Chapter 006: Departing

After their covert exodus from the City Lord's opulent Mansion, Luo Zhan'en escorted Yao Yuan to a discreet yet well-appointed coaching inn nestled on the outskirts of Baihu City's bustling districts.

"You shall be secure here," he murmured in a low aside as they crossed the inn's threshold into one of the private chambers. Fatigue lined his features, but his gaze remained watchful. "I've arranged for your expeditious departure at first light. When dawn's first rays kiss the horizon, you'll join the Xian Yun Trade Caravan for the westward leg of their journey."

A strange melancholy tinged his expression as he turned to fully face her, the flickering lantern light casting haunting shadows across his chiselled countenance. "Once you depart these city walls, I urge you to remain ever vigilant. The path you've chosen is a gnarled, perilous one beset with innumerable dangers at every turn."

"Your fretting does you little credit, my friend. I marched into the chaos of battle alongside my formidable father since the tender age of ten. Compared to those crimson baptisms, a few odd days traversing the harsh Southern deserts or glacial Northern steppes alone seems almost...quaint."

"Take these. You can come back to Luo family if needed." Luo Zhan'en placed an exquisitely carved stone ring on the table.

"A storage ring?" These are not easy to obtain. Even back in the Hong Kun Kingdom, he did not have one. Yao Yuan swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "Wow, thank you very much."

"This ring and the [Fairy plays with Butterfly] cultivation technique came from the same ancient tomb. Keep it hidden, you should understand the principle of 'harbouring a precious item invites trouble'." Luo explained with careful nonchalance as he set the weighty ring with a solid thunk atop the battered writing desk before her. 

Yao Yuan's slender fingers traced the ring's myriad etchings with a feather-light caress, her gaze gleaming with undisguised longing...and no small amount of trepidation. After a moment's hesitation, she raised her gaze to Luo's, mouth set in a grim line. "Even so, I cannot accept such an extravagant gift. "

"I thought you didn't believe in the notion of propriety between men and women." Luo chided her.

"What do you mean by propriety between men and women? That has nothing to do with you and me. I'm a man, remember that well. I cannot accept it because this item is too precious. I have already owed you a debt so much that I may never be able to repay."

"Then you should promise yourself to me."

"What! You've gone too far. Don't make me beat you, even though I am weaker now, that doesn't mean I can't bite you."

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore. I had prepared many things for your trip, and without the storage ring, you could not bring them all."

"I am more resourceful than you know, so I don't need all these." She pushed the ring back to Luo.

"Just take it and be grateful. I can afford all these easily."

"You worry too much for others, did you know that?" she murmured at last, a strange tendril of warmth unfurling in the depths of her breast. An odd notion abruptly surfaced, one she couldn't quite articulate: he would clearly make an eminently devoted husband and father to some incredibly fortunate young maiden one day. Perhaps once her own quest reached its inevitable culmination, she could seek to subtly assist him in locating a suitable wife worthy of his profound compassion and talents?

She accepted the ring. The thought lingered, blooming like a fragile night blossom as a contented silence fell between them in those waning hours before the inexorable dawn...

***

The rambling caravan of the Xian Yun Trade Caravan continued its inexorable westward crawl down the ancient, weathered grooves of the Imperial Road, each lumbering wagon leaving thick choking clouds of road dust billowing in its groaning wake like ghostly apparitions.

In the Xian Yun Trade Caravan, Yao Yuan sat in the corner of the carriage, listening with interest to an old man sitting before her. 

"Looking at you guys, I'm guessing you must be heading to the Yun Heng Sword Sect, right?"

A young man in the carriage replied, "Yes, I want to see if I can join the Yun Heng Sword Sect."

"The Yun Heng Sword Sect's admission test will not be easy. I heard that for this year, they only accept those under twenty, and they won't even consider those who have not attained the Foundational realm," the old man said as he lit his pipe, filling the carriage with a faint aroma of smoke.

Yao Yuan, having heard this, also contemplated whether she should participate in the Yun Heng Sword Sect's admission test. After all, she wanted to join a sect, and the Yun Heng Sword Sect was relatively large and prestigious in this area.

However, her current level barely met the admission requirements.

"Miss, are you also going to the Yun Heng Sword Sect too?" The old man curiously asked when he saw her spacing out.

"Do I look like a woman to you? I'm a man," Yao Yuan said, a bit annoyed that people still mistook her for a woman despite her male attire.

"Miss, you must be joking. Although my eyesight isn't that good, I can still tell men from women," the old man remained unperturbed, knowing that it was proper for a woman to protect herself when travelling alone. Unfortunately, with such a pretty face and graceful figure, it was truly difficult for her to hide her femininity.

"..." Yao Yuan was speechless, what else can she do to be more manly.

"What the old sir means is, no matter how you look at it, you appear to be a woman. Since you can't conceal it, you might as well just embrace it," the young man added.

"What do you not understand? I..."

Suddenly, the carriage stopped, and the coachman shouted, "We'll take a break here for a bit."

Yao Yuan got off the carriage and stretched lazily; her bottom felt sore from the long ride. She had not been travelling and so, was not used to the hardship anymore.

The others also disembarked, with some heading to the woods to relieve themselves while others ate dry rations and engaged in gossip.

"My name is Ma Mo. What's your name, Miss?"

"Yao Yuan."

"It is a nice name. If you join the Yun Heng Sword Sect, I'll look after you."

"Are you that capable?" Yao Yuan wondered to herself, she had been the Golden Pill stage previously, maybe Luo could say that to her since he was at the Spirit Infant stage.

"I've already reached the ninth level of the Foundation Realm and will soon be able to form my Golden Pill."

"That is impressive. Keep up the hard work." Yao Yuan was sincere. At his age, having reached the ninth level of the Foundation Realm already qualified him as a genius. It seemed he was going to the Yun Heng Sword Sect to form his Golden Pill. For wandering cultivators, forming the Golden Pill was very difficult, not impossible, but it would take a much longer time. With a sect's cultivation methods and elixir resources, although still not guaranteed, forming the Golden Pill will be so much easier.

Like Luo Zhan'en, his family had the means to help him form his Golden Pill easily. Her former family could have done the same for her too, but that was in the past.

"I will definitely enter Yun Heng Sword Sect, so come join me. " Ma Mo sent Yao Yuan another invitation.

"I will consider."

**To be continued