Once they left the city, the caravan sped along the highway toward Iron River City to the east.
Iron River City was neither too far nor too close to White Bear City.
A normal caravan would need to travel for three days and three nights, winding through several mountain passes to reach it.
A single traveler riding alone wouldn't take nearly that long.
And for someone using flight magic, the journey would be even shorter.
However, flying was far too conspicuous. The cautious Li Xiuman preferred to blend in with the caravan and take his time, in no rush whatsoever.
Sitting atop his horse, Li Xiuman stroked its mane, feeling the steed beneath him trembling slightly.
He didn't actually know how to ride a horse.
But the horse was very cooperative, so it had been quite easy to mount.
Perhaps the horse could sense that what was on its back was not a human, but a dangerous monster.
Turning his head back now, he could only faintly see the outline of White Bear City.
Seeing that no succubus had come charging after him, Li Xiuman secretly let out a sigh of relief.
He had been worried that the succubi would lie in wait outside day and night, ready to bash his skull in the moment he showed his face.
At the same time, the shy, innocent Lumina and the honest, generous Manshius also breathed collective sighs of relief.
“Lord Skeleton, I've been hearing your name all over White Bear City lately,” Lumina greeted him shyly, riding closer.
Li Xiuman turned his gaze away, not daring to look at Lumina.
Ah, he was still too kind-hearted. Just thinking about how he was scheming against this girl and planning to use her as a scapegoat made him feel quite embarrassed.
What a good kid.
But there was no helping it; a scheme was still a scheme.
Since he was already scheming against the honest and generous Manshius, he had to steel his heart.
“Those are all just rumors, nothing to be taken seriously,” Li Xiuman said, turning his head to look at the road ahead. “On the contrary, Red Sparrow, for you to become a Mid-Tier Adventurer at such a young age is truly admirable.”
Hearing Li Xiuman's words, Lumina also turned her head away, feeling a bit self-conscious.
Everyone said the Skeleton was full of evil energy and thoroughly wicked.
But meeting him in person, he seemed like an entirely reliable, reassuring, and honest good guy.
Ah, thinking of this, Lumina also felt a slight prick of conscience.
However, this tiny pang of guilt was absolutely nothing compared to her stolen treasure and her escape.
So, she would still throw him under the bus without hesitation.
The two of them continued to exchange small talk until the sun climbed high into the sky. The caravan then stopped under a patch of shade to prepare for lunch.
Li Xiuman obviously didn't need to eat, so he made an excuse and temporarily left the party.
Crouching in the bushes, Li Xiuman pulled Number Zero out of his storage space.
Since Number Zero was made of stone, he could naturally put it into his storage space!
He hadn't found any suitable materials to make a biomimetic skin layer for Number Zero yet, so it still looked like a golem, with only a layer of clothes thrown over its outer shell.
“Hide nearby, don't get caught, and stay on alert,” Li Xiuman ordered.
Number Zero obediently accepted the order and concealed itself in the surrounding bushes.
With Quiet Steps and possessing no signs of life or mana fluctuations, its presence in the surrounding area was extremely difficult to detect.
Furthermore, Number Zero's current combat strength was nothing to scoff at, making it perfectly suited for scouting duties.
Next, Li Xiuman took out a few small magic stones, waved his wand, and cast Earth Magic to locate several pieces of lightweight rock deep underground.
Raising the lightweight rocks from beneath the ground, he held them in his hand and combined them with the magic stones as a yellow magic circle slowly unfurled.
“Golem Creation!”
The magic circle enveloped the lightweight rocks and magic stones, and several tiny, bird-shaped golems were created.
Flapping their wings, the stone birds stood in an orderly, well-behaved row on Li Xiuman's arm.
Magic stones were embedded in their chest cavities to sustain their mana consumption.
[Name] Golem Li
[Level] Lv.6
[Class] Golem
[Skills] Flight Lv.1, Airflow Lv.1, Appraisal Lv.1
[Status] Decayed
[Description] A lightweight Golem created by the wizard Xiuman Pound Li. Utilizing the exquisite magic stone embedding techniques of the wizard Xiuman Pound Li, it boasts superb craftsmanship and can be maintained for a long time. Expected to collapse and dissipate in 20 days.
Looking at the tiny stone birds before him, Li Xiuman felt quite proud of himself.
Although these stone birds were so weak that they couldn't even beat a wild cat and were only endowed with three auxiliary skills, the exquisite craftsmanship that went into making them was on par with Number Zero.
It was currently Li Xiuman's most advanced golem technology.
To maintain flight capabilities, observational powers, comprehension skills, and magic stone embedding technology in such a tiny body...
As expected of a genius skeleton like himself.
“Go, assist Number Zero in keeping watch over the perimeter.”
Li Xiuman gave his arm a gentle shake, and the stone birds flew off one by one, heading up into the sky.
Just to be safe, he also shaped a few wild cats out of stone and released them into the surroundings before finally returning to the caravan.
The caravan members had finished their lunch as well and were currently preparing to resume their journey.
An entire afternoon of traveling passed.
Night fell.
The sky was cloudless and dark, with a full moon hanging high above, pouring its unobstructed moonlight down upon the earth.
It made tonight's world look even brighter than usual.
However, such a beautiful night was destined to be sleepless.
White Bear City.
“Someone is smuggling Fireheart Iron! The caravan just left this morning!”
White Bear Fortress.
“My Lord Count, the thief's tracks have been found!”
Bone Dragon Valley.
“You've finally come out, Skeleton!”
White Bear City / White Bear Fortress / Bone Dragon Valley: “Bring him back!”
...
“Achoo!”
Manshius and Lumina sneezed in unison, while Li Xiuman felt a sudden numbness creep through his bones.
This cold wind was truly bizarre. It actually managed to blow a trace of chill into his pile of bones.
“It's cold at night. Be sure to bundle up,” Li Xiuman thoughtfully reminded the two who had sneezed.
After all, he was here to use these two as scapegoats, and both of them seemed to be decent folks.
Driven by a slightly guilty conscience, he couldn't help but show some care to soothe his own mind.
“Lord Skeleton, you should also come closer and warm yourself by the fire,” Lumina said with a shy, sweet smile.
“No need, I don't feel the cold,” Li Xiuman replied, shaking his head.
“Then let me get a thick coat for you, Lord Skeleton. It still gets cold at night,” the honest Manshius said with a smile.
“...Very well, sorry for the trouble.”
“No trouble at all! If anything, I'm the one causing trouble for you two esteemed lords,” Manshius quickly shook his head, pulled a thick black coat down from the carriage, and walked over to Li Xiuman.
The three of them were exceptionally harmonious.
It was as if they were sworn siblings, full of mutual respect and warmth.
The nicer the others were to them, the more Li Xiuman, Lumina, and Manshius felt a sting of guilt, instinctively wanting to compensate somehow.
Yet, none of them had any intention of abandoning their plans to backstab and use the others as shields.
“Ah, it's getting late,” Manshius said, looking up at the sky.
Li Xiuman and Lumina also looked up at the sky in turn.
“Indeed. We should turn in early. We still have a long way to travel tomorrow.”
“Well then, please sleep well, my two esteemed protectors.”
...
The three of them returned to their respective tents and put out their lanterns one by one, yet not a single one of them removed their equipment.
“It's about that time.”
“It's about that time.”
“It's about that time.”
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