After much persuasion, Zhao Qingyan finally dissuaded Huang from following along.

Zhao Qingyan originally planned to ride a horse to the capital herself. She figured she could find her way there by asking around, but her whole family rejected the idea.

Huang asked Han Sifang of Wangyue Tower for help. With no other option, Zhao Qingyan disguised herself as a man and followed the merchant caravan that delivered goods from Wangyue Tower to the capital.

The biggest advantage of traveling with a caravan is that you don't have to worry about getting lost, but the downside is that it's too slow.

Fortunately, Zhao Qingyan wasn't an impatient person. She had come out this time intending to take a walk, have some fun, and appreciate the scenery of this alternate dimension.

During the day, Zhao Qingyan would ride her horse along the middle of the caravan, sometimes fast and sometimes slow. When she got bored, she would spur her horse to the front of the caravan and strike up a conversation with the people.

"Uncle, how long will it take us to walk here?"

"Won't the roads we travel along all be like this, with mountains everywhere?"

The man Zhao Qingyan called "Uncle" was a square-faced man surnamed Cheng, known as Cheng Yidao.

This person is extremely skilled, especially with a broadsword. He is the team's main fighter.

"We're already moving quite fast; the whole procession is being pulled by horses."

Even so, it would still take more than two months to reach the capital.

At least half of the journey was like this.

We live in a mountainous area in the south, and the fact that we can travel on this road now is thanks to the road construction ordered by the prefectural government in the last two years. Otherwise, it was all narrow mountain paths.

It was all trampled down by people. Also, do you see those mountains on both sides? In the past, bandits would often emerge from them.

There are far fewer now. Some are arrested by the government, and others are merchant caravans like ours. We always have to intervene when they are robbed, so over the years, there have been far fewer bandits.

Do you know why our caravan's flags are made with such eye-catching colors?

This is to remind the bandits on both sides which group we belong to, so they can recognize us and not rush in recklessly. If they lose their lives, they can't blame anyone else. Hahaha…”

Zhao Qingyan turned her head and looked at the flags in the caravan. They were bright red and had a unique pattern and a Korean character embroidered on them.

"Uncle, you guys are really amazing."

"This road is so dangerous, isn't there any other way to get to the capital?"

Zhao Qingyan asked.

"Haha, silly boy, there aren't that many roads. This road is already the fastest; the others aren't as good as this one."

Furthermore, the biggest advantage of taking this route is that we can reach the next town every so often, allowing us to resupply whenever we want.

Otherwise, wouldn't all of us, a hundred or so people, be starving?

Cheng Yidao laughed heartily.

Zhao Qingyan touched her nose shyly.

Quickly changing the subject, "Uncle, have you ever encountered robbers before?"

Cheng Yidao looked at Zhao Qingyan.

"You really are stupid. How could you not have encountered it before? Otherwise, how did our caravan build its reputation?"

Anyone with eyes on this road knows that our caravan is not to be trifled with.

Zhao Qingyan chuckled, saying she played the role of a simpleton quite well.

"Uncle, that's great. I'm relieved now. I don't need to worry about my surroundings."

Otherwise, I'm always worried that some clueless people might suddenly appear, and dealing with them would be troublesome.

Cheng Yidao was somewhat surprised by Zhao Qingyan's words, "You kid, you know a thing or two?"

Zhao Qingyan blushed and said, "I only know the basics, the very basics."

Cheng Yidao did not investigate this further.

Zhao Qingyan was specifically instructed by Han Sifang to be well taken care of, so she must have some background.

It's boring on the road, so it's nice to have someone willing to chat with you.

I didn't see the other guys; they all stayed inside their cars, refusing to come out because they all complained about the sun.

I had no choice. If we all stayed in the car, it wouldn't work without someone outside keeping an eye on everything.

Therefore, when he chatted with Zhao Qingyan, she asked questions and he answered, and they both felt quite good.

"Uncle, are there many prey in the woods on both sides, like rabbits, pheasants or something?" Zhao Qingyan asked.

"Well, in the past, there were plenty of prey on these two mountains, but in recent years, it seems there have been far fewer."

I wonder if they just kept going back and forth and ended up hitting all the ones on the sides.

"What's wrong, kid? You want some meat?" Cheng Yidao asked.

Zhao Qingyan nodded.

"Yes, I've been eating nothing but flatbread for the past few days. My mouth is so bland."

"I'm thinking that when we go camping, I'll hunt some wild game and we can treat ourselves."

Cheng Yidao found Zhao Qingyan's statement amusing.

Eating pancakes every day is indeed not very tasty, but hunting a few animals is out of the question. With Zhao Qingyan's thin arms and legs, it's hard to say whether she can even draw a bow.

Don't end up becoming the prey instead of the prey.

"You little brat, you'd better stay in the camp and walk for another day. There's a town ahead, and we can get more meat supplies there."

There's a butcher shop nearby that makes pretty good jerky; I might buy a few pounds to take with me sometime.

That way, we won't go hungry.

Zhao Qingyan nodded, knowing that Cheng Yidao meant well.

When you're out and about, you can't just talk nonsense sometimes. After walking for about half an hour, a group of robbers suddenly appeared from both sides of the road.

At first glance, he was plump and strong, clearly not short of money, and naturally he was the one who robbed the most passing caravans.

"This road is mine, these trees are mine, if you want to pass, leave your toll..."

The leading man shouted.

The caravan stopped their vehicles, and everyone drew their weapons and took up positions.

Cheng Yidao's eyes were full of vigilance, but he didn't forget to give Zhao Qingyan instructions.

"Boy, step back and stay by the carriage. Don't come any closer. Swords have no eyes."

Zhao Qingyan said gratefully, "Uncle, thank you."

Then they watched a play.

"Gentlemen, we are a merchant caravan from Wangyuelou. Would you be so kind as to make an exception and offer to pay for our tea?"

Cheng Yidao spoke.

The man opposite said, "Haha, tea money, have you ever heard of my great name, 'Leave No Trace'?"

Anything that catches my eye, I can have. And I certainly won't leave a single hair behind.

"Those of you who know what's good for you will leave your carriages and horses, your money, and run for your lives. That way, I won't have to waste my energy."

As he said this, he shook his clothes, which he wasn't even properly dressed in, behind him, revealing his hairy belly.

Zhao Qingyan hated men with chest hair in her past life, believing it was a sign that their genitals hadn't fully degenerated.

Now, seeing the bandit leader across the street makes me very uncomfortable.