Five days passed by in a flash.

The air in the continent was rife with tension and bloodlust. Having chosen the southwestern route, Wuzhi's convoy rarely strayed from the main road and did not stop at any of the villages that crossed along the way. Except during the night, the convoy did not stop to rest and maintained a rigorous pace.

On the evening of the sixth day, when the convoy was three hundred or so kilometres from their destination, they were met with an incident. A tall, cloak-wearing stranger came up to the convoy which was busy preparing the camp and asked if they could join them for the night. While the threat of stray, wandering Wild Beasts had more or less been eliminated in the current era, the ongoing war made it dangerous for solitary travellers to travel by their lonesome.

Initially, the Hielanders weren't receptive to the stranger's arrival. However, when the person offered to pay a generous sum in exchange for their admission, Wuzhi made an exception and allowed the stranger to join their camp.

Soon, the tents were pitches, the horses had been fed, and multiple fires had been lit to cook the dinner. Having tasted the Hielander's cooking over these last few days, Wuzhi took it upon himself to cook his meal.

"This is the first time that I've seen a convoy leader take it upon himself to do menial chores," commented the newcomer. Much like Wuzhi, the stranger covered their body and face, making it impossible to discover their identity and even their gender. It did not help that the stranger's voice was also oddly androgynous, further adding to their veil of mystery.

"Eh, I enjoy this," replied Wuzhi. As usual, he wore a wide-brimmed bamboo hat that covered his head and four-fifths of his features. In his hand, he held multiple bottles of spices which he expertly added to the soup pot boiling in the fire. "I am so very glad that I decided to refill my stock of spices before I started."

"If you don't mind me asking; where are you heading?" asked the stranger.

Seeing no harm in answering the question, Wuzhi replied, "Port Éclair." He then pointed at the parked carriages and explained. "I'm a merchant, you see. I trade in wares, spices, ores… anything that is clean and can turn me a profit. I was planning to set up a trade network to export smelted steel from Lorden City to the Central Commonwealth. However, the sudden eruption of war between the Scarlet Demon Army and the allied forces threw a wrench in my plans. This trip will be my first and last." Wuzhi sighed.

"Oh," said the stranger; seemingly not very interested in this topic. After a few moments, they asked. "Are you a native?"

"South Aislan? No, not at all," denied Wuzhi. "I hail from the Isilda Continent."

At that mention, the shoulders of the stranger seemed to jump. Their posture grew more serious and their tone grew more menacing. "Isilda Continent? Where exactly in the Isilda Continent?"

"That question is not very polite now, is it, miss?" Wuzhi replied with a hazy smile.

The stranger seemed even more shocked. After a few seconds of disbelief, she slowly asked, "You can see me?"

"Your Path Technique, if I'm not mistaken, is altering the moisture around your body and is causing light to bend and twist. This gives everyone who's looking at you a hazy and unclear image of your person." He then nodded his head in admiration and said, "To use it with such ease is very, very difficult. Lady must be a senior in the path of cultivation."

"This humble servant greets senior." Wuzhi performed a bow. He then continued, "To answer Senior's question; no. I cannot see you. However, one does not have to necessarily 'see' someone to observe them."

"'Necessarily 'see' to observe…'" The woman repeated. She then rose from her seat, cupped her hands, and greeted. "Fairy thanks Young Hero for his advice. I also apologize for my tactless questioning."

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"No offence. No offence," Wuzhi waved his hand. He then stirred the soup pot and adjusted its taste before asking. "If Fairy does not mind, may I have the honour of seeing Fairy's face?"

At his request, the woman hesitated for a moment before lowering her hood. Her face came into view and in that instant; everyone felt their breaths get caught in their throats.

A youthful face that seemed to have been carved out of the finest marble; a pair of gem-like black eyes that shined with intelligence and wisdom. Three thousand strands of silken raven-coloured hair that luxurious framed her elegant features. Her eyebrows were thin and shapely like the willows and her lips looked as soft and buxom as cotton. She was a beauty of the highest order.

Recovering from his short daze, Wuzhi politely complimented. "Fairy's beauty stole a breath from this humble servant."

The woman blushed at his bold-faced words. She then quickly regained her calm and introduced herself. "Baixue is my given name. As for my surname… it does not matter anymore." An unmistakable look of melancholy appeared on her face.

Quickly recovering from her melancholy, she continued. "I'm a disciple of the Sacred Snow Heart Sect from the North Aislu Continent. I've come to this continent to gather some achievements and make my name well-known."

"Fairy only needs to show herself to become well-known," laughed Wuzhi. He then seriously pondered for a moment and said, "Fairy Baixue is definitely among the top 10 most beautiful women that I've ever seen."

At his teasing, Baixue blushed once more. She then hurriedly covered herself with her cloak and angrily asked, "And Young Hero is?"

"Apologies," said Wuzhi. "This humble scholar is named Wuzhi and hails from the Isilda Continent. Similar to Fairy, I've come here to earn some fame and riches."

Seeing him not mention his surname, Baixue quickly realized that his history was no less complicated than her own. Not wanting to sound tactless, she wisely chose to avoid the topic.

With the ice broken, the two of them quickly engaged in chatter. The young scholar soon learned that the woman was twenty-six years of age; making her his senior in life. With his animated and good-natured disposition coupled with the woman's amiable and curious personality, the two of them quickly hit it off.

Wuzhi was deeply interested in her experiences in the North Aislu Continent and her life as a disciple of an Orthodox Sect. He was quickly fascinated by her narration and became excitable.

On the other hand, Baixue was also fascinated by the young scholar's unique worldview and disposition. She discovered that his casual words were distinctly insightful and found his stories to be charming. Before she knew it, Baixue, who was infamous in her sect for her reticent and cold nature, quickly opened up and found herself laughing alongside the scholar.

"No way! You did not say that," she exclaimed, clutching onto her stomach in laughter. Her chest was heaving from the lack of breaths and tears had appeared in the rims of her eyes.

"Yes, way! I did say it!" boasted Wuzhi. He adopted a serious expression and acted. "I said, 'Teacher, maybe the reason why you're always so bitter and resentful is because you haven't had a 'release' in a long time. Perhaps you 'ought to go outside and meet someone. Anyone! It would be better than being cooped up in here, in your study, surrounded by nothing but drawings.'"

Baixue completely lost it at his words. She clutched her stomach and laughed so hard that she began choking on her breaths. After a long while, she recovered from her coughs, wiped the tears in her eyes, and asked. "What happened next?"

"What do you think happened? I was tied up to a tree upside-down and had dogs set out on me." A proud smile appeared on his face as he finished. "It was terrible but totally worth it!" He laughed.

Done with his story, Wuzhi turned around and realized that his soup had long since been boiled over. He had been so immersed in his conversation with Baixue that he had completely neglected and forgotten about cooking.

Flashing an awkward smile, he said, "Well, the soup's gone. Are you fine with just bread?" His innocent question sent Baixue reeling with laughter once more.

Fortunately, they were soon handed two bowls by the Hielanders. And while the taste was far from desirable, it was at least better than having no soup. Baixue did not complain either as she was more than glad to have something other than dry rations to eat. Her primary reason for joining them had been for the food after all.

As they ate, the two of them continued with their conversation.

"Sister Baixue," Wuzhi had grown close enough with her to call her such, "if you don't mind me asking; what are your plans after tonight?"

"I was planning to head to Port Éclair and look for something to do," she honestly confessed. "I've yet to do anything meaningful enough to be called an accomplishment. I was hoping to find such a task at the neutral city."

Hearing her answer, Wuzhi lowered his head and pondered for a minute. He then solemnly asked, "Sister Baixue, what do you think of having me as your employer?"