The caravan of wagons and carriages, full of scholars and their supplies, trundled along the Pilgrim's road for almost an entire day before stopping for the night at one of the many bustling waystations that lined the road through the foothills. Another day's travel further along the road and the terrain would become significantly harsher with much poorer road conditions. If someone wanted to reach the Paragon Sword Sect, not only did they need to conquer the harsh landscape of the mountains, but the higher they progressed the more often they would encounter barriers intended to test the worthiness of potential disciples.
For all the pilgrims that traveled this road toward the sect each year, three in four traveled the road in reverse not long after beginning their ascent. The remaining one in four were divided between those who died in the attempt and those who succeeded, but the exact ratio between the two was known only to the Paragon Sword Sect itself.
Waystations like the one the expedition stopped at couldn't truly be called villages even though they resembled them in many ways. Inns, restaurants, tea houses, swordsmiths selling 'powerful' weapons of dubious quality and origin, and all manner of businesses dedicated to serving the travelers along the road had clustered around places where the land and conditions were favorable for a weary traveler to stop over.
Without the constant supply of travelers, however, these waystations would become abandoned ghost towns overnight. There was little reason for so many of them to exist so close together other than to serve the population of travelers attempting to reach the Paragon Sword Sect.
As the group settled in for dinner in a private room at one of the many available inns, Wu Ling approached Alchemist Huang with a look of concern clear on his face. "Alchemist Huang, a moment of your time?"
"Aesthete Wu," the Alchemist said, looking up from the book she'd been reviewing, slightly annoyed at the disruption. Within the Amber Lily Academy, no Research Assistant would dare to interrupt an Instructor in the middle of reading, but hired guards were hired guards. It wasn't unusual for hired guards to develop an inflated sense of their own importance and both Wu Ling and Su Xiang had been acting more familiar than they should since the very beginning. She'd hoped that a refined young lady like Wu Ling who had graduated from a school like the Pure Virtue Musician's Hall would be better about respecting propriety but it seemed like she was destined to be disappointed. "What do you need?"
"Our group has attracted attention that it may not be able to afford," Wu Ling said quietly, not wanting to disturb the other Scholars present. "We're sufficiently well defended for the types of spirit beasts we expect to encounter in the wilderness, but bandits looking to prey on a group of young women traveling without a visual deterrent invite a different kind of predator," Wu Ling explained.
"Have you heard anything specific or are you just speculating?" Huang Yeyan asked, turning all of her attention to Wu Ling. "If it's just speculation…"
"Three distinct groups so far," Wu Ling interrupted. "Some of the Research Assistants and young Researchers were very excited as we checked into our rooms and in their excitement mentioned our destination. One of the men nearby told someone to 'quickly let Boss Kong know about an opportunity,'" he explained softly.
"Another trio seemed to be flirting with the mortal workers who were stabling our horses and settling the wagons, but they kept confirming that there weren't any men in the group," Wu Ling explained. Inwardly, he cursed himself for not giving instructions to the group before they set out on the expedition but it had never occurred to him that a supposed sisterhood of women would be so clueless about their safety when outside of their protected walled garden in the Pilgrim's Ward.
"The group in the stables could be the same group as the first couldn't it?" Huang Yeyan asked, not entirely convinced that there were so many different groups of bandits converging on them. It felt more likely to her that a single bandit group was gathering information through multiple methods. "And what about the third group you mentioned?"
"The third group is in the private room next to us," Wu Ling said softly. "Musicians have very good hearing and the walls aren't as thick as some people think they are," he added, gently tapping his ear.
"Their 'Boss Yang' has been drinking and complained loudly about a man named 'Fenglun' laying claim to a caravan full of beautiful women. His men seem to think that as long as they leave the women to Fenglun, there should be enough to steal from our wagons to make it worth their while to cooperate with this Fenglun."
"How is this possible?" Alchemist Huang asked, stunned by Wu Ling's revelation. She'd seen the young Artist leaning against the walls of their private room while the other women took their time with their meals but she only now realized that she'd been doing it to eavesdrop on the people on the other side of the wall!
"What did we do to attract so much attention? We're not wealthy merchants, we're not carrying trade goods that are worth much money. This road is full of travelers, why would they be so interested in us?" Alchemist Huang could understand if there were bandits lurking for them on their return trip, after all, they intended to collect many spiritual herbs and rare resources that were shaped by the lunar eclipse. Pillaging those difficult-to-obtain ingredients could be worth the risk of violence, but why were they being attacked on their way into the mountains while all of their sample containers were empty? There was no point in stealing from them right now!
"My mother was a Trusted Artist, a very popular courtesan," Wu Ling explained. "Under the rules of the Bamboo Silk House, any courtesan at the second stage or higher couldn't leave the sect without a male guard. Those guards might have been eunuchs," he continued, "but they were all physically powerful and imposing. The guards rarely needed to fight," Wu Ling pointed out.
"Their real purpose was to act as a visible deterrent against kidnapping. Alchemist Huang, do you know how much you would sell for at auction? Not even for your alchemy skills, but because you're a cultivator at the third stage who has maintained her purity," Wu Ling said pointedly, leaving no doubt as to the sort of use bandits would put their kidnapped victims to. It was crude, but he wanted to ensure that Alchemist Huang understood that the group of scholars wasn't being targeted for their knowledge and expertise. She needed to understand the kind of dark fate that awaited them if these men succeeded in their plans to kidnap the group of scholars.
Huang Yeyan's eyes widened in horror at the implication behind Wu Ling's question. "No wonder the third group thinks that this 'Fenglun' wouldn't care about the value of what's in our wagons compared to the value of my sisters and I ourselves," she whispered.
The dean in charge of her department had set firm rules for the expedition that it remain a women's only activity even though it was happening well away from the academy's grounds but listening to Wu Ling, she realized that limiting their guards to the number needed to resist spirit beasts at the lake and excluding the kind of intimidating men that Wu Ling talked about had created a much greater danger for their group.
"Since you came to me with the information, I assume you have considered some ways out of the situation?" Alchemist Huang asked, so convinced by Wu Ling's information gathering that she was willing to extend considerable trust toward any arrangements the young Artist might propose.
"Several," Wu Ling said, sitting down next to the Alchemist now that she seemed to be open to receiving advice instead of just information. One of his greatest fears had been that she would thank him for the information and then form her own plans.
"The first, simplest, most expensive, and potentially the safest or the most dangerous option would be to recruit additional guards to accompany us for part of the journey and send them away before we arrive at the lake," he started, holding up a finger as he ran through the options he'd considered.
"The biggest problem is that we've left the city and we're at a waystation. Everyone here can be considered some kind of loose cultivator. We'd have to approach several individuals or maybe small groups just to assemble a motley force. Worse, some of them might attempt to extort us once they've provided their protection. We could find ourselves hiring an excellent sheepdog, or we could find ourselves inviting wolves into our flock. Without a large sect like Sister Xiang's Shining Blade Hall to process the job, there's much less security to ensure the reputations and integrity of anyone we find to hire."
"Unacceptable," the Alchemist said instantly. "This is a retreat for women. I will not surround us with a pack of rough men that are brutish enough and thuggish enough to act as walking meat-stuffed scarecrows just to frighten off other brutes and thugs," she insisted vehemently.
Not only would the presence of such men ruin the experience of the retreat for all of the women she'd brought along with her, but when she returned to the Amber Lily Academy after the expedition, the Dean would surely have stern words and potentially punishments in store for such a flagrant violation of her rules.
"Well, in that case," Wu Ling began, holding up a second finger while attempting to suppress his racing heart and the perspiration that wanted to form on his brow at the intensity of Alchemist Huang's reaction to the idea of including men in their group.
"I have a few other ideas that rely on your capabilities as an alchemist. I'm sure that Alchemist Huang has prepared many medicines, elixirs, and pills over the years, but I wonder if you've ever used your concocting ability to blend pigments? I have a list of ingredients for a few specialty pigments that could significantly enhance our safety," he explained. "Also, if you know the right elixir recipe, there's another tactic I'd be willing to try to disable at least one of the three groups before we even leave.."