Chapter 4: Invitation
As soon as the battle ended, the five men swiftly stood between the woman and Li Ming. They pointed their weapons at him, standing on high guard. One of them shouted, "Who are you? State your purpose!"
Li Ming made an awkward smile, knowing this would happen. When he took another look, he could see that the woman had hidden herself behind one of these men, knowing there was a danger from Li Ming. She also took a peek to measure the threat Li Ming exuded.
Li Ming lowered his gun and came out of the bush. He tried his best to make a gentle smile to show he wasn't an enemy.
"Well, I just happened to pass by and saw you getting attacked. So I couldn't help myself but save you. But I don't think my help was necessary," Li Ming explained while hearing his voice getting converted to the way they spoke. Astonished, he couldn't help but let out a remark inwardly, 'For real? Technology is amazing. Goddamn, who created this thing? Secret technology is insane.'
After some consideration, Li Ming realized that there might even be conflict due to his help being unnecessary. So, he added, "In that case, I will get going."
The five men still couldn't believe Li Ming after witnessing how he struck two men from a distance. They were still writhing in agony.
All of a sudden, one of them lowered his weapon and moved away as though he was planning to kill the remaining bandits. But it turned out, the woman from earlier was actually hiding behind that man.
Now that he had gone, the woman stepped forward and said politely, "This gentleman… I would like to thank you for helping us. Without your help, I wouldn't be able to grasp their weapon and take the opportunity to defeat them in an instant. I'd like to know where the gentleman is planning to go. If possible, I'd like to invite you to offer my thanks. We are about to return to my Li Household in Qiyuan City. Only one hour away from here."
The woman's voice was soft and filled with wisdom. But Li Ming seemed to sense some danger from her words. It was crafted in a way to compliment Li Ming without dismissing his help.
In that one instance, Li Ming knew that this woman was strong and crafty. It would surely be difficult. But he couldn't dismiss the fact that he needed her.
After some consideration, Li Ming said, "In that case, I'd love to take your offer."
Bringing such a man with them would surely be dangerous for them, especially the woman. Yet, despite offering the invitation, not a single of these men stopped her as though they had complete confidence that no danger would befall them. No, it was more like they trusted this woman, who seemed to be only 20 years old.
In fact, this made it more dangerous for Li Ming, considering these men could suddenly ambush him the moment he entered the carriage.
Since he had accepted her offer, he put down his gun while fixing his gloves. But while doing so, he whispered to Eyses.
'Should I go alone or with her?'
"After analyzing her speech, Eyses has deemed that the woman is cunning. However, she appears to have enough wisdom to look at the bigger picture. Despite taking an interest in something she is not familiar with your guns and clothes, there is a high chance that she prefers big long-term gains to small short-term gains." Eyses' gave the answer through the earbud, allowing him to listen to the opinion without giving any suspicion.
In the end, he decided to take this risk and boarded the carriage with the woman.
Surprisingly, the inside was quite spacious. It could fit at least six people. But because of the rough shape of the road, the wheel made of wood, and the lack of a propeller, every time it bumped, they would feel a tremendous shock on their butts even though the cushion had been made thick and soft.
Meanwhile, the woman's eyes were completely stuck on Li Ming as though she was observing him and everything he brought with him. It would certainly pique everyone's interest when they saw a man with no particular similarity with them. In fact, his racial feature was already far different from theirs, except for his hair color and eye color.
"Once again, I'd like to express my thanks to this gentleman. I go by the name Li Xuan, the first Young Miss of the Li Clan of the Thundering Herd. I don't know if you have heard it though." She introduced herself while making a joke in the last part to make the conversation light.
But this was actually a direct probe for Li Ming. With one wrong answer, Li Ming would expose himself to be a fraud who had hidden intentions about her. And there were even more answers that could be analyzed.
Still, Li Ming also had his own background crafted by Eyses. He said, "My name is Li Ming. As you can see, I've been traveling for a few years, looking for a place to settle down. It seems that I've traveled so far that my racial features don't match with the locals."
"Oh?" Li Xuan raised her eyebrows, never expecting to have a familiar name. "Your surname is the same as mine?"
"I'm not very sure about that. But not long ago, one of the few people I have met on the way gave me this name." Li Ming lied, but the way he worded it could easily raise a misunderstanding. As smart as Li Xuan, she would surely fall for it.
'Hmm… Someone from my family? But this guy had this weird weapon that could kill people from afar if he aimed it to vital spots. His clothes are weird as well. He seems to be a traveler. So, there might be someone from my family that is smart enough to give this man a name like this to make it appear like he is one of us.'
'It seems that this person wants to bring Li Ming to our household due to his uniqueness. In fact, if we can actually learn anything new from him, it would be a great benefit to the clan.'
'In that case, it's better to follow what has transpired. It's better to have him with us instead of letting him go with another prominent clan after all.'
Li Xuan seemed to have decided the course of action. So, she said, "It might be fate that lead us together, so if you don't have a problem. I would like to invite you to my family so that I can express my thanks."
"Hmm…" Li Ming looked like he was considering things carefully. In fact, there was a sign of rejection reflected in his eyes.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, right before Li Xuan tried to convince Li Ming, the latter actually accepted the invitation with a smile. "Alright, then. Please to meet you."
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