Before dawn, Zhou Yan set out with the brother and sister.
Feng Man carried his sister on his back and followed behind the horse, his legs moving swiftly. Zhou Yan slowed the horse and let it match their pace.
"My lord, is learning martial arts difficult?" Feng Man asked between breaths.
"That depends on the person," Zhou Yan said. "First, let's see how long you can keep walking."
Feng Man gritted his teeth, hitched his sister higher on his back, and continued on without a word.
By noon, Zhou Yan stopped beside a stream to let the horse drink. He took half a flatbread from his bundle, broke it in two, and handed it over.
Feng Man fed his sister several bites first. Feng Xiaocao gnawed on the bread from her brother's hand, her eyes fixed on Zhou Yan the entire time.
"Eat," Zhou Yan said with a smile.
Only then did Feng Man take his half. He wolfed it down in a few bites and nearly choked, craning his neck.
When he crouched by the stream to drink, Zhou Yan saw that his shoes had lost their heels and the soles of his feet were covered in bloody blisters.
"Do your feet hurt?"
"No." Feng Man tucked his feet farther into the grass.
Zhou Yan did not ask again. After they walked for another half day, the woods beside the road gradually grew denser.
By then, the official road had become nothing more than a dirt path trampled out by travelers. Dark masses of pines lined both sides, and the wind howled as it passed through the gaps between them.
At dusk, Zhou Yan reined in his horse.
Several pairs of green eyes flickered deep within the forest.
Zhou Yan frowned and tossed the reins to Feng Man. "Hold