As soon as I finished speaking, Black Emperor said,
"Ningzi, the road by Water Gorge is hard to travel. It just snowed lightly in the mountains, and the paths are slippery!
Let's not go to Water Gorge. We'll take the Bone Mountain route instead. It's safer, safer..."
Black Emperor put heavy emphasis on those last two words, "safer."
He stared at me with wide eyes as he spoke.
It was that look of desperately wanting to make me understand the situation, yet being unable to say it outright, able only to convey it through his expression and emotions.
But thinking back on my years in this line of work, when had I ever been "safe"?
Hadn't every time been a struggle for survival in desperate circumstances?
I thought of what Second Brave and Dog Chicken had said during the day—get married, have a child, live an ordinary, happy life.
If playing it safe worked, I would never be able to fulfill that wish in my lifetime.
And it would be even harder to destroy the Great Fiend within Ghost Cave Abyss.
Only by moving forward through storms and blooming amid desperation could I grow stronger as quickly as possible.
Besides, if it truly were a deadly danger with no chance of survival, would Grandpa have let me go?
If he was letting me go, then he must have believed I could handle it.
I smiled at Black Emperor.
"It's fine, Black Emperor. If you walk the safe road too often, you'll never learn to run fast. Grandpa, we're going to Water Gorge."
Grandpa nodded.
At the side, Black Emperor barked twice, clearly furious, but he said nothing more.
Next, Grandpa continued leading the way.
We began heading toward Water Gorge.
The road on this side of Water Gorge was truly