White fluffy clouds crouched on the horizon decorating the blue skies, the dull grey of the heavy winter days were fading away, dripping water and bird chirps could be heard in the mornings as the layer of white that had blanketed the scenery for the last months, began its slow thaw as the natural cycle began its slow crawl towards spring. Even though it was still nippy, the temperature had gone up enough for people to start shedding the thickest layer of fur they had donned for the past few months.
After taking root in the south of the Wawrika province for three months, Hartley had reaped a boatload of benefits, he was now officially a noble, a knight under Viscount Sanzu and a long distant relative in pretense, the viscount himself had tried to trace Hartley's origin as he knew the other nobles would try and discount his supposed ties to the Sanzu estate.
Nothing came back, Hartley wasn't officially registered as one of the Lou clan in a any official Royal documents. Patriarch Lou had deliberately kept Hartley's existence off any documents in the Lou clan because of his special origins. Hartley could in theory claim to be from anywhere and it could neither be proven or disproved unless someone got in direct contact with Patriarch Lou.
The revenues he earned through controlling the northern trade routes had netted him even more riches over the time spent in district 6, after putting in place a hierarchy to lead the guild in his absence, he was prepped and ready for the next leg of his journey finally.
Qin li had converted some of the young pick pockets from the crime guild into spies hidden from the world in plain sight, they had taken an oath of loyalty to the guild and were given funds then sent out to infiltrate society and live a normal life among the people.
They would then gather general information about the happenings in the other districts and secrets pertaining to other nobles, Qin Li's thinking was they might even stumble onto something Hartley could use as leverage. The children had been converted to loyal followers of Hartley's group even though Hartley had little interaction with them personally. They were none the less won over by the kindness Zhi Ruo had showed each and everyone of them during her time at the Rikers guild. She had taught them to read and write and paid them enough money so they could save up and do something else with their lives if they so chose, she had given them something they had lacked from birth and that was hope.
Hartley was leaving in a couple of days and he was taking Ryu Hang as his new carriage driver, there was something about the youth that Hartley liked, he was a hard worker and dedicated, even though they were both the same age somehow it seems like Hartley was decades older. Biyu Jie was transferred to the Roving Wasps headquarters where she was placed under Wang He, Hartley could imagine how she would have Wang He wrapped around her fingers in months but he wasn't worried, she was warned in no uncertain terms of the consequences of betraying the guild.
It was time for them to move on. Qin Li through sheer determination had finally broken into the 3rd layer. Hartley was now waiting for Zhi Ruo to breakthrough from half step xiantian realm, the time spent in district 6 had been very productive overall.
A luxurious white carriage being drawn by two majestic looking wild beast moved through the thawing snow on a main road that led further north away from the Wawrika province, escorted by six fully armored mounted soldiers, three led the way while the other three followed behind talking and laughing in a jovial mood as the springtime evening sunshine glinted and bounced off their shine silver armor.
After leaving the province of stone buildings they were finally back on the open road flanked by scattered patches of trees on both sides which got more and more frequent the further away they traveled. Some still glazed white as the ice slowly melted. The carriage was twice the size of the former carriage Hartley used to ride in, The dark carriage he had obtained from the Baron of the Waltham province was a spectacular sight to see when he was in the southern regions of the country but once they entered the more prosperous central areas packed with luxury, his old dark carriage was now like a farmers wagon compared to the carriages of other nobles.
The white carriage and escorts were gifted to Hartley by Viscount Sanzu suggesting he might as well look the part of a real noble, Hartley shamelessly accepted the gifts without reservation. Ryu Hang sat in the driver's position holding onto the reins as the carriage created a slushy mud sound as the wild beast made tracks through the thawing snow, Hartley who had his eyes closed as if he was dosing off sat next to Zhi Ruo who had her head leaned against his shoulder. Qin Li was sitting crossed legged on a the cushion seat facing the loving couple. They had been going at a steady pace for the past two days making their to way the next province they had to pass enroute to the capital.
Suddenly Hartley whose eyes were shut, opened with a blue flash, his vibrant blue eyes glowed in concentration. "Hold on to something" he barked loudly. Hartley immediately activated a gravity field 20 meters around the carriage and its escorts then applied zero gravity.
The carriage instantly floated upwards unsteadily with wheels dripping wet mud back down onto the surface of the slushy road. Qin Li lost balance and tumbled around in the spacious interior in surprise, Ryu Hang lost his balance on the driver's seat and almost fell off but at the last second managed to cling on to the side of the carriage for dear life. The wild beasts hauling the carriage howled out in panic echoing out into the empty air as Hartley held on to the screaming Zhi Ruo.
After the carriage floated up for a few seconds a volley of black bolts looking like a swam of flies came whistling through the air and under the carriage, most passing by harmlessly but several crashed against the underside of the carriage and clanged against metal wheels creating bright white sparks before reaping a shower of splinters jerking the carriage around in mid air.
The carriage slammed back down into the mud with a thump a few seconds after, shattering the pristine windows sending broken bits of glass flying everywhere, some showered the occupants inside the carriage and some pieces landed outside of the shaking carriage.
The violent collision with the ground shook Ryu Hang free and spat him about 5 meters away from the carriage where he rolled and groaned in the mud. Qin Li regained his balance in the still rattling carriage, the panicked wild beast attached to it were all trying to flee in different directions contributing to the turbulent non stop rattling , Qin Li shook his head to regain his orientation and saw Zhi Ruo still in the carriage with a look of absolute shock on her face, Hartley was already gone.
Hartley flashed outside the carriage mapping out the situation, the three guards at the front were the first to regain control of their neighing panicked horses as they landed. Hartley pointed to a spot about thirty meters up the street where there was a small muddy mound with thick shrubbery, that was where the attackers had laid in wait.
"Suppress them!" he shouted and then ran over to inspect Ryu Hang. Drawn swords caught glints of sunshine as the armored men made their way over to where a dozen men were reloading their crossbows. Hartley wasn't concerned for the safety of the soliders, they were fully armored and well trained as long as they made it over there before the men reloaded they would be safe enough.
Of the three armored soldiers travelling at the back, two were thrown from their horses and were now dismounted, they ran to grab the reins of the panic stricken horses and attempted to calm them down. The one still mounted drew his sword and rushed ahead to reinforce the others galloping off.
Suddenly Hartley got an eerie feeling prickling the hairs on the back of his neck, he grabbed Ryu Hang and threw him back onto the hard carriage driver's seat like a rag doll, the blonde hair youth screamed in pain as he landed. Hartley had no time for sympathy, he shouted "get them out of here!"
Ryu Hang gingerly stretched forward to grab the reins, he shook it a couple times and the frightened wild beats started to calm down but at the same time the floor behind the carriage rippled like it was liquid and about six black smoke-like tendrils the width of a common sword burst from the earth flinging out muddy dirt and broken rocks then rose to about eight meters before curling forward bringing with it the loud screams of tortured and tormented souls.
Still trying to reassure their panicked horses, it shot towards the two soldiers twisting and wriggling like living creatures.