Chapter 7

Night Shang, Qin Zhen, and two other young men, along with Qin Zhen's two guards, the convoy guard captain, and several other guards, entered the last beast-drawn carriage.

After getting in the carriage, Night Shang found a corner to sit down. As soon as he sat, he was startled; the carriage was entirely made of fine steel, which explained why it required three wind tigers to pull it.

Qin Zhen sat opposite Night Shang. The other two young men glanced at Night Shang and then sat next to Qin Zhen, as they could tell from his attire that Night Shang was not of their kind.

The door was closed, and the guards opened the windows, which were reinforced with steel bars as thick as a baby's arm, indicating the high level of security.

The carriage started moving. Night Shang placed his bag beside him and began to meditate with his eyes closed.

Just as Night Shang was about to enter a deep meditative state, the two young men started whispering and trying to build connections.

"Be quiet, or get out," the guard captain said sternly, showing no mercy.

The two young men's faces changed, and they dared not speak again, as these guards belonged to the Crimson Flame City and were not to be easily offended, even by their parents.

The carriage continued on its way, and Night Shang began to meditate, losing track of time. He was only awakened by the guards, realizing that a day had passed and it was time to set up camp and prepare food.

After getting out of the carriage, Night Shang looked around and found that they were in a relatively open area in a wild forest.

"Go gather some firewood, and remember not to go too far," the guard captain said.

Before setting up camp, the guard captain had already sent guards to scout the area, ensuring there were no large beast monsters.

Night Shang kept his medicinal pills and gold notes in his pocket, leaving the bag, which contained nothing important, on the carriage. He then carried his black iron spear to look for dry wood.

Leaving the open area, Night Shang saw a dead tree. The tree was thick and tall. If it were anyone else, they would have been at a loss, as it was too tough to cut and the dry branches were too high. However, this was no problem for Night Shang.

Using his hands and feet, Night Shang climbed the dead tree and used his black iron spear to break off the dry branches, throwing them to the ground. Just as he was about to jump down, he saw a gazelle running not far from the dead tree.

Leaping down from the tree, Night Shang chased after the gazelle. Closing the distance, he impaled the gazelle with his iron spear, killing it instantly.

Approaching the gazelle, Night Shang picked it up and returned to the dead tree. He used wet branches to tie the dry branches together and then returned to the campsite.

Seeing Night Shang, the guard captain and the other guards were surprised. Night Shang was the first to return, and he had only been gone for a short while.

"Good job, kid," the guard captain said, nodding in approval.

He knew that gazelles were very fast, and given the short time Night Shang had been gone, he must have killed the gazelle instantly.

Night Shang started a fire with the dry wood, then skinned and gutted the gazelle. He found a wooden stick, skewered the gazelle, and returned to the fire.

The guard captain and the other guards were impressed by Night Shang's skill.

"Nice work, young man," the guard captain said, coming over to Night Shang.

"Thanks, Captain. I've done this before. I'll give some to everyone in a bit," Night Shang replied with a smile.

"Alright," the guard captain nodded with a smile.

Turning away, the guard captain's expression changed as others returned. Some carried wood with green leaves, and others brought back bundles of dry grass, none of which were useful for keeping warm.

Taking a deep breath, the guard captain suppressed his anger and gestured to the other guards.

Since he couldn't rely on these people, the guard captain had to assign tasks to the guards. Some went to gather more dry wood, while others took dry cakes and dried meat from the carriage to distribute to the young men.

Qin Zhen also returned, carrying dry wood, but not much, likely just dry branches he had collected.

Qin Zhen placed the dry wood near Night Shang and was about to start a fire.

"Sir, those branches are too thin and will burn out quickly. Join him for warmth," one of Qin Zhen's guards said, pointing at Night Shang.

Qin Zhen looked up at Night Shang, and after hearing his guard's words, Night Shang turned and nodded friendly.

Qin Zhen carried the dry wood over to Night Shang and squatted by the fire. The night in the wild mountains was quite cool.

The gazelle sizzled and turned golden brown as it roasted. Some guards were also roasting game, but none matched the effect of Night Shang's.

After about half an hour, the gazelle was cooked. Night Shang used his black iron spear to cut it in half and offered one half to the guard captain.

The guard captain accepted it without hesitation, nodding friendly at Night Shang.

Returning to the fire, Night Shang cut off two pieces of meat and offered them to Qin Zhen's two guards, then cut off a front leg and gave it to Qin Zhen.

Qin Zhen hesitated for a moment before accepting the meat and began to eat. He had already eaten some dry rations earlier.

Breaking off two ribs from the gazelle, Night Shang thought for a moment, then went to the carriage and fetched a leather bag and a black sand bowl.

Returning to the fire, he poured a bowl of wine from the leather bag and offered it to Qin Zhen.

This time, Qin Zhen did not hesitate and took the bowl.

"Sir, you can't drink!" one of the guards, who had a stern face and had not spoken before, shouted.

His shout drew the attention of many people.

Night Shang smiled wryly and reached for the wine bowl in Qin Zhen's hand. If they didn't trust him, why should he force himself?

Qin Zhen did not let go, and Night Shang pulled, but Qin Zhen still held on. He turned to look at the guard, his eyes showing a hint of dissatisfaction.

Qin Zhen did not let go, so Night Shang withdrew his hand, took the leather bag, and drank two gulps directly from it.

"From now on, mind your own business," Qin Zhen said coldly, then raised the wine bowl and drank it all in one go.

Coughing, Qin Zhen's face turned red.

"Sir!"

Seeing Qin Zhen cough, his two guards became anxious.

Qin Zhen just shook his head and continued eating the gazelle's front leg.

The embers of the fire crackled, casting a red glow over everything.

Night Shang ate a few bites of meat and took a sip of wine.

After a while, Qin Zhen held out the wine bowl to Night Shang.

Night Shang said nothing, just poured another bowl for Qin Zhen, and continued eating and drinking.

Night Shang did not offer more meat to the two guards; he wouldn't beg for their favor.

The two guards were left in an awkward position, standing by the fire.

After everyone had finished eating, the guards scattered the embers, tapped them to ensure they were almost extinguished, and then moved the carriages closer to the fire to keep the bottoms warm.

After setting everything up, the guard captain called everyone to get back in the carriages to rest, for everyone's safety.

Back in the carriage, Night Shang began to meditate.

Seeing Night Shang meditating, Qin Zhen also closed his eyes and sat in meditation. Before meditating, he took a pill. If Night Shang had seen it, he would have recognized it as the same pill Qin Aoxuan had given him, a Yuan Cultivation Pill.

Night Shang was reluctant to use a bottle of Yuan Cultivation Pills because he only had one, but Qin Zhen had no such reservations.