90 Grasslands (1/2)

Xue Wei was unaware of how his mental state had changed from when he entered the purple mist to when he left it.

when he entered it, he had been hopeless and ready to give up everything, even to the point where he would not struggle if the army ever managed to catch him.

When he left, he was invigorated. He felt energized and his mental state was different. It was as if he had gained clarity in the short time he was in the purple mist, as if his mind was clearer now, and that he had put everything he had chased in the past behind him.

This was no small change. It was the same as taking everything he had wished for so far, all his goals and all the expectations he had of himself, and throwing it away.

He now understood that the most important thing was to be true to himself. What others meant and thought mattered not. Although he would be chased, he was not willing to let go, nor was he ready to plead forgiveness for having done nothing wrong.

As long as he was true to himself, he was able to stand tall. As long as he was true to himself, he would continue onwards.

The purple mist he had entered had recreated him. Not only had it entered his body and changed his body structure, innate talent, and meridians, it had also entered his mind and made him much more clear-headed.

As to what this purple mist was, Xue Wei did not know. He was certain it was some sort of natural phenomenon and that it was a rare treasure, but nothing more than that. It was not until later that he understood just how lucky he had truly been.

Leaving the meadow, Xue Wei looked back at the purple mist with a final, longing glance, but he knew that he was pressed for time. Since he could guess that he was from the town of Lingyun, others would be able to guess the same. The army would definitely deploy some of their forces around the remains of the city to keep a lookout for him.

As he left the meadow, he found a small dusty animal trail that traveled through the grasslands. This animal trail was clearly used by migrating beasts, Mortal and Fierce Beasts alike, but no such beasts showed themselves when he traversed it.

The grasslands had grass up to two meters tall. It was a dangerous area, and Xue Wei understood that he was in the Eastern Administrative Region of Heping.

The grassland was a large area of the Eastern Administrative Region of the Kingdom of Heping. This area was known as a danger zone because of the many beasts that lurked in the tall grass, but some still ventured through it.

Bandit groups were known to roam the areas as they could have some semblance of peace from being persecuted by the army here, and the only thing they had to worry about were the beasts.

Mercenaries would also roam the grasslands, in an attempt to hunt down beasts or look for treasures or herbs.

Xue Wei was not here for those purposes, but he quickly understood that it was a dangerous area. Although the beasts seemed to leave him alone, the humans were unlikely to give him the same courtesy, so he became increasingly alert.

He spread his spiritual energy to the limits to sense the surrounding areas, but he did not encounter anything. One has to know that the grasslands covered a large area. It was bordered on the south, west, and east by forests, and only the northern region was occupied by human civilization.

Because of this, most of the humans who entered were in the northern part of the grasslands, and Xue Wei had entered it from the south-eastern side.

He only had a few days ahead of him before he would be able to make it to the northern side of the area. Even so, he was still on high alert.

Previously, he had behaved brazenly and rushed. He had not thought things through, nor had he thought of the consequences, but now it had changed.

Every action had a counteraction, every single gesture would cause a reaction from others, and now that he had understood this, Xue Wei also understood that he had to be careful. He could not let anyone trick him again.

Xue Wei tentatively continued forward. He was careful and calm. Suddenly, after three days, his spiritual senses reached the first humans he had seen in a while.

It was a group of three. All of them were in the tall grass off the beaten path, lowered over a beast corpse.

Xue Wei wisely decided to enter the opposing side of the beast trail. He did what he could to avoid them, and he kept vigilant.

It was as if Xue Wei could see them, but it was impossible for him to hear what they said. It was clear that the three of them were engaged in a discussion. Xue Wei managed to get past them without being noticed.

Since then, Xue Wei encountered quite a few experts. Most of them he managed to avoid by taking a detour, but some of them were not that simple.

Xue Wei had to run away quite a few times. In those cases, he would enter the depths of the tall grass, not caring whether he would encounter a beast. While he had no qualms fearlessly hiding in the grass like this, those he encountered were not eager to follow him, condemning him dead from his risky tactic.

Almost everyone was eager to kill him. The bandits and the mercenaries alike. If he died in this desolate area devoid of human life, no one would investigate the cause of his death; rather it would be blamed on the beasts.