"No."
Nihilister said it around a large bite of the steamed bun in her hand.
"Okay. Is that no to the caravan or no to the private carriage?"
Su Yan asked while eating his own bun.
"No to the caravan. Why would you even suggest that?"
She looked genuinely confused.
"It's not like we don't have the money for a private one."
Su Yan finished off his bun before crossing his arms.
"It's more because this will probably be a multi-day journey to Heaven Dou. A merchant caravan would already know the safest routes, where to stop for the night and where to change or rest the horses. Food, guards and the rest of the journey's logistics would already be taken care of."
Nihilister stared at him flatly as she reached for another bun.
"That would be a convincing argument if you couldn't solve every one of those problems by paying more, you cheapskate. Hire an experienced driver. Rent a better carriage. Buy enough food for the journey."
She lifted the bun towards her mouth, only to suddenly go still.
"Actually, why are you even thinking about guards?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"Are you saying that swordswoman and I aren't enough to protect you?"
She leaned forward slightly.
"Huh?"
Su Yan quickly looked aside, searching for some support from 2B. She was quietly nibbling on her bun, appearing entirely unconcerned by his predicament.
Pod floated nearby, slowly turning the pages of another book, while Ah Yin remained on the windowsill beneath the morning sunlight.
When he looked back, Nihilister was leaning across the table, her stare boring a hole through him.
"I didn't mean it like that. I only meant that, with guards, the two of you wouldn't have to stay awake to keep watch. We could leave all the menial work to them."
Nihilister gave a considering hum before settling back into her seat.
"Fine. I can get behind that."
She took another bite from her bun.
"If it means less work for me, all the better."
Su Yan sighed. The irate dragoness had been placated.
"I'll probably go and hire a private carriage after we finish eating. Do either of you want to come with me?"
2B perked up at that.
"I will accompany you."
Su Yan nodded in thanks.
"What about you, Nihilister?"
"If your little swordswoman is going already, why would you need me to come?"
"Well, you could pick out the carriage or service you like most."
Su Yan realised he may have made a mistake when a slow, predatory grin spread across Nihilister's face.
"Well, if you insist."
Su Yan suddenly felt sorry for his poor wallet.
His fears were realised later when they actually went out.
Every reasonably priced carriage they were shown was dismissed outright by Nihilister, and they spent quite a while going from one service to another in search of something she found acceptable.
It was only when they began looking at the truly luxurious options that she started considering them seriously.
When she finally found one she liked, the total hire price came to one hundred and twenty gold soul coins.
For that considerable sum, they would be travelling in full luxury.
The carriage itself was extremely opulent. Its exterior was mainly black, with gold filigree running across the body and highlighting the finer details of the coach.
The interior was even more lavish: plush red carpet, velvet-covered seats facing across a small central table, and tasteful artwork decorating the walls. The coach could have seated six without feeling cramped, leaving the three of them with more room than they could possibly need.
The hire also came with three accompanying guards, one of whom was a Rank 25 Grand Spirit Master. In addition, there was a coachman and a servant to handle their meals and any other menial tasks they required.
To Su Yan, it was all far too much. The carriage was beautiful, certainly, and the interior looked exceedingly comfortable, but it seemed more suited to some wealthy noble or pampered clan heir than three people making their way to Heaven Dou.
He glanced once more at the price.
One hundred and twenty gold soul coins.
Su Yan could feel his heart bleeding.
Nihilister stared at the carriage with undisguised delight.
"This is the one."
"Are you sure? We can't go for a slightly cheaper option?"
She looked over at him.
"Why are you still standing there? Aren't you going to pay for it?"
Su Yan sighed.
She was not going to accept anything less.
He had offered to let her choose. There was no one else to blame.
Still, it could have been worse. Those plush seats and the expensive suspension at least meant he would not have to endure every small bump in the road.
In the end, he agreed, though doing so required a quick trip to withdraw more money. He had not expected to return for more funds so soon, but after considering Nihilister's eating habits and apparent taste for luxury, he withdrew considerably more than he had originally intended.
It was better than having to make another trip later.
Once the deposit was paid and the agreement signed, everything was settled.
They would leave the following morning.
When the group met the hired carriage and its accompanying staff, they were treated with the utmost respect.
Su Yan found it more than a little strange. They behaved as though he were someone far more important than he actually was, their manner going well beyond what even a wealthy client should have required.
The coachman bowed whenever Su Yan addressed him, the guards remained painfully formal, and every attempt he made at casual conversation was answered with rigid politeness.
Unfortunately, that meant the entire group remained rather wound up around them, and Su Yan never managed to draw any of them into an ordinary conversation.
Nihilister, on the other hand, had no such concerns.
She took great pleasure in ordering the servant to cater to her every need.
By the third day, the poor servant girl was being run ragged by her constant demands, though she somehow continued to meet each new request with a professional smile.
The journey itself remained uneventful. No trouble found them, and any stray Soul Beasts kept their distance.
By the fifth day, however, something had changed.
The carriage gradually slowed until it was moving at little more than a crawl.
Su Yan had not noticed at first, but when he finally looked outside, he saw a great many merchant caravans and long lines of travellers crowding the road ahead.
"What is happening?"
One of the guards urged his horse closer to the carriage before answering.
"Reporting to the Young Master, from what I have gathered from the other travellers, the Ruan family's son recently awakened a rare Martial Soul with Innate Spirit Power at Rank 9. Patriarch Ruan is celebrating by holding a five-day festival across the city in his son's honour."
Su Yan blinked at the information.
A five-day city-wide festival? Just how rich did a family have to be to host something like that?
"The festival has apparently already been underway for two days. Once word spread, merchants from the surrounding towns began rushing there to take advantage of the crowds."
"Which city is it being held in?"
"Jade Spring City."
Su Yan stilled as the guard's voice faded into the background.
That city.
It was where he had been born, where this life had begun.
Where his birth parents were buried.
"Young Master?"
The guard's voice brought Su Yan back to the present.
"Sorry. What did you say?"
"I was asking whether the Young Master would like us to stop in Jade Spring City and partake in the festivities."
Su Yan hesitated.
Part of him desperately wanted to stay away, to continue along the road and leave the city behind without ever seeing it again.
Another part of him knew that, if he did, he might never find the courage to return.
"Please change course and head for the city."
The guard smiled.
"Understood, Young Master."
He urged his horse forward to speak with the coachman.
Su Yan settled back into his seat and stared at the ceiling of the carriage.
Nine years.
Nine long years had passed since he had last set foot there.
He had never imagined he would return like this.
As the carriage drew within sight of the city walls, scattered impressions from Su Yan's childhood began to surface.
His gaze was drawn towards a particular hill rising beyond the road.
He sighed.
"Nihilister, 2B, gather our things. There's somewhere I want to go."
2B nodded and rose immediately. She carefully lifted Ah Yin's pot and nestled it securely inside the bag before gathering the rest of their belongings.
Nihilister looked at Su Yan with a hint of confusion, but after seeing his expression, she chose not to say anything.
Su Yan turned towards the servant girl.
"Thank you for putting up with our unreasonable requests these past few days. Please accept this as a token of our gratitude."
He placed five gold soul coins into her hands, gently closing her fingers around them before she could protest.
The servant girl's cheeks flushed.
"Th-thank you, Young Master, for your generosity."
Nihilister gave a quiet huff at the sight before pushing open the carriage door and jumping down.
2B followed with the duffel bag slung over her shoulder and Pod tucked beneath her cloak.
Su Yan stepped down after them.
"Young Master?"
The leader of the guards looked at him in confusion.
"There's somewhere I want to go first. We'll make our own way into the city afterwards."
"I understand. Under the terms of your hire, we can remain at Jade Spring City's coach depot for three days. If the Young Master has not returned by then, the remainder of the journey will be considered cancelled, and our services will need to be hired again."
Su Yan nodded.
"Understood. Thank you for your service thus far."
"It has been our pleasure, Young Master. Should the opportunity arise, I hope you will consider hiring us again."
After leaving the carriage, Su Yan led them into the wilderness.
Following his vague memories, he eventually found what he was looking for.
A set of worn stone steps rose through the undergrowth, long since buried beneath dirt and creeping plants.
He followed the steps as they wound their way up the hill he had spotted from the road. When he finally passed beyond the treeline, he saw it.
Or at least, what remained of it.
Before him lay a small clearing filled with waist-high grass, from which rows of weathered stone steles emerged.
As he stepped closer, faded names became visible upon their surfaces. Many of the names were unfamiliar, stirring no memories within him.
He continued upwards until he reached the highest part of the hill, overlooking Jade Spring City in the distance.
The distant noise of the festival reached even this forgotten hill.
There, separated slightly from the others, stood two gravestones.
Both were overgrown, weathered and utterly neglected.
He knelt before them and brushed the dirt from their surfaces.
One bore the name Su Wenhan.
The other, Shen Lihua.
His parents in this life.
A faint tightness formed in Su Yan's chest as moisture gathered in his eyes.
"I'm finally back."
His fingers lingered against the cold stone.
"Mother. Father."
The words felt strange upon his tongue.
Intellectually, he knew very little about them. Most of his memories from those early years had faded into a blur of indistinct voices, warmth and scattered impressions.
Yet that did not lessen the ache in his chest.
Nine years of dirt covered their names, and he had not been there to clear it away.
Looking at the state of the graves, Su Yan made a decision.
"2B, lend me your sword."
With a faint flash of light, a sword materialised in 2B's hand as Pod moved into position behind her.
She offered Virtuous Treaty to Su Yan.
"Thank you."
Taking the blade, Su Yan began cutting through the overgrown grass and vines that had entangled the gravestones.
He cleared the ground surrounding them before fetching water and a cloth from their travelling supplies. Kneeling once more, he slowly scrubbed away the years of accumulated dirt and grime.
By the time he finished, the stones were still weathered, their surfaces marked by years of exposure, but they no longer appeared abandoned.
Su Yan wiped the sweat from his brow and looked over his work.
It was not much.
It could not make up for nine years of absence.
But it was all he could offer them now.
Nihilister had not spoken once while he worked. She remained beneath the shade of a nearby tree, arms folded and impatience written plainly across her face, yet not once did she tell him to hurry or make one of her usual remarks.
Su Yan appreciated the silence. His emotions were complicated enough already; he did not know whether he could have handled one of her jabs at that moment.
Looking down at Virtuous Treaty, he saw that the blade was marred by green streaks left behind by the grass and vines.
He took the damp cloth and carefully wiped the blade clean before holding it out towards 2B.
2B stepped forward and accepted the sword from him.
"Thank you again, 2B."
She merely shook her head before returning Virtuous Treaty to its storage.
Su Yan remained before the graves for a long moment before bowing deeply.
"Rest well."
Then he turned away.
By the time they returned to the main road, the noise of Jade Spring City had begun to swallow the silence of the hill behind them.
The streets were completely packed. Decorations hung from buildings and stretched overhead, while shopkeepers and stall owners struggled to keep up with the sheer number of customers.
Off to one side, Su Yan spotted a stall handing out free food and drink.
Several muscular guards stood around it, protecting the supplies while keeping the crowd orderly.
The smell of freshly cooked food reminded Su Yan just how hungry he had become after all that exertion.
However, as he looked towards a comparatively deserted alleyway, he remembered that there was still one more place he needed to visit before he could allow himself to enjoy the festivities.
As they entered the alleyway, the clamour of the crowds gradually faded behind them.
Very few people lingered within the narrow side streets. Some appeared to be vagrants sheltering away from the crowds, while others watched the unfamiliar group with less innocent interest.
Su Yan released his Martial Soul, allowing his two Soul Rings to rise around him.
The attention disappeared immediately.
The vagrants lowered their gazes and moved aside, while the more unsavoury figures quickly found somewhere else to be.
After following the twisting alleyways for some time, Su Yan finally reached a severely dilapidated courtyard residence.
Cracks ran through the high outer walls, and several sections had partially collapsed. The tiled roof above the entrance was missing more tiles than remained, while the faded red double gates hung crookedly beneath it.
Nihilister covered her nose.
"What the hell is this dump?"
"This dump… used to be my home."
Nihilister's mouth snapped shut. Her expression tightened with obvious irritation, but after one look at Su Yan, she swallowed whatever complaint had been forming.
Su Yan stepped towards the entrance and reached for one of the handles.
The moment he pulled, the corroded metal snapped in his hand.
A second later, the entire gate tore free from its ruined hinges and crashed into the courtyard beyond.
A thick cloud of dust rose from the impact, forcing Su Yan to wave it away from his face.
Through the haze, he could make out an overgrown courtyard surrounded by several decaying buildings. Weeds pushed through the cracked stone paving, wooden pillars had begun to rot, and portions of the covered walkways had collapsed beneath the weight of their broken roofs.
As Su Yan stepped into the courtyard, he caught movement from the corner of his eye.
Several men burst from one of the buildings, charging towards him with wooden clubs raised.
"Bastion."
A gold-coloured barrier materialised before him.
With a thought, Su Yan sent it surging forward, slamming into the charging men and throwing them backwards across the courtyard.
One of the men forced himself upright, wincing as he leaned against his club.
"Who the hell are you people? You barge in here and attack us—are we really that easy to bully?"
"I'll have you know that this used to be my home."
Su Yan narrowed his eyes.
"If anything, you are the intruders."
The man fell silent almost immediately.
"Um… I believe there may have been a regrettable misunderstanding." The man hurriedly lowered his club. "Naturally, we would never knowingly trespass upon a Young Hero's ancestral home. We'll clear out at once."
Su Yan released a slow breath.
"There's no need. I won't be here for long."
He glanced towards 2B.
"Keep an eye on them."
She nodded, remaining in the courtyard as Su Yan continued deeper into the property with Nihilister following behind him.
Su Yan walked through the ruined halls that had once formed his childhood home, each room stirring vague impressions of what it should have looked like.
When he stepped into one empty chamber, he could almost see a table where there was now only bare floor, and a wardrobe where nothing remained but a pile of splintered wood.
Another room should have been a study. Now it contained only a couple of mismatched chairs and a small fire burning in the centre, its smoke escaping through a hole in the ceiling.
Then, in another room, he found them.
A woman held two small children close against her, all three staring at Su Yan and Nihilister with undisguised fear.
The sight pulled him from his memories.
This was no longer his home.
Perhaps it had stopped being his a long time ago.
Su Yan looked around the room once more before turning to leave.
When he returned to the courtyard, the men were standing as still as statues beneath 2B's silent vigil.
"2B, let's go. There's nothing left for me here."
She nodded before moving to Su Yan's side, standing slightly closer than she usually did.
Su Yan looked over the unkempt men. At some point, all of them had abandoned their wooden clubs. Bruises marked their faces and arms, and several of the injuries were clearly too old for him to have caused.
His thoughts returned to the frightened woman and the two children she had held against her.
He could not simply walk away.
Su Yan approached the men, causing several of them to hurriedly step backwards.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
He reached into his pouch and took out five gold soul coins, placing them on the ground between them.
"I saw that there were children living here. I won't throw any of you out. These five gold soul coins are for food, clothing and whatever else those children need."
He withdrew another five coins and placed them beside the first pile.
"This is payment for looking after them, as well as compensation for the trouble we caused today."
The men stared at the coins in stunned silence.
The man who had confronted Su Yan earlier slowly stepped forward and gathered them, handling the money with almost reverent care.
"I'll make certain those children are properly cared for. This young hero has our gratitude for his mercy and generosity."
He bowed deeply.
"You had better actually use that money to take care of them."
Su Yan narrowed his eyes.
"What I give away, I can just as easily take back."
The man immediately straightened.
"You can count on us, Young Hero. I'm the most honest man in these streets. Not a single copper meant for those children will be wasted!"
Su Yan was not entirely reassured by that declaration.
"I'll believe you. Don't make me regret it."
The man nodded seriously.
Su Yan turned and made his way towards the broken entrance.
Just as he crossed the threshold, a voice called out behind him.
"Please come again, Young Hero!"
Su Yan gave a quiet snort of amusement.
By the time he returned to the noisy, bustling streets, he felt somewhat lighter.
Then the smell of food reached him, and his stomach growled.
Nihilister strode past him towards the crowded stalls.
"Let's get food already. I'm starving."
Su Yan watched her disappear deeper into the crowd.
If he allowed her to lead, she would probably find the most expensive place in the entire city.
For at least the next few days, however, he did not particularly care.
He would indulge them.
Perhaps he would indulge himself as well.
"Wait up, Nihilister!"
He hurried after her.