The attendant didn't even look up from his ledger. "Three hundred low-grade spirit coins. Pay first, then we'll key your destination."
Tian Lei's expression didn't change, but inwardly he sighed. He reached into his pouch, feeling the meager handful of coins he'd taken from the bandit earlier. Barely thirty.
Ten times too little, he thought grimly.
With no other choice, he left the array platform and headed out of the city gates before dawn. The guards barely gave him a second glance—the dusty traveler with a calm expression and sharp golden eyes seemed just another wanderer passing through.
The road stretched endlessly ahead, winding between cliffs and sparse forests. Misty Leaf City lay far to the east, nearly three provinces away. Walking would take weeks.
But Tian Lei didn't seem troubled. "I've walked farther before," he murmured to himself, pulling his cloak tighter.
