Chapter 825: Chapter 22: Pu Yan Warrior
Ah Dai silently exited the tent, took a deep breath of the refreshing air, yet he couldn’t sort out the chaos in his mind, no matter how hard he tried. He was becoming increasingly unable to understand what kind of person Xuan Yue was—hot and cold, one moment throwing a young lady’s tantrum at him, and the next seeming to care deeply for him.
"Brother Ah Dai, come in and sleep quickly, we have to continue our journey early tomorrow morning," said Moon Scar, smiling at Ah Dai.
The tent was quite small, and with the stature of Moon Scar and Ah Dai, it did feel a bit cramped inside. Moon Scar sat cross-legged to one side and asked, "Brother Ah Dai, how old are you this year?"
Ah Dai lifted the cloak from his head and replied, "I’m seventeen years old, Brother Moon Scar. What about you?"
Moon Scar said, "I’m two years older than you, nineteen this year. My sister is eighteen, so we can all be considered peers. What do you think about our journey to the Death Mountain Range?"
Ah Dai was taken aback, shook his head, and said, "I just want to get a Magic Crystal to take back to my teacher."
Moon Scar said, "It seems like your relationship with Miss Xuan Yue is pretty strange. How did you meet her?"
Ah Dai sighed and replied, "Brother Moon Scar, let’s not talk about it, it’s a long story! You meditate, and I’ll start contemplating too." After speaking, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.
Seeing that he didn’t want to talk, Moon Scar shook his head helplessly and began to cultivate his fighting spirit.
Ah Dai contemplated for a while, and seeing that Moon Scar had entered meditation, he then began to cultivate his True Qi. Since Xuan Yue didn’t want Moon Scar and the others to know about his martial arts skills, he had no choice but to go along with it.
The night passed without conversation, and the next morning, they set off again, heading towards the Pu Yan Clan Territory. After a morning’s travel, they arrived in another city of the Red Charming Clan at noon, which was obviously much larger. Most of the residents were from the Red Charming Clan. At Xuan Yue’s insistence, they ended up buying a spacious carriage and two fine horses to pull it, though when it came to paying, Xuan Yue was only willing to shell out fifty Gold Coins, while just the carriage alone cost one hundred Gold Coins. Moon Scar, who seemed to have plenty of money, didn’t argue and paid the remaining sum. The most pitiful was Ah Dai, with Xuan Yue confiscating all his money on the pretext that he had no use for it; naturally, it went into Xuan Yue’s purse. After lunch, they continued on, with Wan Li driving the carriage.
With the carriage, their speed improved significantly, and two days later, they finally entered the Pu Yan Clan Territory.
Although the carriage ride was bumpy, it was much more comfortable than walking. However, due to the jolting, Moon Scar and others didn’t dare to meditate, and having nothing else to do, they chatted. After several days together, they were much more familiar with each other. Ah Dai and Xuan Yue found out that Moon Scar and Yue Ji, the siblings, were children of a noble family within the Red Charming Clan. Their family was strict, and like Xuan Yue, they had also sneaked out. They only returned home once or twice a year. Despite their young age, they already had three years of mercenary experience, and the Mercenary Corps led by Moon Scar was established just last year. Since the profession of mercenary was very popular in the Red Charming Clan, their parents, seeing that they had made a name for themselves, no longer restricted their movements. Moon Scar learned the Moon Shadow Swordsmanship from his family, and Yue Ji learned archery from her mother; both had considerable strength.
What surprised Ah Dai was that Xuan Yue didn’t boast about her identity to Moon Scar and the others, merely saying that she studied Light Magic for a few years with an unnamed Magician. These past few days, Xuan Yue had been low-key, other than asking Moon Scar about some novel things on the continent, never mentioning her own background.
"Xuan Yue, turns out traveling by carriage is so relaxing. This time you actually did something good!" Yue Ji said sarcastically. Their relationship hadn’t changed after several days, always at odds as if there was an old grudge between them.
Xuan Yue snorted and replied, "You’re just realizing that now! Ah Dai, why are you sitting so far away from me? I’m sleepy, lend me your shoulder to rest on."
Ah Dai flinched, hurriedly scooted to one side, and said, "Miss, men and women should not touch; this doesn’t seem appropriate."
Miao Fei chuckled and said, "Miss Xuan Yue, if he won’t let you lean on him, I will. How about that?"
Xuan Yue glared at him and said, "You’re so skinny, I don’t want to lean on you. Ah Dai, hurry up and come over!" With that, she moved closer to where Ah Dai was sitting.
The carriage had limited space, and Ah Dai had no choice but to let her lean on him, with Miao Fei and Moon Scar looking on enviously as Xuan Yue rested her head on Ah Dai’s shoulder and closed her eyes. For some reason, as soon as she leaned against Ah Dai’s solid shoulder, a natural drowsiness came over her, and in a short time, she fell asleep.
Xuan Yue might’ve fallen asleep, but Ah Dai was in a tough spot. He sat upright, not daring to move, not only enduring Yue Ji’s peculiar gaze but also trying to maintain his balance.
Xuan Yue gradually fell into deep sleep; her hands were wrapped around Ah Dai’s arm, a look of contentment on her face. Watching Xuan Yue’s peaceful sleeping face and feeling the softness and warmth from her body, a faint tenderness appeared in Ah Dai’s eyes.
Since it was noon, the hot weather made everyone feel drowsy, and their minds were in a haze.
Suddenly, the carriage came to a violent stop with a jingle, as if Wan Li had forcefully pulled the horses to a halt. The severe jolt woke everyone up, and Xuan Yue’s body involuntarily slid into Ah Dai’s arms. Xuan Yue woke from her drowsiness and asked in a daze, "What happened?"
