At the docks, ships were loaded and unloaded, sails raised and lowered, livestock hauled cargo. The busy, weary people lent the place something of a prosperous air.
As the sun set in the west, the flatbread stall closed up, and Hai Wuji pulled his handcart back.
Zhuge Chi, dressed as a fisherman, had somehow come up beside him and walked alongside him, though he made no move to help pull the cart.
Reeking of smoke and fire, Hai Wuji turned his head. Seeing who it was, he glanced around and asked in a low voice, "What is it?"
Zhuge Chi replied quietly, "I have something to attend to and need to leave for a while. Their people will be responsible for protecting you."
Seeing that no one around was paying attention, Hai Wuji asked softly, "They have another task for you?"
Zhuge Chi said, "I don't know exactly what it is. I just received word from over there. Quite a lot has happened in the cultivation world, and the stir has been considerable. This side is about to launch a counterattack."
Hai Wuji sighed. "Go, then! The sooner you go, the sooner you return."
Zhuge Chi was somewhat surprised and gestured with a hand.
Hai Wuji pulled the handcart aside, away from the flow of passersby, and stood by the roadside.
Seeing the calluses worn into his hands from bracing the cart, Zhuge Chi said, "You've suffered."
Hai Wuji smiled. "Better than losing my life. I'm not as fragile as you think. Back when I was a hostage in the Yan Kingdom, I suffered far more than this. I remember when I returned to the kingdom and saw my mother... when she saw what I had become, she wept so heartbreakingly... Sigh, I truly want to go see her."
Zhuge