation. He couldn't believe Xu An was this dumb.

As his scarf extended to his back, Xu An grabbed the end of it as he bring it to his line of sight.

"Treasure, huh?" He softly muttered as his eyes filled with deep contemplation.