Elvia stared blankly at the piece of white bread, her eyes almost popping out of her head.
The first thing she had thought to do after finishing all the dry rations was to rummage through Lin Gui's pockets.
She had searched him thoroughly, turning out every inch of his clothing, and was certain he had nothing on him.
So where did this white bread come from?
“Where... where were you hiding that?”
Lin Gui didn’t answer.
Elvia stopped asking and snatched the white bread, stuffing it into her mouth.
There wasn't a trace of her princess-like demeanor left in the way she ate.
She wolfed it down, her cheeks bulging high and breadcrumbs falling all over her.
Lin Gui fished out a water skin from his robes and handed it over.
Elvia took it and took a gulp.
Then she froze.
It was sweet.
Honey water.
And it was warm.
Elvia held the water skin in both hands, her eyes suddenly turning red.
It had been eight days.
What had she been eating during these eight days?
Grass roots, tree bark, sour wild fruits, insects that were still moving in her mouth, and raw meat streaked with blood.
What did those things taste like?
Bitter, astringent, fishy, sour—and an indescribable sense of nausea.
She thought she had forgotten the taste of real food.
Forgotten the taste of white bread, forgotten the taste of honey water.
Now, with a single mouthful of sweet water, all those flavors came rushing back.
She lowered her head, her tears pattering into the water skin.
Back when she was in the Royal Capital, she wouldn't have spared a second glance for such things.
How could Princess Elvia eat the food of commoners?
But now, she felt this was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten in her life.
Lin Gui didn’t speak; he just turned his head to look at their surroundings.
The place where they were now was a very well-hidden hideout.
It was located at the junction of the tundra and the forest, in a natural hollow.
The opening of the hollow was concealed tightly by dense thickets of shrubs.
The branches of those shrubs hung down, blending in with the surrounding weeds.
From the outside, it was impossible to tell there was a hole here at all.
A few clusters of thorns also grew at the entrance.
The branches were covered in sharp, dense spikes, forming a sort of natural fence.
The interior of the hollow was spacious enough for three or four people to lie down.
The ground was covered in a thick layer of moss, which was dry and soft.
Above them, interlocking tree roots and vines wove together into a natural net.
It blocked the wind and rain while allowing sunlight to leak through the gaps, ensuring it wasn't too dark.
Even better, this place was sheltered from the wind.
The wind blowing across the tundra was blocked by the shrubs at the entrance.
By the time it reached the hollow, only a slight coolness remained.
Lin Gui looked at the place and couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
“This spot was chosen really well.”
Inside his mind, Shadow Blade Lynn's voice rang out.
“I told her to rest here.”
Her tone was flat, revealing no particular emotion.
“You’re lucky. This is a hideout I used to use long ago.”
“To think it’s actually still here after all these years.”
Lin Gui wasn’t surprised that Shadow Blade Lynn had helped Elvia.
In fact, he had taken that into consideration even as he was losing consciousness.
Lin Gui nodded.
Shadow Blade Lynn asked again, “How are your injuries?”
Lin Gui looked down at himself.
His left arm was still twisted at that bizarre angle, sending a piercing pain through him whenever he moved.
The sharp stabs coming from his ribs made him take every breath with extreme caution.
His entire body was covered in bruises and abrasions; some areas had scabbed over, while others were still seeping blood.
Not to mention his mana—it had long since been completely overstretched.
Lin Gui assessed his condition in his mind.
He tried to circulate his mana, but a sense of depletion surged from the depths of his soul, like a well that had been pumped dry.
But at the very least, Levitation was still usable.
That spell consumed very little mana, and with his current recovery rate, he could barely maintain it.
With Levitation, he could move.
As long as he could move, he could last until the next city.
If he could make it to a place with a priest, he could be treated.
His current injuries were no longer something herbs could cure.
Thinking of this, Lin Gui felt a silent lament.
If only Eve were here.
It wouldn't be this much trouble.
Shadow Blade Lynn’s voice rang out again: “What do you plan to do next?”
Lin Gui was silent for a few seconds.
Then, he looked at Elvia.
She was still clutching the water skin, tearfully sipping the honey water in tiny gulps, as if she couldn't bear to finish it.
She looked both a mess and quite pitiful.
Lin Gui sighed in his heart.
“First, go to the nearest city.”
“Heal these wounds.”
He paused.
“And let her get some proper rest.”
Hearing her name, Elvia looked up.
With a mouthful of honey water, she asked indistinctly:
“Mmh? What is it?”
Lin Gui ignored her.
He turned his head and looked out through the gaps in the shrubs.
At the end of his vision lay an endless expanse of tundra.
Grey-green moss covered the earth, and rolling slopes stretched out to the horizon.
Occasionally, a few exposed rocks stood out abruptly.
The sky was pale blue, so clean it was transparent.
Barring any surprises, this was the Southern Tundra in the northern part of the borderlands.
But the problem was that the Southern Tundra was far too large.
It occupied the vast majority of the northern borderlands.
It stretched from the Blackwater Corridor in the west all the way to the Endless Mountains in the east.
Which part of the tundra was he currently in?
Lin Gui's brow furrowed slightly.
The maps of the Akara Continent were never unified.
The same type of terrain in different regions could have wildly different levels of danger.
Take the Blackwater Forest, a forbidden zone to the east of Shield City, for example—that was only a small portion of the forest.
The true Blackwater Forest was massive and narrow.
It spanned the forbidden zone east of Shield City, the wilderness in the center, and the Wall of Sighs in the west.
It even extended all the way to the Dwarven Royal City.
The Southern Tundra was the same.
Some parts were forbidden zones where demons congregated, places one could never leave once entered.
Other parts were golden transport corridors with few demons, which were relatively safe.
His ability to traverse the wilderness was top-tier, but that was predicated on having sufficient mana.
Like when he was in the Wall of Sighs.
Ignoring the Golden Route and relying on the Eyes of the Netherworld and the support of Eve's mana to dash through was a special circumstance.
Now that Eve was gone, the Eyes of the Netherworld didn't have an expelling effect on ordinary demons.
Moreover, he was now heavily injured, and Elvia was essentially useless for traversing the wilderness.
Therefore, he could only return to his old, clumsy methods.
Slowly follow the Golden Route.
Avoiding the greatest dangers.
But fortunately, Lin Gui didn't need to specifically search for a Golden Chart this time.
Because nearby...
A city-state on the Alliance's transport route was not far from them.
The Messenger's Chart couldn't display every city-state on the Akara Continent.
However, through it, Lin Gui could roughly determine his current position.
And by knowing his position, he could cross-reference it with the physical map of the Akara Continent he held in his hands.
Lin Gui pulled out a large map from his storage space.
Then, using a pen, he marked the position where he and Elvia were located.
The Southern Tundra, Southeastern part, Emerald Tundra.
And the closest city-state to them was Dragonbone City.
Located between the Emerald Tundra and the Dragonbone Mountains to the south.
It was less than ten kilometers away from them.
Rate on N.U.
