As she galloped along, Shi Lan paid little attention to her exact direction, instinctively keeping away from the boundless Demon Domain.
At some point, the demonic beasts gradually grew scarce. The herds that had once roamed in great numbers were almost nowhere to be seen. In contrast, she began encountering more and more people.
Shi Lan conscientiously played the part of a kindhearted good person. As she watched her reputation slowly rise, bit by bit, she felt a little satisfaction.
There weren't that many people in the world who knew how to repay kindness. Some, after accepting the benefits someone had given them, might even curse that person as a fool in their hearts.
Shi Lan couldn't read minds, but the reputation score on her panel could clearly tell her whether her good deed had achieved the effect it was supposed to.
Being a person was hard. Being a good person was harder still. And being a good person whom others truly appreciated from the bottom of their hearts was harder than all the rest.
That was Shi Lan's firsthand experience.
"Whoa—"
Shi Lan pulled on the reins and signaled for Wang Ning and the others to stop, then began studying the terrain ahead.
Two enormous cliffs towered into the sky, with only a narrow crevice between them—wide enough for at most three jiao horses to ride abreast.
This kind of terrain was known as a Heaven-Splitting Killing Ground, or a "line of sky." It was thick with baleful intent and an easy place for bandits and other desperate criminals to spring up. In short, it was no good place.
Shi Lan frowned slightly and turned her reins, preparing to order the group to take another route. Then a whistle split the air all around them.
"Whoosh—"
"Whoosh—"
A