The Prissy Caravan did not linger long at Storm Corner.

Having just arrived, they set off again almost empty, with Lu Li as the only passenger.

The mycelium horses emitting a putrid stench repelled any strange creatures along the way, making the reduced caravan less noticeable.

"We are not children."

In the leader's carriage, Bastus scoffed at Lu Li's talk of the Land of Light.

Only the weak and the children would believe in such elusive fairy tales.

Places bathed in sunlight? Lands unreachable by the strange? Plants growing untainted?

Even if his dead mother rose to say these things, he wouldn't believe her; he'd send her back to her rest.

In some sense, Bastus wasn't wrong; in a dark land filled with death and deception, despair was the eternal hue. Despite endless rumors of beauty, they proved to be simply traps ready to devour the unwary.

Even if spoken by the Legendary Exorcist.

All Lu Li could do was to give Bastus the Merchant's Eye, bringing the Prissy Caravan into the trade network, and, much like his slow approach with the Stormhorn God, let them gradually learn the truth.

The difference was that the Prissy Caravan remained only for trade, while the Stormhorn God was to be a potential ally linked by the Mother of the Marsh—after all, being a divinity, Lu Li couldn't stay in contact with it for too long.

Using the Merchant's Eye left at Storm Corner, the Mother of the Marsh would exchange benefits to make it a true ally, then gain the secret of repelling the strange. Even if it wouldn't reveal it, having an ally in a Spirit Town would still benefit the Land of Light.

This adjustment period wouldn't be short, so Lu Li's plan remained unchanged: continue approaching the depths of the Barren Lands, meet more allies and search for ways to repel the strange.

As the only esteemed guest, Lu Li stayed in the leader's carriage. But Bastus had no interest in Lu Li himself; the Lean Monkey servant followed its master, only the Bandaged Man expressed a wish to follow Lu Li.

"I thought helping the Exorcist would make you stay faithfully."

Amid the Lean Monkey servant's sharp cries of "Kill the traitor," Bastus coldly watched the Bandaged Man and Lu Li.

Under a hostile gaze, Lu Li replied to the Bandaged Man, "I won't take anyone along. If you wish to go to the Land of Light, you can wait for me at Storm Corner."

"The Land of Light..."

Bastus snorted, leaving the sentence unfinished.

Lu Li didn't let Bastus's disdain affect him but wouldn't allow it to slander either. He opened his satchel, took out the Sunshine Box, and let the dazzling golden light fill the carriage, telling Bastus, whose face now glowed gold, "This is a Sunshine Box, a specialty of the Land of Light. Whether he wishes to leave the caravan or not, this is a gift from the Land of Light."

Perched and gazing at the Sunshine Sea, the Lean Monkey servant murmured in fascination, "Does the Land of Light truly exist...?"

"Fool, of course it exists."

Bastus didn't look pleased.

Every newspaper could prove the existence of the Land of Light, yet Bastus always thought it was no different from a Spirit Town... Does the sunshine truly exist there?

"I will no longer interfere in matters between you and my subordinates."

Bastus decided to accept Lu Li's friendship.

No one disliked having a retreat; everyone yearned for something better, as long as it truly existed.

Leaving the Sunshine Box, Lu Li let the Bandaged Man take him to rest in the carriage behind.

Bastus held the Sunshine Box, opened a slit, and peered at the surging dazzling light with narrowed eyes.

"Master, I think you shouldn't agree with the Exorcist so easily." The Lean Monkey servant, also enchanted by the light, said, "We could use him to gain more profit..."

"What do you think I lead the caravan for?"

"Of course, to make money, Master."

"And why make money?"

"Uh... For, for Master's renown to be known by more people."

"It's to live better." Bastus kicked over the foolish servant, "If the Land of Light is truly as the Exorcist says, why shouldn't I go?"

"The Master is right!"

The Lean Monkey servant, having tumbled over, crawled back to Bastus's feet, licking his boots.

Smack.

With gentle care, Bastus closed the wooden box, as if handling a treasure—it indeed was: "Store it properly. I heard in the old sewers how expensive this was, but had never seen it."

"Master, we could sell it—"

The proposing Lean Monkey was once again kicked hard by Bastus, "A gift personally given by the Exorcist is worth more than those displayed on counters, you fool."

...

The Bandaged Man had no name.

Perhaps he once had one, but the torment and suffering after becoming a Meat Pig made him forget many things from before, including his name.

Believing that Lu Li needed rest, the Bandaged Man brought food but didn't disturb further, staying around the carriage for protection.

The Crown of Thorns needed to amass strength, so Lu Li moved the oil lamp to the corner, summoning the merchant.

Soon, Merchant Anthony emerged from the shadows of the carriage where the oil lamp could not reach.

Lu Li inquired about the progress with the Stormhorn God. The Mother of the Marsh had only just begun contact, but it seemed to be progressing well, with no resistance shown by the Stormhorn God.

Instructing the Mother of the Marsh to maintain contact, Lu Li finished the minced meat brought by the Bandaged Man, recouping the fatigue and exhaustion from the journey.

The journey from Storm Corner to the Plant Habitat was about a day and a half, but due to the streamlined caravan and Lu Li being the sole passenger, the time reduced to a day.

Nonetheless, the caravan still encountered a strange creature along the way, to which their response was to abandon the "Meat Pig" and continue onward.

Compared to the mycelium horses with their rotting stench, only favored by ghouls or some strange groups, the bled-out, discarded "Meat Pig" better attracted strange creatures, allowing the caravan to easily escape them.

The Bandaged Man noticed Lu Li didn't like this, and when he tried to intervene, said, "I understand your compassion, but many of them deserve their fate... including who I once was."

Here, children of seven or eight learn to use any means necessary to survive. Theft, robbery, murder, each person is selfish; you can scarcely find someone who's unpunished under the old laws.

Lu Li said no more and didn't try to save those who, in the Vena Underground City, would be sentenced to the gallows—the "Meat Pig".

By noon the next day, the caravan, journeying through the gloom, reached the edge of the Plant Habitat.

The presence of a forbidden aura could be felt permeating the deep forest, where the self-proclaimed forerunners, the Tree People, still held control.

Lu Li left the carriage and said to Bastus by the torch, "Strange Currency, resources, what do you want?"

The Bandaged Man could only represent himself, while the Sunshine Box was a gift, and the escorting on this trip was a separate payment.

"I want a personal favor from you."

In others' eyes, the notoriously ruthless Prissy Caravan leader Bastus appeared calm at this moment: "That favor might be us seeking your help in trouble, or maybe hoping you could take us to the Land of Light. It surely won't trouble you."

Lu Li agreed with him, then turned and walked into the Plant Habitat, already aware of his arrival, with whispers emanating, casting shifting shadows of trees.

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