Sometimes, when there were inns along the way, they would stay there. Pearl Su also spent nearly one hundred taels of silver to buy herself a few sets of better-quality clothing. After all, the capital was a prosperous place. Dressing well could help avoid unnecessary trouble.
They had been traveling for five days when Pearl Su suddenly heard the sound of weapons clashing while sitting inside the carriage. She quickly opened the curtain to check.
She saw over fifty guards outside fighting with a group of rough-looking men dressed in coarse clothing. These people looked fierce and aggressive.
The fight was intense. Both sides had people injured and bleeding. But clearly, the fierce-looking men had more people, nearly a hundred. Still, from the way things looked, the guards from Jingming Marquis' household had the upper hand. They were brave and skilled, able to fight ten against one.
Seeing this, Pearl Su felt relieved. She didn't have to worry too much about her safety. She was safe.
As she continued watching, Pearl Su noticed someone in the distance who stood out.
That person was dressed differently from the others. He wore a fitted robe of white and light blue, his hair tied up with a jade crown. He looked refined and handsome, like the son of a noble family.
He was also very skilled in martial arts. The fierce men near him were quickly beaten down, scattered like leaves. Soon, there was open space all around him.
The fierce attackers didn't dare get too close to him. They only surrounded him from a distance.
Seeing this, the noble young man became impatient and shouted loudly, "Bandits from Konglai Mountain, I, Rafael Mu, will make sure none of you leave here alive today."
After yelling, he jumped straight into the crowd of bandits. With just a few moves, he brought down several more of them.
Inside the carriage, Pearl Su watched with great interest. She saw him fly into the group again and defeat more bandits within a few strikes.
Pearl Su thought to herself, so he's a real expert. But remembering his loud shout just now, she couldn't help finding it a bit amusing.
Looking at him, he seemed young, probably eighteen or nineteen. She figured he must be someone with youthful pride.
Maybe he had just finished his training and was stepping into the world for the first time.
Not long after, nearly a hundred bandits were lying on the ground, their lives uncertain.
Those who were still conscious lay there in pain, crying out and clearly terrified. This ambush that had started with such force ended in a crushing defeat.
Pearl Su saw that some of the guards were injured. After thinking for a moment, she got off the carriage with the medicine she had prepared herself and walked to the wounded guards.
One by one, she examined their injuries and applied the right medicine depending on how serious their wounds were. The guards thanked her gratefully.
Her actions caught Rafael Mu's attention. He had been talking to the head guard Bonu Yan, but when he saw what she was doing, he asked out of curiosity who she was.
Bonu Yan didn't tell the truth. He gave a vague answer, saying Pearl Su was a distant relative of his master. Since she had lost her parents and had no other family, his master had kindly taken her in.
That answer wasn't wrong, but the problem was with Bonu Yan's attitude.
His obvious attempt to hide the truth made Rafael Mu, who was very observant, instantly realize something was off. Now he was even more curious about Pearl Su.
He stopped talking to Bonu Yan and walked toward Pearl Su. Bonu Yan wanted to stop him but thought of something and gave up, watching as Rafael Mu approached her.
At that moment, Pearl Su had just finished helping the guards and was about to return to the carriage.
"I wonder how to address you, miss. I am Rafael Mu."
Pearl Su heard the voice calling out to her and turned around. When she saw it was Rafael Mu, she looked at him calmly, showing just a hint of "What do you want from me?" on her face.
Rafael Mu smiled at her, his handsome, carefree look making him seem friendly and approachable, like someone who could easily get along with anyone.
"I just saw how skilled you are in medicine," he said, "so I wanted to come meet you."
Pearl Su was influenced by his smile. She was also open to making a connection with him, so she smiled back and replied, "You said your name is Rafael Mu? I just saw your martial arts. You're quite good. I'm guessing you come from a respected school?"
Rafael laughed at that. "Haha, that's right. I'm from the top academy. Everyone there calls me Fifth Senior Brother. My skills are decent, but I'm still far behind my senior brothers."
As if remembering something funny, he continued, "You have no idea. My First Senior Brother is the best among the younger generation in our academy. Except for a few old masters, no one can beat him. Now he holds the top seat and is admired by everyone."
"But my Second Senior Brother? He's unreliable. Always disappears. Yet I still can't beat him. I barely see him train. How the hell is he better than me?"
Pearl Su realized Rafael was a chatterbox. Since she wanted to learn more about this world, she showed interest and listened patiently.
She smiled and replied, "Maybe your Second Senior Brother is naturally gifted. Or maybe he trains when you're not around."
"You're right," Rafael said, lighting up like he'd found a kindred spirit. He grinned even more and said, "I've thought the same thing. Otherwise, how else could he be ahead of me? You and I think alike, huh?"
He got excited, stepped closer, and suddenly threw an arm around Pearl's shoulders like they were close friends. Grinning slyly, he asked, "Your fellow disciples must be like that too, huh? That's why you get it."
Pearl Su instantly got goosebumps from his touch. She forcefully pulled his arm off her shoulder, looking a bit annoyed as she walked back toward the carriage.
"I don't have any fellow disciples," she said as she climbed up.
Rafael followed after her as if he didn't notice she was annoyed.
With curiosity all over his face, he asked, "You don't have any? Your master only took you in? That must be so boring, no one to talk to."
Pearl Su gave him a side-eye and said, "I went to learn skills, not make friends."
"Oh? Then who did you study medicine under?" Rafael asked nosily again.
"No name, no title," Pearl Su replied vaguely, stepping onto the carriage and lifting the curtain to go inside.
Rafael shamelessly followed her in and kept pestering, "Come on, tell me. Maybe I've heard of them."
Pearl Su stared at him and said, "Let me ask you something. At what age do you usually start learning martial arts?"
"Six," Rafael answered without hesitation.
"When do you formally become a student?"
"You start learning, you become a student right away." Rafael looked confused now. He glanced at Pearl Su strangely and added, "Don't tell me you don't even know that basic stuff?"