"Of course." Abraham Lincoln smiled and nodded, his gaze involuntarily falling on her chest—no matter how he looked, she really didn't seem like a girl.

Emily Thompson also noticed Abraham Lincoln's gaze, the corners of her mouth slowly lifting, her voice softening a bit. "What I said last night still stands. Do you want to stay?"

"It's getting late, I should get going." Abraham Lincoln pretended not to understand, turned to grab the reins, and mounted the horse in one swift motion.

"If you do not return in three years, I will mobilize a million troops and, with the might of the entire nation, march west to flatten Ling Mountain." Emily Thompson lifted her chin slightly to look at Abraham Lincoln, her voice a bit cold, her gaze resolute.

Abraham Lincoln looked at Emily Thompson, nodded seriously. "I will come back, I promise." He squeezed the horse's belly, and the white horse beneath him trotted slowly forward along the official road.

Two foreign slaves, carrying packs and dressed thinly, jogged behind, keeping pace with the horse.

------------

Chapter 9: The Monster That Can Speak Human Language

After leaving Chang'an, Abraham Lincoln and the two foreign slaves traveled westward, and did not encounter any monsters along the way.

A few nights ago, they hadn't made it to a town before nightfall and had to camp in the woods, where they ran into a large wild boar. But the boar was killed by the two strong foreign slaves with a pair of spears—this was already the most dangerous experience so far.

There was no need for him to act; Abraham Lincoln just treated it as a sightseeing trip. It seemed that the reason monsters gathered near Jinshan Temple was entirely because of him—within the borders of the Tang Empire, monsters were still rare.

A few days later, they arrived at Hezhou Garrison, which was already at the border of the Tang Empire. The local military commander and monks greeted them respectfully, and they stayed the night at Fuyuan Temple.

Lying on the bed in the simple and elegant meditation room, Abraham Lincoln thought about the sights he had seen along the way. The people of the Tang Empire lived in relative peace and harmony, which showed that Emily Thompson was indeed quite accomplished in governance.

As for the Journey to the West from his previous life's memories, Abraham Lincoln actually didn't know it in detail. Aside from some well-known episodes—like Havoc in Heaven, the three battles with the White Bone Demon, and Pigsy carrying his wife—he really didn't know the specifics of how the monk and his disciples traveled to the West.

But this world seemed a bit different from the world of Journey to the West, so Abraham Lincoln didn't mind. He would just keep heading west. If he took the wrong path, Guanyin and Buddha would probably be even more anxious than he was.

Just as he was about to sleep, Abraham Lincoln's ears twitched. He squinted and looked toward the next room, where the two foreign slaves were staying. They were whispering to each other, and with Abraham Lincoln's hearing, as long as he focused, he could catch every word.

They were speaking in a Western Region dialect, which most Tang people couldn't understand. But a few years ago, Abraham Lincoln had worried that if he really went west, he wouldn't even be able to ask for directions if he didn't know the language, so he had deliberately learned the lingua franca of the Western Regions. Now it was coming in handy.

"Big brother, tomorrow we'll be leaving the Tang Empire's territory. Once we're in the mountains, let's run away."

"Run for what? That monk is fair-skinned and prettier than Tang women. We brothers haven't touched a woman in years. Tomorrow, let's have him first, then steal the luggage and head back to Baoxiang Kingdom."

"Big brother, you really know how to plan. I've been sick of that monk for a long time too..."

Abraham Lincoln dug at his ear with a strange expression, no longer listening to the two foreign slaves' conversation. He had already noticed a few days ago that these two were up to no good. If they just wanted to run away, he couldn't be bothered to stop them. But now that they were targeting him, that was a bit much.

Early the next morning, after eating a vegetarian meal, Abraham Lincoln bid farewell to the monks at the temple, rode his white horse, and led the two foreign slaves westward.

Once they left the Tang Empire's borders, there were no more wide roads—only steep, difficult mountain paths, many of which were covered by thickets. The two foreign slaves, carrying the luggage and holding machetes, led the way, while Abraham Lincoln led his white horse, following leisurely behind.

Not even afraid of monsters, Abraham Lincoln certainly wouldn't be concerned about two foreign slaves whose fighting ability was only a bit better than a wild boar. He was actually curious to see what these two were up to—might as well broaden his horizons.

After walking dozens of miles, even Abraham Lincoln was impressed by the patience of these two. Finally, the two leading the way stopped, turned around with machetes in hand, and walked toward Abraham Lincoln.

Both foreign slaves were tall and bald, with strong, bronze skin. Their faces were branded with the character for "slave," marking them as slaves for life. They were probably soldiers captured by the Tang Empire during the Western campaign a couple of years ago, all turned into slaves.

Abraham Lincoln glanced around, showing a hint of surprise—he sensed the presence of a monster nearby. Having grown up around monsters, he was very sensitive to such things.

"Hey monk, we brothers are going to have you. Take off your clothes and get on your knees, or... or I'll kill you." The taller foreign slave pointed his machete at Abraham Lincoln and shouted, his Tang language surprisingly fluent.

Abraham Lincoln glanced at the two, then swung himself onto the horse. With a flick of the whip, he rode into the dense forest to the side.

"Don't run! Don't run!" The two foreign slaves shouted in the Western Region language, striding after Abraham Lincoln.

In this dense forest, it was hard for the horse to move. Before long, the two foreign slaves had blocked Abraham Lincoln's path. The shorter one snarled, "Monk, you dare run? I'm going to... going to kill you." With that, the two of them moved forward.

Abraham Lincoln looked at the two, raised his hand and waved, smiling as he said, "Bye-bye."