Saying goodbye was a tearful experience for Jiang Fengmian. She had never before had anyone she could consider a friend, yet on this travel she had grown close to both Xue Wei and Hei Gou. 

In her eyes, they were the people who had given her a new lease on life. Although she wished that they could stay together forever, she was also aware that these two men had dreams that surpa.s.sed the heavens, aspirations and goals that would never be reached if they stayed in this backwater kingdom. 

As they said goodbye, Jiang Fengmian was tearing up. She was so saddened by her friends leaving that she could hardly push out any words. She had no belongings, so it was also impossible for her to buy them any parting gifts. When she clutched her hands in front of her and Xue Wei and Hei Gou saw them shaking, both of their hearts softened. 

"Don't worry," Xue Wei said as he reached out and cupped Jiang Fengmian's hands within his own. "We will be fine. Our journey is long and dangerous, but when we need a place to rest, somewhere to calm our minds, we will always return here to the temple in the Western District of the Vermilion Forest Kingdom’s capital," he promised. 

"We have no family, we have no home, but we have a good friend like you. This is not a goodbye forever, this is just a temporary parting," he rea.s.sured Jiang Fengmian before letting go of her hands.

Jiang Fengmian nodded her head, and the tears stopped flowing. She was once more the expressionless young woman from back when they first crossed paths, and eventually a gentle and soft smile blossomed on her face.

"I do not have much," she said, "but I will always welcome the two of you. For giving me a new lease on life, I owe you my everything. Instead of taking advantage of me, you gave me a hopeful future where I can do what I wish to do. I cannot thank you enough!" 

"Since my junior sister has said as much, I will always have the gates of this temple open to you," the monk said with a gentle expression on his face. He had taken Jiang Fengmian in as his disciple, but regarding seniority, he was her elder martial brother. 

Xue Wei and Hei Gou quickly expressed their grat.i.tude to the monk with cupped fists. After a last glance at Jiang Fengmian, they smiled and walked out of the temple. 

The Western District was as dirty and disorderly as when they first came, but even this place had a specific set of rules. Among them, the most important was that the ones from the temple were not to be touched. 

Partly because a supreme expert protected them, but also because they provided every citizen with a meal a day. Without the temple, their lives would be h.e.l.l, and many would starve to death. 

Xue Wei and Hei Gou left the Western District without meeting any trouble, but the story was different when they reached the southern district; here, a group of guards seemed to be waiting for them. 

"You two!" someone called out. Xue Wei instantly recognized this guard as being the agitated and furious expert from the raid of the Western Temple a couple of days ago. 

"You thought you could escape serving your time in the army, huh?" he asked, while pus.h.i.+ng his chest out in an attempt to appear intimidating and important. "I am here on behalf of his majesty. All sixteen-year-old citizens of the Vermilion Forest Kingdom are to sign up for the army or they will be seen as deserters."

"Deserters are to be executed!" The man snickered as if everything was under his control, but both Xue Wei and Hei Gou looked at him as if they were looking at an idiot. Did this person forget that the monk from before had told him that they were not citizens of the Vermilion Forest Kingdom? 

"Uh, mister, I think you are mistaken. We are not from your Vermilion Forest Kingdom," Xue Wei said while rubbing his nose. "We came here from the Flowing Blood Prairie," he continued – and even if someone tried to test his words, he was not lying. They had indeed come from the Flowing Blood Prairie. 

The guard’s face turned dark, and his body started trembling. "Going against the rules?! Going against authority?!" he suddenly spat out, almost screeching. It was clear that he was getting increasingly furious, but neither Xue Wei nor Hei Gou was worried. 

If they were incarcerated, then the monk would hear about it, which would resolve the situation the moment he caught wind of it. 

Even if this guard was outrageous, he would not go so far as to try and execute them in public, would he? That would be an even more significant breach of law and order than what they were accused of doing. 

Seeing that the two youngsters were utterly calm and collected, while their leader was furious to the point that his entire body was trembling, the other guards were somewhat confused. 

"Excuse me, young master," one of the other guards spoke up and looked at Xue Wei. "We were informed that we had to gather together and capture two deserters. Are you telling the truth when you say that you are not from the Vermilion Forest Kingdom?"

Xue Wei understood that this man was trying to give them a way out. So he shrugged his shoulders. Although he was loath to swear Nine Tribulation Oaths, he could use it to his advantage this time.

"I swear on the Nine Heavenly Tribulations that I am not from this kingdom, I originate from somewhere else," he said. The sky instantly turned into a black maelstrom, and a rumbling could be heard from way up in the sky, yet nothing happened beyond than that.

Xue Wei did not get hit by any lightning, which made the other guards no longer doubt his words. He had previously mentioned that he had come from the Flowing Blood Prairie, which made sense in the context of his oath. 

In the Flowing Blood Prairie, one did not join an army to fight the Primordial and Fierce Beasts; one just fought together with one's tribe. It was not too unnatural for someone from the younger generation to appear like this. 

The furious guard clenched his fists. He had long since decided that they were deserters. In truth, he was incredibly jealous of those from the Flowing Blood Prairie for not needing to join the army. He was still deeply traumatized from his time in the military, which made him wish for everyone to experience as harsh an environment as he had. 

Seeing that things were not going as he had planned, the guard started gritting his teeth. He had never encountered Xue Wei and Hei Gou before the raid, and thus it should be impossible for him to have any real hostility towards them, but because they had not been forced to serve time in the army, he hated them more than anything else. 

Seeing that his comrades were about to let them go, the guard was so upset that he, without realizing what he was doing, charged at Xue Wei and Hei Gou with his saber raised high into the air. 

A cold gleam appeared in Hei Gou's eyes. He was about to take action when a large palm suddenly appeared in the sky above them, casting a shadow over them. This palm pressed down on the advancing guard like a hydraulic press and squashed him into the street. One could hear the sickening sound of bones breaking and wailing screams before it all died out. 

The hand dissipated into thin air and the only thing that was left behind was a handprint on the pavement and a meaty paste that was evident in the hole.

The amount of guards had caused many a citizen to curiously crowd around and spectate the commotion, but the sight of the hand appearing out of the blue stunned them all, and when they saw the squished, meaty remains of the guard, a few even turned around and vomited. 

"These two are under my protection," an ancient voice said, reverberating through the entire capital. "They are guests from outside of the nation. Do not question them. Do not try to implicate them. Or I might just have to get angry again!"

It was the voice of the monk from the temple. Xue Wei and Hei Gou knew that he was a talented cultivator, but seeing the result of his attack, they were shocked. 

They had never before seen someone fight like this. Cold sweat appeared on both Hei Gou and Xue Wei's backs. If they had known that Knights commanded such strength, would they have had the guts to escape the tribe back in the Flowing Blood Prairie by themselves? They had indeed underestimated the Knight rank!

Sucking in a breath of cold air, both of them calmed down. Their escape had been a success, so there was no reason to regret their actions now, but they also knew that they had to be much more careful in the future.

At the same time, both of them cupped their fists and bowed towards the Western District. "Thank you, brother monk," they both said before turning towards the remaining guards.

All of the guards had ugly expressions on their faces, but they could say nothing. The reasonable one who had spoken up before politely gestured for them to pa.s.s through. Even if they wanted to stop them now, who would have the guts to step up? It was clearly suicide. 

In the end, Xue Wei and Hei Gou left the capital in the same way they had entered. They were now one less person than they had been before, but that didn’t change their eagerness to leave the Vermilion Forest Kingdom and head towards the center of the continent. 

When they had first entered the capital, they had done so for the sake of realizing Jiang Fengmian's dream, and now that they were leaving, their hearts were at ease. Although they had no home and no family, they were now aware that they had found a place to return to – and a friend who would wait for them.

It was as if they had gained something important. Their solitary hearts were starting to fill with warmth. 

Once they took their first step outside the gates of the capital, Xue Wei and Hei Gou looked at one another. They then broke out into smiles and grinned for a while without speaking. "Our future is ahead of us!" Xue Wei eventually said with excitement. Hei Gou nodded his head with vigor.