Silence befell the trip after their tense discussion.

Thanks to the chariot, they easily crossed the colossal mountains of the Himalayas, which were the biggest obstacle to any expanding civilization in the region.

North of the mountain range, the altitude fell quite a bit and the climate was more pleasant and mild on the plateau.

They rode through the plateau for the entire day and traversed a long distance.

Time passed by very fast, and the sun soon couldn't provide energy for the chariot with its last rays of daylight.

Fortunately, they found a moderately large city where they could spend the night.

'They have a nice architecture....' Alex internally remarked.

The buildings, even those of the common people, were colorful and followed a distinct temple-like style that contributed to the city's charm.

The two landed on the outskirts of the city, and sneakily penetrated into the dense urban settlement.

Hermes was unusually silent, and he wasn't focused as if certain thoughts weighed on his mind.

Alex was worried and repeatedly asked him about his state, but Hermes simply shrugged it off.

"I'm fine, Alexei-boy, let's find an inn and rest for the night," Hermes weakly smiled.

Alex dropped the matter and observed the city.

From a few signboards, they found out that 'Luoxi' was the name given to the city.

Luoxi had rather narrow streets, but food vendors and merchants set up stalls, and the population was quite sprawling and active.

The various street foods saturated the air with an extremely enticing fragrance, and Alex couldn't resist himself and approached a clean-looking food stall.

"Good evening, mister, could I get 'that'?" Alex pointed at a few dishes.

The man running the food stalls had an astonished expression, and remarked, "You speak our language really well for a foreigner!"

"Hehehehe..." Alex couldn't tell him that it was because of his godhood.

Then, Alex ordered on behalf of Hermes, and unexpectedly, the vendor offered him the food entirely for free.

"You must have had a long diplomatic trip and need to rest in Luoxi...For a man who respects our language so much, how could I make you pay?!"

Alex did not refuse the offer and took the food.

There was a bench nearby and the two made their way towards it.

However, the food vendor suddenly called out to them, "Sir!"

Alex turned around, and the man had a displeased expression on his face.

"I am sorry you have to go through this, but I need to warn you anyways, do not go out at nighttime, strange creatures roam the city streets...."

'Strange creatures?' Alex felt more intrigued than he should be.

An elderly passerby also interjected and added, "The Kunlun Mountain Sect is sending over immortals to take care of the monsters, bless their mercy...."

'Immortals?!' Now, Alex was extremely interested.

He asked the man about inns nearby and then sat down to eat his food.

It was a spicy barley noodle soup.

'Tasty....' The broth was savory and rich, while the noodles provided texture to the whole dish.

Then, Alex noticed Hermes' expressions lighten up.

He sipped on a beverage Alex bought from the stall, and he clearly liked it a lot.

"It's good, isn't it? It's called butter tea, and it's extremely practical for long trips where people can't afford to store a lot of solid food," Alex explained what the food vendor had told him.

"It's a nice tea," Alex now discovered that the best way to lighten up Hermes' mood was through good tea.

Surprisingly, when they finished their food, the streets were already somewhat empty, and all of the stalls closed up.

The two stood up and followed directions towards a nearby inn.

The inn was quite splendid in appearance.

They knocked on the doors, and a woman peeked through a gap, and then led them in.

"Welcome sirs, we apologize for our late reception, safety can be a....bit of a problem at night," The female attendant bowed to them and invited them in.

They were in a spacious and amply-decorated hall.

A man with a long beard and a striking monocle approached them and cupped his hands together.

"Good evening, welcome to Luoxi's best inn, how may we serve you?" 

"We'd like a room for one night,"

The man cleared his throat and gave them a price, "A room for a night, is it? That would be about 27 copper coins, sirs."

Suddenly, Hermes came in front of Alex and softly asked, "Make that 10 copper coins, will you?"

At first, bewilderment spread across the man's face, but then, his facial features relaxed, and he nodded, "10 copper coins is a great price."

Hermes smiled and gave him a stash of coins.

The man gave them their key, which was in the form of a large coin with a cross-shaped hole in the center.

As they went up to the second floor, Alex commented, stunned, "Hermes, you were able to get down the price so low..."

"Alexei-boy, we're foreigners, they will overprice everything for us, you can't allow them to scam you..." Hermes sternly lectured him.

'Says who?' Alex coughed, as he recalled the various times Hermes bought into scams.

With their humorous discussion, the atmosphere completely lightened.

They soon reached their room and inserted the coin-key into the keyhole.

The door opened with a clicking sound, and they entered the room.

It looked comfortable and clean and fulfilled their needs for accommodation.

There were two beds, hence each of them occupied one.

"Good night, Alexei-boy~~" Hermes swiftly visited Hypnos, as usual.

"Good night, Hermes," Alex was also quite tired, and quickly fell unconscious.

________________

"The ghost general set up his lair in the hills nearby...."

"So troublesome, I just wanted to sleep, but Martial Uncle sent us here..."

Alex woke up from his sleep with a frown when he heard loud voices outside.

Truthfully, they weren't very loud, but they were loud enough that it pestered his sleep.

He eavesdropped on their following conversation.

"Brother, we just have to set up a talisman, and we'll swiftly leave, okay? No trying to fight the ghost general!" The voice of an older woman resounded.

Then, a hot-blooded young man's voice replied, "Yes, Sister, don't worry..."

'Ghost general? Talismans?' Alex felt his curiosity take control of him.