NOVPUBAs they passed a valley, the caravan slowly came to a stop.
"Miss, it’s getting late, and there are still many unknowns within the Wandering Dragon Mountain Range. How about we set up camp here for the night?" Uncle Cheng spoke up to suggest.
"Alright, let’s do as Uncle Cheng arranges," the woman in the palanquin, Qing Luo, instructed.
With the caravan halted, the group chose a relatively open space.
They then set up tents and made camp on the spot.
Some guards cleaned the Monster Beast they had killed during the day. They then started a bonfire and began to prepare dinner.
Xu Zimei lay on the back of the Dark Heaven Tiger. He had not closed his eyes all day, instead, he had been practicing the Heaven-Shaking Skill in the Divine Continent.
After all, crossing the Wandering Dragon Mountain Range was not an easy task, so Xu Zimei simply took this time to cultivate.
Before long, they could smell the rich aroma of meat soup wafting through the air.
Two guards prepared a bowl of meat soup and first brought it to the woman in the green dress.
The woman looked at the meat soup and remained silent for a short while before ultimately walking step by step towards Xu Zimei.
"Here, for you."
Xu Zimei slowly opened his eyes, looked at the meat soup in front of him, and chuckled lightly, "Aren’t you afraid I’m a bad guy?"
"I want to ask you for a favor," the woman in the green dress squatted down slightly, pleadingly looking at Xu Zimei.
"Then I dare not drink this meat soup," Xu Zimei chuckled.
"My name is Cai Yue," the woman introduced herself, "To tell you the truth, I gave you this meat soup because my intuition tells me, you’re not simple."
"And then?" Xu Zimei inquired.
"Our Cai Family is the most prestigious family in the West Jin Mansion. A year ago, my father acquired a Breakthrough Pill.
As the name suggests, it’s a pill that lets a Vein Practitioner open the sixth Vein Gate and thereby advance to the Emperor Pulse Realm," she explained earnestly.
Cai Yue continued with sincerity, "Afterwards, because of that pill, our Cai Family was drawn into a conflict, and even had our family annihilated six months ago.
Fortunately, my father had already hidden the Breakthrough Pill away, and I was captured by our enemies who demanded to know the whereabouts of the pill.
A few days ago, my father’s confidant, our Cai Mansion’s steward Uncle Fu, rescued me.
We are currently on the run, trying to head to the Nine States Domain."
"You’ve already escaped, why tell me all this?" Xu Zimei said.
"But now I’m very suspicious, suspicious of Uncle Fu. I suspect it was he who betrayed my father and leaked the news about the Breakthrough Pill," Cai Yue spoke.
"I have no other choice now, I just want to ask for your help.
If it’s not Uncle Fu, all is well.
If it is him, I hope you can escort me to the Nine States Domain, and I am willing to give you the Breakthrough Pill," she said.
"You’d give it to me but not to them?" Xu Zimei chuckled.
"They are my enemies," Cai Yue stated calmly.
"Actually, I don’t care about the Breakthrough Pill, and whether or not to kill those people doesn’t matter to me either. Most importantly, if I’m in a good mood, I don’t mind helping you out," Xu Zimei spoke.
"What would you like to do, young master?" Cai Yue inquired.
"Look at this torrential rain, and you not even offering me a spot in your palanquin to take shelter," Xu Zimei laughed.
"The young master is welcome to join," Cai Yue said candidly.
"Miss," just then, Uncle Fu, who had noticed the interaction from a distance, hurried over.
He told Cai Yue, "Miss, it’s better to keep a distance from such people with unclear identities."
"Thank you for your concern, Uncle Fu," Cai Yue smiled and after glancing at Xu Zimei, she climbed back into her palanquin.
"Kid, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
We are on the run from a manhunt, if you don’t want to die, better leave quickly," Uncle Fu warned Xu Zimei.
"Coincidentally, I’m someone who loves to join in the excitement," Xu Zimei quipped.
Uncle Fu shot Xu Zimei a glance, then turned and left without a word.
Meanwhile, one of the young men among the guards approached Xu Zimei.
"Kid, you’d better stay away from our young lady, or don’t blame me for being rude," he threatened.
"A suitor?" Xu Zimei asked with a smile.
"That’s none of your business, just mind your own," the young man huffed coldly.
"Ah, I’m full and have had enough to drink; it’s about time for sleep," Xu Zimei said as he slightly shook his head.
He put down the bowl in his hand and walked towards the sedan chair.
"What are you doing?" the guards nearby shouted all at once, joining Uncle Fu in blocking the front of the sedan chair and watching Xu Zimei.
Uncle Fu, let him come up," came Cai Yue’s voice from inside the sedan chair.
"Miss, how can this be, his background is unknown," one of the guards hastily said.
"I said let him come up, you don’t need to manage this," Cai Yue said calmly.
"Uncle Fu," the guards looked anxiously at Uncle Fu.
After all, Cai Yue was young and beautiful, almost a perfect goddess in their hearts.
Naturally, they didn’t want to see such a scene unfold.
"Can’t you hear what the young lady said?" Uncle Fu was silent for a moment.
He said indifferently, "Step aside."
The multitude of guards fell silent, with no choice but to watch Xu Zimei step onto the sedan chair step by step.
...…
The interior of the sedan chair was adorned in pale red. The maid Lian could only retreat and leave.
There was a faint fragrance inside, and the space within the sedan chair was quite large. Right ahead was a table with several pots of tea on it.
A resting couch was situated inside.
"If you have any orders, young master, please feel free to instruct," Cai Yue said.
"Tomorrow, I’m going to pretend to retrieve the Breakthrough Pill. Then we shall see," Xu Zimei said while lying down on the resting couch.
"Don’t think too much of it; I’m just going to sleep," he said, yawning, "Call me when we arrive."
The guards camped around and rested for the night until the next morning when it was barely light.
The rain had lessened a lot, and the sky was still not fully bright, clouded over and raining steadily.
The carriage set off early to continue forward, passing through a small depression in the valley.
Cai Yue asked to stop the carriage, whispering, "Uncle Fu, I need to retrieve something. Wait for me here."
"Miss, it’s not safe for you to go alone; maybe I should accompany you," Uncle Fu said from the side.
"No need, I’ll be quick," Cai Yue replied with a smile and a shake of her head.
Although her cultivation wasn’t high, she had trained her Veins, and her figure swiftly entered the valley.
It wasn’t long before Cai Yue returned with a hurried expression.
"Did you get what you needed, Miss?" asked Uncle Fu.
Cai Yue nodded and urged, "Let’s hurry on."
"I heard the Family Head once obtained a Breakthrough Pill, do you remember that, Miss?" Uncle Fu suddenly asked with a smile.
"I’ve never heard of such a thing," Cai Yue shook her head and replied.
"Then what did the young lady just go to retrieve?" Uncle Fu continued to probe.
"Seems you’re quite concerned about it," Cai Yue asked, frowning.
"Not at all, just that it’s not safe with the young lady. How about I keep it safe for you?" Uncle Fu asked with a sly smile.
