“Bullshit!”

“You’re the one who owes us!”

Shouts of indignation came from the mercenaries as they waved their weapons at the merchant. They seemed keen to ride past Red, but their leader held them back.

“What he says is a lie, friend.” The man said, glaring at the merchant. “We were tasked with escorting him to the capital, but now he’s refusing to pay us.”

The youth said nothing, only turning his head around to look at the merchant.

The old man trembled under his gaze. “I-It’s true… I hired them to escort me and my goods, but it all got stolen under their watch! Tell me, do you think they deserve payment after that?”

“You bastard! You signed a contract with us!”

“It all got stolen because you said you didn’t want anyone close to the wagon!”

Another stream of insults came from the mercenaries. Some of them seemed to be on the verge of losing their cool.

“Captain!” a warrior near the leader said. “Why are we even talking to this savage? He’s just one person. Let’s just get past him and if he wants to get involved, it’s his loss!”

“No!” The leader raised his hand. “No one is going to do anything!”

This made some of the mercenaries grumble, but none of them dared to raise their voice against their captain.

‘He can feel something is off about me.’

Red supposed that the leader could feel some threat or pressure from the youth’s body. Experienced warriors were often very sensitive to others’ strengths, even the ones that had yet to open their Spiritual Sea.

“You’re doing a poor job of hiding your aura.”

As if to confirm his suspicions, Aurelia’s voice reached his ears. The youth frowned at her words.

‘No wonder then.’

Cultivators all emitted a natural pressure that other living beings could feel. Red, who just opened his Spiritual Sea, wasn’t used to controlling this natural aura of his, so it wasn’t surprising an experienced warrior could feel it.

‘Not like any of this matters.’

If anything, this made Red’s life easier.

He looked over at the merchant behind him. “You said something about helping me get into the city.”

“That’s right!” The merchant nodded frantically. “I can help you get through the gate!”

Red frowned beneath his mask. “Why would I need your help for that?”

“You… You don’t know about it? Wait, of course you don’t!” The old man smiled in realization. “Our Majesty closed off the capital to any visitors after the Blood Moon a few weeks ago. Only residents and those with guarantees from residents are allowed in for the time being.”

“… And I suppose I can get one such guarantee from you?”

“That’s right!” The merchant nodded. “If you help me get rid of these people, I will help you get into the city!”

Red moved his gaze from the old man to the mercenaries.

The leader had an ugly expression as he watched this interaction. “This friend can’t be thinking of accepting his offer, right?”

“I need to get into the city.” Red said. “Can you get me into the city?”

The man’s frown deepened, and he kept silent.

The merchant smirked. “Of course they can’t! They’re not even residents themselves, and the only reason they could get into the capital is with their guild’s help!”

Red looked back at the leader, and the man’s silence was all the confirmation he needed.

“Please, go back the way you came.” he said.

The youth made his decision. In truth, he didn’t really care about the conflict or who was stealing from who - this sort of dispute was common place even back in the town he lived in. Red would rather not get involved at all, but after learning about how troublesome it was getting into the capital, how could he let this chance go?

“You bastard! Who do you think you are?!”

Shouts of anger came from the mercenaries, who seemed eager to clash against Red. Their leader still kept his hand raised, though, stopping them in their tracks.

The youth wasn’t too scared about a confrontation, but he wasn’t eager to fight either. He didn’t know if these mercenaries had any talismans on them, and if they did, then Red knew the situation could get far more complicated. In the past, he resisted attacks from and even wounded Lesser Ring Realm cultivators using talismans, so couldn’t these people do the same against him?

Red didn’t let his newfound strength get to his head when it came to making decisions.

Thankfully, the leader didn’t seem too keen on the idea of fighting against the youth, either.

“Are you certain about this decision, friend?” The man asked. “The one behind you is not someone you should blindly trust.”

The merchant spat on the ground. “Who’s talking about being trustworthy when you’re the ones trying to kill your employer?!”

Red ignored the old man’s ramblings. “I appreciate your advice. Now be on your way.”

The leader frowned, and he lowered his hand. “I hope you don’t come to regret this decision.”

He turned around to look at his men, making a motion with his hand to retreat. The mercenaries seemed unwilling, but under the steely gaze of their captain, they had no choice but to obey. Even as they galloped away, though, they threw murderous glances at Red and the merchant.

Only when the youth saw them disappear behind the hills did he turn around to face the merchant.

The old man smiled at him. “Thank you, my friend! If it wasn’t for you, I would be-”

“Get off your horse.” Red cut him off."

“E-Excuse me-”

“I said get off your horse.”

Red let some of his aura leak from his body, this time on purpose. The merchant immediately felt the pressure from the youth and obeyed his orders without resisting.

He looked at Red with a fearful gaze. “Is there a reason for this, my fri-”

“How did you know I was going to the capital?”

“This…” The merchant hesitated. “It was just an educated guess.”

Red frowned. “A guess?”

“Well, yes. The capital is the biggest cultivation center in the kingdom, so it’s not uncommon to see wandering cultivators making their way there, much more so after the Empire invaded… Spotting someone like you this close to the city only left one possibility in my mind.”

The youth paid attention to the man’s fluctuation as he spoke.

‘He doesn’t seem to be lying.’

In the end, the merchant’s reasoning made sense, but there was another matter that caught Red’s attention.

“How did you spot me?” he asked. “And how did you know I could help you?”

Red could feel the old man’s strength - no higher than a few open veins. There was no way someone like that could spot the youth from that far, not to mention it seemed to be a wild bet from the merchant’s part to put his life in the hands of a stranger against a group of organized mercenaries.

The youth could only imagine the man had some unknown way to spot him and gauge his power from afar.

This time, the merchant’s hesitation lasted for a while longer. He looked around, as if looking for a way out, but he knew there was none.

In the end, he stared back at Red with a trembling lip. “I-I have an item… Something that helps me detect people from afar.”

‘Like I thought.’

“Does it also allow you to detect their strength?” he asked.

“M-more or less.”

“It still seems very dangerous to rely on a stranger, even if they have the power to save you.”

“I-I was all out of options. They would have caught me before long, so I could only trust you.”

Red felt the old man’s fluctuation trembled at that moment, indicating some distress on the merchant’s part. Even without its help, though, he could tell that he was being lied to by the man’s expression.

‘He obviously had something else to rely on.’

It was more likely that the merchant hoped Red could at least serve as a diversion, even if he didn’t accept his offer. If this stranger refused to help him, then perhaps he would be forced to rely on whatever else he had up his sleeve - like a talisman, perhaps.

Red stared at the trembling man. “Are you afraid I’m going to rob you?”

“R-Rob me? N-No, there’s no way I would suspect the benefactor of such a thing!” The merchant shook his head. “Someone as benevolent as you would never rely on such underhanded acts!”

“Indeed, I have no intention of robbing you. You will bring me into the capital, though, right?”

“Y-Yes, yes! I will definitely help benefactor get into the city!”

Red nodded. “Good. Then get back into your horse and lead the way down the road. I will follow behind you.”

“R-Right!” The merchant was about to hop back onto his horse, but he hesitated. He looked at the youth with a struggling expression.

“What is it?” Red asked.

“It’s those mercenaries, benefactor. I’m afraid since you let them go, they might try to ambush us before we get to the capital.”

Red shook his head. “You don’t need to concern yourself with that. If they try something, I will obviously deal with them.”

Beyond just being concerned about the strength of those mercenaries, the youth didn’t want to just kill anyone he came across for such a trivial matter. If they truly made an attempt on his life during his trip, though, then he wouldn’t hesitate to fight back.

As they walked downhill onto the road, the merchant lead the way with his horse at a slow pace. The old man couldn’t help himself but spare glances now and then at Red walking behind him, though, as if afraid he would be stabbed in the back at any moment.

The youth didn’t try to assuage his worries, though. It was better if the merchant was afraid of him to some degree.

They walked in almost complete silence down the road, only the clopping of the horse’s hooves echoing through the hills. Almost half an hour later, it seemed as if the merchant couldn’t bear the quiet, and looked back at Red with a smile.

“May I know your name, benefactor?” The old man asked.

“You may not.”

“O-Oh… Well, my name is Emer and I-”

“I don’t care.”

“O-Ok.”

The merchant turned back around, and they resumed their travel in almost absolute silence.