Under the dim light of the crescent moon, Zhao Yunxiao stood under a tree located a short distance away from the rest of the Mystic Cavalry.
It might be considered a short distance, yet it was still far enough for him to remain safely out of the range of their spiritual senses.
Zhao Yunxiao's expression was blank as he slowly walked around the tree with awkward steps, using a hand to brush across the rough bark of the tree.
Anyone who could see him right now might get the idea that his movements resembled those of a puppet, and such a guess would not be too far off the mark either.
Underground, the real Zhao Yunxiao had his eyes closed as he felt the feedback coming from the earthen clone.
It was indeed as the manual had said – he could not feel a thing through the clone.
That was another factor that was making it more difficult to move in a natural manner, as well as an issue that Zhao Yunxiao would have no choice but to learn to deal with.
Zhao Yunxiao's clone eventually moved away from the tree and started to move around the woods, employing the Xuanwu Movement Art to the best of his abilities.
It was clumsy, but it was working.
Bit by bit, he started to familiarise himself with moving the clone around despite the lack of physical senses.
His speed started getting faster, and he started being able to avoid more and more of the protruding branches instead of simply bulldozing through them.
At the same time, Zhao Yunxiao tried to move around underground, splitting his consciousness into two as he controlled both his real body and the earthen clone at the same time.
Doing so was still rather difficult for the current him, but Zhao Yunxiao was not too worried about that.
There was a long road ahead.
He knew that as long as he kept at it, mastery was only a matter of time.
Even if he was not able to master it completely, just gaining a sufficient level of proficiency in it would be more than good enough for him!
Zhao Yunxiao was finally satisfied after a few hours of practice, and slowly made his way back to where the rest of the party was.
"Where have you been, Junior Martial Brother Zhao?" Pu Feixiang asked curiously upon noticing his return.
"I haven't been around this area much, so I was just exploring the area a little," Zhao Yunxiao said with a smile, choosing not to reveal the fact that he had been out practising his new techniques.
They might be fellow sect members in the same mission party right now, but Zhao Yunxiao was still not prepared to reveal all his cards unless there was a need to.
After all, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Who knew if today's allies would turn out to be tomorrow's enemies?
Of course, that was only the worst case scenario.
Apart from that, telling them about his new techniques could also create some sort of unrealistic expectation that he might not be able to live up to, especially considering his current lack of proficiency in those techniques.
"That's rather meticulous of you," Chu Han nodded in satisfaction. "It is always good to be aware of your surroundings. You can definitely learn more from Junior Martial Brother Zhao in that regard, Junior Martial Brother Pu."
"Why bother doing that when I know that you would have already done so, Senior Martial Brother Chu? It's not like I can do a better job than you anyway," Pu Feixiang shrugged nonchalantly.
"I won't always be around to help you," Chu Han said with a frown. "You need to-"
"All right! I'm going to meditate now!" Pu Feixiang quickly sat down and closed his eyes.
"Tch!" Chu Han clicked his tongue in irritation.
"Give it up, Senior Martial Brother Chu," Gui Longcan said. "You should have known by now that it is impossible to talk sense into that guy."
"I'm sure Senior Martial Brother Pu is just trying to focus on other things at the moment," Zhao Yunxiao said awkwardly.
"It looks like time is indeed not an accurate measure of friendship. After all, it is still Junior Martial Brother Zhao who understands me the best," Pu Feixiang added.
"Are you not going to focus on your meditation?" Chu Han glared at Pu Feixiang.
"Starting now!" Pu Feixiang quickly closed his eyes once more.
Huu-!
Chu Han let out a deep breath before turning towards Zhao Yunxiao. "You might think I am too harsh on him, but it is all for his own good. If you end up joining us more in the future, you will realise just how lazy that guy is!"
"Hahaha..." Zhao Yunxiao could only laugh drily in response.
How else was he supposed to react in this situation?
"You should probably get some rest too," Chu Han suggested. "We have another long day of journeying ahead of us tomorrow."
"Are you not going to rest as well, Senior Martial Brother Chu?" Zhao Yunxiao asked in return.
"Don't worry about me," Chu Han shook his head with a smile. "I will be keeping a lookout for now, and will rest when Senior Martial Brother Mo switches with me later. Go ahead and have a good rest first."
"Understood," Zhao Yunxiao nodded.
Reassured by the fact that someone would be on lookout duty throughout the night, Zhao Yunxiao sat beneath a tree and popped a Winterwarmth Pill, slowly easing into a state of meditation.
What followed was an uneventful night, though that was probably to be expected as well, considering the fact that they were camping out in the wilderness.
At the break of dawn, the Mystic Cavalry set off once again as they resumed their journey towards East Stream Village.
Just like the day before, they timed their breaks according to the limits of the spirit horses, taking each break as an opportunity to practise the Terra Seal Formation.
As cultivators, they had absolutely no problems travelling in the wilderness without taking many breaks, even if that pattern of travel comprised the bulk of the journey.
However, it was still a welcomed sight for them when signs of civilisation finally came into view at around noon.
It was a rather unimpressive looking inn situated near the midpoint of a mountain path, its location definitely secluded enough to be considered as being in the middle of nowhere.
But surprisingly enough, there were still quite a number of customers present when the party arrived at the inn.
Even before entering the inn, the party could already see an exquisite horse carriage secured outside the inn, along with a few horses that seemed to be of good breed.
Not wanting any complications, the Mystic Cavalry secured their spirit horses a distance away from the other horses before entering the inn itself.
There were around ten tables within, three of which were already taken by men who obviously belonged to the same group.
Out of the three tables, two were occupied by soldiers donning uniform chest plates with a sabre hanging by their waists.
As for those at the third table, their attires were significantly different.
Or perhaps it would be more precise to say that their attires were significantly more luxurious.
Donned in expensive looking robes, a young man sat there enjoying wine and snacks with two older men, who each sat at one of his sides.
The two older men looked to be slightly less affluent, but there was no doubt that the clothes on them were not cheap either, at least in comparison to the soldiers.
They were probably aides of the young men, travelling with the soldiers for protection.
Regardless, the members of the Mystic Cavalry merely gave them a quick scan before heading to an empty table one in the opposite corner of the inn.
When they first entered the inn, the two aides of the young men and the soldiers had immediately looked in their direction.
But perhaps realising that the Mystic Cavalry were not intending to have any interactions with them whatsoever, the two aides and the soldiers quickly lost interest in them.
"What may I get for you, valued customers?" the waiter hurried over to their table and asked.
"Just bring us a few simple dishes and a pot of hot tea," Mo Mian answered.
"It will be ready immediately!" the waiter nodded and went back into the kitchen.
"Are we not going to have any wine?" Pu Feixiang asked.
"What's the point? It's not like you will get drunk on regular wine anyway," Gui Longcan answered.
Indeed, as cultivators, their physique had been strengthened to the point where they were pretty much immune to the wine of mortals.
Only spirit wine specially brewed by cultivators had a chance of getting them drunk.
"Even so, there isn't any harm in just enjoying the taste of it, is there?" Pu Feixiang shrugged.
"Let's just have a short break before continuing on our journey. You can have all the wine you want after we return to Purple Plum Mountain," Mo Mian said. "Nobody will stop you then."
"Fine, fine," Pu Feixiang grumbled. "I will definitely drink to my heart's content once we are done with this mission! Don't nag at me for neglecting my training or anything like that when that happens!"
"You still should not neglect your training!" Chu Han chided.
"Damn, the nagging never ends," Pu Feixiang let out a sigh of resignation.
"One plate of salted vegetables, one plate of boiled meat, one plate of nuts, and one pot of tea, coming up!" the waiter reappeared at their table almost as swiftly as he said he would. "Please enjoy!"
"Thank you," Mo Mian nodded before turning his attention towards a little girl sticking to the side of the waiter. "And this is?"
The little girl looked to be around four years of age, and was staring right at Mo Mian. She did not cower even after matching gazes with Mo Mian.
"Ah! Please don't mind her," the waiter said in embarrassment. "This is my daughter, Li'er. She is a curious one, so please pardon the rudeness."
"Haha, don't worry about it. She's a cute little one," Mo Mian laughed. "You must be happy to have her around."
"Well, kids are a source of both joy and trouble," the waiter shrugged. "I shall not intrude any further. Please enjoy your dishes."
"Mm," Mo Mian nodded.
With that, the waiter left their table with the cute Li'er trailing behind.
But as they passed the other tables on the way back to the kitchen, Li'er suddenly left the waiter's side and walked towards the young man's table.
The moment they saw her approach, the two older men by the young man's side immediately stood up to stand between her and the young man, their intimidating aura causing Li'er to hurriedly retreat a few steps in alarm.
"Ah! My apologies, sirs!" the waiter quickly pulled Li'er behind him. "She is just a curious kid, and doesn't mean any harm."
"What's with the overreaction, Uncle Hei and Uncle Bai? Don't you see that you are scaring the little girl?" the young man waved them off before beckoning towards Li'er. "Come here, little girl. What is your name?"
"Li'er!" the young girl stepped forward the moment she saw the smile on the young man. "What is yours?"
"Li'er! How many times have I told you to talk to elders with respect?" the waiter hurriedly instructed. "Address the valued customer as sir!"
"Oh, what is your name, sir?" Li'er corrected herself.
"What a clever girl, you sure learn fast," the young man gently patted her head with a smile. "My surname is Hui, named Shajing, but you can just address me as Young Noble Hui. These two here are Uncle Hei and Uncle Bai. They might look scary, but they are actually nice people who are good friends of mine."
"Uncle Hei, Uncle Bai," Li'er greeted the two older men.
"Good girl," Uncle Hei said as the two older men sat back down, the intimidating aura from before no longer anywhere to be found.
But right at this moment, the front door suddenly slammed open with a loud bang.
With that, about a dozen or two crudely dressed men poured into the inn, each carrying a different weapon on their backs.
Sabres.
Swords.
Maces.
Whips.
Bows and arrows.
There was even one person carrying a long spear!
The leader of the group slowly swept his gaze across the inn, scrutinising the looks on everyone present before letting out an arrogant smirk.
Bang-!
He slammed his palm on an empty table next to the door.
"What are you waiting for? Can't you see that you have customers? Hurry up and serve us while I am still being nice!" the leader shouted. "Otherwise, this Great Bandit Redblade might just have to start teaching people some manners. And trust me, you do not want to see that happen!"