Gu Qingyan had made his plans well, but after staying three days and walking all over Changxi Village, he hadn’t seen a single escort agency.

There was nothing he could do. He couldn’t just stay there forever—never mind the cost, there were no more sign-in spots in the area.

On the third day, the three of them finally boarded an ox cart and headed in the direction of Lingchuan County.

As soon as they got on, Gu Qingyan sat right next to Pei Xuan, flashing him a bright smile.

“Your face okay now? Want me to put some more ointment on it?” Gu Qingyan tilted his head and looked at him.

Pei Xuan had a big bruise on his right cheek. At first glance, it looked pretty bad.

As he spoke, Gu Qingyan had already pulled out the ointment from his sleeve and started applying it to Pei Xuan’s face.

[You signed in with Pei Xuan. Reward: One Mountain Travel Kit.]

The Mountain Travel Kit was a double-shoulder bamboo-woven backpack, sturdy and lightweight. It had separate compartments for medicine, food, and other supplies—basically a small, portable suitcase.

Gu Qingyan withdrew his hand, quite satisfied.

Pei Xuan crossed his arms, feeling quite vexed.

This teenager, for some reason, was always getting handsy with him and had no sense of personal boundaries.

He’d let it slide because the boy was young, but lately, it had gotten worse.

If not for the life-saving debt he owed, Pei Xuan would’ve left long ago—no need to get tangled up in this mess.

Now, seeing that they were just a mother and son traveling alone, he couldn’t bring himself to abandon them.

Gu Qingyan had no idea what Pei Xuan was thinking. If he did, he’d definitely feel wronged—he didn’t like touching people, he just liked sign-in spots.

[You signed in with Pei Xuan. Reward: One Purification Sachet.] (That was yesterday.)

The Purification Sachet looked like an ordinary scented pouch, but it contained medicinal herbs that warded off filth, repelled insects, and helped with focus and alertness.

After wearing it, Gu Qingyan—who normally attracted bugs like crazy—wasn’t bothered again. Everything from the system was top-notch.

The Mountain Travel Kit he got just now was also from signing in with Pei Xuan. Unlike other sign-in points, Pei Xuan’s could be refreshed.

Once the sign-in was done, Gu Qingyan lost interest in Pei Xuan, shoved the ointment back into his pocket, and decided to save the rest for tomorrow.

Pei Xuan frowned slightly. “You should apply some too.”

“Huh?”

Gu Qingyan froze for a second before realizing he had a wrist injury too.

That day, Pei Xuan had tied him up too tightly, and with Gu Qingyan’s delicate skin, his wrist still had two red marks.

He glanced toward the cart and whispered, “Don’t let my mother hear. She’ll worry if she sees it.”

If that happened, she’d definitely be against Pei Xuan traveling with them. Mama Liu had always thought Pei Xuan was cold and unsociable, like some debt collector.

Pei Xuan frowned again.

The way this mother and son interacted was odd. They were close, but they didn’t seem like actual blood relatives.

“Got it.” Gu Qingyan casually dabbed some ointment on his wrist and explained, “Honestly, you were pretty careful that day. It’s just that my skin is sensitive, so I bruise easily. It’s not your fault.”

Trying to get closer and figure out Pei Xuan’s background, he asked casually, “Brother Pei, what are you going to Lingchuan for?”

“To visit a friend,” Pei Xuan replied flatly.

“Will you be staying there long?”

“Undecided.”

“We’re going to stay with relatives and might settle down. If fate allows, we can keep in touch.”

“We’ll see.”

A few exchanges later, Pei Xuan’s stiff replies made him sound more like a robot. Gu Qingyan couldn’t help feeling discouraged, so he shut his eyes and pretended to nap while starting his skill training.

After three days of studying, his medical skill progress had reached 33% at the beginner level. He’d memorized most common herbs and was now officially learning medical techniques.

[Host: Gu Qingyan]
[Age: 15]
[Points: 25]
[Skill: Medicine – Beginner, 33%]

With the old doctor teaching him step by step in the system’s classroom, Gu Qingyan was cramming textbooks like mad, convinced he had the talent to become a miracle doctor.

By the time Mama Liu woke him, he’d pushed his progress up to 35%.

The further he went, the slower the skill advancement became—much harder than when he first started.

But Gu Qingyan wasn’t discouraged, especially since he now had 27 points—plenty to spend.

Stretching his arms, he felt fired up and ready to make a splash in Lingchuan County.

“Yan-ge’er, come eat something,” Mama Liu called.

Knowing the road ahead wouldn’t be convenient, she had stocked up in Changxi Village, filling the cart with supplies—especially a large bag of food.

The system’s meat pies had long been eaten. The steamed buns she’d bought in the village were pretty good, but they were cold by now.

Gu Qingyan took a bite and almost choked.

“Don’t rush. Drink some water and eat slowly,” Mama Liu said quickly. “Eat more—you’ve lost weight over the past few days.”

“Really?” Gu Qingyan touched his cheek. The ginseng vitality pills had worked wonders. He took one a day, felt full of energy, and even had a better appetite than when he was at the Li household.

“You’ve definitely lost weight—and tanned too,” Mama Liu said with concern. “You’ve never suffered like this before. Yesterday’s road was fine, but today’s is much rougher.”

Gu Qingyan thought she was probably imagining things.

He stuffed two buns in his mouth and got up to look around.

“Don’t go too far,” Mama Liu warned.

She glanced at Pei Xuan sitting nearby, still eating buns, and thought, What an appetite! Yan-ge’er only needs two to be full, but this guy can eat five—like a bottomless pit.

Gu Qingyan wasn’t wandering aimlessly. He was scanning for sign-in spots.

He had points to burn and was happy to keep trying his luck.

But in Pei Xuan’s eyes, he just looked like a curious young lad, marveling at everything like someone venturing out for the first time.

Suddenly, Gu Qingyan’s figure darted away and disappeared from Pei Xuan’s line of sight.

Pei Xuan frowned and stood up, hesitating whether to follow—afraid he’d walk in on something awkward.

In the middle of nowhere, Gu Qingyan spotted a sign-in point and got excited, trotting right over.

[You’ve discovered the Wild Grave Slope sign-in point. Use 1 point to sign in?]

Wild grave?

Gu Qingyan shivered, his steps freezing in place.

He looked around, but there wasn’t even a single visible grave—just tall wild grass, taller than he was.

“Fortune favors the bold. Brothers and sisters, don’t mind me. I’ll bow to you, and may we benefit each other.”

After saying this, Gu Qingyan knelt down and bowed at the sign-in spot, then signed in without hesitation.

[You signed in at Wild Grave Slope. Reward: One Jade Seal.]

The jade seal was small, a cube less than two centimeters in size, carved from pure white jade with a beast-like chi tiger on top.

Gu Qingyan’s eyes lit up—it looked expensive.

He flipped it over and saw four characters carved underneath the chi tiger: “Wanderer of the Realm.” Very mysterious.

“What are you kneeling for?”

“Ah!”

Gu Qingyan was startled and instinctively threw the jade seal back into his backpack.

When he turned around and saw it was Pei Xuan’s cold face, he finally let out a breath of relief. “Why do you walk so silently? You nearly scared me to death.”

Pei Xuan looked him over. “What are you doing kneeling here?”

“Nothing much,” Gu Qingyan stood up and brushed off his pants. “I saw a few solitary graves here. Since fate brought us together, I thought I’d give them a kowtow.”

With that, he quickly walked away.

Pei Xuan glanced at the person-high pile of wild grass, his expression thoughtful.

Gu Qingyan came trotting back, this time holding a few steamed buns in his hands.

He placed them down on the ground. “Just a small offering—nothing fancy, but something to satisfy a craving.”

After all, he’d just gotten a valuable jade seal. A few buns were a fair trade.

Pei Xuan’s expression grew even more strange.

This young master was so naive and kindhearted—once he reached Lingchuan County, a place of barren hills and turbulent waters, who knew if he’d even survive.

Maybe after dropping him off, he should stay for a few more days.

After they ate, the three of them continued on their journey.

Gu Qingyan and Pei Xuan took turns driving the ox cart, which made things easier than before.

Madam Liu handled their meals. Although she disapproved of Pei Xuan’s cold demeanor, she didn’t skimp on his food.

Two more days passed. Gu Qingyan only came across three or four check-in points—small villages that provided food.

Pei Xuan, on the other hand, triggered a new check-in point each day, and the items he received varied.

[You checked in with Pei Xuan and received a pouch flint striker with lotus pattern.]

[You checked in with Pei Xuan and received a gold-wrapped silver compass.]

Each item was extremely practical.

Other than that, the journey was peaceful.

Madam Liu gave Pei Xuan a sideways glance and said, “See? I told you there wouldn’t be any bandits on the main road. Some people just wanted a ride but had to scare others with nonsense.”

Gu Qingyan quickly said, “Mother, don’t say that. Brother Pei is tall and strong—he gives off a real sense of security.”

As he spoke, he even smiled at Pei Xuan. Not even a little flattery like that?

Pei Xuan slightly turned his head away without looking at him.

Gu Qingyan instantly felt deflated. They’d traveled together all this way, yet he still hadn’t built a good rapport. Where else would he ever find such a rare and mobile check-in point?

Just as he was mulling this over, the system suddenly issued a prompt.

[Wild Boar Ridge check-in point discovered. Use points to check in?]

Gu Qingyan found it strange. They’d passed many places, but mountain forests without human traces typically didn’t produce check-in points.

Without hesitation, he confirmed the check-in.

[You have successfully checked in at Wild Boar Ridge and received: a wrist-mounted dart launcher.]

A wrist dart?

Confused, Gu Qingyan quietly tied the dart launcher to his wrist and lowered his head to study it.

“Robbery!”

“Leave the ox cart, drop all your belongings, and we’ll spare your lives!”

“And your clothes too—leave those behind!”

Gu Qingyan’s head shot up. The dart launcher—was it about to come in handy already?