"Young master, are we almost home?"
After entering Anzhou City, Hu Ma and Xiang, who was dressed in coarse clothes and had her hair cut short like a tomboy, finally checked into an inn, allowing themselves to relax a bit.
In public, they posed as siblings, with Xiang pretending to be Hu Ma's mute brother. After several days of travel, her small face had grown thinner and dirtier. This wasn't solely due to their disguise; the journey itself had been grueling.
Riding a horse might seem fun at first, but after an entire day, it became torture. For several consecutive days, they rode, constantly on guard against potential danger. They ate poorly and slept fitfully, an ordeal of nightmarish intensity.
Hu Ma managed to endure it, partly due to his Shousui man's constitution and the Blood Food Pills.
