The Journey of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 63 - 61 Journey to the Ends of Heaven

Chapter 63: Chapter 61 Journey to the Ends of Heaven

It was still dark, but Ning Xiaoxian was already awake.

She rolled up the curtain on the small window to look at the surroundings and found everything outside was peaceful, so she yawned drowsily. It had been over twenty days since they left Siping County. The merchant team had already covered the distance of one state and had just entered the Feng Province.

This state was full of mountains, and reportedly, their next destination was also on a mountain, called Rock City. Where was the team now? Honestly, she did not know. As far as she could see, lush greenery, the distant mountains in the dim light of dawn and dusk, all looked like giant beasts sprawling on the ground. Since the last supply stop, the merchant team had been hiking through the mountains for several days now, surrounded by huge trees, with the frequent roars of wild animals from afar.

The long journey was always monotonous, the sounds outside repetitive. Even beautiful scenery becomes boring after seeing too much of it, especially since the road they traveled was mostly filled with trees, trees, and more trees... Following the merchant team for over half a month, she shifted from initial curiosity to the current tedium.

However, regardless, traveling with the merchant team freed her from many concerns, such as personal safety. This was also why Changtian insisted on having her join the merchant team. Traveling between states and counties, following a merchant team was already a good strategy, especially since her Life Force and energy desperately needed rest and recovery, making it unsuitable to spend nights alone in the wild.

The world was not peaceful, and assuming the merchant team just straightforwardly engaged in trade was a huge mistake. This kind of team was not comprised of scattered merchants, but a tightly organized group with standard operating procedures. Their business scope was very broad; besides transporting goods, which was their main business, they also undertook tasks like escorting and secure transport. Guests like Ning Xiaoxian taking refuge with the merchant team were not uncommon; excluding the Bat Demon twins, there were in total six guests now, including another woman.

The clerks of the merchant team were not easy to provoke either. The members Ning Xiaoxian saw all had sharp eyes and protruding temples, clearly practitioners. Generally, men from respectable households rarely did this job; those who joined merchant teams to eat this risky meal were often thieves, bandits, murderers. Everyone in the team carried weapons, even the cooks could have a few human lives on their hands.

Fortunately, Deng Hao had a gentle attitude towards Ning Xiaoxian, and his men were naturally polite to her, treating her like a customer, which, although superficial, was enough for her. It was said that some small merchant teams took on escort missions only to slaughter their charges halfway as sacrificial lambs. Deng Hao ruled with strict control, his merchant team had roamed north to south for more than a dozen years with a solid reputation. He let Ning Xiaoxian join the team, and no one in the team dared to say a word of objection; after all, there was already one female guest in the team, and taking in one more was not a big deal.

Now they were in a small clearing made in the wilderness, and every evening before nightfall, Deng Hao would order the strongmen to chop up trees and make a simple fence. All horses and mules were placed on the outer perimeter to form a circle, with humans and carts sheltering inside.

After a long, uneventful night, the sounds of people moving around came from outside.

The morning dew was heavy, the ground and the woods were damp, but the experienced cook still managed to light the wood and start cooking, though the smoke was a bit choking. The merchant team certainly couldn’t afford to hire a dedicated cook for the team’s meals; this role was temporarily filled by an aging cook trusted by Deng Hao. His surname was Liu, a man of few words, with a perennially expressionless face, called Liu Yimian by others in the team, mockingly noting his permanent, single expression. The taste of his cooking could only be described with a chuckle.

However, Liu Yimian’s special skill was his unmatched speed in cooking; he could get meals ready in just two quarters of an hour. For merchants on the road, there were not many dining niceties; it was common to mix vegetables and soup together, everyone would scoop a bowl or tael of rice and then cover it with the soup and vegetables. This was quite similar to the "covered rice" from another dimension, except its taste was far inferior.

Ning Xiaoxian only observed Liu Yimian’s cooking demonstration once to understand why his cooking was so fast—if you use the rolling knife method for all vegetable and fruit cutting, your speed would also be incredibly fast.