Pang Duner pinched his nose and loudly reminded, "Sisters, please close your eyes."
Then he picked up a long branch, lifted a pair of ripped pants from the ground, and shook them.
Xu Jiacan let out a loud whistle and laughed gleefully, "It looks like someone ran off naked."
As if to humor them, the captain twitched the corner of his mouth and told Pang Duner, "Pang Duner, hurry up, stop playing, we still have to travel."
"Yes."
Five or six minutes later, Pang Duner waved to them from ahead. "It's okay now, everyone come over."
"Pang Duner, you've worked hard."
"I have to say, the section of road Pang Duner has cleared is really smooth."
"Of course, I've been working hard to level up every day recently."
"Keep it up, Pang Dun! I discovered that the move you just used is more than enough to deal with those bandits."
"Right. We didn't even have to lift a finger, Pang Duner handled it all by himself."
Yang Xinjie's words were echoed by the rest of the team. Even the captain came over and patted Pang Duner on the shoulder in encouragement.
For the rest of the journey, perhaps because the previous group of bandits had spread the word about traveling through the mountains, they did not encounter any more bandits until they were out of the mountainous region.
"There should be a town ahead," the captain said, taking out the map given by Qi Yuanshan and comparing it with a pre-apocalypse map.
Apart from one being prosperous and the other desolate, the topographical changes were not significant.
Fu Xinci also had some recollection of this place and added, "Not far in front of the town, there's also an outpost."
"Yes, we won't be stopping here," the captain said, then looked at his teammates. "The road ahead is relatively flat, so we won't waste any time. Unless there's a special reason, we'll try to hurry. Does anyone have any objections?"
"No," the teammates said in unison, and then followed Xinci and the captain south.
The small town was just ahead, and the teammates cast it curious glances before urging their horses onward.
"This small town is too bleak. When we come back, we must have a good look around and make this ancient town as lively as possible."
"What's there to see? You said it yourself, there's hardly anyone around, it's not even as lively as a large village."
"Brother, this is ancient times, do you understand ancient times? Can it be compared to before the apocalypse?"
"Let alone comparing it to before the apocalypse, it can't even compare to the apocalypse."
"Forget it, in the apocalypse, you're comparing it to monsters."
"..."
Listening to Xiao Ai and Pang Duner bicker, the teammates didn't know what boredom was.
However, their handsome and beautiful selves riding fine horses through the small town did cause a slight stir.
A short, stubby servant boy, carrying a satchel, ran desperately towards the river, shouting, "Young master, young master, there are four great beauties in our town."
"Where are the four great beauties?" A green-faced youth, short and barefoot, emerged from the reeds by the river.
"Over there, young master, look, those people on horseback are them."
The youth looked at the receding backs of the beauties, then stomped his mud-caked foot, kicking the servant boy hard.
"You scoundrel! Why didn't you tell me earlier when you saw the beauties?"
"Young master, I ran towards the river early. But as you can see, with my short legs, how could I outrun their tall horses?"
"That's true. Young master, I'll forgive you this time. Next time there's something like this, be sure to run faster."
"Yes, I'll definitely run faster next time."
The youth was about to dive back into the reeds when the servant boy, emboldened, tried to dissuade him.
"Young master, you can't play anymore, we should go back. Otherwise, if the master finds out, you'll be beaten with a bamboo stick again."
The youth frowned, glancing at his still slightly swollen palm, and reluctantly turned to leave.
The servant boy quickly picked up the shoes placed nearby and followed close behind the youth.
...
The teammates continued their journey on horseback. This was a plain, much hotter than the mountains.
Fu Xinci looked back and saw her teammates constantly wiping sweat from their foreheads. She then remembered that she had forgotten something.
Fu Xinci scanned their surroundings. Seeing no one nearby, she immediately took out several conical hats with veils from her spatial ring and distributed them to her teammates.
"Wow, Xinci, you're amazing."
Xiao Ai put on the hat she received and immediately felt the scorching heat on her head disappear.
"Wow, this is great."
Someone, a self-proclaimed expert at stating the obvious, looked at the exclaiming teammates and mumbled, "I'm truly sorry, everyone. I forgot about this for the past two days."
The teammates stifled their laughter. As Fu Xiaoniu's comrades-in-arms, they were well aware of Fu Xiaoniu's inherent trait.
The captain, with a hint of helplessness, sighed and answered for everyone, "We're already used to it."
Seeing her teammates holding back laughter, Fu Xinci felt a pang of guilt.
The captain, clearly sensing this and about to say something to lighten the mood, heard Xu Jiacan ask, "Teammates, do you think my look is more like a wandering hero now?"
"No, I think in the TV shows we watched before the apocalypse, wandering heroes were all unkempt and a bit dirty."
"Right, exactly."
"Tsk, we have Xinci here, otherwise, we wouldn't be this clean."
"That's true. As long as Xinci is here, we'll always have food and clothes to wear."
"Exactly!"
"Shall we have a horse race now?" Xu Jiacan said, and then galloped off.
"Hey, you're not playing fair,"
Although the teammates complained verbally, their hands holding the reins were not slow at all.
Even Pang Duner's big black horse kept pace.
"Giddy up, giddy up."
"Giddy up."
A group of people at the entrance of the outpost watched in stunned silence as the young, spirited faces flashed past them.
After a long moment, a gentle female voice came from an unpretentious carriage, "Youth is truly wonderful."
The little maidservant beside her looked at her mistress gazing wistfully out the carriage window at the fading figures and didn't know how to console her.
After all, the teammates had only recently learned to ride horses, and after galloping fifty to sixty miles at once, their bodies were still struggling.
"Whoa~"
Xu Jiacan had been the first to gallop, but Pang Duner was the first to rein in his mount.
"Oh, I can't, my old back feels like it's going to break."
"Me too, my... feels like it's going to split in two."
Xiao Ai hugged her horse's head, not wanting to move.