Lin Xiao went to Long Yinlian, outside the cave. Long Yinlian was sitting on a rock with Wang Lan resting beside him. For some reason, Lin Xiao could sense that Long Yinlian was in a melancholic mood.

“Master, I’m here. Is there something you want to tell me?” Lin Xiao asked as soon as he was within Long Yinlian’s earshot.

“En. Tomorrow morning, go to Senlin village. Bring this along when you go,” Long Yinlian handed a medium-sized box to Lin Xiao. “Purchase a carriage for the young lady. Make sure it is comfortable enough to be used for a long journey. If there’s any money left, use it to buy food enough to last for two days’ journey.”  Long Yinlian paused for a while, before finally saying, “We are going to the capital. And try to hire a few mercenaries to escort us. But whatever you do, never ever mention - to anyone - that we’re bringing the young lady with us.”

“Is her identity special?” Lin Xiao asked curiously.

“In a way… you could say that she is related to me,” was all Long Yinlian said before he finally stood up. “You can take my bed. I can sleep on the ground tonight.”

At this, Lin Xiao immediately stopped Long Yinlian in his tracks. 

“Nonsense! Master, you should sleep on your bed. Your disciple can sleep on the ground with Zan-er!” Lin Xiao protested as he took Long Yinlian’s arm and began to lead him back into the cave. “It’s going to be a bit cold tonight. So, make sure you stay warm, alright?”

Lin Xiao helped Long Yinlian to his bed before he went to huddle together with the other three tigers. Because of them, Lin Xiao never once felt cold that night.

The next morning, Lin Xiao woke up early to prepare breakfast. He caught some rabbits and t roasted them before leaving a note for the young lady to eat them for breakfast. Then, he packed some of the rabbit roast for himself before going to the lake to clean up. Only once he was clean and ready, did he go down to the village.

When he arrived at the village, the sun had just risen. He could see that most of the villagers were now all up and about, preparing to go about their daily routines. The first thing he did was go to the stable. He purchased a carriage and two pairs of horses. Next, he bought a cart that was large enough to carry their supplies, as well as to hide the three tigers.  After that, he began to go shopping for food. With the amount he was buying, it attracted the attention of plenty of villagers.

“Ah’Xiao, are you travelling somewhere?” One of the villagers asked.

“Yes. Master and I are going to the capital,” he replied politely.

“Ah, is that so? Did your family finally find you and ask you to go back to them?”

“Uhh… yes. You can say that,” Lin Xiao answered. Since Long Yinlian said that he wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about Fei Yuxing, he could only lie.

After he finished stocking up the necessary supplies, he checked the box that Long Yinlian had given him the night before. He had already spent so much money and yet, the box he carried didn’t seem to be losing much weight. 

“Well… this box is full of gold pieces and I barely used ten pieces,” Lin Xiao murmured to himself before he took twenty gold pieces out. He then securely covered the box with a cloth and tied it to his back.

His next destination was the mercenary guild outpost. 

Due to the increase of bandits’ activities, the Officials decided to create the guild to help them clear the bandits in the area. But because of the way it was set up, in the end, even the Officials couldn’t abolish them. The mercenaries were the last hope of the citizens, most of whom couldn’t even dream of going to the capital to get help. 

Lin Xiao entered the outpost and went straight to the counter.

“Welcome to Senlin’s Mercenary Outpost! Are you here to look for a job to do or are you here to post a job?” The attendant asked.

“I am here to hire some mercenaries to be guards and escort my master and I during our journey,” Lin Xiao answered before he took out ten pieces of gold and placed it on the countertop. “The destination is the capital. Food will be provided. We’d prefer poeple who are proficient in martial arts. Because there may potentially be some danger, my master told me to pay each person who accepts the job a piece of gold. Then, once we’ve arrived, we’ll pay each person another two pieces.”

Lin Xiao said this without breaking eye contact and he could see that the attendant was already interested the moment the gold pieces were placed on the table. “The job will begin today, at noon,” Lin Xiao added, and the attendant’s expression changed slightly.

“This young master, to find people this quick is not—”

Lin Xiao didn’t let him finish and quickly placed another five gold pieces onto the table. The attendant’s eyes went wide, and Lin Xiao just smiled at him. 

“Money is not a problem. Oh, this is just extra but if you can get me people who know how to keep a secret, I’ll throw in another five gold pieces as payment,” Lin Xiao added with a smirk.

“Consider it done! You’re in luck. The White Swan had just arrived in town a few days ago and they don’t have any active jobs at the moment. Though they should be resting for another three days, I’m sure I can convince them to accept your job,” the attendant informed Lin Xiao.

On hearing the name ‘White Swan’, Lin Xiao felt a sense of relief. The White Swan was well-known band of mercenaries. They were only eight in number, but they were all what people in the business called the top class. 

“Tell them to wait for me at the southern entrance of the village by noon. Here are your five pieces of gold,” Lin Xiao said as he handed the payment over to the attendant. After that, he left the outpost feeling slightly cheated. “Ai… twenty gold pieces, ah! How much food we could’ve bought with that! It’d be enough to last us for a decade at least!” Lin Xiao lamented with a sigh.