107: Chapter 107 I don't know

After leaving the village, the group first hurried to Bala City on foot.

Zhang Mu used the Transformation Technique to turn into an ordinary-looking Knight Professional. Domit, looking at his new face with a slightly surprised expression, went into the city with him to pick out a carriage.

Considering the long journey and the vast distances between cities—mostly uninhabited mountains and rivers—they restocked on food and fresh water.

Then, driving the carriage with a cabin, they passed through the city gates and headed all the way north.

Although he had many urgent matters on his hands, he didn't rush Domit too much or whip the horse's rump any harder.

After all, it was just an ordinary horse; even if he whipped it to death, it could only go so fast. It was better to take it step by step; they would eventually reach their destination.

Fortunately, the entire territory of the Lake Kingdom wasn't very large.

Traveling along the relatively flat gravel road built by the kingdom for a month, they finally arrived at the city closest to the Silent Forest.

The three of them drove the carriage into the city.

Since there were no more cities on the road ahead, they planned to stock up on supplies for living in the wild here—which was basically just food and drink.

Thanks to the existence of magic on the Saul Continent, starting a fire—the most troublesome part of sleeping in the wild—was actually the least of their problems.

They moved quickly, found a general store to buy everything, turned the carriage around, and left the city.

A while after leaving the city, the wide and flat dirt road became increasingly pitted. Zhang Mu and Leah inside the bumpy carriage were forced to "enjoy" a massage from the long bench.

Aside from the force being a bit heavy, their butts occasionally leaping off the bench, and their heads hitting the roof every now and then, everything else was fine.

Zhang Mu wasn't too surprised by the poor road conditions.

Ahead was the Silent Forest, which lay on the border between the Lake Kingdom and its neighbor, almost completely separating the two countries.

Powerful magical beasts and monsters roamed deep within the forest. Top-level Professionals alone, or small Adventurer Groups crossing the forest, might succeed.

But for organized legions that relied on open space and tacit cooperation to exert their combat effectiveness, even if they crossed the forest, the number of Soldiers who survived and remained battle-ready would likely be less than one in ten.

Therefore, the City Lord responsible for governing the nearby area was naturally unwilling to waste gold coins on smoothing out the road leading to the Silent Forest.

Since the neighboring country's army couldn't invade from this side anyway, there was no need to maintain a way for their own army to reach the border quickly.

Having a road for appearance's sake was enough.

As they gradually approached the Silent Forest, the carriage's jolting escalated into an earthquake.

Worried that Leah might hit her head, Zhang Mu pulled her into his arms with his right arm and pulled back the curtain with his free left hand.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Domit constantly tugged the reins left and right, maneuvering the horse around the increasingly deep depressions in the road.

"Should I take over?"

They had been on the road for a month, and he had been driving the whole time. Zhang Mu had suggested replacing him a few days ago, but was flatly refused.

The answer was the same this time.

"No need, Mr. Zhang Mu, we'll be there in a few more days." He didn't look back, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

Although it wasn't Zhang Mu's request, he still felt a bit bad.

But since he stubbornly refused to come down, there was nothing he could do. So he hung the curtain on the iron hook of the door frame, sat near the door holding Leah, and chatted for a while.

But soon, Zhang Mu began to reflect deeply on whether this decision was too hasty.

It was probably because of his vague attitude toward Domit's invitation to visit the Resistance Army's base.

Domit was worried that upon reaching the Silent Forest, he would refuse his request and leave alone, so he thought he had to leave a good impression during this journey.

So, despite having many doubts he wanted to ask about along the way, he didn't ask a single question and rarely even spoke up to bother him.

Only when Zhang Mu asked something first would he quickly respond, and then their communication would end.

It had been like this for a month; their conversations rarely lasted more than a minute.

Now that Zhang Mu had come over and chatted enthusiastically for a long time, the long-suppressed urge in Domit's heart for answers finally erupted.

Questions came one after another. Zhang Mu started by trying his best to answer, but the questions became more and more outrageous, making his scalp tingle.

For example, this one.

"Mr. Zhang Mu, the wealth of nobles and big merchants clearly wouldn't run dry even if they squandered it for a lifetime. Why do they still desperately hoard gold coins?"

"There are many reasons, but mainly to leave it for their descendants."

"Then," he asked in a confused tone, "if humans didn't produce offspring, wouldn't the disputes over treasures on the Saul Continent disappear?"

What kind of twisted logic.

Zhang Mu rolled his eyes. "The Saul Continent doesn't just have humans. Besides, if humans are gone, what's the point of you caring about disputes?"

"For such conflicts and disputes, what does Mr. Zhang Mu think is the best solution?"

I really want to stuff this little smart-aleck into a China University to study 'Introduction to Maoism' and 'Marxist Philosophy' to see what he could learn!

Taking a deep breath, he explained as patiently as possible, "Specific situations require specific treatments."

"I don't quite understand."

"Exploration." He explained as simply as possible. "In my hometown, to reduce carriage accidents and regulate traffic order,

traffic lights composed of red, yellow, and green magic crystal stones are set up at most city intersections.

Red means wait, green means go, and yellow means the transition between the two is about to occur.

They light up and go out in the order of red, yellow, and green. The duration for red and green varies depending on the size of the intersection, while yellow is fixed at three seconds.

Domit, why do you think a yellow light is placed between red and green?"

After thinking silently for a while, he gave an answer: "To allow the traffic participants at the intersection to slow down their carriages before the red magic crystal stone lights up,

preventing carriages near the intersection from being unable to stop in time because they are going too fast when the red magic crystal stone suddenly appears."

After saying that, his eyes brightened. "Mr. Zhang Mu, as expected of your hometown, this method is very effective. I think..."

"Don't 'you think'." Zhang Mu waved his hand. "The original intention of setting up the yellow light was exactly as you understood—to have carriages slow down in advance.

However, the result is that most traffic participants will speed up to rush through the intersection when the yellow light, indicating the shift to red, lights up."

Looking at the back of the figure holding the reins that had gone quiet: "Understand?

It's not that once you figure out an excellent method, it will definitely work as intended. Instead, it might lead to the complete opposite result."

The hands holding the reins tightened. "So, it requires exploration."

"Yes." Zhang Mu looked into the distance at the continuous mountain ranges half-hidden in the clouds. "Identify problems, propose solutions, and then put them into practice,

summarize lessons from failures, and finally find the most suitable solution for the current situation. That is exploration."

As if speaking to him, or perhaps to himself, Zhang Mu stroked the head of the Cat Girl in his arms. "Why emphasize 'current'?

Every city's situation is different, and as time passes, people and things change.

A suitable method discovered through a lifetime of effort and countless failed explorations might become inappropriate after a year, half a year, or even a month.

Or, it might be effective in this city but useless in the next.

Now, do you understand what you need to do?

And do you clearly understand why I have no interest in your ideals?"

Zhang Mu withdrew his gaze from the Silent Forest and looked at the somewhat lifeless back. "I cannot give you the once-and-for-all solution you crave.

Because I don't know either."

It was late summer, and by right, the heat should still be fierce. But the Silent Forest was located in the far north of the Lake Kingdom, where the temperature was generally low. The summer wind blowing by already made people instinctively shrink their necks.

"Phew—" Domit exhaled a pillar of cold air. "No, Mr. Zhang Mu, you are different.

Although you have eyes that see through others, you subconsciously overlook your own special qualities."

Was I not clear enough?

Zhang Mu had a puzzled expression, not quite understanding where his trust in him came from.

The topic was temporarily suspended.

In the sparse woods, the pitted dirt road, which had narrowed so much that only a single carriage could barely pass, extended forward into a village.

Domit told him that this was the last human settlement before entering the Silent Forest.

After passing through the village and driving for another three days, they would reach the edge of the forest.

When he said this, his tone carried joy, perhaps because they were almost home.

Zhang Mu's expression, however, turned solemn.

"Domit, do you smell the scent of blood?"