Chương 18: Chapter 12 part 2

She left her new retainers to their tasks in the courtyard and returned upstairs, pausing quietly outside Vanessa's door. After a soft, measured knock, the door creaked open, and the girl stood in the frame. Vanessa looked markedly better than she had the day before when Xuan Ji had first carried her unconscious and bleeding from the ritual cave.

Color had finally returned to her pale cheeks, and the high-grade healing potions had done their miraculous work on the worst of the deep bruises, cuts, and the skin rubbed raw from the heavy iron chains. Yet, a dark, heavy undertone in her mood lingered palpably, like a suffocating shadow beneath still water. Her newly awakened, vivid crimson hair fell around her shoulders, a glaring, permanent mark that singled her out as something the world would undoubtedly notice and remember.

"Master," Vanessa said, her voice small but steady.

"Good morning. Please come in." Xuan Ji stepped inside, taking the single wooden chair opposite the bed, and studied the young girl for a long moment. She noted the slight tremor in Vanessa's fingers as she gripped the edge of her oversized linen tunic.

"Have you felt any better since yesterday?" Xuan Ji asked, keeping her tone grounded and calm. Vanessa nodded, though the motion was small and a little hesitant, as if she were still carefully learning how to move her body without anticipating pain or fear.

"A little, Master," she answered quietly.

"The bed is soft. And the food they brought… it tasted like food again. Not like ash or blood. I even managed to keep it down." Xuan Ji let out a slow breath.

"I'm sure you are still grieving. That will not go away quickly, and I will not ask it to. But time waits for no one in this world, and we cannot stay here forever. We leave for the capital in a few hours."

"Yes, Master."

"Before that, I want to hear more about your situation so I can plan accordingly," Xuan Ji stated, her mind already shifting toward tactical logistics.

"Does House Valerius have any survivor fit to rule the lands in your absence? Technically, as the sole immediate survivor of the main line, you should take the title of Viscountess. But with the cult actively hunting you, that would be unwise." Vanessa looked down, her fingers twisting nervously in the fabric of the blanket resting on her lap. The mention of her family name brought a fresh sheen of tears to her eyes, but she blinked them back with stubborn resolve.

"I have no idea what happened to my distant relatives after… after everything," Vanessa said quietly.

"But my uncle is away on business in the capital. He should be able to manage the territory for now. He is capable and loyal to the family. He will do what needs to be done."

"I see." Xuan Ji's gaze drifted back to the girl's vivid crimson hair, so drastically different from the deep black it had once been before the corruption.

"Then for the time being, you should hide that color," Xuan Ji instructed gently but firmly.

"It is far too distinct and would draw attention we cannot afford until I finish my preparations and we reach a place where we can better control the situation. The cult must not learn of your existence if we can possibly help it."

"Understood, Master."

"Wear this." Xuan Ji reached into her Void Storage Ring, the spatial fabric rippling slightly, and produced a simple, hooded travel robe of muted gray. It was light yet highly durable, the exact kind of garment favored by wandering merchants and seasoned travelers who preferred to blend seamlessly into the background rather than stand out.

"It should suffice until we reach a larger city where we can purchase proper dye or a more permanent disguise," Xuan Ji added. Vanessa accepted the robe with both hands and slipped it on over her tunic without hesitation or complaint. The heavy hood settled low over her face, concealing the striking crimson strands completely in shadow.

She looked incredibly small inside the oversized garment, younger and far more fragile, but there was a quiet, unyielding determination in the way she straightened her shoulders and met Xuan Ji's dark eyes.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Not yet, Master."

"Then we should eat. Let us go down to the restaurant below. A proper meal will do you good before a long journey." Descending the wooden stairs, Xuan Ji felt Vanessa tense beside her. The common room was half-full with midday travelers and locals.

It was a symphony of ordinary life that clearly overwhelmed the traumatized girl: merchants nursing tankards of ale and talking in low voices about market prices and road conditions, a pair of farmers arguing good-naturedly over crop yields and the weather, and a lone hunter sitting in the corner, sharpening a long knife with slow, methodical strokes. Every clinking mug, every sudden burst of laughter, made Vanessa flinch.

To a girl who had just watched her family slaughtered at a dinner table, a crowded room full of strangers with weapons was a waking nightmare. For a moment, the ambient conversation quieted noticeably the moment Xuan Ji and the hooded girl appeared at the base of the stairs. Xuan Ji immediately moved to control the environment, projecting a faint, icy aura of 'do not approach' as she guided Vanessa to a secluded corner table.

It was positioned perfectly away from prying eyes and prying ears, boasting a clear, unobstructed view of both the front door and the stairs leading up to the rooms. The food arrived quickly, simple yet hearty and exceptionally well prepared.

There were steaming bowls of thick vegetable stew rich with root vegetables, wild herbs, and chunks of tender meat; loaves of fresh bread still warm from the stone oven, slathered generously with melting butter; and roasted fowl glazed with local herbs that gave off a savory, slightly smoky aroma. Vanessa ate slowly at first, picking at the bread as if testing whether her stomach would violently rebel after everything it had been through.

But as the warmth of the food settled in, she began to eat with quiet, fierce determination. It was as though reclaiming the simple act of taking each bite was a small, personal act of absolute defiance against the darkness that had tried to swallow her whole. Xuan Ji watched her in comfortable, protective silence, noting the hard steel that still burned brightly beneath the heavy layers of grief and trauma.

'Good,' Xuan Ji thought, taking a sip of water.

'That fire will serve her well in the days ahead. It will need to.' After the meal was finished, Xuan Ji approached the counter and slipped the innkeeper another heavy purse of gold, heavy enough that his eyes widened comically again and he nearly dropped it.

"Our presence here never happened," she said quietly, the words carrying the unmistakable, heavy weight of an absolute order rather than a polite request.

"Especially the girl. If anyone asks, travelers, strangers, soldiers, anyone at all. Say you saw nothing unusual. That is all anyone needs to know." The innkeeper's eyes darted frantically to the bulging pouch in his hands, then back to her serene, unreadable face. He swallowed hard and nodded quickly, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

"Of course, my lady. Not a word. Not even to my own wife or children. You were never here." Since the inn sat closest to the ruined ritual cave, there was an incredibly high chance the cult would come sniffing around once they realized their hidden site had been violently compromised and one of their members had been reduced to ash.

But aside from the terrified innkeeper and a handful of kitchen staff who had glimpsed very little of Vanessa's distinctive appearance, no one else in the village had seen anything worth reporting. It would not hold forever, but it would buy them precious time. And time was what they desperately needed most right now.

With the final arrangements complete, Xuan Ji returned to the sunlit courtyard where Harlan had the grand carriage perfectly ready, the massive horses harnessed, and their luggage secured with professional efficiency. Lira stood beside the open door, her tail flicking with nervous energy, but her golden eyes were bright with determination and a touch of genuine excitement at being part of something important.

"We leave now," Xuan Ji declared smoothly. She helped Vanessa step inside the carriage first, ensuring the girl was settled, then climbed in gracefully after her. The interior was astonishingly plush and well-appointed, lined with soft, dark velvet cushions and warmed gently by a small, enchanted brazier in the corner that gave off a comforting, smokeless heat.

As the carriage rolled forward, the heavy reinforced wheels crunching over the packed dirt of the village road and then onto the smoother, paved main road beyond, Xuan Ji leaned back and allowed herself a moment of quiet, genuine satisfaction. The Grand Abyss Dungeon still waited in Elyndria, its legendary, unexplored depths and layered challenges ready to test her absolute limits and feed her martial growth. Her own personal path of cultivation and self-improvement had not changed.

But now, she traveled with a fiery young disciple whose rare and powerful constitution could one day shake the very foundations of this world, a loyal catgirl maid who had bravely chosen to follow her into uncertainty, and a steady, professional coachman who asked no unnecessary questions. She leaned her head against the velvet cushions, the faint, private smile returning to her lips as the quiet village fell away behind them and the vast, open road opened up ahead beneath the spinning wheels.

The road ahead had grown far more treacherous than she had ever expected when she first left Theloca's gates. But for the first time since arriving in this strange, violent new world, she was no longer traveling alone.