The next morning, Yang Ze didn't even know how he got out of bed, wrapped that stupid thick cloth around his face and then left with Lin Wan.
Halfway through their journey to the Lin family's main hall, Yang Ze couldn't help but complain.
"Can you at least give me a mask instead of this stupid cloth?" Trying to adjust the cloth around his face, he couldn't help but ask in dissatisfaction. Every day, tying this thing around his face was a goddamn pain. Not only did he need to properly hide his face, but he also needed to make sure not to speak. For someone from the modern Earth, it was pure torture.
"Oh!" Lin Wan's footsteps paused as she looked at the boy who was half her size with a gentle smile on her face.
"Why?" Tilting her head, she asked further, "Is it uncomfortable?"
"Damn right." Yang Ze nodded furiously, afraid that she wouldn't understand,
"GOOD." With a snort, Lin Wan resumed her journey, completely ignoring Yang Ze, who was stunned after hearing her answer.
"This bitc..." Gritting his teeth in anger, Yang Ze followed her while thinking of ways to escape.
He had thought about escaping from the Lin family countless times before, but he never dared to attempt it. Just this woman was frighteningly powerful. God knows what kind of monsters were hidden in this family. One mistake and he would enter the gates of hell.
He even cursed himself for being so stupid to come to this Lin family in the first place. If that wasn't enough to soothe his wounded heart, he even cursed Brother Hu's nine generations to take out his anger.
With nothing else to do, he focused on her talent panel. Looking at the last available talent Sword Heart(Blue), he muttered in a soft voice.
"Sign in."
[Congratulations on getting Pulse Opening pills.]
"Tch!" Looking at the familiar reward, he just shook his head in disappointment.
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Their journey didn't last long. Less than an hour later, the two of them were already standing in front of the Lin family's main hall. If not for the presence of Yang Ze, Lin Wan would have arrived here in less than five minutes.
"Wait here." Telling him to wait, Lin Wan stepped inside, leaving behind the figure of Yang Ze, who was still looking around with great interest.
Earlier, when he came to the Lin family in the slave's carriage, he never got the chance to see outside. Even during the grand competition, due to the remote location inside the Lin family, he was unable to see the true splendour of the Lin family.
And now that he was finally here, he couldn't help but marvel in surprise.
During the past week, he knew that the Lin family was big, but he didn't know it was this BIG. Other than an entire mountain that was dedicated to the slaves, the Lin family also had five different zones.
There was the core area where only the direct bloodline members of the Lin family lived.
Then there was the Common area where other members of the Lin family lived who were neither related by blood nor were servants.
Then, there were the servants' quarters, which were established only in name since the only servants in the Lin family were slaves.
The fourth area was the guest quarters. And the final and fifth area was the Main Hall, where the family's decisions were made. In a sense, this Main Hall was like an economic and political zone of the Lin family where they oversee their employees and make decisions to maximise the profits.
The main hall in front of Yang Ze was full of grandeur. There were statues of ferocious beasts carved upon the walls. In front of the entrance were two women cladded in armour. Just a single glance and he could see numerous members of the Lin family entering and exiting the hall.
With nothing else to do, Yang Ze just looked at the personal panel of the people around him, but he never saw any talent above white. The only exception was the two guards in front of him, one of whom had a blue talent that was related to personality change.
'And here I thought I would hit the jackpot once I manage to get into the Lin family.' Thinking about how he thought that he would be surrounded by innumerable high-ranking talents after entering the Lin family, Yang Ze couldn't help but laugh at himself. He was just lucky that he met some of the most powerful people at the very start. Otherwise, god knows how much longer it would have taken him to get a half-decent talent.
And just when he was looking around in a daze, he saw the figure of Lin Wan walking out of the main hall with an exquisite token in her hand.
"Let's go." Without waiting for him to respond, Lin Wan walked away.
"Tch..." Yang Ze could only shake his head at her unruly behaviour.
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Outside the Lin family, to the opposite side of the Yuyang city, a caravan of almost twenty carriages was standing there. Other than twenty guards, all of whom were wearing the Lin family's emblem, the rest of them were members of the Lin family in one way or another.
The majority of them were women, with only a handful of men who constantly moved around, carrying different goods.
And in the midst of all this was the figure of a woman in her late twenties with black hair like silk, wearing a loose robe that could hardly hide her enchanting figure and a face that was hidden under the veil.
"I am the one in charge of the journey this time." Lin Wan didn't waste words on introduction or pleasantries, but directly stated her identity.
A few of them who were in doubt due to her young age went quiet after seeing the exquisite token hanging on her waist.
"Unless it is a life or death situation, do not disturb me." With these words, Lin Wan jumped into one of the most luxurious carriages before closing the door.
Yang Ze, who was standing on the sidelines, just let out a bitter smile. Initially, he thought they would travel around the Yuyang city, but to his surprise, the Lin family had a different route for the trade that went through the opposite direction, directly bypassing the main area of Yuyang City.
"Now, I just need to find a chance to escape." Controlling the surging excitement in his heart, Yang Ze was already planning his escape route.
'It's a good thing she is ignoring me.' Thanking his lucky stars, Yang Ze couldn't have been happier. This cold treatment from Lin Wan came at the perfect time. Now he just needed a perfect opportunity.
Soon, after some last-minute preparations, the caravan set off.
Looking at the horses, which were almost twice the size of the horses from Earth, Yang Ze clicked his tongue in amazement. This was the first time he saw the exotic beasts of this world. He couldn't help but dream about what it would be like to have this thing as a mount and travel across the world.
"Move." Just when he was daydreaming, one of the guards poked him with her sword's handle.
"Umm." With a nod, Yang Ze quietly got into position before walking with them. Thankfully, he has already stepped into the Body Forging realm, otherwise...
The journey to Feiyang town was at a distance of two days. During the entire day, the caravan never stopped. At one moment, Yang Ze even thought that he was going to die of exhaustion. After all, as a person from modern Earth, when was the last time he went on such a journey on foot?
Thankfully, the caravan stopped for rest as soon as it was evening, and Yang Ze finally had time to catch a breath. During the day, he thought about running away a few times, but under the gaze of those guards walking around, it was an impossible task.
Now that they were all resting, he could finally try to escape from here. With the guards not paying any attention to someone like him and Lin Wan giving him the cold shoulder... it was a perfect opportunity.
Yang Ze could have sworn that this was perhaps the most excruciating wait of his life. He didn't know how he spent those four hours, but looking at the starry sky and judging it to be midnight, Yang Ze stood up and began to stretch his body.
The guard only threw him a glance before focusing on the carriage.
'Heh.' Controlling the excitement in his heart, Yang Ze slowly moved around. Sometimes, he would stand near a tree, patting it as if admiring its hardness. Sometimes, he would crouch and gaze intently at the grass as if it were the most precious treasure.
Earlier, a few guards paid attention to his movement, but after a while, they just got tired and stopped paying any attention to him.
Yang Ze was waiting exactly for that moment.
Slowly, he walked around before gradually distancing himself from the caravan.
After making sure he was almost fifty meters away from the caravan, Yang Ze took a deep breath, turned around and ran with all his might.
"Ha..."
"Haha..."
"Hahahahahaa..."
After running for a full five minutes, Yang Ze finally let out a hearty laugh. He turned around to look at the caravan that had disappeared from his sight as the smile on his face only grew wider.
He was finally free.
With his cheat and already existing talent, it was just a matter of time for him to progress by leaps and bounds. It wouldn't be long before he, too, steps into the so-called Core Condensation or even higher. Once he achieved that step, he would make sure to visit the damned Lin family and teach Lin Wan a lesson. As for that Brother Hu who sold him as a slave...
'Hehehe.. I was going to let you off, but now... I will definitely twist off your dog head.' Thinking about all that humiliating suffering, Yang Ze clenched his fists in anger. Now that it was free, it was just a matter of time.
Under the dim illumination of the moonlight, Yang Ze carefully ran across the plains. He didn't choose a direction, but just ran.
After fifteen minutes, when he was almost a mile or two away from the Caravan's resting place, Yang Ze let out a bright smile, turned around and rushed ahead at full speed.
But he hadn't even taken three steps when he bumped into something soft.
"Eh!?" Feeling the familiar fragrance of flowers as well as the soft touch, Yang Ze raised his hand only to feel something round and soft in his palm.
"Why does it feel familiar?" Squeezing his hand, he played with the soft, plump ball in his hand as he slowly raised his head, only to be met with a pair of indifferent eyes and a mocking smile.