After daybreak the next morning, Shen Fei finished breakfast and stepped out of his room. Xiao Ning'er was already standing at the courtyard entrance.
She had changed into a dark gray outfit suited for movement, with a short sword and a medicine pouch hanging at her waist and her cuffs tied snugly. She looked ready for a long journey.
She carried a bulging cloth bag with its opening sealed, filled with inscription materials and blank talisman paper.
"Let's go," she said. "I asked around. There are some abandoned mine tunnels west of the outpost that no one usually visits. We can circle around that way to reach the back of the Teleportation Array. There are a few places along the route suitable for laying inscriptions."
Shen Fei nodded, and they left the guest courtyard side by side. The guard at the entrance glanced at them, recognized them as the guests Nie Li had brought, and did not stop them.
Once they were beyond the guest courtyard, Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er headed west along the main road, one behind the other.
There were few people on the outpost's streets, mostly patrol guards from the Silver Wing Family and miners hauling supplies back and forth. Occasionally, they saw people dressed in the clothing of other families who looked like merchants, but they merely walked with their heads down, without sparing the pair a second glance.
Shen Fei walked ahead, with Xiao Ning'er half a step behind him.
They kept neither too close nor too far apart, looking like ordinary traveling companions. They neither spoke nor exchanged unnecessary glances.
When they reached a fork, Xiao Ning'er tilted her head, signaling Shen Fei to turn into the narrower alley on the left.
Dull gray stone walls lined both sides of the alley, with