Zayden glanced to the side and saw a man coming his way.
But then, he also saw a group of people behind him, and they had actually brought several carriages with them.
The man leading them was a young adult with long black hair tied in a ponytail, and he was wearing a white robe.
He was riding a horse with another man beside him.
The group’s highest cultivation was at the fifth stage, and it was the man beside the leader whom Zayden thought to be one of the guards.
’A merchant caravan?’
Zayden thought.
They stopped quite near Zayden after they were already far from the border gate, where there was an open field.
One of the men took out a big flying ship, an artifact that was like its name—an artifact shaped like a literal ship, but one that could move through the air.
The ship appeared on the ground, and then its side hatch opened to let the carriages enter it.
As the group of men waited for the carriages to finish embarking, the strongest of the men approached the leader of the group.
He whispered something to the leader, which made him turn to look at Zayden.
The leader then walked toward Zayden, accompanied by his escort, which made Zayden wonder what this man wanted.
After the leader reached him, he cupped his hands in respect.
"Good morning, sir. My apologies for disturbing you. But may I know why you are here?"
Zayden was silent for a moment before he answered.
"Nothing. I’m just staying here for a moment before I continue my journey elsewhere."
"If I may know, where are you going?" the leader asked.
Zayden, still wearing a calm expression, locked gazes with the leader and did not answer immediately.
As if he understood what he had done, the leader instantly cupped his hands again.
"My apologies if I sound so impolite, but I would like to know where you are going, because if it is the same direction as us, I would like to hire you as my escort. My name is Yu Cheng, a young master of the Yu family of Blue Lotus City in Heavenly Sword Valley."
Zayden couldn’t help but slightly raise one of his eyebrows.
"We will return to our city with goods, and I would like to hire you as an additional escort to strengthen my escort team. If you are heading in the same direction as us and are willing to work as an additional escort, I would pay you fairly, sir," Yu Cheng continued.
Zayden found this situation strange and ridiculous.
On one hand, this could be his chance to reach Heavenly Sword Valley easily.
By becoming an escort, he would most likely not encounter any problems along the way.
However, on the other hand, it was truly bizarre for someone to offer such a thing to a stranger.
He even found it rather stupid, which made him ask Yu Cheng,
"Don’t you know offering something like that to a stranger is dangerous? How could you casually offer an escort job to someone you know nothing about?"
Zayden shook his head.
"If this is how you operate, it’s only a matter of time before you get robbed."
Yu Cheng smiled bitterly.
"Well, I know that it sounds ridiculous, but it couldn’t be helped, sir. I don’t know if you know this, but the situation in the escort agency business has not been so good for the past few years. Most of their forces are being used by the Ervengaden Imperial Family to support the war, leaving us merchants to find our own ways to look for escorts."
His voice was full of resignation.
"With many strong escorts and resources being used to support the war, many merchants do not have enough escorts to hire. It became much worse after the Heavenly Sword Valley faction decided to align themselves with the Vermion Empire."
"The Vermion Empire seemed to use this chance to really utilize our factions’ forces. They are ordering many of our forces to send our cultivators as additional troops to conquer the rest of the factions."
Yu Cheng sighed.
"Because of the lack of manpower to maintain order, many powerful bandits have appeared in the uncontrolled regions. This has been happening since the Great War started, but it has become much worse over the past four years."
"Their numbers keep increasing. There have already been many cases of merchants getting robbed by bandits in the nearby uncontrolled regions, and the number of such incidents has not decreased."
"With such conditions, many merchants have decided to hire anyone who looks available. That only shows how desperate we have become. Hiring someone just because they look available is something we would never have done in the past."
"But the threat of the bandits is even worse and more terrifying to us. It is better to take the chance and hire someone strong enough to repel those bandits than hesitate and, in the end, delay our journey."
"And my personal escort earlier saw you. He said that I could try to hire you because he couldn’t sense your cultivation despite being a fifth-stage cultivator, and you seemed to be free. So, yeah... that’s why I’m here, just to give it a try, sir."
Zayden nodded in understanding. But he couldn’t help but smirk.
"What if your choice is wrong? What if you actually invited a wolf into your pack convoy? You might even end up inviting someone who is in cahoots with those bandits."
He said it curiously.
Yu Cheng smiled.
"We already have a method that allows us to differentiate between those who have bad intentions from the start and those who do not. The fact that you warned me about the danger of hiring you is already one of the signs that, at the very least, you do not have any ill intentions toward us."
He replied.
"So, how about it, sir? Where are you going? If you are heading in the same direction as us, toward the territory of Heavenly Sword Valley, you could join us and become one of our escorts. I will surely pay you. I will pay you ten high-grade energy stones upfront, and I will pay you the rest after we arrive at my destination."
Zayden thought for a moment before he finally answered.
"I want to go to Heavenly Sword Valley’s territory."
The leader’s eyes showed excitement.
"Then, do you want to become our additional escort?"
Zayden nodded before saying,
"And keep your energy stones to yourself. I don’t need energy stones. I just need a ride, that’s all."
His words left Yu Cheng and his escort surprised.
"But sir, that would be—"
"I don’t want to repeat myself. I just need a ride to Heavenly Sword Valley, that’s it."
For Zayden, he felt that a few energy stones were no longer tempting to him.
Although they might be worth a lot to most people, even those who had reached the sixth stage, but after seeing so much wealth, he felt that he did not need to take a few high-level energy stones.
What he needed was only a ride toward the territory of Heavenly Sword Valley.
Zayden’s words made Yu Cheng fall silent, and he released a sigh before nodding.
"Alright, if that is what you want, sir. But I will still give you something later as payment. There is no way I could just hire someone for free. That would hurt my pride, sir. I hope you understand."
Zayden couldn’t help but smile inwardly.
’This guy is really a businessman. He doesn’t want to owe anyone anything.’
Seeing no response from Zayden, Yu Cheng then continued.
"Then, may I know your name, sir? I don’t want to be rude by calling you wrongly."
"Frederick."
While Zayden was about to begin his journey toward Heavenly Sword Valley, in another location, Rick, wearing a brown robe with a hood, was inside a big city.
The city was much bigger than Bakdum, and in the distance, there was a grand white palace whose enormous size gave the illusion that it filled the horizon.
The palace had many high towers, some of which even reached the clouds.
The grandness of the sight was further supported by the atmosphere and aura it exuded.
That sacred and solemn atmosphere.
Everyone who saw the palace would gaze upon it with reverence.
They saw it as if they were looking at the place where a god resided.
But Rick did not focus on the palace.
It was as if he was already used to it and simply walked along the bustling streets filled with people.
He had already visited the city many times.
The city that had become the central power of the Vermion Empire.
The capital city of Edorian.
He had already memorized all the places in the capital city, and at this time, he was walking toward a certain place.
Rick quickened his steps, passing many people without bumping into anyone.
After walking for more than thirty minutes, Rick arrived at a restaurant.
The restaurant’s building was constructed in a towering style, and on every floor, people could be seen eating.
Rick entered it without hesitation.
"Welcome to—"
"I already reserved the Golden Lotus Chamber. The peak is already waiting there."
Rick’s words cut off the waiter, causing him to fall silent.
The waiter smiled and then gestured with one hand.
"Please follow me, sir. I will guide you to your chamber."
Rick then followed the waiter until they reached the top floor, where they stopped in front of one of the chambers.
"My lord, your guest has arrived," the waiter said respectfully toward the sliding door of the chamber.
"Come in."
A male voice resounded from inside.
The waiter then opened the sliding door before gesturing toward Rick.
"Please enter, sir."