As they sat there preparing food, the crunch of snow announced visitors.

  Li Yu didn't move but his spiritual sense had picked them up long ago. A small group. Four people. A cart pulled by a shaggy and tired-looking oxen.

  "Hello to those at the camp!" A voice called out from the darkness. It was a man's voice. It was weary and hesitant.

  "Come in," Li Yu called back. "The fire is warm."

  The group emerged from the gloom. It was a small merchant family. A man, his wife and two teenage children. They looked exhausted. Their clothes were thick and warm but patched in many places. The oxen looked like it was one bad step away from collapsing.

  The man bowed awkwardly. He was middle-aged and his face weathered by wind and worry.

  "Thank you, cultivators," the man said. His eyes couldn’t help moving to Krell’s large form nervously. "We saw your fire. We... we didn't want to intrude but the wind is picking up and the pass ahead is dark."

  "Join us," Li Yu said while gesturing warmly to the open space around the fire. "There is safety in numbers after all."

  Relief washed over the man’s face. "Thank you. Truly. I am Joren. This is my wife, Mara, and my sons, Kael and Bern." They set up their small camp quickly and parked the cart.

  "Heading North?" Li Yu asked.

  "Aye," Joren said as he was rubbing his hands near the fire. "To the Sky Spring Sect’s outer market. We have a load of dried fruits and some spices. Hoping to sell them there where its much harder to find."

  "Why not stay in Oakhaven for the night?" Krell asked. "It's safer than wandering around here at night."

  Joren smiled, a tight, embarrassed expression. "Inn prices in Oakhaven... they're high during this season. Every coin we spend on a bed is a coin we can't put into the next shipment."

  He looked at his sleeping sons, huddled under a blanket.

  "I want them to go to a sect one day," Joren whispered. "Not a major one, maybe just a local hall. But they need talent and if not talent, they need resources. If I can make this run... if I can turn a profit... maybe I can buy them a Qi Gathering Pill to start their journey if they are destined for it."

  It was a small dream. In the grand scheme of the cultivation world, where Li Yu dealt in artifacts and the fate of continents, a single Qi Gathering Pill was dust.

  But to Joren, it was everything. It was the difference between his sons dying in a ditch or becoming someone who mattered. Li Yu looked at the man. He saw the fatigue etched into his bones, the way he shielded his wife from the draft.

  "A noble goal," Li Yu said softly.

  "It's a gamble," Joren sighed. "Every trip is a gamble. Bandits, beasts, the cold... sometimes I wonder if I'm just stubborn."

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  "Stubbornness is a virtue sometimes." Li Yu said. "You are trying to build a foundation for your future, their future. That is the essence of cultivation, Joren. Whether you wield a sword or a ledger, the intent is the same."

  Joren looked at Li Yu, surprised by the gravity in the young man's voice. "You speak wisely for a mercenary, sir."

  "I have seen enough to know that effort matters," Li Yu replied. "Keep pushing. Success often hides behind the last hurdle you think you can't cross. You will make it."

  Joren straightened a little. The validation seemed to give him strength. "Thank you. I... I needed to hear that."

  "Are you hungry?" Li Yu asked suddenly.

  "We have some hardtack," Mara said quickly and not wanting to impose on the two any further.

  Li Yu pulled out a slab of meat. It was marbled with glowing blue veins of fat. Frost-Drake meat. About the highest grade of meat the couple and their sons could eat without exploding. Li Yu picked it out carefully for them to enjoy.

  Li Yu produced a pot and some of the herbs. Within twenty minutes, the smell of a rich bubbling stew filled the hollow. The aroma was intoxicating, filled with spiritual energy that made the air hum.

  Li Yu ladled out bowls for the family. Joren could see that Li Yu was treating them to a great meal on purpose and woke up his sons to eat.

  Joren took a bite and froze. The meat melted in his mouth. A warmth exploded in his stomach, spreading to his limbs and chasing away the aches of the journey. He could feel his blood flowing smoother, his mind sharpening.

  "This..." Joren stammered. "This is..."

  "Just camp food," Li Yu said. "Eat up. It will help with the cold."

  The family ate with a ferocity that spoke of long days on meager rations. They didn't just eat; they were nourished. The high-quality ingredients were gently cleansing their bodies, removing minor impurities and strengthening their constitutions.

  The meal was actually much better than the pill that Joren was going to buy for the boys. Li Yu didn’t want to bother them with such details during the meal so he would tell Joren later. That Joren didn’t need to spend a fortune on those pills anymore. That if their sons are destined to be cultivators, their bodies would already be ready for it when/if they awoke their martial spirit. Being a step ahead of their peers.

  The boys fell asleep instantly after eating. Their bodies naturally knew they had to process the power. Their breathing became deep and even. Joren and Mara looked younger in the firelight with the lines of stress smoothed away.

  "You are generous travelers," Joren said quietly. "We have nothing to repay you with."

  "You shared your fire for life." Li Yu said. "And you shared your story. That is payment enough. Sleep, Joren. We will take the watch tonight."

  The next morning broke crisp and clear. The sun turned the snow into a field of diamonds.

  The merchant family woke up feeling better than they had in years. Joren felt a strange energy in his legs and a clarity in his thoughts. He didn't know it but the meal had likely added five years to his lifespan.

  They packed up their cart efficiently.

  "We turn east here," Joren said as he was pointing to a fork in the trail. "The miners' camp is that way."

  Li Yu and Krell stood on the main road and were ready to continue north.

  "Good luck, Joren," Li Yu said. He had told Joren about not needing the pills anymore, much to the man’s surprise and thankfulness.

  "And to you," Joren said while clasping Li Yu’s hand. "I hope your mercenary group finds good work. With your kindness, you deserve to do well."

  He looked at Li Yu and Krell. Two figures walking into the dangerous North with nothing but a staff and a hammer. He worried for them. They seemed nice but nice men often died young in the Dominion.

  "Stay safe!" Joren called out as he slapped the reins of his oxen. "Watch out for the rifts!"

  Li Yu waved. He watched the small cart trundle away and the wheels crunching in the snow.

  "He thinks we are going to die," Krell noted with a chuckle.

  "He could be right. Let’s hope he is wrong though. " Li Yu said.

  "Come on," Li Yu adjusted his pack. They resumed their travels north.