Although Jiangcheng, where Lu Ban lived, lay beside a river, it rarely saw heavy fog. Most of the time, only a thin haze drifted over the river, half concealing everything like a veil over a woman's face as it shrouded the mountains and waters.
But what he saw now was dense fog thick enough to obscure his vision.
White fog filled the air. Less than a meter beyond the carriage, everything was already blurry. When he looked up, he could no longer see the night sky; when he looked down, he could barely make out the gravel road. The fog roiled, giving him an uneasy feeling.
The only comforting thing was probably the few lights glowing in the distance. Their man-made radiance pierced the fog, pointing the way and radiating warmth.
The coachman was a dark-haired, dark-skinned man. He lowered the whip in his hand and glanced back.
"I'm going to take a piss."
Lu Ban's companion nodded. The two of them watched as the coachman climbed down and walked into the dense fog.
He did not go far. Through the thick fog, Lu Ban could still vaguely see the coachman's back.
"My name is Trist. You can call me Old Cui too. As you can see, I'm a detective."
His companion struck a match and lit the tobacco in his pipe.
"?"
Lu Ban was a little puzzled.
A name like Trist should belong to a foreigner, shouldn't it? Or was this man's surname Cui and given name St?
How strange.
"But speaking of which, if this is your first time encountering a companion, you probably only finished the tutorial mission recently—within your first four missions, most likely. And yet you dared to choose Erosion difficulty under those circumstances. You've got guts."
Trist took a puff from his pipe.