When I woke up, it was already night.
The caravan jolted beneath me. For a few seconds, I couldn't remember why I was lying on its floor.
Then I tried to push myself up.
Pain shot through my left shoulder.
Right.
That.
I rolled onto my other side and sat up carefully. The bandage around my shoulder was stiff with dried blood, but at least it seemed to be holding.
My sword was lying beside me.
Outside, the snow had stopped. I could hear the horses ahead, footsteps beside the caravan, and the wheels dragging along the road.
No fighting.
So we'd survived.
Good enough.
I moved toward the edge of the caravan and tried to climb down. The moment my feet touched the ground, my legs gave out.
I fell forward and caught myself with my right hand.
"Gah! Fuck!"
Pain shot through my palm. The cut had split open again.
I stayed there for a few seconds, breathing through my teeth.
That was stupid.
Very stupid.
I pushed myself back up and looked at my hand. Dirt and a few tiny stones were stuck inside the wound now.
Great.
Reaching Tier 1 made infections less likely, but I doubted that meant I could leave half the road inside my palm.
I needed to clean it.
The caravan had already moved a few paces ahead. Thankfully, it was still going slowly enough that catching up wasn't difficult.
"Finally awake?"
Yuansu was walking near the front.
"How long?"
"Seven hours."
Seven hours?
I looked around.
Chenyu was walking farther back. The escort who'd worn the scarf was on the other side of the caravan.
I waited for the others to come into view.
They didn't.
"Where's everyone else?"
Yuansu glanced at me.
"Dead."
I stopped for half a step.
Then I kept walking.
The two who hadn't helped shovel. And the man who'd been checking his gloves before we left.
Three people.
Gone.
I remembered the last time I'd seen them. Four people surrounding the bandit leader while I walked away to find bandages.
"The leader?"
"Who else?"
Yuansu looked like he hadn't slept either.
"What happened?"
"Blood Burning."
I frowned.
"Whoever hired him must've given him the technique beforehand," Yuansu continued. "Probably wanted him to cause as much damage as possible if things went wrong."
I looked back toward Chenyu.
He was still walking.
Good.
"Did it push him to Tier 2?"
"No. Barely peak Tier 1."
I stared at him.
That was all?
I'd already known everyone was exhausted. Hell, I'd nearly gotten myself killed because I'd forgotten to account for it.
But I'd still left expecting two Tier 1s and two peak Tier 0s to finish one man.
Apparently that had been too optimistic.
"If he was only peak Tier 1, how did he kill three people?"
Yuansu gave me an annoyed look.
"You saw what condition everyone was in."
"I know."
I flexed the fingers of my wounded hand.
"I'm asking because four people were surrounding him when I left."
Yuansu was quiet for a moment.
"If he hadn't already been injured when he used the technique, none of us would've made it out."
I looked toward the empty space beside the caravan again.
"Why didn't he use it before his men ran?"
"Because before Tier 3, using Blood Burning means death unless you've prepared special medicine beforehand."
Yuansu rubbed at his face.
"And even if you survive, your cultivation is crippled. You won't advance again."
I remembered the leader standing there while his men fled.
They'll kill me anyway.
So that was what he'd meant. He'd expected to survive until they abandoned him.
After that, it didn't matter anymore.
For a while, neither of us said anything.
The remaining Tier 1 on the other side of the caravan was breathing hard enough that I could hear him from here. Every few steps, he fell slightly behind before forcing himself to catch up again.
"Why are we still going?" I asked.
Yuansu looked at me.
"We lost three people. Everyone else can barely stand. Wouldn't going back make more sense?"
"And tell the family what?"
"That three escorts are dead and the rest of us can barely stand."
He stared at me for a moment.
"If we don't deliver the cargo, the An family won't exist anymore."
I glanced toward the bundles behind him.
"If we're late," he continued, "we pay a penalty."
What the hell were we carrying?
The question almost came out.
I stopped myself.
If failing this delivery could get an entire family erased, maybe knowing what was inside wasn't something I needed. I was hired to guard the caravan.
That was enough.
Still, there was one thing I did need to know.
"Where are we taking it?"
"The Martial Temple."
I stared at him.
Of course.
Apparently this job hadn't gone badly enough yet.
The Martial Temple was the largest and strongest sect on the continent. Outside a few hidden families, it was the only known force with Tier 9 cultivators.
There were even rumors that they knew a path beyond Tier 9. I'd never put much faith in those stories.
I was considered decently talented and had only recently reached Tier 1. Even the greatest talents of our age only ever reached Tier 9.
Maybe something existed beyond that.
But if nobody could reach it, then for me it might as well not.
Tier 9 was already more than enough to make the An family disappear.
"Is the cargo actually important to them?"
Yuansu looked at me.
"I don't care what's inside," I added. "I just want to know how much danger we're in."
"For the Martial Temple?"
He shook his head.
"Not particularly."
I frowned.
"Then why—"
"Because there are plenty of factions that would happily destroy us just to gain favor with them."
He looked back toward the road.
"It doesn't have to matter to the Martial Temple."
That told me enough.
"So we deliver it, pay whatever penalty they want, and hope that's the end of it."
"Pretty much."
"And if we're attacked again?"
Yuansu glanced at my hanging arm.
"Then I suggest you stop asking questions and watch the road."
I wanted to tell him exactly how useful I'd be in another fight. He could probably figure that out himself.
I went back toward the rear of the caravan. With only four of us left, there was a lot more road to watch.
Chenyu came over not long afterward.
"How's the shoulder?"
"Won't move."
I lifted my right hand slightly.
"This one works. Mostly."
He looked at my palm.
"Falling on it probably helped."
"Yeah. I thought so too."
Chenyu climbed onto the caravan and came back with a small container of water.
"Clean it."
"Thanks."
I tore a strip from the inside of my shirt and wet it. Picking the dirt and tiny stones out of the cut took longer than I wanted.
Chenyu stayed beside me and held the water whenever I needed more.
When I looked up, I noticed dark stains beneath his outer layer. He'd changed his coat, but blood had soaked through in a few places.
"You got hurt."
"It's nothing. Just a few cuts."
"Chenyu."
He raised both arms.
"I can move these."
Then he nodded toward the other Tier 1.
"He got it worse. Did most of the fighting near the end."
I looked over.
The man's scarf was gone now. He'd changed some of his clothes too, but there were still dark stains across them.
His face looked pale even in the poor light.
I was surprised he was still walking.
"Didn't think we'd lose three."
Chenyu looked down at the water.
"Neither did I."
There wasn't much else to say.
I finished cleaning my hand.
At the next stop, Chenyu helped me with my shoulder too. Getting the old bandage off hurt badly enough on its own.
Cleaning the wound was worse.
Neither of us could get a good look without pulling it open further, so we cleaned whatever dirt and cloth we could actually see.
By the time Chenyu wrapped it again, I was gripping the side of the caravan hard enough that my palm had started bleeding again.
"Done," he said.
"Finally."
"You're welcome."
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks."
After that, we kept moving.
---
Thankfully, the rest of the journey passed without another attack. In our current condition, I doubted we'd survive one.
Most of my time was spent trying to walk without making my shoulder worse. Every now and then, I'd look toward the spaces where the other escorts should've been.
A few days later, we finally reached the Martial Temple.
Two men were standing at the gate.
"Who are you?" one asked.
Yuansu stepped forward.
"An Yuansu, from the An family. We've come with the shipment. I should be on the list."
The man unfolded a sheet of paper and looked through it.
"Hm."
He found something.
"You're late."
"We apologize, Senior. We were ambushed on the road, and the snowstorm slowed—"
"Several hours late."
Yuansu went quiet.
The man folded the paper.
"Someone will be sent to your family regarding the penalty. Have the payment ready if you wish to avoid further consequences."
"Yes, Senior."
The guard's eyes moved across us.
Four people.
Bloodstained clothes.
One useless arm.
He didn't ask.
Yuansu signaled for us to wait beside the caravan. There wasn't much else we could do.
Only then did I properly look at the mountain behind the gate.
I kept lifting my head.
And lifting it.
The lower slopes rose beyond the entrance, but the mountain just kept going until the clouds swallowed the rest.
I couldn't even see the summit.
I'd seen mountains before, even in my previous world.
Nothing like this.
For a moment, I forgot about my shoulder.
The dragon-carved pillars at the entrance didn't impress me nearly as much.
That was decoration.
Arrogance carved into stone.
Though, considering who lived here, I supposed they'd earned the right to be arrogant.
The mountain itself was something else.
True art.
Men came through the gate and started unloading the cargo. For once, I wasn't wondering what was inside.
"Lian."
I kept looking at the mountain.
"Lian."
I turned.
Chenyu was staring at me.
"We need to go."
I looked at the caravan.
It was already empty.
"That fast?"
"You've been staring at a mountain."
"It's a nice mountain."
"It's a mountain."
I took one last look.
"Yeah, yeah."
Then I followed him.
---
The return journey was much quieter. Without the cargo, there wasn't much reason for anyone to attack us.
At least that was what I kept telling myself.
A few days later, we finally made it home.
The first thing I did was head straight for my house.
I wanted to lie down.
Unfortunately, the shoulder came first.
I removed the bandage carefully. The wound had started closing.
I could even move my left arm a little now.
Not much.
Trying made me immediately regret it.
There were still bits of cloth caught near the edges of the wound, along with dirt we'd missed on the road.
Great.
I sat down with water and the cleanest cloth I had and started working them out with my right hand. Getting the last fibers free opened part of the wound again.
I stopped.
Waited.
Then kept going.
By the time I finished and wrapped it again, I barely had enough energy left to put the water aside.
I collapsed onto the bed.
Fuck.
I'd missed this thing.
Tomorrow, I'd go ask about the pay. After everything that had happened, we deserved something extra.
Though with the Martial Temple sending someone to collect a penalty from the An family, I wasn't exactly confident.
Hopefully they'd still have enough left to pay us.
I stared at the ceiling for a while.
I meant to get up and find something to eat.
Instead, I closed my eyes for a moment.
That was apparently enough.
I fell asleep.