Retreat

Virtually no one would choose to travel on foot. This was both dangerous and time consuming. Ambush from bandits and magical beasts weren't uncommon, which was why one needed to also have sufficient strength when travelling.

That was why merchants usually had hired large convoys when travelling from city to city. Now Adrian neither had a travelling artifact or a magical beast mount. 

This left him a bit stumped on his next course of movement. Ultimately, he decided to travel through the forest. However, instead of following the already paved path that passes through it, he decided on a newer, much faster route.

He couldn't waste time travelling for months. While he might be able to handle it, the kids would not. After making his decision, he didn't hesitate and ushered them into the forest. 

Meanwhile, back in Thorne city, a wave of unrest had already permeated through out the city. Many merchants were irate about not being able to leave the city. The more influential ones were even debating on going to the Thorne family to complain.

However, they still held themselves back. The situation hadn't become that dire yet. Still, they could sense something amiss. A situation like this had never occurred before. 

Coupled with the black robed men causing havoc in the city, they were certain that something significant was going down. However, without word from the Thorne family, they could only offer speculations. 

When it was midday, a sudden situation occurred. The city gates became wide open as multiple carriages driven by magical beasts suddenly burst out.

The sudden situation caused an uproar among the residents, especially those residing near the city gates. Many speculated about how absurd it was. 

They speculated that they were merchants who were too excited about the gates finally being opened that they swiftly left, for fear of it being closed again.

While bizarre, the explanation seemed plausible. The matter was only surprising for a while before everything calmed down again. 

To everyone's delight, the black robed individuals who had been causing trouble for the past few days could no longer be found in the streets.

This development made the residents happy, as they suffered various losses from them. They thought that it was the Thorne family that finally took action against them.

Unknown to the residents of Thorne city, the ones who left the city weren't merchants, but rather, demonic cultivators. After spending a whole day looking for the Patriarch's token, Elder Crow finally made the painful decision to withdraw. 

They had already been in the city for far too long. Any further, and they could risk being discovered. Even though he knew he was going to be punished, punishment was still better than death.

Of course, with the harsh temperaments of the demonic cultivators, death was still on the table. Still, possible death was better than a certain one.

The multiple carriages filled with demonic cultivators scattered, each moving in different directions. As they were too much, moving together would bring too much attention to them. 

Thus, after leaving the city, they all chose different escape routes. One of those escape routes was the forest path that Adrian and the kids were on. Since they had only been travelling for a few hours, they hadn't gotten very far. 

The path they were on was still very close to the paved road that passes through the forest. It was then that they heard the roars of beasts, along with the rattling of the carriages.

Without hesitation, Adrian brought the two kids and hid behind a large tree. They waited with bated breaths as the sound of three carriages passed them by. 

After confirming that they had gone far away from them, all three of them let out sighs of relief. They felt lucky that there wasn't anyone powerful in those carriages who could sense their presence.

Half an hour passed by before they could hear the familiar sound of beasts again. This time, however, it was a lot fainter. The number of beasts present this time was clearly lower than last time. 

Still, they didn't take any risks. The kids, familiar with the drill, found a large tree with a hollowed trunk. They quickly entered, and Adrian covered the entrance with a few logs of wood.

This time, he didn't hide with them. He had a plan and wanted to test out its feasibility. He quickly ran and, without wasting much time, made it back to the forest path. 

Standing atop a tall tree, he could see fairly far into the distance. Sure enough, only a single carriage was passing through this time. He had sensed a sinister aura from the carriages earlier, which made him sure that they were demonic cultivators.

Specifically, the demonic cultivators that attacked Thorne City. He hadn't made a move earlier since he was outnumbered too much, but....

'If it's a single carriage,' this thought flashed through his mind as a wave of killing intent arose within him.

He quickly hopped down from the tree. He quickly roughed his clothes up and dirtied his body. He even tore it up in some parts. All this made him appear very miserable. 

Then he came to the road and started waving his hands frantically. This action naturally attracted the attention of the demonic cultivators in the carriage. 

Immediately, they spotted him, and they became tense and had already unsheathed their weapons. However, it was only a person in the foundation establishment realm. 

Except that he looked a little young, there was nothing special or dangerous about him. They stopped their carriage in front of him, curious as to why he had stopped them.

The five demonic cultivators disembarked from the carriage, their eyes filled with suspicion and curiosity. Only the driver was left, still sitting in front of the carriage, as he had to hold on to the reins of the beasts.

"F-Fellow Daoists, thank you for stopping. My family and I were travelling on this route a few days ago when we were attacked by bandits.

I was lucky enough to find a way to escape. Please let me follow you to the next town over.

I still have a few spirit stones left in my storage ring. You can have it all. Just let me follow you. I promise I won't cause any problems for you." 

Adrian said while putting on the performance of a lifetime.