Setting Out for Tianshui

Ning Yao did not refuse after hearing Qian Renxue say that. He raised a hand and put away the two storage rings.

Qian Renxue was right. These had been part of their agreement from the start, and he deserved them.

"Let's talk about putting it on credit some other time."

Ning Yao chuckled and shook his head as he looked at Qian Renxue.

"As for these golden soul coins, I'll accept them without ceremony. I just didn't expect Miss Qian Renxue to choose this place as our meeting spot."

He looked around. No joke, this spirit arena was far more extravagant than Spirit Hall.

Any random item here would be enough to make commoners outside fight tooth and nail for it.

Qian Renxue smiled and shook her head upon hearing that.

"You flatter me, Senior. Public matters are public, private matters are private. I invited you here this time mainly to honor our agreement and repay your kindness. This concerns the three of us; it is a private matter. Wouldn't discussing it at Spirit Hall make it seem like official business?"

"This time, Snake Spear Douluo and I represent only ourselves. There are no other interests involved, so please rest assured, Senior."

Qian Renxue explained, though this was also what she truly felt.

She knew that Guangling Douluo had already sought out Ning Yao, and that the outcome had been good—a win-win for both sides.

But in truth, no matter how that encounter had ended, it would not have affected their meeting today.

Qian Renxue had come to repay a kindness. She had always believed in repaying those who had helped her.

So even if Guangling Douluo had truly fallen out with Ning Yao, she would still have come here today in her personal capacity.

Ning Yao nodded slightly and said nothing more.

All he could say was that Qian Renxue was much like she had been in the original story: before Tang San forcibly lowered her intelligence with plot armor, she had actually been quite decent.

Hopefully, she would not do anything foolish in this life.

Besides, with Ning Yao here this time, both Spirit Hall and Qian Renxue had been sensible. As a reward for that, Ning Yao would help them once.

As for exactly how he would help them, that would depend on how they behaved going forward.

The three remained in the private room for a long time. Only after an entire day had passed did Ning Yao emerge.

Qian Renxue and Snake Spear Douluo followed close behind.

Outside the Great Spirit Arena, the three parted ways.

This time, they made no further arrangements. Qian Renxue merely said that if Ning Yao ever needed anything, he could seek out not only Spirit Hall but also her in Heaven Dou City.

A life-saving debt could never truly be repaid. In her personal capacity, she would do everything she could to help Ning Yao, without involving any conflicts of interest.

Though she said this, she did not reveal her identity as Xue Qinghe.

Ning Yao did not say anything about that either.

After watching them leave, Ning Yao vanished from the spot as well.

There was no longer any reason for him to remain in Soto City.

After returning to his apartment and briefly packing his belongings, he boarded a carriage leaving Soto City.

There was nothing here worth lingering over anymore.

This time, his destination was the neighboring kingdom of the Barak Kingdom—one of the continent's two great empires, the Heaven Dou Empire.

As for where exactly he would go, Ning Yao had not decided yet.

This carriage belonged to a caravan. Ning Yao had simply paid some money to board as a passenger.

He planned to travel with the caravan over the next few days, following them around wherever they went until they reached their destination.

"Brother, where's this caravan headed?"

Inside the carriage, Ning Yao struck up a conversation with a sturdy middle-aged man beside him.

He had noticed earlier that this man seemed to be one of the caravan's people. He had been helping load goods onto the carriages.

He should know.

After all, Ning Yao had only asked whether he could hitch a ride into the Heaven Dou Empire and had not inquired about anything else.

The burly man was an honest sort. Upon hearing Ning Yao's question, he thought for a moment.

"Us? The destination of our Blazing Cloud Caravan this time is no simple place—Tianshui City."

"Where are you headed, brother? I only heard from our boss that you paid to hitch a ride into the Heaven Dou Empire. I don't think he mentioned where you were going."

Ning Yao smiled faintly at that.

"Tianshui City? What a coincidence. That's where I'm going too."

Wasn't that convenient? Wherever the caravan was headed would become his destination.

Unless something else caught his interest along the way, he would probably follow the Blazing Cloud Caravan all the way to Tianshui City.

Upon hearing that Ning Yao was also heading to Tianshui City, the burly man showed a look of realization.

"Then let's look out for each other on the road, brother. My name's Iron Dragon, a level 48 Battle Soul Elder."

As he spoke, Iron Dragon extended a hand toward Ning Yao.

His straightforward manner caught Ning Yao off guard for a moment, but he quickly reached out and shook Iron Dragon's hand.

"Ning Yao, a healing-type Soul Master."

The moment he said that, Iron Dragon shot upright and stared at Ning Yao in astonishment.

"Brother Ning Yao, you're a healing type?"

"Then that's wonderful! Looks like none of us will have to suffer on this journey."

"Don't worry, Brother Ning Yao. If anything happens on the road, just heal us and use your soul skills. I'll go straight to our boss and make sure he refunds every last coin you paid!"

Iron Dragon laughed heartily and patted his chest in assurance.

Healing-type Soul Masters were simply too rare, and they were always in high demand. This was truly the first time their caravan had been graced by one.

To be honest, Iron Dragon was even tempted to invite Ning Yao to join the caravan.

"Oh? There could be accidents?"

Ning Yao was rather curious. Since he had nothing else to do, he casually chatted with Iron Dragon.

Through their conversation, he learned that caravans rarely traveled without incident. Aside from soul beasts appearing along the road, they could even encounter bandits.

Therefore, every caravan was generally equipped with several Soul Masters capable of fighting. Wealthier ones even hired healing-type Soul Masters, though the Blazing Cloud Caravan was clearly not wealthy enough for that.

The day after their conversation, while Ning Yao was still eating breakfast, the caravan owner came to find him personally.

He was a somewhat plump middle-aged man, an ordinary person whose soul power had not even reached level ten. The moment he saw Ning Yao, he began warmly fussing over him.

"Brother Ning Yao, you should've told us you were a healing-type Soul Master!"

The caravan owner laughed as he pulled a heavy pouch of golden soul coins from his robes.

"Here, Brother Ning Yao, this is your fare. There are some extra golden soul coins in there too, as payment for your services."

"You may not know this, brother, but for small caravans like ours, healing-type Soul Masters don't need to pay if they want a ride. As long as they can lend us a hand if anything happens on the road, that's enough."

"So, Brother Ning Yao..."

The caravan owner looked at Ning Yao with anticipation on his plump face, awaiting his answer.

"There's no need for the extra golden soul coins. Just return my fare. If anything happens, I'll help."