Soon, the merchant caravan disappeared into the vast night.
Zhao Ya rekindled the fire, reheated the roast chicken, and then began to eat.
The night gradually faded, and as a faint light appeared in the east, Zhao Ya had already finished all the roast chickens and drunk all the wine.
Yet, as expected, the large-scale attack from the Black Wind Stronghold did not appear.
It seems that after discovering that all the scouts they sent out lost contact, they understood the severity of the situation, so they didn’t send anyone over.
Actually, this is the norm in the Jianghu.
There aren’t that many fools willing to risk their lives for a momentary gamble.
Especially those bandit robbers in the mountains and forests, even more so.
In their eyes, their own life is the most important.
And robbery is a business.
When the cost is too high, they wisely choose to give up rather than make a loss for the sake of face.
The oilcloth was cut open with a big gash last night, so it definitely couldn’t be used.
So, Zhao Ya packed up his belongings and once again set out on the road to the Wilderness Land.
It had snowed the entire night, and the snow on the ground was more than a meter deep.
In such harsh conditions, ordinary people would be exhausted after a few steps.
But this didn’t trouble Zhao Ya; instead, it was a good opportunity to practice his lightweight body technique.
After a swift leap, Zhao Ya quickly disappeared into the boundless snowy landscape.
The wind today was noticeably smaller, but the temperature was even colder than yesterday.
So cold that you could hear the crack of stones being split by the extreme cold.
But at full speed, Zhao Ya’s qi and blood circulated rapidly, and especially under the Heart Devotion and Red Transformation of his heart, Zhao Ya didn’t feel any chill at all, but rather felt warm all over.
In just over an hour, Zhao Ya caught up with the merchant caravan that had left last night.
However, Zhao Ya did not stop and chose to quickly pass through the nearby mountains and forests.
At such a speed, many people were completely unaware.
Only the escort leader, Chen An, seemed to sense something, but when he looked, he only saw a hazy figure rushing toward the sky at an incredible speed.
"Old Chen, what’s wrong?" Liu Bolong noticed Chen An’s unusual expression and couldn’t help but ask.
Chen An shook his head, "It’s nothing, maybe my eyes were playing tricks."
Though he said that, Chen An knew it wasn’t an illusion but a real person flying by at great speed.
And such an incredible speed greatly exceeded Chen An’s imagination.
Even the masters of White Tiger Hall probably didn’t have such prowess.
Suddenly, Chen An felt that he and his boss might have encountered an extraordinary person last night.
This time, Zhao Ya didn’t stop. Apart from occasionally stopping to eat some jerky to replenish his strength, he was running almost all day long.
Under such full exertion, just by dusk, Zhao Ya had already left the vast uninhabited area and reached the edge of the Wilderness Land.
The so-called Wilderness Land is actually a general term; in fact, this territory is extremely vast, even several times larger than Great Yan.
Because the martial arts here are extremely prosperous, the dominant force in this land is not the state but the sects.
Over time, this has formed a pattern of multiple sects coexisting, hence being criticized by Great Yan as a barbarous land beyond the reach of civilization.
But in reality, this place is not barbaric at all, but rather bustling and lively.
For instance, right now.
After leaving the uninhabited area, Zhao Ya continued to run about a hundred miles forward, and then a city appeared ahead.
Arriving under the city gate, a massive plaque hung on the gate, inscribed with three large characters.
White Tiger City.
Zhao Ya had once studied the data in detail, so he knew that White Tiger City was considered the outermost city in the Wilderness Land, governed by a sect called White Tiger Hall.
Despite its peripheral location, its strength is not weak.
At least, after Zhao Ya entered the city, among the pedestrians on the street, there were many from the Fourth Realm, and occasionally one or two Fifth Realm martial artists appeared.
As for martial artists from the Second and Third Realm, they were countless.
But with so many martial artists gathered in one place, it was rare to see any conflicts.
This also shows how strong White Tiger Hall is.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to suppress so many martial artists.
After days of journeying, Zhao Ya was somewhat tired, so he found an inn to stay, freshened up, and then went to the first-floor hall to eat.
Even though he could have the staff bring the food directly to his room, Zhao Ya preferred to eat in the hall.
This way, he could feel an atmosphere completely different from Great Yan and also gather some information through other people’s conversations.
As the food and wine arrived, Zhao Ya ate while listening to the conversations around him.
Most of the people eating were also martial artists, so naturally, they talked about martial arts cultivation or Jianghu matters.
However, as he listened, a piece of news suddenly caught Zhao Ya’s attention.
"Hey, have you all heard? That Divine Thief Xu Suanzi, who stole from West Mountain Mansion and Sword Sea Gang, seems to have come to our White Tiger City."
"Oh? How do you know?"
"My friend is in White Tiger Hall, and he said a thief broke into the hall last night intending to steal some treasures. Hall Master discovered it, but this person had such great skill in lightweight technique that even Hall Master couldn’t catch him and he got away."
"No wonder the masters of White Tiger Hall have been patrolling the city today. It turns out something like this happened."
"I must say, Xu Suanzi is quite bold, stealing from West Mountain Mansion and Sword Sea Gang is one thing, but daring to commit crimes in our White Tiger City is courting death."
"Indeed, but it also shows that his skills give him the confidence, given that even Hall Master couldn’t catch him, it shows how superior his lightweight skill is."
Initially, Zhao Ya didn’t pay much attention to these discussions.
But when he heard people mention that Xu Suanzi’s lightweight skill was extremely impressive, Zhao Ya suddenly sensed something, and seemingly unintentionally glanced at a table in the northeastern corner of the hall.
A person was sitting at this table.
This person was small and thin, with a particularly sharp small face; if it weren’t for his distinctively male features, one might suspect he was a woman in disguise.
But these were not what Zhao Ya was focused on.
He only gave a thoughtful glance at the person’s hands and feet, then continued eating his meal.
After finishing, Zhao Ya got up and left.
As soon as he walked away, the person also got up and left.
Zhao Ya seemed completely unaware, stepping up to his room on the second floor.
But just halfway there, Zhao Ya suddenly flashed to the side and darted out from the window at the stairway.
The person following distantly didn’t hesitate for a moment and followed out after him.
Upon flying out the window, he saw a figure far ahead running on the rooftops.
The speed was truly breathtaking.
A flicker of strange color crossed his eyes, and he followed.
When he unleashed his lightweight skill, he found it matched Zhao Ya’s pace, even surpassing it occasionally.
Seeing the distance gradually close, just before a smile appeared on his face, Zhao Ya, already sprinting, suddenly accelerated, instantly pulling away from him.
"Damn it!" he shouted, persistently chasing after with relentless determination.
In an instant, the two were racing across the sky over White Tiger City.
Not only that, but their chase also stirred White Tiger Hall, which had been closely monitoring the city defense.
"Who goes there!"
Several White Tiger Hall guards shouted in unison, then joined in the pursuit.
Just like that, Zhao Ya led the way ahead, the small-sized person in the middle, and White Tiger Hall’s pursuers at the rear.
The group began circling around White Tiger Hall.
The person in the middle inwardly lamented.
He had been hiding in the inn to eat, planning to leave White Tiger City under cover of night.
Unexpectedly, he attracted the attention of a youth who seemed to pop up from nowhere.
Though the youth’s gaze was subtle, Xu Suanzi, with his extensive Jianghu experience, detected it right away.
After Zhao Ya left, he immediately followed to prevent Zhao Ya from reporting to White Tiger Hall.
Who would have thought, this youth, who looked like he had just left the sect to roam Jianghu, had such an abnormal lightweight body technique, even surpassing him.
With White Tiger Hall now alerted, if this continued, he might end up badly, so he decisively chose to give up and turn to flee out of the city.
But just as he did, Zhao Ya turned and chased after him again.