Xue Lan met with Huang Bingwen at the gate, as instructed. When he got there, he saw that Huang Bingwen had a little pack for himself as well.

Huang Bingwen looked down at Xue Lan's pack, "Xue Lan, what are you bringing?"

"Just a bit of money and talismans. You never know what you will run into."

Huang Bingwen closes his eyes and nods, "Well prepared like usual."

Xue Lan looked down at Huang Bingwen's pack as well, "What about you Huang Bingwen?"

Huang Bingwen patted his pack, "I brought a bit of food and some supplies for camping if we ever need too."

Xue Lan's eyes widened. He never even thought about bringing things for camping. Even though he thought he had everything, Huang Bingwen had thought even more. He definitely was the Huang Bingwen from the novel. Xue Lan couldn't help but compare the two. Even though HOPE had told him that though, yes, they are technically the same, they can evolve in different ways, as well as the actions and events. But no matter had hard he tries, all he could think about is the novel version. He hoped that eventually, he would be able to see him as not the character from the novel, but as his own person.

As Xue Lan and Huang Bingwen began their journey to the north, Xue Lan was able to see the great scenery of the new world around him. Xue Lan had assumed that It would be similar to his world, but he was horribly mistaken. This world was much more beautiful. The trees are much, much taller and more full of foliage. Cherry blossoms covered much of them, filling the air with their petals whenever the wind blows. The flowers that scared the grown had a huge variety of colors and shapes, filling his senses with its sights and smells. Xue Lan couldn't help but just walk in awe. He never imagined nature could be this beautiful.

As Xue Lan was taking in the wildlife around him, he caught out of the corner of his eye that Huang Bingwen was looking at him with a smile. Xue Lan quickly looked away, slightly blushing from embarrassment.

Huang Bingwen let out a little laugh, "Nothing to be embarrassed about, Xue Lan. The world's beauty should be appreciated."

Xue Lan muttered, "But it's embarrassing for you to look at me."

Xue Lan and Huang Bingwen had made a good distance in the time they had left. They had made it all the way to the local village that sat next to the sect capital. The local village was under the sect's government. The village many years ago had been overrun by Cursed corpses, and the Guangshan Huang sect, very little at the time, came and helped. The town was very thankful and had allowed them to make the village their home. They have been prosperous ever since. You could see in the faces of the villagers even now, generations later, they valued the cultivators from the Qintou Shi sect. Xue Lan had expected to come here, as in the novel, this is the first stop Huang Bingwen and Xue Lan had made.

Xue Lan and Huang Bingwen decided that it would be a good idea to rest for a bit. Though it was important to find the man that killed Huang Chao, it was also important to make sure they didn't burn out too quickly. They would only rest for an hour or two. But, it was also a good opportunity to see if the villagers saw anything strange. Though they both were sure that it was someone from the north, the cursed ghost under the control of a cultivator had a certain range it could go from, depending on the level of the cultivator. If the cultivator had a low level, they had to be very close to sending the ghost to Huang Chao.

Xue Lan sees a vendor selling meat on sticks and decides to go see if he saw anything. Definitely not because he was hungry.

Xue Lan casually leans on the stall, making sure not to knock anything over, "Hello, I was wondering if you saw anything strange around here? Maybe a person hanging around that may have been out of town or new?"

The stall owner only gave him a side glance before turning back, "Don't know, maybe I have?"

Xue Lan knew what the man was getting at, quite annoyed, "Well if I buy a bit of meat, would that change your answer?"

The owner laughed, "Maybe!"

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Xue Lan gave the man a bit of money and got a stick of meat for him and Huang Bingwen. The owner became much nicer almost immediately.

"Well, there was this one man. He was wearing a hood, so it was hard to see his face. But I remember he had a tattoo on his hand."

Xue Lan nodded, "So far it's just like the book. It seems at least for now, everything is following the novel."

Huang Bingwen made his way over to the two of them, "May I ask which way the man went?"

The stall owner eyed him, but when Xue Lan handed him a meat stick, he decided that he had paid already for the information, "He went off towards the north. The path right over that way."

Xue Lan and Huang Bingwen quickly thank the man and start heading in the direction the man pointed.

As they hurried along, Huang Bingwen turned to Xue Lan, "This path leads you to (CITY NAME). They must be heading there. Maybe that's where they are set up. Qintou is under Qintou Shi's control. It seems our theory was correct. The Qintou Shi sect was behind my father's murder."

Xue Lan nodded and they hurried along, wanting to make a decent distance before night fell. Xue Lan took this as a sign that for now, the events will be the same as the novel. But then thinking back, he realized something. In the original novel, Xue Lan dies protecting Huang Bingwen!

Xue Lan began to mentally panic and thought out, "HOPE!"

[Yes, Xue Lan?]

"So far, everything happening has followed the novel. But at this rate, I'll die again!"

[You don't have too. You can make your own decisions. You aren't the Xue Lan from the novel. You can change your future.]

"But-"

[Just relax, Xue Lan. Everything will be OK.]

With that, HOPE left Xue Lan's mind. Though HOPE had told him to relax, he couldn't help but be slightly scared. How couldn't he? He was given a second chance just to possibly have it ripped away from him. But, all he could do now is follow Huang Bingwen. Thinking about him, Xue Lan unconsciously turned to him. He wanted to get to know him better. Though he had read the novel and knew the basic stuff, he wants to learn about this version.

Right before Xue Lan could open his mouth, Huang Bingwen spoke, "Unfortunately, I believe we should camp out here. We need to be mindful of our wellbeing. There looks to be an abandoned shed over there. We can rest with a roof under us."

Xue Lan nodded and they made their way over to the shed. It was extremely rundown, with holes in the roof and walls. The wood that remained was rotten, with bugs and mites. But it would do for one night. Huang Bingwen found a broom that was left and swept the floor getting the dirt away from the area they would be sleeping in. As Huang Bingwen did this, Xue Lan made himself conformable in the back corner, watching Huang Bingwen sweep. Xue Lan looked around and noticed that there was a very convenient large hole in the flooring, perfect for a fire.

Xue Lan got up from the spot he was sitting at, "I'm going to grab some firewood. It will be cold tonight."

Huang Bingwen nodded, confirming he heard Xue Lan and began to take the sleeping mat out of his bag to set it up.

Xue Lan searched around for dry twigs and sticks. But for some reason, there didn't to be much close by. Xue Lan had to go out pretty far to get any good kindling material. Xue Lan felt very overwhelmed. So much has happened in such a short period. It was very hard for him to take it all in. He died, was reborn, and ow is trying to solve a murder! It would be a busy and hard day for anyone, no matter how you look at it!

Xue Lan soon returned and saw that Huang Bingwen had started to set up their sleeping mats. Not thinking much about it, Xue Lan proceeds to throw the sticks and twigs in the hole. He then realized that he had nothing to start the fire with! Xue Lan looked around him but saw no rocks that he could strike to create a flame. But, he remembered that he was in a XianXia Novel! He could use cultivation to start the fire. Though Xue Lan had never used it before, he could feel that his muscles would naturally know what to do. Sighing and closing his eyes, Xue Lan pointed to fingers at the pile. He breathed in, and out, and produced a flame at the end. Xue Lan jumped a bit, slightly surprised that it worked. He quickly went to light the bunch before the flame went out.

Huang Bingwen turned around from what he was doing and praised Xue Lan, "Good job. We will be warm now. We should get some sleep. Come, I've set up the mat for us."

Xue Lan started to nod, but then stopped, "Mat? Not Mats?"

Xue Lan turned his head, and sure enough, there was only one mat laid out. Xue Lan was shocked. Huang Bingwen in the novel would never share a sleeping mat with someone, let alone a man. But right now, it seemed this Huang Bingwen was very open to it, expecting it. From how Huang Bingwen was acting, it seemed to be a normal occurrence between the two. Trying to hide his shock, Xue Lan nodded and went over to the mat and laid down. Huang Bingwen put some sort of spell on the fire that would keep it going without the need of consent tending, and then joined Xue Lan on the mat.

Xue Lan Was slightly uncomfortable. He had never shared a bed with another person before, let alone a man. It was something very new for him. But he felt that between Huang Bingwen and the original Xue Lan, this was quite normal. They had most likely done it to keep the baggage they carried light. It would be hard to travel if you had a ton of things with you. Xue Lan decided that he shouldn't think too much into it. They were just laying on the same mat. nothing else.

Huang Bingwen grabbed the one cover he brought and put it over the both of them. Though they had a fire, walls to protect from the wind, and each other body heat, it was still very cold. Anything that could keep the heat in was very welcomed.

Huang Bingwen turned so he was facing Xue Lan, "Xue Lan, I'm sorry for all of this. I shouldn't have dragged you into it."

Xue Lan was slightly confused, "What do you mean?"

Huang Bingwen squinted his eyes and slightly furrowed his brows, "You could have stayed back home, but I dragged you out here. I don't know what I'll find while searching for my father's killer. It could be very dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt."

Xue Lan was taken back. He couldn't help but smile at Huang Bingwen. He has a very kind heart.

Xue Lan grabbed Huang Bingwen's hand without thinking, "I couldn't think of a better place to be. You shouldn't be alone right now. you just lost someone very important to you, and that is a very hard thing to go through. I'll be there, so don't think you can't lean on me."

Xue Lan said all of that without putting much thought into his words. He even surprised himself. He just met him today but still felt very close to him. "Was it residual feelings from the original Xue Lan?"

He felt his face heat up a bit from the embarrassment. He avoided Huang Bingwen's eyes, not wanting him to see right through him. But, he was even more shocked when Huang Bingwen wrapped his arms around him and turned his face into his neck.

Huang Bingwen's voice shook slightly, "Thank you, Xue Lan."

Xue Lan just let Huang Bingwen lay on him. It wasn't uncomfortable. It felt nice having someone with you. Xue Lan hugged Huang Bingwen back before falling fast asleep.