Two Regions

"Where are the three boxes of purple roots?"

"Old Li, Don't forget to feed the elephants before we go"

" Damn it! This old tiger is getting lazy"

Shouts and curses overwhelmed the songs of birds in the early morning.

People running around, busy preparing for today's departure.

Cui Ling watched calmly, seeking to learn the structure of the snake carav and how it operates.

In every new environment, he'll make sure to collect all information possible. Thanks to two lives of experience, being calculative was deeply ingrained in his bones.

He memorized the dynamics of how people here do things, where things are..etc, knowing these details could be handy at some point.

After an hour of observation, he managed to learn basic information, like names, goods location, and work efficiency.

The whole work was done by mortals and beasts, Cui Ling didn't even spot a shadow for any cultivator, this alone provided him with some clues.

" An'er, breakfast is ready " a gentle voice cut off his line of thoughts.

He went to the back of the tent. After reaching the camp yesterday, the couple was worried about clothes and food, but thanks to Xiong Li, they had nothing to worry about.

Many people were sitting for breakfast, mostly servants but there were mercenaries and stewards; laughing and chatting loudly.

Cui Ling sat beside his father who was currently shivering slightly.

After reaching a relatively safe space, the trauma that was suppressed during the escape bounced back after some relaxation.his tensed muscle and widened eyes completely exposed the mental state Deng Wuyan was in.

It took Pan Ruolan a lot of a woman's gentleness and charm to make him forget where they were last night.

Cui Ling ate silently before spotting a mercenary who looked kind compared to his colleagues.

He walked to him with a bowl of soup and a piece of bread, using his innocent and adorable face he said "Uncle you should eat, my father used to tell me that eating a lot will make you stronger "

Wu Song looked up to see a child giving him food. he had a good first impression so he said with the gentlest voice he could achieve "I'm not hungry kid, you should eat it so you can grow strong like uncle "

Cui Ling immediately made an urgent face " you can't do that, my parents will scold me for talking to strangers, not to mention in a dark forest "

Wu Song's face twitched a little, and with a sweep of his eyes; he noticed a couple looking in his direction, the worry was hidden but with his experience, he could easily understand their fears, after all, who would like to trigger a problem in a dangerous place.

"Fine then" he took the food, but he didn't expect the boy to sit near him.

Cui Ling gave a shy look " Uncle, I have a question"

Wu Song was a bit speechless ' Couldn't try a bit harder to hide it? ' but then he laughed. It was nice to see such naivety and innocence for someone who had to be cautious all the time.

" Brat, if you want to ask something, just say it "

With an embarrassed expression, he asked " Your clothes…why are they different from other fighters?"

Ever since he saw the men Hao Niu hired, he had this question; why is the clothing style different? Seeing a similar outfit, he decided to ask.

Normal people may overlook such a thing, but Cui Ling believed that the answer will help him understand the world's situation better.

Wu Song didn't expect such a question, but then he thought it was normal considering the possibility that this was the kid's first time traveling.

" People who dress like me probably have some relations to the north region "

"Northern region?" Cui Ling's eyes lit up.

After considering how to give an easy-to-understand explanation, he continued " from what I know, the continent we live in is split into a northern region and southern region "

"We are in the south part, I heard that the mercenary system originated from the north…." noticing that he's drifting off topic, he changed his words

"Anyway, mercenaries who came from the north learned under a Northmen or their family had ties with it, usually wear the same as me"

' North and south huh ' a lot of things run through his head after learning this. And new questions appeared; Just as Cui Ling was about to ask them, Deng Wuyan walked up to them.

" Friend, I'm sorry if my son is bothering your rest, he's still young and doesn't understand things" at first, Deng Wuyan thought that this child of his will come back after giving the food, but he never imagined that the smart and obedient ' An'er ' actually sat and started chatting.

" It's okay, he wasn't bothering

me " Looking at the sweat and clear nervousness shown in front of him, Wu Song wondered if he was that scary.

After saying a few more formalities, he dragged Cui Ling back to their corner.

"Brat! Didn't we tell you not to talk to others here alone? " Using this chance to distract himself from stress, he started to scold Cui Ling.

lowering his head, Cui Ling hid the coldness that flashed past his eyes. This little accident reminded him that the couple's role is becoming less important by the day; what just happened showed him how they can hinder him, but he can't discard them for now.

After finishing breakfast, they waited for Hao Niu. He was their guide on this dark trip. Fortunately, the wait wasn't long.

" Brother Wuyan, how was your night? " Hao Niu greeted with a smile.

" Old Niu, if you arrived a bit late, I would have started to think you left us alone. " Deng Wuyan sighed in relief.

" Hahaha, you must be joking? Sister Ruolan and the children are here, even if I want to, I can't "

After exchanging a few more jokes, Hao Niu informed them " I arranged a new carriage for us, if you want to prepare anything, this will be a good time, I'll be waiting"

" Thank you, Old Niu, and sorry for burdening you "

Hao Niu teased " What are you apologizing for? Letting An'er watch his father sweat all the time is not a burden an all "

" Bastard! You seem to prefer scolding

huh "

Pan Ruolan rolled her eyes when they started to not act their age and went to pack the few things they had left.

°

The family stood in front of two linked carriages, they were large enough to be called a small moving house.

There was a half-spirit beast chained to it at the front, looking like he was sleeping.

" This is our transport for the rest of the journey " Hao Niu proudly introduced. Not everyone can have this type of transport for themselves, it is considered a luxury for mortals.

As they spoke, yesterday's mercenaries brought their horses and regrouped around them.

A voice suddenly scared the birds and caught people's attention

" The snake carav is moving, those who can't get late or don't keep up shouldn't expect to be waited for "

The voice was solemn, what was weird is that although the voice reached everyone here, it didn't give off the feeling of a loud shout.

Before Cui Ling can think any further, Hao Niu started rushing them

" Quickly! We need to keep up and stay in a good position, otherwise, the risks will skyrocket "

The four members family hastily boarded one of the carriages, the twenty mounted the dark horses and surrounded in a formation

And the journey continues.

°°°°°

Deep in the forest

" Senior brother, greetings " Fu Shaoqing, who looked the most mature gave a slight bow after greeting.

"Senior brother, did something happen to suddenly call us? " Cao Mingyu cheekily said.

" Brute, did you not learn any eloquence even after learning under senior brother for such a long time " Sun Shoushan berated sternly before showing a flattering smile "Senior brother, how have you been? Please don't feel disappointed about little Mingyu, I'm sure he will be enlightened as he follows senior…"

" No need for formalities between us, I watched you grow up after all " Chang Xing quickly cut him off, he knew that once Sun Shoushan start throwing flattery, stopping doesn't come to his mind

Chang Xing stood calmly in front of these

'junior brothers' of his and smiled

" It is nice for us to meet, but today I didn't summon you to chat… Master issued a

command "

The moment the three heard this, they couldn't help but widen their eyes in surprise and excitement.

" What did master want us to do? It does not matter, we, brothers can't do anything. Who will dare to stop us? " Cao Mingyu jumped excitedly as he declared.

The other two had better self-control, but you can see the clear passion glowing from their faces

Chang Xing's smile became deeper, he took these three in because they might be useful someday considering the good natural aptitude they all had.

Although they won't be able to solve his biggest problem, helping him with simple plans was within their scope of abilities.

" Junior brothers, our mission is …"