Chapter 24
However, it was clear that a day's journey was not enough to reach the next city. As night fell, Ren Dong took out her luggage and began to pack for the night.
Honeysuckle cleared away the pebbles on the ground and laid out two blankets, while Su Mu gathered branches to start a fire.
Jing Tao sat on the blanket and quietly ate the dry rations that Dongfang Jin had given her.
"Give me a little less," Honeysuckle reminded him.
"Why?"
"With the addition of this young master, the provisions I prepared might not be enough for our journey to the next location."
Dongfang Jin nodded, looking at the desolate wilderness. "Shall we sleep here tonight?"
"Otherwise what? Should we prepare a golden silk Zen wood bed for you?" Su Mu joked as he tended the fire.
Dongfang Jin snorted coldly, "Trying out the life of the poor occasionally is also a kind of life experience," and then went to sleep on another blanket.
"Hey, go over there, where am I supposed to sleep?"
Dongfang Jin pretended not to hear and closed her eyes.
Su Mu was angry, but there was nothing he could do.
Honeysuckle came to the rescue, saying, "Perfect timing, you can keep watch tonight."
Su Mu had no choice but to collect more branches in preparation for the coming night.
Su Mu finally succumbed to sleepiness in the latter half of the night, and thankfully, the night passed peacefully.
Honeysuckle was the first to get up again. She went to the river to fetch some water, washed up, prepared breakfast, and called everyone to get up.
Ren Dong washed Jing Tao's hands and handed her the dry food. Dongfang Jin took a bite of the steamed bun and frowned, clearly not liking it. But there was nothing he could do in this desolate place, so he had to eat it with a bite of steamed bun and a sip of water.
"It seems Young Master Dongfang doesn't like these foods," Su Mu yawned.
"Who said that?"
Su Mu stopped joking and started eating breakfast on his own.
Honeysuckle then tidied everything up.
After everyone had settled down, Su Mu thawed the fire and set off.
Five days later, they finally arrived in Liangcheng, and the group found an inn and began to feast.
This place is clearly not as prosperous as Dongfang City, but the people here are simple and honest and there have been almost no monster invasions.
"There are no exorcists stationed here, and it has never been invaded by monsters," Su Mu wondered.
“Yes, I never imagined there was such a paradise,” Honeysuckle chimed in. “Let’s rest here for a couple of days.”
Everyone agreed.
Despite Ren Dong's attempts to stop her, Dongfang Jin still booked four rooms, ostensibly to allow her to rest properly.
Su Mu seemed to have a nightmare at night, but when he woke up he couldn't remember anything.
The next day, Su Mu went out for a stroll early in the morning and was suddenly stopped by a small vendor.
"Young master, please wait a moment."
Su Mu looked left and right and realized that the person was indeed talking to him.
"Are you calling me?"
The man was blind, yet he nodded.
Su Mu approached the vendor. "What can I do for you?"
"Young hero, have you been searching for a way to become stronger?"
These words struck a chord with Su Mu: "How did you know?"
The man continued, "There's a sea to the east of here; you'll find the answer you're looking for there." Then he packed up his stall and left.
Su Mu was completely confused.
Before leaving, the man added, "Remember to take your friends with you; they will help you."
Su Mu scratched his head and returned to the inn.
Because he got up too early and the others were still asleep, Su Mu picked up his sword and practiced in the backyard of the inn.
Not long after, Dongfang Jin was eating steamed buns while watching Su Mu practice martial arts.
Su Mu turned around and spotted Dongfang Jin.
Why are you up so early?
"The beds here are too hard."
Su Mu listened without saying anything and continued practicing on his own.
After finishing her steamed bun, Dongfang Jin came to Su Mu's side and asked, "How long have you been practicing this?"
"It's been almost a year," Su Mu replied without stopping what he was doing.
"You've been training for a year and you're still so useless?"
Su Mu listened to the mockery and looked at Dongfang Jin speechlessly.
Dongfang Jin knew she had touched a nerve with Su Mu, so she drew the sword she had just bought yesterday and pointed it at him, saying, "Let's have a spar."
"Okay," Su Mu was just worried about how to deal with him.
He immediately drew his sword and thrust it forward. Dongfang Jin dodged to the side, and Su Mu slashed horizontally. Dongfang Jin blocked with her sword, and the two forces collided and were evenly matched. Dongfang Jin turned around, and Su Mu sheathed his sword. The cold blade thrust towards Su Mu. The offense and defense changed. Su Mu blocked with his sword. Dongfang Jin seemed to have expected this and quickly sheathed his sword. He kicked Su Mu. Su Mu had no time to dodge and barely blocked with his left hand. Dongfang Jin took the opportunity to knock the sword out of Su Mu's hand with a backhand strike from below.
Su Mu hadn't expected Dongfang Jin to know martial arts, and carelessly remarked, "I didn't know you'd practiced martial arts too."
Dongfang Jin sheathed her sword. "I've always watched those demon hunters in the city practice martial arts, but I never imagined it wasn't so difficult."
Su Mu was shocked: "You can learn it just by watching?"
“Yes,” Dongfang Jin said dismissively, then turned and went back to her room.
Su Mu looked at the sword that had been knocked to the ground: I never thought that after a year of training, I would be no match for Dongfang Jin, who had just picked up a sword.
A wave of disappointment washed over me, and just then I suddenly remembered what that person had said that morning.
I must become stronger! I will become stronger at any cost!
At noon, as Su Mu was pondering how to broach the subject with the others, Dongfang Jin preemptively asked, "Where are we going after lunch?"
“Let’s go out for a walk together,” Honeysuckle suggested.
Su Mu immediately chimed in, "There's a sea to the east, shall we go and take a look?"
"What's so interesting about the sea?" Dongfang Jin rejected the idea.
"Not everyone is as worldly-wise as you. I also agree to go see the sea."
Unable to persuade the two of them alone, Dongfang Jin had no choice but to agree.
After finishing their meal and cleaning up, everyone gathered at the entrance. Su Mu looked at Jing Tao and Dongfang Jin, who hadn't brought any weapons, and couldn't help but worry, "Why didn't you two bring a single sword?"
"Huh? Didn't you say there were no monsters here?"
Su Mu didn't know if there was any danger on the way, nor did he know how to explain it, so he went upstairs himself to retrieve all the weapons from the two men and handed them over. "Although there's no danger, we still need to be careful."
Although Ren Dong and Dongfang Jin were somewhat puzzled, they didn't ask any further questions.
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