Pockmarks

"W-what was that?!" Ji Xuanyuan cried out in fright, grabbing Xiao Fan's arm.

Xiao Fan was startled as well, but he kept a calm face. "Your Highness, don't panic! It might just be rats or something."

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

The sound came again, drawing ever closer to the two of them!

"It's coming! It's coming!" Ji Xuanyuan immediately shrank behind Xiao Fan.

"Stay here. Don't move. I'll go take a look."

Xiao Fan raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, picked up the woodcutter's blade he had bought in the village, and cautiously headed toward the sound.

There was no moon here at night. Once they left the campfire, the darkness was especially thick.

He had originally wanted to light a piece of firewood and take it for illumination, but it was midsummer and the forest was lush. Bringing a flame inside might very well start a forest fire...

Left with no choice, he could only feel his way into the woods. Relying on a martial artist's extraordinary senses, he could still pinpoint his target's location even in pitch-black darkness where one could not see one's own hand.

The closer he got, the louder the rustling from the weeds became.

That disturbance could not possibly have been caused by rats. It sounded like some large wild beast was approaching!

"Looks like this visitor means no good..." Xiao Fan muttered to himself, his heart leaping into his throat.

As everyone knew, wild beasts feared fire. Upon seeing flames, they would usually keep their distance rather than approach on their own... unless they were starving.

Had it been daytime, a mere wild beast would have been nothing to a ranked martial artist.

But it was nighttime!

Who knew whether anything might undergo some unforeseen mutation after dark?

Rustle... rustle... rustle...

The "wild beast" in the darkness seemed to have noticed Xiao Fan approaching as well, and its footsteps visibly slowed.

Xiao Fan, who could only locate it by sound, raised his woodcutter's blade. Judging from the noise, the other party should be less than thirty feet away!

His nerves were stretched taut. Whatever it is, strike first and gain the upper hand!

If it truly was an ordinary wild beast, it would make a nice midnight snack to improve their fare... If it was no ordinary wild beast, then it definitely meant trouble. Better chop it down first and talk later!

With that thought, he hesitated no longer. He stepped forward and swung his blade to strike.

"Stop!!!" The "wild beast" in the darkness actually spoke human words!

Xiao Fan immediately stopped, crying out, "You're human?!"

"What else would I be?"

Xiao Fan was greatly alarmed. I nearly hurt an innocent person...

But he immediately realized something was wrong!

"Wait! How did you know I was about to slash at you? Can you see me?!"

One had to know that he was a ranked martial artist! His vision far surpassed that of ordinary people, yet even he could not see the other side in this boundless darkness. If the other party was human, how could he possibly see him?

Either he was a martial artist like Xiao Fan, yet he did not possess the distinctive aura of one.

He could speak human words... but he was neither an ordinary person nor a martial artist... then what else could he be?

"An evil spirit!"

Pleased by his own quick wits, Xiao Fan raised his woodcutter's blade again and warily took up a guard.

Two faintly blue glowing "round beads" lit up amid the dark trees, like a pair of eyes in the night.

"You're the evil spirit! Take this, Torrent Arrow!"

The moment the words fell, a pale-blue circular formation lit up in the darkness, and three water arrows shot forth!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Xiao Fan reacted swiftly, swinging his woodcutter's blade to block them. But the blade's material was too poor, and it snapped on the spot.

Based on the power of the other party's spell, he roughly estimated that this person was a ranked spellcaster cultivating the path of sorcery! Either eighth rank or ninth rank! No wonder he could see Xiao Fan in the darkness.

Spellcasters possessed a dazzling array of spells. Having night vision was hardly impossible, making them completely different from the simple and brutal martial artists.

"A water-element spell of the sorcerous path?! May I ask who you are, sir?"

Xiao Fan sprang backward three great strides, opening a thirty-foot gap between them and returning near the campfire.

At that moment, a potbellied middle-aged man with thinning hair tied in a topknot emerged from the pitch-black forest.

The man was short, with a large, fleshy face covered in pockmarks. At first glance, he looked almost like a sesame flatbread.

He was covered in grime and dirt, looking thoroughly bedraggled.

"You scoundrel! You raised your blade to chop at someone without distinguishing black from white, right from wrong, and even called me an evil spirit. What are your intentions?"

Xiao Fan scrutinized him alertly. He really did seem to be human. "My apologies. In the middle of the night, you were sneaking about so furtively that suspicion was inevitable."

"My name is Wang Mazi! I am a merchant from Eastern Yue, headed for the capital of Great Liang. I accidentally... accidentally lost my way halfway there. I saw the firelight here and followed it over!"

Wang Mazi... What an absurdly casual name. It was the sort of passerby name that would not survive even two scenes in a storybook.

Wang Mazi planted his hands on his hips, speaking with absolute righteousness.

Even so, Xiao Fan still did not dare lower his guard. "Your word alone is no proof. It's hard to convince anyone."

"How can you be—"

Gurgle, gurgle...

Before Wang Mazi could finish, rumbling sounds came from the general's belly.

"Fine! I won't come over. Um... do you have anything to eat? Could you..." Looking embarrassed, he hugged his stomach.

Seeing the troubled look on his face and judging that it did not seem feigned, Xiao Fan returned to the donkey cart to take out two cold steamed buns.

"Hey! What are you doing? You're really giving him food? That guy's background is unknown. I say we shouldn't bother with him!"

The cowardly young master had long since shrunk back into the donkey cart. The moment he saw Xiao Fan taking out food, he immediately became unhappy.

Xiao Fan shook his head helplessly. "Giving him two is no great loss. There's still more, isn't there?"

As he spoke, he took the buns and, from two zhang away, tossed them to the middle-aged man. "Here, eat them right there. Don't come over!"

Wang Mazi caught the buns, and his eyes immediately lit up. He attacked with both hands, wolfing them down. "Th... thank you!"

It seemed he had truly been starving...

Xiao Fan sat beside the fire, his gaze still fixed on the middle-aged man. "You said you were a merchant from Eastern Yue, so where are your goods? And why did you get lost here?"

"I lied to you. Actually, I'm not a merchant—I was going to the capital for sightseeing!" The man stuffed down three bites in two, nearly choking to death... It took him quite a while to catch his breath.

Good grief, he was really straightforward... He could not even be bothered to keep up the lie. He did not seem very bright.

"Ahem... Since you were traveling for pleasure, why didn't you hire a guide?"

The last bite of bun went down his throat. At that, Wang Mazi immediately puffed up in anger. "Just mentioning that makes me furious! Your Great Liang is crawling with swindlers!"

Xiao Fan scratched the back of his head, finally coming to a realization. This guy really isn't very bright...

"What exactly happened? Why not tell us?"

Wang Mazi casually wiped his mouth with his sleeve and sat down on the ground. "Originally, I planned to set out from Jian City in Eastern... Eastern Yue. As long as I followed the official road westward, I would reach Great Liang's capital."

"I admit I was careless... I never expected the land to be so complicated! I kept walking and walking, then entered mountain roads and couldn't find my way anymore!"

"With no other choice, I finally found a mountain village. I even spent twenty taels of silver to hire a local guide and had him drive me to the capital!"

"Who could have guessed that damn guide was a swindler! He dumped me in this godforsaken wilderness and drove off with the cart himself!"

"My travel funds... my luggage... it's all gone..."

As he spoke, this grown man suddenly burst into loud sobs, utterly stunning the two-man donkey-cart troupe who had been watching the show and munching on snacks.