The First Stop of the Journey

Order Era, Year 1136.

"Goodbye, Olifendor." Liyana waved at the city shrouded in mist. "And my adorable little lion."

She had already spoken to Delyan, who didn’t try to stop her from leaving.

"I hope by the time you return, you’ve already won over Teacher Mo Lini. Hehehe… Then maybe I can also—"

Liyana: "…"

She had no idea why Delyan had become like this—almost a mirror of herself.

The four of them boarded a small wooden boat, slowly drifting away from the city.

Aina gazed at the calm lake surface, ripples spreading outward from their boat.

"Is there something down there?" Xia Lun gently held his wife’s delicate hand.

Aina smiled mysteriously. "Not telling."

Xia Lun also looked into the water. The magic stone veins beneath emitted a faint blue glow, their shimmering light seeping through the surface and swaying with the waves, as if they were floating above a sea of stars.

Xia Lun studied the veins for a long time but found nothing unusual. Wolund had already inspected this place before.

Yet the playful grin on Aina’s face made him suspect there was more to it.

A competitive spark flickered in Xia Lun.

Eyes of Insight. A blue halo manifested in his gaze.

The magic formations laid by past headmasters of Olifendor at the lake’s bottom, resembling poachers’ traps, now appeared as crude scribbles to him—easily deciphered. If he wished, dismantling their cores would be effortless… though he had no intention of doing so.

Xia Lun fell into thought.

Even with the Eyes of Insight, he still couldn’t detect anything amiss about the magic stone veins beneath the lake.

Beside him, Aina grinned like a fox who had just pulled off a clever trick.

"What exactly is down there?" Xia Lun couldn’t resist asking again. "Did you notice something strange?"

"Xia Lun… you’re overcomplicating it. The truth is quite simple…"

But then, Aina raised a finger to her lips. "But if I say it, the game loses its fun. Let’s wait for the answer to reveal itself."

Since Aina insisted on keeping it a secret, Xia Lun had no choice but to vent by pulling her into a tight embrace, roughly pinching her cheeks.

Mo Lini stared blankly at their affectionate exchange.

"Jealous?" Liyana suddenly whispered in her ear. "If you are, we could also—"

Mo Lini abruptly bowed deeply. "Is this another confession? But I’m your teacher, and you’re my student. Even if you say, ‘I no longer see you as a teacher,’ and pursue me, I won’t be swayed. Please try again another time. My apologies."

"Ha… ah." The swift rejection left Liyana momentarily stunned.

Mo Lini clenched her fists slightly.

The rejection method I practiced really works!

The boat slowly reached the shore.

The carriage Liyana had abandoned here was still there, though the horses had long vanished.

"Adventure! Adventure! Let’s go on an adventure!" Liyana hummed a strangely melodious tune, brimming with excitement.

"Where… are we going?" Mo Lini asked timidly.

"What do you mean, Mo Lini? Adventures don’t have destinations! Adventurers chase freedom! We go wherever the wind takes us. True adventurers don’t even need graves—they never stop until they’ve traversed the entire vast world…"

"That… sounds exhausting." Mo Lini shrank back, clearly unprepared. "Um… does that mean we’ll be walking until our feet blister every day?"

"Ah, not really. I was just exaggerating a little." Liyana waved her hand dismissively. "Don’t worry, once we reach the nearest city, we’ll buy the finest carriage—one with magic formations, as comfortable as a luxury hotel room…"

"Ordinary cities won’t have something of that caliber," Aina reminded her.

"Then we’ll wait until we reach a major city-state."

Mo Lini glanced back at Olifendor, now hidden in the mist.

It was one of the most renowned city-states. She remembered how much effort her family had put into moving here when she was a child.

But since Olifendor was a floating city, carriages were impractical, and none were sold here.

Aina unfolded a map.

"The nearest village… is quite a distance. Nearly forty kilometers."

Mo Lini’s face paled.

"Are we… walking there?"

For her, such a journey would be pure torment.

"Eh? That can’t be right." Liyana leaned over the map. "I remember seeing a village on the way here—somewhere around this spot."

Her finger tapped an empty space on the map, likely deep in the forest.

Liyana frowned at Aina’s map. "Aina, how old is this map? Could it be outdated?"

Aina replied calmly, "I bought it at the academy just a few days ago."

"That’s really strange…" Liyana scratched her head. "I can’t be mistaken. I was the one driving the carriage back then."

"Maybe it’s a small village the map didn’t record," Xia Lun reasoned. "Let’s check. A remote place like this would likely have carriages for travel."

Mo Lini nodded vigorously. She had no desire to trek such a distance on foot.

After walking about three or four kilometers, they spotted the village Liyana had mentioned.

A stone stele stood at the entrance, engraved with the words: Xialun Village.

"Xia Lun, we’ve reached your village." Liyana pointed at the stele while patting his shoulder.

Xia Lun didn’t think this place had any connection to him. He’d never been here before—perhaps it was just a coincidence. Many parents named their children "Xia Lun," so naming a village the same way wasn’t unusual.

Aina narrowed her eyes slightly, studying the ground with a thoughtful expression.

Xia Lun, meanwhile, examined the stele.

Its surface was smooth, the material high-quality, and the characters neatly carved—clear and legible. Yet the village itself appeared desolate and rundown, devoid of life.

It was like placing a gilded signboard in front of a shabby stall—utterly mismatched.

Liyana, of course, didn’t overthink it and strode boldly into the village.

Danger? Impossible. A genuine hero was right behind her.

And if this turned out to be a village of kind-hearted bandits… even better!