Chapter 109: Everything According to Lian Li

“No,” Lian Li rubbed his eyes. “I slept very well.”

Yun Huizhou: “…If you say it was well, then it was well.”

In the brief time it took for them to exchange those few words, Zhao Honglan had already approached. He was also somewhat startled when he saw Lian Li’s appearance.

He walked over and asked, “Did Junior Brother Lian not sleep well last night? Is it because of the unfamiliar bed? That shouldn’t be the case; if you were the type to struggle with new beds, you wouldn’t have been able to sleep peacefully at the inn either.”

Lian Li wore a weak and weary smile as he said, “Senior Brother Zhao, I slept very well.”

Zhao Honglan’s expression was hesitant. He had originally intended to set out for the Southern Border immediately after Qu Tingquan’s father left, but he couldn’t bring himself to say they should depart right away.

However, he was indeed quite anxious. From the moment Xin Ci mentioned that they intended to stall him, he knew that the group who took Qu Tingquan didn’t necessarily want to kill her, but were more likely planning to do something to her—and completing that task required time.

Thus, he looked at Lian Li, opening his mouth to suggest that perhaps he and Yun Huizhou should go alone while Lian Li stayed with Qu’s father at the Qinghong Sword Sect for a while.

Lian Li knew Zhao Honglan was in a hurry. Fearing that the other man would see his lack of rest and try to persuade him to stay behind to avoid wasting time, Lian Li spoke up before Zhao Honglan could.

“Senior Brother Zhao, if everything is ready, let’s set out.”

Seeing the prominent dark circles under his eyes, Zhao Honglan couldn’t help but say, “Junior Brother Lian, how about you—”

Lian Li immediately raised a hand to cut him off. “I don’t want what you think; I want what I think.”

Zhao Honglan’s words stuck in his throat, leaving him to give a couple of awkward laughs.

“Heh! You’re quite the tyrant,” Yun Huizhou remarked, then turned to Zhao Honglan with a helpless shrug. “He speaks a bit strangely sometimes, but he doesn’t mean anything by it.”

“Junior Brother Lian has always had an interesting way of speaking,” Zhao Honglan agreed.

The people sent to pick up Qu’s father had arrived. Yun Huizhou and Lian Li hadn’t brought much to begin with; after slinging their bags over their shoulders and seeing Qu’s father onto the carriage, they prepared to depart.

Just as they mounted their horses, Lian Li suddenly remembered that their trip to the Southern Border would likely take a significant amount of time. They needed to inform their Master and Junior Uncle back on Drunken Dream Island.

He said to Yun Huizhou, “We should send a letter back to tell Master and Junior Uncle. Once we reach the south, I’m afraid it won’t even be convenient to send them news.”

Yun Huizhou pulled a mailing receipt from his robes. “I went out to send it this morning before you were even up. Master and Junior Uncle should receive it in a few days.”

“That’s good.” After all, the Southern Border was somewhat dangerous. If they went missing for too long, at least their Master and Junior Uncle would know where they went and could come to fish them out.

Lian Li and Yun Huizhou took stock of the items they had brought. Since neither of them had been injured, their medical supplies were quite sufficient.

The detoxification and wound-healing medicines were enough for the three of them.

However, since the people there dealt with Gu, they still had to be careful.

As they passed through a small town, Lian Li called the small group to a halt.

“We aren’t far from the Spirit Cult’s sphere of influence now. We’d better stock up on more dry rations.”

Zhao Honglan and Yun Huizhou turned back to look at him simultaneously. Yun Huizhou even hefted his bag. “The rations inside are enough for the three of us for three days.”

“Not enough,” Lian Li shook his head. “If Xin Ci’s situation was orchestrated by the Spirit Cult, then they definitely know she gave you that information. They might even be waiting for us to enter.”

“Their methods of planting Gu are diverse. Once we enter the Spirit Cult’s territory, we have to be careful about what we eat. If we eat something in a town or city and get poisoned by a Gu, it’ll be a nightmare.”

Hearing him say this, Yun Huizhou nodded in agreement. “That’s true. But how many rations do we need to bring?”

“At least half a month’s worth,” Lian Li said. “It’s impossible for us to go in and come out in just a day or two. Also, for the rations, we should choose things that don’t take up much space but are filling.”

Zhao Honglan also frowned, saying, “This place is indeed a dangerous land, and incredibly troublesome.”

“The Southern Border has been mysterious since ancient times,” Lian Li said. “Anyway, we have to be careful. Let’s first discuss what aspects we need to pay attention to once we’re inside.”

Hearing Lian Li’s words, Zhao Honglan and Yun Huizhou both fell into deep thought.

Neither of them replied, and the scene became silent for a moment.

After a long while, Zhao Honglan spoke up. “I haven’t researched matters of the Southern Border before. They almost never come to our side.”

Lian Li looked at Yun Huizhou, hoping he would say something, but the man’s response was enough to irritate someone to death.

“You’ve read related materials in Junior Uncle’s study. I’ll listen to you.”

Although Yun Huizhou said this, he wasn’t joking. He really hadn’t gone to the Junior Uncle’s study to read those things. While he knew a little, what he knew was already known by Zhao Honglan.

As for Lian Li, he felt the kid definitely knew more than he did.

Though the kid would surely claim he was just making it up.

Seeing that neither of them would offer an opinion, Lian Li was so annoyed he wanted to give them each a kick.

If it were just him and Yun Huizhou, he definitely would have kicked him. Unfortunately, Zhao Honglan was there, and kicking Zhao Honglan felt a bit strange.

“Fine, then listen to my thoughts. Let’s get this straight—what I say might not be entirely correct, but it won’t hurt to be extra careful,” Lian Li said.

Yun Huizhou: “Speak.”

Zhao Honglan: “I’m all ears.”

“First, we cannot eat their food casually. It’s best to eat the rations we bring ourselves.” Lian Li began to recall how people usually got infected by Gu in the novels he had read.

“If something happens to our rations, we should try to hunt for our own food. Any game we catch should be boiled as much as possible—don’t roast it.”

“Although roasted food sometimes tastes better, if the heat isn’t controlled well, it’s easy to have undercooked parts. There might be insects inside that didn’t die and would be eaten by us.”

When he reached this point, Yun Huizhou was fine, but a trace of disgust appeared on Zhao Honglan’s face.

Lian Li glanced at him, thinking: Does this Male Lead actually have a bit of a germaphobia, or is he just afraid of bugs?

Although Zhao Honglan’s expression momentarily lost control upon hearing that bugs might be eaten, he fortunately did not interrupt Lian Li and quickly composed himself.

“Then there’s the water. The three of us have three water skins. Once the water we brought is gone, any water taken from streams must be boiled before being put into the skins to ensure there are no issues.”

“Also, we should all go change into leather boots and leather gloves now. We also need to wrap something around our necks to prevent small insects from biting our necks or behind our ears.”