25 Toward Mourners refuge. (1/2)

”I forgot to ask from where the tourist caravans leave.”

Not long after leaving the Universe Merchants, Li Yang suddenly realized that he had completely forgotten to ask from where the caravans that travel to Mourners refuge leave from.

”Guess I'll just have to ask a passerby.”

Li Yang shook his head and quickly asked some of the people that were passing by him. After getting his answer, he didn't directly head towards the northern gate, where the caravans would leave from. He first found a store that sold dried rations and water.

It was going to be a trip that lasted about half a month, so it was best to stock up on some preservable food in case anything happened. After buying some food and water, Li Yang couldn't help but let out a small sigh. He was almost broke again, so it seemed like it was about time to accept a new mission.

”Are you Mo Jiang? I heard that your caravan is heading towards Mourners refuge, so I would like to tag along.”

After reaching the northern gate, Li Yang found a person who matched the descriptions he had been given. According to the people he had asked, Mo Jiang was leading a caravan filled with food and water to Mourners refuge, so he would be leaving the city in the evening.

”Indeed, I am Mo Jiang. There is no problem if you want to tag along, but you will have to pay 1 silver for the food and protection. The bird is coming along as well?”

Mo Jiang was a fit middle-aged man, a large scar going from the left side of his face to his right like it was splitting his face in two. His head was clean shaven and polished, a rugged beard adorning his face.

He looked Li Yang up and down for a short moment before nodding his head. Each caravan that left the city would have its own set of guards, lest they are attacked by bandits and wiped out.

Li Yang gave a slight nod of his head as an answer, before handing over 1 silver to Mo Jiang. After receiving the money, Mo Jiang led Li Yang over to his caravan. The caravan consisted of only three wagons, each one covered by a tarp to prevent people from seeing the inside.

The front and back wagon each contained three guards, while the wagon in the middle was the one that actually contained the people who wanted to go to Mourners refuge. Li Yang counted six people in the wagon, so including him, there would be seven people joining the caravan.

The people heading to Mourners refuge were mostly old people who came to offer a small prayer to the Four Monarchs, so Li Yang was the youngest person in the caravan. Li Yang politely greeted the people inside the wagon and found a place to sit.

Mo Jiang waited for the sun to reach the horizon before deciding that no one else was coming and that it was fine to set out. He sat down in the front seat of the front-most wagon and grabbed the reins of the horses. With a slight whip of his hand, the horses started moving and the caravan set off.

The caravan would stop twice each day, once to eat dinner, and once to allow the horses some additional rest. During these breaks, Li Yang slightly interacted with the people of the caravan, but he found the people traveling alongside him to be far too stiff and uptight. They seemed to believe that the younger generation should revere and obey the older generation.

”So tell me, Little Yang, why did you choose to leave your tribe instead of simply marrying?”

The caravan was currently taking a break in a hilly area and eating dinner, two campfires lighting up the night. One campfire was for the guards, while the other was for the passengers. Li Yang was seated at the campfire for the guards, gnawing on some meat while occasionally handing Jinwu some pieces.

Li Yang found that it was much easier to get along with the guards than it was to get along with the other passengers. The guards were much more carefree and relaxed, not even caring about his slightly small stature and obvious young age.

”I wanted to travel more before deciding to settle down. Who knows, I might even find a wife who is much better than the women in the tribe.”

Li Yang had a slight smile as he answered the guard. Li Yang was only 12 years old, but that was already old enough to be of marriageable age. These last few days of traveling, he had been chatting with the guards, each one sharing stories about their own lives. Of course, Li Yang had not told them anything important about himself, only talking about his life in the Liang tribe before he left them.

”True, someone like you could easily find someone better than what a small tribe is capable of raising. How about I introduce you to my daughter when we get back? She is a few years older than you, but let me tell you, she is a real gem.”

The guards were quite fond of Li Yang, there was something about the atmosphere he released that made it easy for people to get close to him. They had also seen that he was a very relaxed person, not even showing the slightest hint of nervousness when he was with them.

”We will have to wait and see in the future, right now I wish to continue traveling.”

Li Yang gave a noncommittal answer as he shrugged his shoulders. How could he possibly bother looking at other women when he had Fang Ying waiting for him? Even if the guard's daughter ended up being a goddess, he would still not bother looking at her twice.

The guards continued merrily chatting with Li Yang and scarfing down meat and ale. As guards, the risk of death was constantly following them around on their missions. Because of this, they were much more carefree and easy going than others. After all, with the risk of death hanging above them, how could they not simply focus on enjoying life for as long as they could?

”Someone is coming.”

Li Yang suddenly raised his head and looked at the hills around them. His words instantly caused the guards to turn silent and unsheathe their weapons, the merry and easygoing atmosphere from earlier completely gone.

Not long after the guards stood up, a group of people clad in dark leather clothing appeared at the top of a hill that was located behind the guards. There were around eight people, each one carrying a dagger and a short sword. The weapons were made out of normal metal and had no arrays carved into them, so they were completely normal.

”Fuck, it's them.”

Seeing these eight people, the guards could not help but curse out. The other passengers had also noticed the people, so they hurriedly moved to a spot behind the guards and huddled together.