After the farewell breakfast finally came to an end, the mansion gradually became lively once more as servants and guards resumed movement throughout the estate.
Luo He meanwhile prepared to depart.
Outside the main courtyard, the Black Cloud Shuttle sat quietly above the stone ground awaiting him beneath the morning sunlight.
Despite all the rumors surrounding it, the truth was actually far less mystical than most people imagined. It was not some legendary divine artifact. Nor an ancient heavenly treasure.
At its core, it was merely a plain wooden board reinforced through Luo He's own abilities and strange techniques. The reason it flew was not because of the board itself but because Luo He made it fly.
Yet naturally, almost nobody else realized that. To outsiders, the Black Cloud Shuttle had already become something close to divine artifact something close to a myth.
And then came Ning Jia. The Third Princess intercepted Luo He directly before he could escape properly.
She cornered him near the eastern corridor with surprising speed while the surrounding servants immediately fled the area pretending not to notice anything.
"You are leaving already?" she asked calmly. "Yes I have to," Luo He answered instantly while already trying to walk around her.
Unfortunately for him Ning Jia moved again and blocked the path once more.
"You still owe me a proper goodbye," she said. "That sounds dangerously vague." Luo He casually remarked.
Ning Jia ignored the comment entirely before lowering her voice slightly. "Follow me to my room for a moment, I got a little gift prepared for you." She said with a pleasant smile.
Luo He immediately looked deeply suspicious. "No thanks princess." He said calmly. The answer came far too quickly.
Ning Jia narrowed her eyes afterward. For perhaps the first time in years, something genuinely challenged her confidence.
Because throughout most of her life
almost nobody refused her directly. She was beautiful, intelligent, powerful, and one of the Emperor's favored daughters.
Even high-ranking nobles became nervous speaking to her. Yet Luo He continued rejecting her advances with shocking consistency.
Unfortunately for Luo He, Ning Jia was also unbelievably stubborn. "You are avoiding me on purpose," she accused calmly.
"What if I am," Luo He said immediately.
Ning Jia stepped closer afterward, trying once more to pressure him through sheer persistence and charm alone.
Because in truth her entire plan relied almost completely on persuasion, affection, emotional pressure, and overwhelming confidence in herself.
And ordinarily, it probably would have worked.
But Luo He had already understood this weakness of hers long ago. He knew Ning Jia was used to winning people over eventually, simply because nobody maintained resistance forever.
So instead of yielding he remained completely firm. "No," he repeated again calmly. Ning Jia genuinely froze for a brief moment afterward. Not dramatically.
Just enough to visibly show surprise.
Because in her eyes, very few men should have been capable of refusing her outright without hesitation.
That tiny moment of disbelief alone became Luo He's chance to escape.
"Thank you for understanding," he declared proudly before immediately retreating toward the courtyard.
"You shameless bastard!" Ning Jia shouted behind him. Luo He waved without even turning around.
By the time she recovered properly, he had already boarded the Black Cloud Shuttle.
Su Kim sat nearby holding the boy while countless travel bags, blankets, supplies, and unnecessary luggage filled nearly every remaining inch of space aboard the floating platform.
Luo He stared at the mountain of belongings in disbelief. "Are we trying to relocate kingdoms?" he asked jokingly.
Su Kim smiled innocently. "These are necessities." She said softly. "Somehow I fear for the structural integrity of my shuttle." He said jokingly.
Eventually the Black Cloud Shuttle finally rose into the air and departed the Jin estate beneath the morning sky. The journey toward the islands should not have taken long at all.
In fact, Luo He could have reached the destination far faster. But today he intentionally slowed down.
Mostly because the little boy traveling with them became completely fascinated by the view from the sky.
At first the child stared silently downward at the distant roads, rivers, forests, and mountains passing beneath them.
Then eventually he began pointing excitedly toward everything he saw while repeatedly calling Luo He "Father" with surprising ease.
Luo He noticed it immediately. And unfortunately he also understood exactly why. Su Kim had very clearly spent significant effort teaching the child beforehand.
Probably repeatedly. Very repeatedly.
The woman sitting nearby looked entirely too pleased whenever the boy addressed Luo He that way.
Still despite understanding the obvious manipulation behind it Luo He did not particularly mind the child himself. The boy was innocent. And strangely adorable.
Eventually after the child finally became bored of sightseeing, Luo He increased the shuttle's speed dramatically and the remaining journey passed quickly.
Throughout the flight, however, Su Kim behaved noticeably differently from before. Far more affectionate. Far more forward.
She constantly moved closer while speaking, smiled too much, and repeatedly attempted to monopolize Luo He's attention whenever possible. Luo He quickly realized the reason.
She had likely felt isolated staying within the Jin household. Compared to Jin Mulan and Ning Jia her position inside the family remained uncertain and fragile.
And in large noble households, favor and status often determined everything. That fear naturally pushed her to seek security however she could. Luo He understood that part clearly.
After all changing her fate entirely was one of the reasons he brought her away from her previous life to begin with.
Still her increasingly aggressive attempts at gaining his attention made him deeply uncomfortable at times. Especially because many happened directly in front of the child.
At one point Luo He finally rubbed his forehead tiredly before speaking. "Please stop trying to weaponize charm every five minutes," he muttered. Su Kim blinked innocently.
"I have no idea what you mean." She said softly. "That answer alone proves guilt." He said. The woman merely laughed softly afterward before leaning against him again anyway.Luo He sighed heavily toward the sky above.
The Northern Isles suddenly felt very far away indeed. Then again, unlike ordinary travelers using horse caravans and merchant vessels, Luo He controlled speed itself within this world.
So after finally losing patience with Su Kim's constant distractions, he simply increased the speed of the Black Cloud Shuttle violently.
The wooden platform shot forward like a black meteor across the heavens. The clouds behind them exploded apart from the pressure while the surrounding air screamed around the shuttle's edges.
Even Su Kim immediately stopped talking and grabbed the child instinctively as the scenery below blurred into streaks of green, blue, and gray.
The little boy looked thrilled by the sudden acceleration. Luo He meanwhile sat calmly at the front controlling the shuttle while cold wind swept violently pass them, though non of it efforts were felt.
Within an unbelievably short time the Northern Isles finally appeared across the horizon. From above, the islands looked beautiful.
But upon closer inspection they seems devastating. And most importantly of all was the size of Xu Mun's military encampment. That alone revealed the truth immediately.
The losses were enormous. Even without counting directly, one could easily tell nearly a quarter of the original force had disappeared already.
Far too much empty space remained within the massive military camp. Entire sections meant to house soldiers now sat abandoned.
Luo He said nothing after seeing it. The Black Cloud Shuttle eventually descended several kilometers away from the main camp itself.
Luo He preferred not drawing unnecessary attention by strangely arriving directly above the military headquarters.
After landing, the three continued the remaining distance on foot. The closer they approached, the clearer the atmosphere became.
The soldiers stationed there no longer carried the confidence of conquerors. These were exhausted men. Men who had fought too long.
Few wounded filled the side camps. Armor repair stations operated nonstop while supply wagons moved constantly between divisions.
Yet despite their condition, discipline still remained strong. Border guards intercepted them almost immediately.
At first the soldiers failed to recognize Luo He beneath the travel clothing. But the moment they saw Su Kim everything changed instantly. Shock spread across several faces.
Then immediate respect followed. The guards quickly escorted them through the military encampment toward the central command tent.
Inside, Xu Mun and three lesser generals were already discussing battle positions over a massive war map spread across the center table.
The moment Xu Mun saw Luo He enter, Xu Mun immediately dropped to one knee without hesitation. The three generals followed instantly afterward.
"My Lord." He said.