What a great day today is, so Mo Yao is here to ask for a few monthly tickets and recommendation tickets, ahem
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"Too bad I don't have any clothes that would fit you, otherwise I wouldn't mind giving you a few sets. It's autumn now, and it gets really cold after dark. You're wearing so little — be careful you don't catch a cold." Cui'er looked at Yang Kai with sympathy. She could see that he was wearing only a thin, tattered shirt, and his body was so gaunt that his ribs were faintly visible through his chest and stomach.
His face was dirty, but his features were fine and his eyes bright — clearly he was still quite young.
So young and already unable to eat his fill or dress properly. How pitiful, Cui'er thought.
Hearing her words, Yang Kai felt a small warmth in his heart. He smiled faintly and said, "It's fine."
"Mm, eat up. If it's not enough, go serve yourself from over there — nobody will say anything about it." Cui'er clapped her hands, stood up, and went back to attend to the Madam and the Young Miss.
Nothing else happened that night, and the next day the caravan set off once more.
For two days straight, Yang Kai stayed with the caravan. During the day he sat beside Old Wu, watching the old man crack his whip to drive the horses. During rest breaks, the maid Cui'er sometimes came over to chat with him.
Over those two days, through his conversations with Cui'er, Yang Kai learned where they were headed.
About three days' journey from their current location, there was a city called Haicheng, and that was their destination. This group hailed from Tongzhou, where they had been a minor faction.
However, half a year ago, the master of the household had died, and the Madam took the Young Miss to Haicheng to seek refuge with one of the master's close friends.
Cui'er was vague about these details, clearly not daring to say too much, but Yang Kai managed to piece some things together from what she did say.
No one wanted to uproot their family and leave their homeland, especially not a widow with a young daughter. To travel a thousand miles through untold risks and worries — unless there was some unavoidable reason, why would they make such a choice?
Yang Kai figured that the master of this household must have made quite a few enemies back in Tongzhou while he was alive. Once he died, the Madam and the Young Miss had no one to rely on, so they had no choice but to flee to distant lands.
And the sizable group of martial artists traveling with the caravan confirmed his suspicions. According to Cui'er, half of them had been cultivated by the master while he was alive, and after his death they were still willing to serve, escorting the Madam and the Young Miss safely to their destination before returning to Tongzhou. The rest had been hired with money.
Along the way they had encountered bandits and brigands multiple times, but they always managed to get through unscathed, mercifully without any losses.
Yang Kai also casually asked Cui'er about the situation in Haicheng, but she had never been there herself and naturally didn't know much. She had only heard the Madam say it was a coastal city with scenery quite different from the interior.
A city by the sea! Yang Kai felt a spark of curiosity. If not for his recent insights into movement techniques, he probably would never have ventured this far. He knew the borders of the Han Dynasty — the far south was nothing but the endless ocean.
If what Cui'er said was true, then Haicheng must be the southernmost city in the entire Han Dynasty.
With a touch of anticipation, Yang Kai continued traveling with the caravan.
Despite his unkempt appearance, he made no effort to tidy up. The others already assumed he was a stray beggar child. If he suddenly spruced himself up and looked handsome, it would only arouse suspicion.
Over these two days, what Yang Kai spent most of his time doing was observing Old Wu's movements as he drove the carriage. He noticed that when the old man cracked his whip to drive the horses, there was an indescribable rhythm to it.
The crack was barely audible, the arc of the swing was modest, yet it made the horses break into a full gallop.
Old Wu's strength was only at the Zhenyuan Realm, not particularly high, but his age spoke for itself — he had his own accumulation and understanding of the martial path, and all of it was contained in the motion of his whip.
Yang Kai watched, utterly entranced. Combined with his recent insights into movement techniques, he felt a vague sense of similarity.
Old Wu paid him no attention, simply cracking his whip at his own pace, occasionally taking a sip of strong liquor. The old man and the young boy sat on the carriage shaft, sometimes going an entire day without exchanging a single word.
That evening, the caravan stopped again.
Yang Kai climbed down from the carriage, moved away from the crowd, and as usual found a quiet spot to sit. He pulled up a blade of wild grass and casually flicked it back and forth.
None of the martial artists in the caravan particularly liked him. No one was fond of a beggar — if not for the Young Miss's kindness, they would never have brought Yang Kai along.
Before long, footsteps sounded behind him. Without turning around, Yang Kai knew who it was.
"Hey, little beggar." Cui'er's voice came through.
Yang Kai laughed bitterly and rubbed his forehead. "I already told you my name. Can't you at least change what you call me?"
"Little beggar" really wasn't the most pleasant way to address someone.
"Brat!" Cui'er glared at him, flipped her palm open, and produced two chestnuts. She handed one to Yang Kai and began peeling the other.
This girl often brought snacks to share with him during rest stops. Yang Kai had initially been puzzled — looking like a destitute beggar, why wasn't she disgusted by him?
It was only later, when he asked, that he learned Cui'er had once had a younger brother who starved to death. The two siblings had once been beggars themselves before being taken in by the Madam and the Young Miss.
Yang Kai looked about the same age as her dead brother, so naturally she didn't mind him.
"Did you sneak food from your Young Miss again?" Yang Kai rolled his eyes.
Cui'er's eyes widened. "Sneak? The Young Miss gave these to me! She treats me so well — whenever she has something to eat, she always shares some with me."
"Then why didn't you stay and serve her?" Yang Kai peeled the chestnut open and popped it into his mouth.