“You… can really pack food away. You must have been hungry, huh?” said the shocked young woman who had rescued Wu Jian as he scarfed down his tenth bowl of food.

They were sitting around a campfire. The warmth from the fire and food helped settle Wu Jian’s aching stomach and body. How many days had he gone without eating or properly resting? He couldn’t remember.

“Thank you for treating me with such hospitality,” Wu Jian said after her surreptitiously placed his half-eaten bowl of congee beside his shadow. No one seemed to notice as the bowl slipped into his shadow and reappeared completely clean.

“Travelers should always help their fellow travelers wherever we can. It brings good karma,” the young woman said with a smile. She tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear. “I’m Xing Zhenya. May I have the honor of knowing your name?”

“It’s Wu… ahem… Jian Wu. My name is Jian Wu,” Wu Jian introduced himself. He was merely flipping his surname and given name, but no one would recognize it.

The family name is inherited from one’s parents and shared with other members of the individual’s immediate family. It always came before the given name and was usually a single character. The given name was chosen at birth and was the individual’s personal identifier. That was why, even Hou Jingshu and Zhou Lihua wouldn’t suspect him of being Wu Jian so long as they never saw his face.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jian Wu,” said Xing Zhenya.

“Likewise,” Wu Jian said with a smile. He then looked around at all the people curiously. “Are you guys a trading caravan or something?”

“That’s correct.” Xing Zhenya grinned as she placed a hand to her chest. “We’re a part of the Xing Chamber of Commerce.”

“I’ve never heard of you,” Wu Jian admitted.

“W-well, I would be shocked if you did. We’re just a small merchant guild stationed Chenhou. We do trade with surrounding cities. Once every three months, we take a caravan into the Shang Kingdom to trade in goods that you can’t find in the Ming Province. That’s what allowed us to establish ourselves in Chenhou. My father is the one who established our merchant guild when he was young. We’ve only been around for about twenty-five years, but we have already expanded our business to over ten cities.”

“That’s impressive. It’s not easy establishing trade outside of more than a handful of cities unless you have the backing of a large sect,” Wu Jian said.

“Yes. Yes. I’m glad you understand. My father is an incredible man. Not only did he establish our merchant guild by himself, he did so without the help of a sect,” Xing Zhenya seemed rather pleased by his praise.

Wu Jian wasn’t giving her empty praise. The Wu Clan had only managed to establish trade with Zahn City and the Imperial Royal Capital, but the only reason they had trade with the capital was because the Shang Kingdom required tribute, which the Wu Clan paid in food like rice and wheat. They had not established true trade beyond Zahn City.

“I hope you don’t think my request too forward, but would you mind telling me about your circumstances?” asked Xing Zhenya. “What are you doing in the middle of Zhiong Pass all alone? Where is your family?”

“My family is… gone,” Wu Jian admitted after several moments of silence. “We were attacked in the middle of the night and wiped out. I don’t know who did it or why, but I suppose… it doesn’t matter. I’m the only one left. My parents gave their lives so I could escape.”

Xing Zhenya pressed a hand to her mouth. “Oh… I… I’m so sorry. It was insensitive of me to ask that.”

But Wu Jian smiled and shook his head. “No, it is only natural to be curious about someone wandering through a place like this alone. I can’t blame you for asking about me. I think I would be more shocked if you didn’t ask.”

“You’re quite mature for your age. Speaking of, how old are you?” asked Xing Zhenya.

“I’m fifteen, but I should be turning sixteen in about a month and a half,” Wu Jian said.

“You’re so young, and yet you’ve already faced incredible hardships.” Xing Zhenya seemed to ponder something as she looked at him, then said, “I’m currently on my way back home. Would you like to come with me? It’s not safe to travel by yourself. There are bandits and magical beasts between here and Chenhou.”

“Is that okay?” asked Wu Jian. “I can’t offer much, but I am confident in my strength.”

“Of course, it is. I am the one who asked, aren’t I? Don’t worry. You can travel with us until we reach Chenhou,” said Xing Zhenya.

This woman is very kind. She fed me and offered to let me travel with her even though I have nothing to give in exchange.

While kindness was not rare, very few people would help a random stranger without expecting something in return. This wasn’t a world in which showing compassion to others was rewarded. If someone helped another without asking for anything in return, it meant they were a truly good person.

Return kindness with kindness.

Wu Meiying had asked Wu Jian to not change who he was. She had wanted him to remain the same person and not let hatred consume him. Wu Jian didn’t have much left, so he wanted to meet the expectations of one of the few people left in this world who truly loved him.

***

The caravan set off the next day. Wu Jian was given a place inside of Xing Zhenya’s carriage. Gao Zhou had offered resistance, stating that it wasn’t appropriate for a young lady to let a young man into her carriage like this, but Xing Zhenya had been adamant. Her refusal to budge was so strong that Gao Zhou had no choice but to relent, less they waste more time.

Wu Jian spent the first few days talking to Xing Zhenya. She was a pretty young woman with long brown hair typically tied in a loose braid. The strands framing her face served to highlight her light brown eyes, which seemed to radiate kindness.

Whenever she made a hand gesture, the voluminous sleeves of her robes. The clothes she wore were different than those of the Shang Kingdom. They featured a stand collar and a large number of buttons. She preferred white robes with dark blue and gold patterns embroidered onto the fabric.

He didn’t tell her anything that could give him away as a member of the Wu Clan, but he did share stories about the things he had done. The young woman laughed at some of the stories he told. He focused more on the fun ones like the time he and Wu Meiying had gotten caught sneaking into the kitchens for a midnight snack, or when he, Wu Meiying, and Hou Jingshu were nearly kicked out of the Zahn City Library because of a joke they had taken too far.

“It seems you were quite the rascal,” she said.

“Maybe, but I think it was my friend’s corrupting influence. She was always getting into trouble,” Wu Jian said with a soft smile. Thinking about Wu Meiying, Hou Jingshu, and Zhou Lihua helped keep his mood positive. Perhaps that was another reason he focused on the fun times he had with them during his storytelling.

Several days passed. Wu Jian eventually left the carriage to look around outside. Thanks to Xing Zhenya treating him like a guest, he was able to learn how to steer a cart and was taught the basics of being a merchant. He didn’t know if there would ever be a time knowing all this would help him. However, there was never any harm in learning something new.

It didn’t take long before they left the mountain pass. The area surrounding the mountain on the Ming Province’s side was mostly forest. It was much warmer than the forests surrounding the Wu Clan, which could grow quite cold due to the elevation. Wu Jian didn’t know what these trees were called, but were of a different shade and the bark had a smoother texture than the ones he grew up surrounded by.

They didn’t run into any trouble on their first day in the forest. Evening soon came upon them. Xing Zhenya directed everyone to set up camp and Wu Jian bustled back and forth, helping wherever he could.

“I appreciate how willing you are to help us, but you really don’t need to,” Xing Zhenya said once everything had settled down and the caravan members began eating.

Wu Jian disagreed. “It is important to repay kindness with kindness. You helped me when I was in trouble. It’s only right that I do what I can to pay you back.”

Xing Zhenya tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. “That’s a good mindset to have. In that case, I’ll simply thank you for the help.”

Wu Jian continued talking with Xing Zhenya. He felt a few glares on his back, but he ignored them. He wasn’t sure why they were glaring at him and didn’t care to find out.

A scream eventually startled them out of their conversation. They looked up from their conversation.

“Magical beast attack!”

At that moment, nearly a dozen creatures leapt from the trees. They were not much bigger than a dog and had dark gray fur. Eyes like the moon glowed from within a snarling muzzle filled with rows of teeth. These creature’s had powerful muscles that rippled beneath their fur as they bounded over to the caravan.

“It’s a Black Mountain Wolf Pack! To arms! Protect Lady Zhenya and the supplies!” Gao Zhou shouted as he readied his battleaxe.

“Stick close to me,” Xing Zhenya said to Wu Jian as she pulled him close. He obediently followed her directions and watched as Gao Zhou led the cultivators charged with protecting the caravan to attack the Black Mountain Wolves.

“Take thiiiiiis!”

With a roar like a lion, Gao Zhou swung his axe down and sliced a wolf in twines. His axe became embedded into the ground, but he lifted it quickly and swung from the hip up to his shoulder. The wolf he tried to attack dodged and attempted to bite him, but he brought his axe back in time to block. The wolf latched onto the long handle and snarled at him.

While Gao Zhou battled two wolves by himself, the other members fought in pairs to take down a single wolf. These people were not very strong. Most of them were only at the second or third subrealm of the Hunger Realm. Meanwhile, these magical beasts seemed to be one or two subrealms above them.

Attacking in pairs was always the safest choice when fighting against a magical beast.

Everything seemed to be going well. The group of cultivators fended off the Black Mountain Wolves and looked like they were winning. Perhaps that led to some of the guards becoming overconfident.

A single Black Mountain Wolf slipped past the one of the guards. The man turned and tried to stop it, but another one latched onto his neck. The guard screamed as he went down, blood gushing from his throat as the wolf tore it out. Meanwhile, the wolf that had slipped past leapt toward Wu Jian and Xing Zhenya.

Wu Jian pushed Xing Zhenya out of the way as the beast bore down on them. She landed on her backside with a harsh thump.

“What are you doing?! Don’t try to confront that thing head on! You’ll die!” she shouted.

Wu Jian kept his eyes firmly locked on the beast as he slid his feet apart, bent his knees, and drew his fist into his chest. Time felt like it had slowed.

Just as the wolf closed the distance, Wu Jian deftly moved aside, twisted his torso, and threw out his fist. The wolf hadn’t even landed on its feet before his fist slammed into the magical beast’s neck. A loud crack as the neck broke echoed around the forest. The Black Mountain Wolf flew away, struck the ground, and rolled for several chih before stopping.

It was clearly dead.

Wu Jian turned around and offered his hand to Xing Zhenya.

“Sorry for pushing you. Are you okay?”

“Yes… I am fine.” Xing Zhenya allowed herself to be pulled up. “I did not realize you were so strong. How were you able to kill that thing? It was at the sixth subrealm of the Hunger Realm.”

It was traditionally assumed to be impossible for someone of a lower cultivation to defeat someone with a higher cultivation. Only a few uniquely talented people could defeat enemies with a higher cultivation than themselves.

Wu Jian wasn’t even at the Hunger Realm. What he had done shouldn’t have been possible if one followed standard logic.

“I might not be the most talented person around, and I might not be at the Hunger Realm yet, but I’m very confident in my fists,” Wu Jian flexed his arm as though that explained everything.