Time to Set Off

The thick fog had only receded less than a hundred meters before the stone road ahead split into two.

One to the left, one to the right.

The two roads were identical in width, paved with the same grayish-white stone slabs, and lined with identical low stone pillars.

Even the black roots wrapped around the outside of the stone pillars looked exactly the same.

The tension, which had just begun to ease, tightened once more.

Zhou Yi looked to the left, then stood on his tiptoes to peer toward the right.

But both stone roads disappeared deep into the thick fog. They could only see a dozen or so meters ahead at most; beyond that lay nothing but a stark, pale white.

“Why is there a fork in the road?”

Damon frowned and turned to look at Reece.

“Were the old trade routes like this too?”

Reece walked up to the fork, stared at both sides for a moment, and shook his head.

“The main road actually used for transporting cargo rarely forks directly behind a station.”

“Even if it does, one of them is usually a branch road leading to a warehouse, camp, or nearby town.”

Ryan clutched his shoulder, where the bleeding had just stopped, his tone somewhat irritable.

“Then why don't you figure out which one is the main road?”

Reece didn't reply, because the stone roads on both sides were simply too similar.

Whether it was the color of the stone slabs, the degree of wear and tear, or the white mist swirling on either side of the path, there was virtually no difference to be found.

After a moment, he looked up, his gaze falling on Rena's waist.

The wooden badge engraved with 【Guide】 was currently glowing with an extremely faint, dark red light.

Su Xiaoman noticed it too. Sensing an opportunity at last, she was the first to speak:

“Aren't you the Guide? Isn't it your turn to lead the way now?”

Isolde ignored the provocation in her voice and looked down at the wooden badge at her waist.

Since the caravan had set foot on the stone road, the 【Guide】 badge had shown no reaction whatsoever.

There had only been one path for the first segment of the trade route; as long as they walked forward along the road, there was no need for her to actually discern the direction.

Only now, with two roads appearing simultaneously, was it truly time for the 【Guide】 to perform her duty.

But what if they chose the wrong road?

If the 【Guide】 led the entire caravan down the wrong path, would the punishment fall on her alone, or would the entire caravan have to bear it with her?

Isolde was not about to risk her own life, nor did she intend to take responsibility for a baseless choice on behalf of everyone.

She looked up to study the two stone roads again. On the surface, there was indeed no difference at all.

But since a choice was presented, there had to be some basis for judgment left behind.

If they could only rely on luck to make a fifty-fifty guess, the identity of 【Guide】 would have no reason to exist.

Rena stepped toward the fork, throwing back a sentence:

“Everyone stay where you are. Don't follow me.”

Zhou Yi curled his lip and muttered under his breath, “Even if you asked me to go over, I wouldn't want to.”

Isolde brushed away the wet leaves and moss accumulated in the gaps between the stone slabs.

On both roads, several faint wheel ruts gradually came into view.

The ruts on the left road were dense and numerous, extending all the way from the fork into the depths of the thick fog, looking as if countless wagons had passed through here.

The tracks on the right were much scarcer; most of the ruts had long been covered by moss, leaving only a few faint indentations.

At first glance, the left side was clearly more like the actual trade route.

Zhou Yi craned his neck and saw those marks as well, letting out a scoff.

“Is this even a choice? There are so many wheel tracks on the left, we should definitely go left.”

He made to step forward as he spoke, but Damon reached out a hand to block him.

“The Guide told you not to move.”

Zhou Yi looked up in dissatisfaction, but the moment he met Damon's cold, single eye and saw the scar running across his eye socket, the words at the tip of his tongue were instantly swallowed back down.

Isolde's gaze remained fixed on the wheel ruts on the left.

These marks were too obvious, as if they were desperately afraid of not being seen.

An old road that had actually been used for many years should have messy, discontinuous tracks, and would have suffered erosion from rain, roots, and soil.

Yet these ruts on the left were not only dense, but also very similar in depth.

She reached out and roughly measured the distance between two parallel ruts.

Then, she recalled the abandoned wagon wheels they had seen when they first entered.

Ordinary carriages could barely manage, but the wagons used by caravans to transport cargo were larger, and the distance between their wheels would be wider.

Isolde did not jump to conclusions immediately, but Reece squatted down beside her at this moment.

As someone who had followed caravans for years, his understanding of road surfaces was bound to be much better than an ordinary person's.

He first looked at the ruts on the left, then stood up and walked to the edge of the road, carefully examining the stone pillars on both sides.

After a moment, he wiped his hand across the surface of a stone pillar, his fingertips only coming away with a layer of damp, cold grime.

Reece looked back and forth between the two forks for a long time before standing back up and saying with certainty:

“The right.”

Ryan asked, “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Reece pointed to the left road. “Although there are many tracks on the left, the wheel ruts are too narrow. They must have been made by ordinary carriages. Furthermore, there are no marks on the inner sides of the stone pillars left by the long-term scraping of wheel axles and wagon bodies.”

“While the marks on the right are fewer, they match the width left by caravan wagons. This is the main cargo route.”

Everyone's gazes fell toward the right.

With the testimony of Reece, who had actually accompanied caravans before, no one doubted it. They only waited for the 【Guide】 to lead the way.

“No, that's not right,” Rena suddenly spoke up.

Everyone stopped in their tracks. Zhou Yi, who had been blocked by Damon earlier and was already holding in his anger, couldn't help but sneer when he heard her suddenly change her mind:

“What's not right? Even this experienced veteran who frequently travels the trade routes has figured it out. What is there for you to doubt?”

He glanced at the wooden badge at Rena's waist, his tone growing increasingly sarcastic.

“Don't think that just because you have a 【Guide】 badge hanging on you, you actually know how to navigate.”

Isolde didn't bother to pay attention to him. Her gaze swept past the left and right roads, landing on the thick, impenetrable white mist right in the middle of the fork.

The previous judgment was correct; there were indeed traces of caravan wagons passing through on the right.

But for some reason, the slight sense of dissonance in her mind had never faded.

Everything was going too smoothly.

Just by understanding the width of the ruts and checking the scrape marks on the stone pillars, one could find the answer.

A judgment of this level was something Reece could accomplish on his own.

Isolde suddenly recalled what Reece had said earlier. She turned her head to look at him.

“You said earlier that the main road actually used for transporting cargo rarely forks directly behind a station.”

“Right?”

Reece didn't know why she was asking again, but he still nodded.

“Yes.”

“Cargo-carrying wagons are heavy, and the caravans are long. If the main road forks immediately behind a station, it would easily block the wagons behind.”

Isolde looked back at the two roads.

“Ordinary carriages have traveled on the left, and caravan wagons have traveled on the right. This only proves that people have passed through both sides. It doesn't prove that either of them is the main trade route leading to the next road marker.”

Damon couldn't make sense of it and said impatiently:

“If it's not the left, and it's not the right, then where else can we go?”

Isolde's gaze slowly shifted to the space between the two forks, which was completely swallowed by the heavy white mist.

At first glance, there was nothing ahead.

Precisely because of this, from the very beginning, everyone had assumed they could only choose between left and right.

“Who said there are only two roads here?”

Without explaining, she walked straight toward the seemingly empty expanse of white mist.

Zhou Yi was the first to jump up, shouting:

“Hey, wait, you're doing this again?! If you want to die, don't drag us down with you!”

Severn watched him calmly, while Damon barked in a low voice:

“Stop! There really is no road ahead!”

Even Reece couldn't help but take half a step forward, reaching out to stop her.

The voices behind her seemed to suddenly grow distant.

The white mist swirled slowly in front of Isolde, yet no place to step could be seen beneath her feet.

Taking another step forward could mean stepping into empty air and falling straight into the roots lying in wait within the mist.

Isolde did not stop. Her inner intuition would not allow her to stop.

She lifted her foot, the tip of her shoe swallowed by the mist.

The moment her body leaned forward, her sole landed firmly on solid ground.

A clear footstep echoed from within the white mist.

Isolde looked down. The mist slowly dispersed beneath her feet, revealing a grayish-white stone slab.

Immediately after, a second and third stone slab appeared from the mist in succession. A straight trade route broke through the white mist, revealing itself before everyone's eyes.

Isolde turned her head, raising her chin at the shocked crowd as she smiled:

“Everyone, it's time to set off.”