The sun was at its highest point mid-day, and the scorching sunlight already dispersed the hazy morning mist.
There are rustling noises of little animals scampering beneath the dense ferns and over the thousands of brittle branches and twigs. You could hear a faint screeching of small rodents hustled around, drinking the blood and munching on the littered fleshes.
The guards fixed the wagons after some time, and the group was preparing to leave.
"Miss Qiao, Can you tell me more about Blue Lake Town?" Zhu Dingxiang asked her in a friendly tone while caressing Little White's silky furs.
Qiao Qiuyue was currently mounted on a horse next to him since the previous fight destroyed the carriage. Hearing Zhu Dingxiang's sudden inquiring, she tells him about Blue Lake Town's general information.
"Well, Blue Lake Town is..."
The Blue Lake Town is located at the outermost part of the Thunder Bird Empire. It was considered a large town with a population of around ninety thousand people.
The town was built next to a massive lake with crystal clear water; hence its name came to be.
There are five leading prominent families in Blue Lake Town. The Ru, the Shi, the Yun, the Wei, and the Qiao family, which Qiao Qiuyue belong to, last but not least.
Out of the five leading families, the Wei family being the strongest as their patriarch, hold an official position as the town mayor and is rumored to be at the peak of stage 9 Body Refining.
With the Wei family controlling most of the town's authority, the remaining four families' relationship is like water and fire. They compete for more advantage over one another.
"My father created the Blue Lake pavilion, looking for more business and trading with other towns as the competition for the control of the mines became more fierce." Qiao Qiuyue spoke, her mood was slightly sad when she mentioned her father, but it quickly disappeared.
"Oh? I didn't know Miss Qiao would have such a high status in the town! Did you usually follow the trade caravan like this?" Zhu Dingxiang inquires while turning his head and staring at her.
He was brainstorming on keeping the conversation going inside his head, but he doesn't have many ideas. He knows many of the pickup lines wouldn't work here, so he only asked some questions that come to mind.
'Those eyes...is unusual.' Feeling as though she was naked with nothing to hide in front of his milky white eyes. Qiao Qiuyue thought to herself while wondering if they are unique or he is blind.
"No, this was the first time I accompany the caravans out to do business as a form of training."
"I see."
"Are you curious about my eyes?" Zhu Dingxiang asked her upon noticing the brief instant when she looked at his eyes before turning away.
"..."
"Yes..." Replied Qiao Qiuyue as she strokes some strands of her waving hair behind the back of her ear.
It was the first time she has talked to a stranger for so long. As the young miss of the Qiao family and with her beauty, Qiao Qiuyue had many suitors following her everywhere. Growing up in such an environment, she learned to put on a cold disposition and ignore them.
Strangely, Qiao Qiuyue found herself quite comfortable when conversing with Zhu Dingxiang. Having already dealt with those young masters trying to court her back in Blue Lake Town, she was already used to it.
How could she not know what Zhu Dingxiang was striving to do? He was only doing things in a less obvious way. The only thing she doesn't understand is how he behaves; they don't match his strength and status.
'I don't know why but it feels relaxing and peaceful when I'm near him...'
__________
After everything is ready, Zhu Dingxiang takes the Berserk Demonic Bear's corpse along with its beast core. No one opposed him since he was the one who killed it.
"What?!" Multiple guards exclaimed in surprise.
"Hey, did you see that? The carcass of the bear disappears!"
"Yeah, I saw it too."
"Incredible! It must be a storage tool. I hear rumors that they are very scarce."
"Doctor Zhu must have a high status."
The caravan guards start chatting among themself while taking a peek at Little White from time to time. If it weren't for the battle's traces and their tattered clothes as the evidence, no one would have thought that they survived a life and death battle just a while ago.
Life in this world is like that; minor characters like them consider being alive was already a blessing. Who knew what would happen tomorrow? Most would only live to enjoy the moment.
"Stop your chattering and stay focus!"
"Let's go!" Guard Captain Chu yelled as he is patting the shoulder of a man next to him. However, he was also astonished to see the storage ring.
After all, it was not something you see every day. Storage rings are rare, and only those at the Qi Condensation realm and above could use them.
Birds twittering and flying from tree to tree as the caravans' wooden wheels make noises and high pitch sounds.
The group proceeded to set out for the nearest village.
[KP: 201.]
(A/N: guys let me know if you think if their dialogues is smooth or not? so I can improve in the next chapter!)
(Qiao Qiuyue pic refence!)