The player carrying the entire Hoofed Beast didn't seem to mind at all; on the contrary, he seemed grateful to Xilǐ'er for waiting and said:
"It's resolved, let's go."
Walk? Walk while carrying the Hoofed Beast?
Xilǐ'er was a man who rarely showed his emotions, and his expression did not change much upon seeing this scene.
But his heart was somewhat shaken at this moment.
It would be difficult for a Low Tier being to do such a thing, but there is no doubt that the Soul Returner voluntarily followed him was indeed Low Tier.
So, was it because Ed became stronger that they were also strengthened?
Or is there some other reason?
Amidst his confusion, Xilǐ'er suddenly realized that now that he had officially become a member of the Second Holy See, he should take the initiative to learn more about the power of the Soul Returner within the Second Holy See.
With that in mind, the two of them, one leading the horse and the other carrying it on his back, began to move forward through the dense forest.
Seemingly to ease the somewhat awkward atmosphere, the player glanced at the Radish a few times and asked Xilǐ'er:
"Excuse me, what is that wooden staff that Radish is carrying on its left side?"
Xilǐ'er glanced at the wooden staff, which was engraved with numerous patterns and whose inner Psionic Energy flickered, and said:
"It's a token given to me by the Son of God. He said that with this, I can move freely within the territory of the Tree Worship Church Theocracy and deliver certain messages to all the other provinces."
"So that's it, it's a 'scepter'."
"The scepter?"
Xilǐ'er repeated the unfamiliar word in confusion.
Considering the significant differences in their worldviews, the Soul Returner began to explain the concept of the "Scepter" to Xilǐ'er.
Xilǐ'er was originally a knight living within the kingdom before the Demonic Tide. For a kingdom that was purely a feudal state, there was indeed no concept of a scepter.
However, he quickly likened it to a key item that could only be held by an envoy personally dispatched by the king or a high-ranking nobleman.
The Soul Returner thought about it and felt that this explanation was acceptable, so he nodded and continued to ask:
Did Ed give you anything else?
Xilǐ'er, having received no other items, looked at the Soul Returner with a puzzled expression:
"What else?"
"Hmm, logically speaking, there should also be a long-handled axe."
I haven't received it.
Xilǐ'er answered in this way.
The Soul Returner thought for a moment and said:
"Perhaps Ed forgot, or maybe he thinks you can do just fine without that thing..."
After the initial icebreaker, Xilǐ'er and the Soul Returner talked more as they continued their journey through the dense forest.
The old man in the village wasn't actually lying. In his understanding, even if you walked at full speed, it would still take five days to travel between two provinces along such rugged mountain roads.
But what he didn't expect was that neither Xilǐ'er nor the Soul Returner were normal people, and they were certainly not following any ordinary path.
Having abandoned the shortcut and chosen to infiltrate the dense forest, the Soul Returner and Xilǐ'er were no longer bound by any constraints.
After roughly marking the location of their destination, the Yiluo'en Province, on the map, the two began to travel in the simplest, straight-line direction.
After a few days of adjustment, Xilǐ'er now has a more comprehensive understanding of his body.
After undergoing numerous modifications, his and Radish's physical health was clearly no longer that important.
Their current state was more like that of alchemical golems, jointly modified by Ed and Willow.
Because of the compatibility between plant-based and Psionic Energy systems, Xilǐ'er doesn't need to actively eat anything.
He and Radish can automatically recover their stamina and health when they are near a big tree.
Of course, there are also some trees that are not very cooperative. Whenever this happens, Xilǐ'er will take out the wooden staff given to him by Ed, and then the trees will obediently become incredibly docile.
As for those Soul Returner, they are practically living livestock.
Although he can only stay awake for half the day, he can move forward at a steady pace without stopping during those twelve hours.
Xilǐ'er had reason to believe that the army of Soul Returner completely overwhelmed ordinary soldiers, at least in terms of physical strength.
If the enemy is unaware of this, they can easily suffer heavy losses on battlefields where relocation is necessary.
In short, on the third day after their departure, the two finally emerged from the mountains covered by dense forests.
As the vegetation thinned and the steep slopes became less frequent, Xilǐ'er and the Soul Returner knew they were about to enter the Yiluo'en Province.
After several days of unconsciousness, the Hoofed Beast finally came in handy again, and the two of them resumed riding their horses, increasing their speed considerably.
A few hours later, some low wooden houses appeared on the edge of their field of vision, instantly lifting their spirits.
The plan is simple:
First, go to the village and ask the village chief for directions to confirm the location of the nearest town;
Go to the town church and ask the bishop for directions to confirm the location of the provincial capital;
Go to the cathedral in the provincial capital and ask the archbishop for directions to confirm the location of the next province.
Overall, the plan sounds very good.
Having discussed the matter, Xilǐ'er seemed to remember something and looked at the Soul Returner, saying:
"As you said, ' Sancho Panza' and ' Zhou Cang ' were actually followers of two great knights, right?"
Due to differences in their worldviews, despite the Soul Returner's best efforts to explain, Xilǐ'er could only understand to this extent.
He could only nod in agreement, at which point Xilǐ'er's expression turned puzzled:
"So what is your real name? We might need it later when we talk."
The Soul Returner's face twitched as he said:
"Because my real name is rather abstract, um, and a bit of a mouthful, I'd like you to call me by these two names, but it's not impossible if you want to know them."
He took a deep breath and said to Xilǐ'er:
"My name is [Kunjinkao Tangtangtang], you can try to repeat it..."
Xilǐ'er's lips twitched slightly, and he awkwardly agreed:
"It is indeed a bit difficult to pronounce."
After a while, the two finally entered the first village they had entered since embarking on their journey.
Since it was getting late, after asking the village chief for the location of the nearest town, the two decided to stay overnight and set off again the next morning.
The two found a dilapidated house that was no longer in use and moved in. Xilǐ'er was busy settling Radish in (although it didn't really need to eat anything), while [Kunjinkao Tangtangtang] set up its easel and began to paint its first picture.
As he mixed the colors, he asked Xilǐ'er:
"What did the village chief say? What's the name of the nearest town?"
"It's called Hibiscus Town."
"Um?"
"To reach the provincial capital, there's a Lotus Town sandwiched in between."
"No..."
[Kunjinkao Tangtangtang] turned his head:
Are you serious?
Xilǐ'er was somewhat confused:
"That's what the village chief said."
"Goodness, then I'd believe you if you said there was also Golden Leaf Town."
"Hey, how did you know the provincial capital is called Golden Leaf City?"