Chapter 3: The Same Route (Part 2)

After bidding farewell to Qin Zhuo and Qin Han, the horse caravan set off, with Qin Lang leading the way on his horse. As soon as they left the city gates, they saw Wu Qing waiting by the road with a dozen or so Beast Warriors and Beast Soldiers. Upon seeing Luo Jie’s group, he stepped forward with a smile. Qi Nan Shan didn’t waste words either; he waved and said, “Follow!”
Qin Lang spurred his horse hard and shouted, “Speed up! Speed up!”
Guo Shier rode his dark horse closely behind the caravan, racing forward at incredible speed—the sensation was truly amazing.
Two days later, the caravan arrived at Heng Pass. Similar to Wildman Pass, Heng Pass was located between two mountains. After crossing a valley, they reached the city walls of Heng Pass.
Heng Pass was an important strategic pass, guarded by disciples of the Northern Fu Sect, who rotated shifts. Disciples going to the grasslands for training often passed through here, along with many merchant caravans entering and leaving.
Registration was required to enter or exit Heng Pass, but Luo Jie and the others didn’t have to worry about it. Qin Lang and a few of his men handled it quickly. A few hours later, the caravan entered the grasslands.
At first, they could still see groups of merchant carriages, but soon Qin Lang led the caravan off the main trade routes and into the vast grasslands. He chose a shorter path, but it required some military protection.
Guo Shier noticed that the grasslands here were different from those in his past life—the weeds grew extremely thick. If a person stood on the grass, only their upper body would be visible, and even then, only their head would be seen. Unless riding a horse, it was impossible to see what was ahead.
The grasslands were not only covered in dense weeds but also had patches of lush forests. However, due to their small size, one could see the end from atop a horse in just one glance. Many unknown birds circled in the blue sky, gathering and scattering in flocks that sometimes covered the sky, creating a spectacular sight.
There were many herbivores in the grasslands, such as wild bulls and antelopes, some of which Guo Shier couldn’t even name. When their caravan rushed past, countless birds and animals scattered in panic. He also saw some wild dogs. It was late autumn, and the wild dogs were extremely fat, as plump as calves.
Wild dogs were fierce animals in the grasslands, but they dared not provoke humans, especially horse caravans. When they encountered one, their first reaction was to flee at once. Over thousands of years, countless wild dogs that dared attack humans had been killed, gradually instilling deep fear in them. At the sight of humans and their horse caravans, they instinctively stayed far away.

Racing ahead, Guo Shier was completely lost, unable to tell east from west or south from north. It was easy to get disoriented on the grassland.
Qi Nanshan spurred his horse to Qin Lang’s side and asked loudly, “No rest at noon?”
Qin Lang replied, “There’s no time to rest. We can only eat some dry food while on horseback. We must reach the ruins of Nanbao by evening—there it’s safer, and we can rest.”
Qi Nanshan knew how terrifying nights were on the grassland, so he nodded and said, “You take care of it!”
Qin Lang shouted, “We’ll change horses at noon and take a short break. This time is set for everyone’s convenience. We also need to feed and water the horses. As for eating… we’ll just do it while on horseback. We must reach Nanbao before dark.”
The group of over thirty people had hundreds of warhorses. Aside from Guo Shier and five children, the rest were experienced and powerful professionals. Only such a group would dare to take the route chosen by Qin Lang instead of the usual caravan path, thanks to their agility and combat strength.
…
By evening, Nanbao finally appeared on the horizon.
“Is that Nanbao?”
Guo Shier looked curiously at the huge, half-ruined tower in the distance.
After a day of rapid travel, the warhorses were drenched in sweat, snorting constantly, with their heavy breathing filling the air. Qin Lang said, “Everyone, stay alert. There are often wandering squads in Nanbao. Try not to clash with them.”
Guo Shier asked, “Master, what are wandering squads?”
Luo Jie replied, “Heh, wandering squads are made up of professionals without homes. They’re people who struggle on the edge of life and death. They’re experts at killing, indifferent to death, and also the fastest to die. Those who survive are all highly skilled. They can even challenge professionals of higher ranks…”
Guo Shier shuddered at the thought. “How can they be so powerful?”
Qi Nanshan said, “If you were in a situation of constant killing all day long, you’d become just as powerful too—provided you could survive.”
Guo Shier shook his head. “I don’t want to seek death. Um, where do these people come from?”
Luo Jie said, “Their origins are quite complex. Some are wandering martial artists who’ve lost their masters, some are spellcasters who’ve lost their companions. Many are professionals expelled by their families or sects. There are also sect disciples who come out to hone their skills… The composition is very varied. In wandering squads, no one asks about each other’s backgrounds.”
Guo Shier asked, “Are there many such squads?”

Luo Jie said, “Many, countless… Not only on the grasslands but also in the Extreme North Wasteland outside our North Talisman Gate. They believe in ‘strength first, killing as the foundation.’ Often, they draw their swords at the slightest dispute… Such things are quite common. Hehe, but they generally don’t bully people casually. As long as you don’t provoke them, there’s no big problem. However, there are also madmen among them—those who draw their swords and start slashing at anything that displeases them.”

Qi Nanshan laughed and said, “Such madmen usually don’t live long, because most rogue professionals don’t want to form teams with them—it’s too unsafe.”

Guo Shier said, “Aren’t they afraid of death?”

Luo Jie replied with a laugh, “Not being afraid of death doesn’t mean they’re willing to seek it out. With such a madman in the team, everyone’s safety can’t be guaranteed.”

Guo Shier asked, “In South Fort, will we encounter such teams?”

Qi Nanshan said, “We’ll definitely encounter them. This is the first stop when entering the grasslands and the last stop when returning from them, so it’s a very busy place.”

Qin Lang said, “South Fort has designated areas for rogue teams. Hehe, Young Master Shier, as long as you don’t offend them, there won’t be any problems. Besides, rogue teams often have some strange items for sale. Just like us, they also need talisman money to cover their expenses.”

Soon, South Fort came into view. It was an abandoned ancient castle covering a large area. Although most of its walls had collapsed, it was still a great resting place in the grasslands. There were over a dozen wells inside the castle, but only about five could be used.

After entering the castle, they saw several campfires with people gathered around them. Qin Lang led everyone to one of the wells and said, “Let’s rest here today. Old man, I’ll start a fire and cook.”

Luo Jie laughed and said, “You take care of starting the fire. For cooking, Guo Shier and the others will handle it.” He was already used to the food cooked by Guo Shier and the others—it tasted much better than just boiling meat in water.

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Let’s eat grilled meat today. Uncle Luo, take some people to hunt three wild bulls. When I came in, I saw a herd of wild bulls in the southwest. Hurry up, it’s about to get dark.” Luo Zhan gave a call and led a few talisman warriors on horseback out of the ancient castle.

Qin Lang ordered his subordinates to cut down trees in the small forest outside. It was already late autumn, with plenty of withered grass and trees, so they soon brought back a lot of wood.

Guo Shier piled up the dry wood and grass to start a fire. Before night fell completely, Luo Zhan and the others brought back four plump wild bulls.

Everyone pitched in to skin and gut the animals. Guo Shier held up a large copper pot to simmer soup with beef bones, then took out special roasting racks to hold up three wild bulls and start preparing grilled meat. This was definitely a physically demanding task, but Guo Shier directed the efforts; he had a group of strong men at his disposal who didn’t care about the weight of the bulls at all. After half an hour of roasting, a strong aroma of meat filled the air. From time to time, people would peek over, attracted by the smell of the meat. Guo Shier first arranged food for everyone before taking four of his companions aside. He took out a rectangular roasting rack made based on memories from his past life, along with a pile of burned charcoal and a large handful of copper skewers, saying, “Come, there’s another wild bull here. Let’s make our own grilled meat skewers.” Chen Hong started the fire, others threaded the meat onto the skewers, while Guo Shier was in charge of roasting them. He took out his secret seasonings and eagerly began roasting the beef skewers. It was the first time he was making grilled meat skewers in this world. Huo Bao took just one bite before he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow, it’s delicious… Ah, it’s absolutely amazing…” Chen Bing grabbed a grilled meat skewer in between tasks, took a bite, and immediately widened his eyes, too busy to speak as he devoured it eagerly. Luo Jie saw Guo Shier take four of his companions aside to eat and knew they had something special planned. When the aroma of the grilled meat skewers drifted over, he couldn’t resist sneaking over. Qi Nanshan, responsible for Luo Jie’s safety, naturally knew the old man’s movements and followed quietly as well. “Shier, what delicious thing are you making again?” Guo Shier smiled and handed over a few skewers. As soon as Luo Jie took them, a big hand reached over and grabbed two, saying, “Let me taste Shier’s skill…” The skewers were huge, with each piece the size of a fist. Qi Nanshan bit into one, tasted it briefly, and praised, “Shier, you actually… it’s this delicious!” Luo Jie was also surprised after taking a bite. Grilled meat skewers alone were different from whole roasted bulls—tastier and with softer meat. Almost as soon as a few skewers were roasted, they were snatched away, leaving Guo Shier with none to eat. He called out helplessly, “Hey, leave me some skewers…” Everyone couldn’t help but laugh. Just then, Guo Shier roasted another dozen skewers, which were immediately snatched away by several hands. Guo Shier suddenly looked up and saw a scruffy man holding two grilled meat skewers, and he was surprised, saying, “Who are you?”

The man ignored him completely, bit into a piece of grilled meat, swallowed it in a few quick bites, and then widened his eyes—probably because he had never tasted anything so delicious. After devoring two skewers of grilled meat in no time, he stared at Guo Shier again.
Guo Shier himself didn’t know why, but he handed over the two freshly grilled skewers he was holding.