98 Condemn (2/2)

They also made it possible for Xue Wei to almost blend in as a commoner.

All men his age were in the army, even the ones a year younger than him had just entered the recruitment camp, so seeing a young man travel the roads usually meant he was a deserter or on a mission.

In such a situation, Xue Wei would still stick out like a sore thumb when he was traveling in the crowded areas, and he understood that it was better to avoid them as much as possible.

Unfortunately, as he traveled further and further north, it was impossible to completely avoid areas inhabited by humans, and Xue Wei, who thought that he could never be too cautious, created a bamboo hat he wore on his head.

His sleeves were long and reached past to cover his hands. The bamboo hat cast an obscuring shade over his face, and he was tall enough to seem like an average adult despite having yet to finish his growth spurt.

He was lean of build, and although he had some muscles, one could see that it belonged to a youth. Fortunately for Xue Wei, his baggy robes were more than enough to hide that.

Xue Wei could feel his heart hammering away in his chest as he reached the end of the animal trail he had been traversing.

This trail ended as it connected to a road that crossed through the forest. Although the road seemed somewhat empty at the moment, Xue Wei could sense and see on the many trails that were evident on the road itself that it was well used.

Taking this path would make it possible for Xue Wei to reach the Northern Territory sooner than if he continued to travel through the wildlands, but he also understood that with this speedy travel came more dangers in the form of random encounters, possibly with hostile forces.

If it were just normal soldiers that were after Xue Wei, he did not fear them too much. However, if they were Primordial Beast Hunters, then he was in for a lot of trouble.

Xue Wei understood that he had played it safe for around two weeks now, traveling in areas vacant of human presence. And although he had avoided danger by doing so, he had also lost a lot of information about what had been going on in the rest of the kingdom.

Xue Wei was torn, but then he shook his head, and his eyes turned ruthless. ”I won't gain anything if I do not risk something as well,” he mumbled to himself with conviction evident in every single word.

”I will avoid the bigger cities, but the smaller ones I can enter,” he decided.

”I have no money... they took all my items when I was captured, but I can still listen to conversations from the shadows.”

Xue Wei had made a decision, and he saw no reason to waste any time. He was close to the Northern Territory by now, and he could feel the excitement grow with each step he took.

The road towards a small village meant that Xue Wei once more had to enter the world of humans once more.

As he did, his worry about being penniless was quickly addressed. He had to walk through a small canyon. This canyon looked peaceful and average from the outside, yet when Xue Wei entered he soon found that it was anything but that.

Here, he encountered more than one life-and-death situation. He was forced to flee at times, and forced to rely on his bloodlust at other times.

Finally, when he came out on the other side, he had gained the possessions of three bandits. Although it had not made him rich, he had earned enough money to be able to enter an inn and ask for a simple meal once in a while. This would make information gathering much simpler.

He had also managed to get a few different sets of clothes that he changed into. And although his bamboo hat had been damaged, he quickly made a new one.

The canyon had taught Xue Wei to always be on guard. While the canyon itself gave off a simple and beautiful image, danger had lurked around every corner, and it was only now that he understood just how threatening the outside world was. And he'd only begun exploring the depths of the Kingdom of Heping, a backend kingdom that others looked down upon for simply being too weak.

Xue Wei walked down a dusty road. His black clothes had long since been covered with a whole layer of dust, and his hair swayed like tight ropes every time the wind passed by due to the dust that had settled in the long black strands of hair that could be seen beneath the bamboo hat.

Xue Wei wore simple black shoes with nearly worn-down heels, and he could feel that he had walked for a long time before a small village finally came into sight in the distance.

Xue Wei had always lived in major cities such as Tiankong City and the capital, so when he saw the small town he was heading into, he looked around curiously before he got a grip on himself and slowly headed straight for the middle of town where the inn was located.

The town was big enough to have an inn, and it also had various shops, but it was not big enough to be considered a city.

Xue Wei walked straight into the inn where he found a table in the back. The lighting there was dim as it sat in the shadows and not many would notice it.

It was early morning, and Xue Wei ordered some breakfast, paid for it together with a room, and leaned back, ready to listen in on the conversations of both patrons that frequented this inn and other travelers. He knew that it would take quite a long time before such visitors appeared, but he was hungry and wished to sit down for a bit.

Despite being an inn in a small town, the staff were all experienced. Although the seat he had picked was inconspicuous and many would expect that it was an error, the truth was that it was there especially for those seeking information. Only those who wished not to be noticed and still gather information would sit in such a place.

Because of this, they did not even blink an eye when Xue Wei stayed seated even after finishing his meal.