Over the three days of their journey toward Suotuo City, Ning Rongrong had already cried twice.
The first time had been on their first night away from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, when she complained that her Grandpa Sword told terrible stories and kept her from falling asleep.
The second time had been because, after sleeping poorly that night, Chen Xin woke her early to get back on the road. She had cried and demanded to go home.
Now came the third time.
Sitting in the carriage, she lifted the curtain and watched the dust billowing outside. Her delicate, pretty brows knitted together, and her eyes reddened again. "Grandpa Sword, how much farther do we have to go? This lousy carriage is jolting my bottom sore. Why can't we buy a better one? I have money!"
Chen Xin, riding on horseback, looked back at her words, a trace of helplessness in his eyes. His voice was helpless yet gentle. "We slipped out quietly. We can't draw too much attention. The world is already in turmoil, and extraordinary people keep emerging.
"Spirit Hall only recently returned with its feathers clipped, and now trouble has broken out within the Heaven Dou Imperial Family too. We must be careful. Besides, this is a kind of training as well. This little bit of hardship you're enduring now doesn't even compare to when I was training..."
But as he watched Ning Rongrong's eyes grow wetter, he swallowed the rest of his words and stopped lecturing.
He knew it too: when had Ning Rongrong ever suffered like this? Back in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she traveled in a cushioned sedan chair, and even her bed had several layers of soft padding. Nothing like now, when she had only eaten one hot meal.
"We're