Chapter 54: Setting Out

"You're late, Mr. Rod."

The gate of Shi Ying Town.

The carriage sat quietly at rest, the tall brown horse flicking its ears to drive off the mosquitoes, focused on nibbling the grass stems on the ground.

A female goblin sitting on the shoulder of a magical puppet stood beside the carriage, a hint of displeasure on her face.

Rod hurried over, luggage in hand.

His hair hadn't been tidied yet, a tangled mess.

"Apologies, Miss Gema, a little mishap came up. We can set off right now."

"Didn't you say there was also a succubus lady?"

"She's resting in my shadow, it's nothing to worry about."

The goblin Gema muttered something under her breath, inaudible to anyone, and in any case she began manipulating the magical puppet to untie the horse's rope.

She was the guide for this trip to Emerald Jade City, and also the cousin of the merchant Pete; the magical puppets the two sat on were even the same model.

Goblins are an intelligent race that places great importance on family, and they often develop as a single unit. Case in point — the moment Pete learned Rod needed a guide, he immediately recommended his own cousin.

Gema sighed softly to herself.

She had long since heard from her cousin that this employer was a human who kept a succubus, and though she had done her best to prepare herself mentally, her heart still gave a small start at this moment.

The smell of a woman all over him, that strong heather scent — surely he'd held some sort of unspeakable party last night?

Rod, over there, had no idea what Gema was thinking.

He dropped himself into the carriage with a flop.

As his mind cleared, the details of last night also came back to him in part.

In the little cabin almost filled with a pink atmosphere, the figures of a tree spirit, a succubus, and... an elf had appeared.

"It must have been Tally who shapeshifted."

The first two posed no problem — he'd long since gotten to know them well. The issue was Lady Kali.

The traditional elf lineage Lady Kali belonged to was extremely conservative. Though it hadn't yet reached the point of "starvation is a small matter, losing chastity a great one," it often ended in a fight to the death.

The Snow Hill Evening News had once reported on a merchant who obtained an elven lady through improper means; after a bit of hanky-panky he carelessly let her escape, and was then slaughtered along with his entire household by the tribal elves she led back.

Although journalists are known for their classic exaggerations, it was still enough to show how seriously the elves take such things!

After realizing this, Rod headed to Lady Kali's magic treehouse first thing in the morning.

Unexpectedly—

Lady Kali appeared in the treehouse as if nothing had happened.

Her face was still sour, but beyond that there was no change.

"Did I really remember it wrong?"

Given that this morning was the day of departure for Emerald Jade City, and the person in question was indeed fine—

He could only suppress his doubts.

As for Tally—

Rod found her on the roof beam.

The girl had passed out from going too wild, her belly even swollen, hiccupping while rolling her eyes back.

After waking her, she likewise didn't remember what had happened last night.

"Sit tight, Mr. Rod, we're setting off."

Gema's magical puppet sat at the front of the carriage.

"Just a reminder — did you bring all your supplies? We won't be entering Stormwind City; we'll only stop once at Scorching City, and after that we'll head straight to Emerald Jade City."

"Understood, let's go."

With that said—

The whip cracked, and the horse's hooves went clop-clop.

Rod's steps toward Emerald Jade City officially began.

One week later.

Rod's carriage appeared on a hill in the far distance outside Scorching City.

He leapt out of the carriage and stretched with great gusto.

The journey had been even more boring than expected.

No bandits encountered, no injured noble young lady either.

The goblin Gema was a remarkably skilled guide, and she seemed to have some flying tool that could scout the road ahead, causing them to veer off the planned route every now and then — perhaps that was why the journey was so dull.

By now dusk had arrived; the golden halo shone through the clouds, gathering into a white swirl of air above the massive Scorching City in the distance.

"A signature natural phenomenon of Scorching City, Mr. Rod — it only appears at the transition between day and night, and our position here is just right."

Gema said.

Immediately, those at the high elevation all felt a wave of sweltering heat rising from below.

Neither Rod nor Tally showed any unusual reaction.

A fine sweat quickly appeared on Gema's forehead.

Autumn had arrived, but unlike the cool Shi Ying Town, Scorching City lived up to its name — the four seasons were as good as nonexistent, and even the air was filled with stifling heat, only seeming to shift with the seasons the moment the sun set.

"Are humans really this heat-resistant?"

Gema muttered.

Rod had a fairly high fire-attribute resistance, so naturally this was nothing to him.

As for Tally, he didn't really know.

"Succubi adapt to environments far better than you imagine, my master — otherwise what do you think we used to conquer the fire lizardmen, fire spirits, and flame demons?"

"Flame Demon? What are you bragging about now, that thing is as big as a giant."

"We have shapeshifting, you know~ One of my grandmothers can turn into a female Flame Demon. Hehe, by comparison, Master, your little size is also very cute."

The corner of Rod's mouth twitched, and he pinched her face hard, making her lips poke out cutely.

Perhaps seeing Rod's firm resolve to control his diet, Tally, that girl, began to change her strategy of acting spoiled, switching instead to provoking him with a sharp tongue.

But when it came to shapeshifting, it really might be possible.

After reaching sixth-tier, Tally's shapeshifting had indeed improved somewhat.

A few days ago, to avoid Gema, she shapeshifted a pair of huge white wings, grabbed Rod, and flew him into the air to finish a meal.

The two of them nearly crashed and fell off a cliff, that's all.

"Watch out, Mr. Rod."

Gema pointed at the nearly red-colored land behind Scorching City.

"That place is a rare open-air labyrinth on the continent. Whether it's the monsters or the special labyrinth rules, outsiders can't handle them. What's worse, this is the road we must take."

"Can we not go around it?"

An open-air labyrinth — just hearing that sounds like trouble. Rod just wanted to get to Emerald City as soon as possible to advance his tier.

"Unfortunately, not at all. It's far larger than you imagine. We need to recruit a local guide from inside Scorching City. Of course, that expense is already included in the contract."

"You are the most professional guide I've ever seen, Young Lady Gema."

"Thank you for the compliment."

A moment later.

The surging heat gradually dissipated.

The temperature turned into the refreshing coolness proper to evening, but set off by that heat wave, it only felt colder, that's all.

The group made camp here.

Gema used beast-repelling powder to circle the campsite.

Even though they were already close to the city, this was still wilderness. Anyone who looked down on the wilds would not come out of it well.

Rod closed his eyes and began cultivating the 【Ye Hu Xi Fa】.

This perception-focused breathing method made especially pleasing progress at night.

The spiritual breeze, centered on him, gradually spread outward to a place over three hundred meters away.

For a warrior who focused on close combat, this distance was already enough.

Before long, the Ye Hu Xi Fa successfully advanced to its second stage.

(End of this chapter)