They had come a long way, leaving the city behind. Since Ma Hong was already sweating and panting, Mu Chen decided to take a break.

Mu Chen found a few twigs and dried leaves and sparked a fire. Ma Hong brought over the hunk of meat and Mu Chen propped it over the fire. Both of them sat by the fire. Once the meat was roasted, Mu Chen sprinkled some seasoning over it. Seeing Ma Hong drool, he cut a huge portion of it and handed it over to him while he ate a small part of it.

Mu Chen watched as Ma Hong gorged the huge chunk of meat. In just a few minutes, he had nicked it clean to the bone. Mu Chen gave him a wine pot. It was just some normal wine and Ma Hong emptied it in one big gulp.

"Young Master," Ma Hong burped and smacked his lips while he rubbed his belly, "although the wine you made was horrible, the meat you cooked was tasty."

"You have eaten the meat and drunk my wine." Mu Chen said, "Isn't it about time for you to be completely honest with me?"

"Young Master?" Ma Hong scratched his head, looking puzzled.

"We are already far away from the city," Mu Chen sighed, "There is no need to pretend anymore."

"Y―young master!" Ma Hong said, "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Enough with the act!" Mu Chen frowned. "Your silly act can fool others―it won't work on me."

"Y―young Master?" Ma Hong was scared and puzzled. "I―I don't understand."

"I am willing to believe that you lost your carriage and it was just a coincidence, that I found you at my place…" Mu Chen stared at Ma Hong. "But why would someone like you be willing to be my attendant?"

"Y―Young Master is generous!" Ma Hong blurted out. "M―my old man always said to find a generous person to serve―"

"The reasons you give are superficial." Mu Chen shook his head. Ma Hong was still young and had potential. If he wanted to serve under someone, he could've found someone long ago. But he would rather sleep in a cramped carriage than find a master. For a person with such self-esteem, even if he lost everything, he would first exhaust all other options first before entering into servitude, and not jump into servitude of the first influential person he came across. But Ma Hong was eager and serious about becoming his attendant, so Mu Chen felt something was amiss.

However, Mu Chen couldn't tell much from Ma Hong's expression, so he decided to use other means to test him. On their way here, Mu Chen has his attention focused on him. Although Ma Hong complained about food and water, he wasn't agitated. When he saw hundreds of dead monster beasts, he was shocked but quickly recovered. But when they were close to the cultivators near the wall, Ma Hong's heartbeat spiked up and continued to remain so till they left the city behind.

"Do you think that just because I can't use divine sense, I am easy to fool?" Mu Chen looked at Ma Hong with narrowed eyes."Tell me, who are you running away from?"

Ma Hong froze and looked at Mu Chen with shock and disbelief. "H―how?"

"So you were just trying to take advantage of me?" Mu Chen's gaze turned cold. Ma Hong had just implicitly confessed.

"Young Master, forgive!" Ma Hong knelt before Mu Chen and began to kowtow. "I―I didn't mean to deceive you, b–but I was scared." Ma Hong hung his head down in shame.

"What happened?"

"I―I..." Ma Hong hesitated.

"If you don't want to tell―you can leave. I won't stop you." Mu Chen stood up, preparing to leave.

"Y―young Master, wait!" Ma Hong cried and ran after Mu Chen, "I―I'll tell…"

Ma Hong began to recount the events. He indeed hadn't told the complete truth in the beginning. It was true that he lost his carriage when the beast tide began, but he had left out a few key details when he mentioned it. Like, he was not alone when he was driving the carriage―he had a passenger.

When Ma Hong lost control of the carriage he was thrown off, but the beasts continued to drag the carriage. They were on a mountain pass, the carriage slipped off the edge and crashed into the valley while the passenger was still inside.

"Who was the passenger?" Mu Chen asked.

"I―I don't know the name. But it was someone…" Ma Hong gulped, cold sweat forming on his forehead.

"Someone from?" Mu Chen had a bad feeling.

"T―the Ming Dynasty." Ma Hong plopped down, his legs weak.

"The Ming Dynasty?" Mu Chen's face twitched.

"Y―yes!" Ma Hong bobbed his head. "He was drunk and ordered me to head to Fang Clan, before passing out. He said he was staying there."

"Fang Clan?" Mu Chen frowned. Someone like Fang Tian could certainly woo a few members of the Ming Dynasty to his side. But when he had met Fang Tianyi and Fang Tian in the forest, there were only members of the Fang Family with them. Fang Tian had mentioned that they were outside the forest when they sensed the treasure. It was likely they had been in the city and the people from the Ming Dynasty decided to separate.

"You said he was drunk?" Mu Chen realized the crux of the issue. "Did he survive?"

"I―I don't know!" Ma Hong cried. "I―I ran away."

Mu Chen looked at Ma Hong with sympathy. Since the guy was intoxicated, the worst case was he may not have been able to react and he might have fallen to his death. Unfortunately, even if it was an accident, Ma Hong would still be held responsible to protect the reputation of the Ming Dynasty. If they were lenient, he would face imprisonment for life. If they were harsh, he might be executed.

On other hand, even if that person survived, he might come looking for Ma Hong.

"You are really unlucky." Mu Chen sighed.

"Y―Young Master!" Ma Hong cried, "I swear, it was not my fault! I'm innocent! P―Please save me!"

"I would like to help, but we are dealing with the Ming Dynasty." Mu Chen shook his head. "Sir Chen summoned everyone a few hours ago. If that guy is dead, they must know by now and begin to search for him. I daresay, all the members from the Ming Dynasty must have trackers on them. It would be easy for them to locate the body of a fellow member."

Ma Hong trembled. Once the body was found, the carriage would be found as well. All carriages were registered. Moreover, Ma Hong's appearance was very characteristic. It would be easy to identify him.

"Young Master!" Ma Hong wailed, and grabbed Mu Chen's legs, "Please save me! I beg you! Ma Hong will forever remember your kindness!"

Mu Chen looked at Ma Hong's pitiful appearance and sighed. If he helped Ma Hong, he would be indebted to him. Mu Chen would likely gain a loyal and trustworthy follower. But he had to also consider his own situation. If he protected Ma Hong, and the truth came to light later―he would be implicated as well.

"Get up!" Mu Chen made a decision.

"Y―Young Master?" Ma Hong stood up, tears still glistening in his eyes.

"I will help―but it will depend on your luck." Mu Chen said, "The Ming Dynasty representatives won't stay forever. If they can't find you, maybe they will just give up. For the next few days, you can hide in the Mu Family."

"Thank you, Young Master." Ma Hong's eyes brightened. "Thank you!"

"But in case they find you―" Mu Chen said, his eyes narrowed. "We never had this talk. You never told me anything, do you understand?"

Ma Hong stared at Mu Chen, trying to make sense of Mu Chen's words. "I–I understand, Young Master."

"Alright then, clean up." Mu Chen said, "It's best if we can reach the Mu Family before night."

Ma Hong put out the fire and followed behind Mu Chen.

#

A petite figure walked down the narrow passageway. The figure continued to move forward, leaving behind several cabins that lined the wall. Once she came by a certain cabin, she stopped. After looking around and confirming that no one else was present, she lifted her hand and gently knocked on the cabin door.

"It's me!"

"The door is open." A low voice echoed from within the cabin.

The girl slid the cabin door open and slipped inside, sliding the door shut once she was inside. The inside of the cabin was dark, but it was still possible to discern the silhouette of a guy who was slumped into an armchair, rocking back and forth. The person in the chair didn't even bother to greet as he continued to stare mindlessly at the low ceiling of the cabin.

The girl stared at the back of the figure. "They found Xu Cheng. He is alive but in a coma. Fortunately, his treasure protected him. They are treating him right now." The girl said.

"Is that so?" The guy in the chair raised his head. "That's good." Then he slumped back once again, staring at the ceiling.

"You are still brooding." The girl sighed. "I told you, it's not your fault. You don't have to feel guilty."

"I know." The guy sighed, "But I still feel bad."

"You are too sentimental. It's your biggest weakness." The girl shook her head, "What you did was risky enough. If you had tried to save every other person, your identity would have been exposed." The girl approached the guy in the chair and stood behind him. "We can't risk that! Moreover, even if you had helped―the number of people you may have managed to save would be insignificant."

"Few lives are still lives."

"But are they worth yours?" The girl frowned, "Just a few hundred mortals, their lives are not worth risking yours. Even if they were cultivators―they wouldn't qualify."

"Sometimes I wish that wasn't the case." The guy sighed. "Maybe, I would be freer then."

"You would be free," The girl nodded, "but you might also be dead."

"You―" The guy choked. "Can't you say something nice once in a while?"

"It's my job to keep you safe." The girl said. "Stop pulling off any more stunts like you did today. From what I gathered, there might be a branch of the Dark Temple in this region. If they came to know someone of your status is here―do you have any idea what would happen?"

The guy in the chair fell silent and lowered his head. The girl raised her hand and ruffled his hair. "Stop worrying about other things and just focus on your task. Don't forget why we came here." The girl said. "There are only a few days left before we have to leave."

"There is no point." The guy groaned, "It's as good as failed."

"In that case," The girl lowered her head and whispered in the guy's ears. "you should relax and concentrate on improving your relationships."

"W-what relationships?" The guy spoke, his voice slightly raised.

Instead of answering, the girl waved her hand and the lamps on the walls lit up illuminating the cabin causing the guy in the chair to squint at the brightness. But the girl just gave a smile, "I mean your friends."

"Oh! You mean them?" The guy's face had turned red.

"Of course!" The girl giggled, "What did you think?"

The guy turned his head sideways and avoided looking at the girl, causing her to giggle mischievously.

"The friends you picked are good." The girl praised. "They are very talented."

"I didn't pick them because they were talented." The guy said.

"Regardless, they have potential." The girl continued. "Both of them can adequately represent you―three if you can convince the girl."

The guy frowned and looked at the girl.
"Just them? What about―"

"Him?" The girl shook her head. "I don't think he will be of any use."

"You are wrong." The guy said. "I heard he was a genius before the accident. You inspected him, right? His condition is curable―we don't have to make a judgment so soon. Besides, you saw how close those three are with him. I tried to separate him from them and it almost backfired. Instead, if we pull him to our side, won't others naturally follow?"

The girl stared at the guy and then nodded, her eyes filled with praise. "Finally, you are starting to think like you ought to, Your H―"

There was a loud knock on the door. The girl frowned and walked towards it and slid it slightly open, and peeked outside. Two girls stood outside.

"See? I told you she would be here!"

"So what? It's not like she did anything wrong."

"Hmph! Sister Rong! You always support her!"

"You don't have to be jealous! If you find someone you like, I will support yo―!"

"I don't need that kind of―"

"Sister Rong, Sister Hanying?" The petite girl said, "Did something happen?"

"Hmph! Not me," Yi Hanying said, "but Sister Rong here was worried about you when she didn't see you for long."

"Since a lot happened today, I was thinking of a night together." Su Rong said.

"I―I..." Ye Lanlan hesitated and looked to and fro behind her and towards.

"It's alright, I don't mind." The guy said.

"Then...I will see you later, Brother Ren!"