The morning sun burst forth from the eastern mountain ridge, waking the birds in the forest. The rolling mountains, like crouching beasts, gradually revealed their outlines.
The faint mist drifted away, pulling aside the veil covering the little stream by the mountain. Dewdrops clung to countless lush blades of grass in the woods like crystalline tears. Several nameless wildflowers, yellow and red alike, had only just bathed in sunlight when a rapid clatter of hooves came from the narrow mountain path in the distance.
As they drew nearer, one could see a magnificent white horse carrying a woman in a pale violet palace gown, her face covered by a white veil. The other was a strange beast like a donkey yet not a donkey, with a slender young man of slightly childish features seated atop it.
These two were Zhang Xiaohua and Meng, who had been traveling without rest for half a month.
A trace of weathered exhaustion showed on Zhang Xiaohua's face.
Meng glanced at him and said tenderly, "Xiaohua, why rush the journey so desperately? According to Cult Master's map, Great Forest Temple should be only a few miles ahead. We can arrive by noon. Look at you—you have been battered by wind and dust all the way, and you look much more worn out!"
Zhang Xiaohua pursed his lips and smiled. "To wander the jianghu naturally means sleeping beneath the stars and dining on the wind. We have it easy enough, besides, I am not as tired as you say."
"Not tired?" Meng pouted. "I used to think Wandering the Jianghu was so free and unrestrained, but only after truly setting foot in it did I learn how many perils lay within. Never mind the bandits blocking roads to rob travelers—there are also countless petty thieves coveting