This night was destined to not be a peaceful one.

Qin Xiaoxi rubbed her sleepy eyes. When she fell asleep last night, she had left a small crack in the window. A ray of sunlight shone through the crack and landed on the dusty wooden floor.

Qin Xiaoxi felt as if she had had a very long dream.

"Are you up?"

Just as Qin Xiaoxi was about to start thinking about what dream she had had yesterday, Jiang Yun's voice came from the door. She heard him gently knocking on the door.

Qin Xiaoxi scratched her head.

Why did this guy get up earlier than her? It sounded like he had was prepared already.

"I'm up."

Qin Xiaoxi said to the door and then stood up.

"Alright, I'll wait for you downstairs. We'll head to the ferry after breakfast," Jiang Yun's voice sounded again.

"Okay..."Qin Xiaoxi rubbed her eyes again.

After washing up, Qin Xiaoxi hurriedly changed into her clothes and put on some light makeup for herself. Qin Xiaoxi finished it very quickly, like flowing water. However, even with such speed, it didn't affect her makeup at all.

"You're down? That was fast."

Jiang Yun was already sitting on a chair, looking at Qin Xiaoxi who was walking down the stairs.

Qin Xiaoxi nodded and then sat opposite him.

There were some savory pickles on the table. If one looked carefully, one could see the shredded meat hidden in the pickles. Of course, there was also a bowl of steamed bun next to the pickles.

Qin Xiaoxi took a sip of the soy milk in the bowl.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

Qin Xiaoxi looked at Jiang Yun with a strange expression.

"I've already eaten. You eat."After Jiang Yun said that, he continued to look down at the yellowed book in his hand.

He actually knew how to read books.

Qin Xiaoxi ridiculed silently in her heart. Then, she stuffed some pickles into the steamed corn bread. She wondered what it would taste like. Qin Xiaoxi took a small bite. The sweet taste of the corn bread and the saltiness of the pickled vegetables actually produced a special and wonderful taste, stimulating Qin Xiaoxi's taste buds.

"Is it good?" Jiang Yun glanced at Qin Xiaoxi, who was starting to eat the corn bread.

Qin Xiaoxi nodded and continued to serve herself a mouthful of the corn bread with pickled vegetables.

"By the way..." When Qin Xiaoxi ate her last mouthful of corn bread, she seemed to suddenly remember something.

"How much is the accommodation fee for last night?"

"I've already paid it," Jiang Yun answered calmly.

"I'll transfer the fee to you. This will count as the reimbursement the Qin family will give you as travel expenses." Qin Xiaoxi drank another mouthful of soy milk.

Jiang Yun put down the book in his hand when he heard this.

"It's okay. You can pay for the ferry when the time comes."

There was nothing wrong when she first heard it, but when she thought about it carefully, there were very few ferries going to the Northern Region. Each ferry was extremely expensive. After all, the waterway to the Northern Region was always fraught with dangers. Many boatmen were unwilling to get involved in the muddy waters. Jiang Yun had clearly calculated everything by asking her to pay for the ferry.

Qin Xiaoxi could not help but look speechless.

However, it was mainly because she had left home in a hurry this time and did not prepare much travel expenses. She did not know if she could still hire a boatman who was willing to send them to the Northern Region with the money she had left. All of this was still unknown.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Yun asked when he saw Qin Xiaoxi's strange expression.

"Nothing!" Qin Xiaoxi shook her head abruptly. "I'm done eating. Let's hurry up and get ready to go."

Confusion flashed within Jiang Yun's eyes, he didn't know what thoughts had appeared in her mind again. Forget it. Jiang Yun also put the book in his hand into his storage bag. He slowly stood up and walked out of the inn with Qin Xiaoxi.

"Take care, sir!"

Seeing the two of them leave, the waiter didn't forget to come out to see them off.

"Little brother."

Before he left, Jiang Yun suddenly called out to the waiter.

"What's the matter, sir?" The waiter threw the rag in his hand onto his shoulder and trotted to Jiang Yun's side.

"I want to ask, how far is it from the nearest ferry?" Jiang Yun asked. All the four major ferrys in the Northwest Mainland were more than half a distance away from here, and going to those would take a lot of time. If they could find one nearby, it would not be a bad thing, and it would also reduce the time needed to find the Holy Saint Snow Ganoderma.

The waiter thought for a while and said, "There is a small ferry near here, which is about a dozen miles away."

A dozen miles was indeed much closer than the Laiyun Ferry that Jiang Yun was originally planning on rushing to. If they followed his originally planned route, it might be an extra dozen of miles.

"How do I get there?"

"Follow this road and you will see a fork in the woods. In the evening, a small number of carriages will pass through there. Just walk straight in."

The waiter took a step forward and began to point the way for Jiang Yun.

"Thank you..." Just as Jiang Yun was about to leave, the waiter stopped him.

"But... There are a large number of black market merchants gathered at this ferry. I'm afraid sir and miss might not be able to gain anything from this trip."

"I understand. Thank you." Jiang Yun nodded and then set off with Qin Xiaoxi.

"Take care, please come back again."

As the waiter's voice got further and further away, the two of them walked deeper and deeper.

There were almost no pedestrians on the way.

Only occassionally would they see a few farmers riding donkeys, driving carts and carts of wheat in the opposite direction leisurely.

"So we are not going to the Laiyun Ferry?" Qin Xiaoxi looked away from the carts of wheat and turned to Jiang Yun beside her.

"Although the Laiyun Ferry is a big ferry with a lot of people, we might not be able to find anyone willing to ferry us to the Northern Region."

"Why?"

"Think about it. The Northern Region is uninhabited and has ten-thousand-year-old frozen earth. Even the road to the Northern Region is fraught with dangers. The sea area around the Northern Region is different from the others. The seasons of the winds and waves can not be calculated normally, they are completely ever-changing. Moreover, there are cold currents raging, and countless glaciers floating above the sea. Which boatman is really willing to gamble his life for money? Even if he's not afraid of the glaciers, he'll also be afraid of the monstrous waves."

Speaking up to this point, Jiang Yun's expression was somewhat solemn.

Of course, he wasn't worried about these things. The only thing he was worried about was that something unexpected would happen. After all, Qin Xiaoxi was still by his side, so his attention would be distracted. If they were really in danger, Jiang Yun would never abandon her. However, from the looks of it now... Qin Xiaoxi had always given him the feeling that she was able to withstand the strong winds and calamities.

The road ahead wouldn't be so easy...