The first few days after leaving Bronze City were unusually peaceful.
The carriage traveled north along the official road for four or five days. They traveled by day and camped wherever they were at night.
Blue Knight kept the campsite in impeccable order, while Lu Yuan was responsible for lighting the two Sandworm Oil Lamps.
These things were truly useful. Once the lamps were lit, anything unclean within a dozen meters had to give them a wide berth. Over four or five days, they had not encountered so much as an Eerie entity—not even a single wild beast.
The only exception came on the third night.
When Lu Yuan got up in the night to refill the Sandworm Oil Lamp, the corner of his eye caught what seemed to be something standing deep in the woods.
But the Gray-White Text gave no prompt. Clearly, that thing posed very little threat to him.
It looked somewhat pitch-black, a shade darker than the surrounding tree shadows. Lu Yuan carried the lamp over and shone it in that direction.
The bright white light swept across the spot. It was completely empty. There was nothing there.
Lu Yuan had no intention of going over to take a look either. Since the Gray-White Text had given no prompt... ah, whatever.
He returned to the carriage and went back to sleep.
The farther north they traveled, the higher the terrain became. The woods outside the window grew denser by the day, broadleaf trees gradually giving way to conifers. Wind slipped through the cracks of the carriage, beginning to carry an inexplicable chill.
Yet the traffic coming toward them on the official road grew heavier by the day. Families hauling their belongings, people pushing wheelbarrows, travelers carrying bedding on their backs and walking on foot—all of them