Caravan Escort, Part Two (Thanks to My Brother Called Sanzhe for the Alliance Leader Reward)

After traveling ten li, the scenery outside remained unchanged.

Wei He looked out at a glance.

It was noon. Sunlight spilled down, illuminating the distant woods on both sides until they shone brightly.

There were no fields along either side of the official road, only stretches of wild grass.

Wild grass taller than a person could be seen everywhere, though it grew in separate clumps rather than in one continuous expanse.

To his surprise, despite Cheng Kai's talk of danger,

the journey remained calm and uneventful.

On the first day, the group traveled to a village. It was called Fan Family Village, and there was a roadside inn at its edge.

Cheng Kai seemed quite familiar with the innkeeper. After exchanging greetings, the whole group stayed there for the night.

Early the next morning, before dawn had even broken, they swiftly set out again.

And so it went: travel for a day, reach a village, stay at an inn to rest, then repeat the cycle.

Wei He usually shared a room with Cheng Kai. There were two beds in the room. They slept fully dressed, beside the windows so they could check the surroundings at any time, yet nothing unexpected ever happened.

Everything remained calm and uneventful.

The route, the destinations, even the rest stops had all been arranged beforehand. It completely stripped caravan escort work of its mystery for Wei He.

He gradually began to doubt the supposed dangers beyond the city.

On the night of the seventh day,

the caravan was nearly at its destination. They were among a stretch of barren hills, beside a massive stone bridge.

The group lit bonfires and drew the escort wagons and horses close to the bridgehead guardhouse, forming a semicircle. Everyone rested inside the building.

Mountain winds howled, and the wavering firelight cast their shadows back and forth.

The great stone bridge stretched for hundreds of meters. There was a guardhouse on either side of the bridgehead.

The guardhouses seemed to have been left behind from the days when the bridge was watched over, but they were now long abandoned.

The bridge itself, once hundreds of meters long, was riddled with damage and had fallen into disrepair.

The bridgehead guardhouse was cylindrical, seven or eight meters tall and nearly eighteen meters wide.

Its interior was empty. More than twenty people crowded inside around two fires, talking and laughing.

Even the cold wind constantly blowing through the two window openings could not dispel the warmth brought by so many people.

Wei He sat silently in a corner, using a thick branch to poke at the bonfire and make it burn more fiercely.

Several people to his left were boasting and trading crude jokes in a dialect he could not understand.

To his right, one man was carving wood with a small knife while another leaned against the wall and dozed.

After arranging the night watch outside, Cheng Kai, the Head Caravan Guard, came in as well.

He exchanged a few words with the escorts by the other bonfire. Soon, several people rose and went outside.

Before long, the faint crackling sounds of fists and kicks clashing drifted in.

"They're at it again. Come on, let's go watch!"

Several escorts immediately perked up and headed for the door.

The three men beside Wei He, who had just been carving wood and dozing, also sprang to their feet and went outside.

The escorts boasting in dialect got up as well. One saw Wei He sitting motionless with a baffled expression and immediately laughed.

"Come on, come on! Brother Wei has practiced proper Huishan Fist. Go out and have a match, let the brothers see what you can do!"

He came over and grabbed Wei He by the sleeve.

"What?" Wei He was pulled to his feet in confusion and followed the others out of the bridgehead guardhouse.

Behind the guardhouse was an open patch that seemed to be used for cooking and chopping firewood.

Two escorts were facing each other, slowly circling.

Some held torches to light the area. Others shouted wildly, cheering one of the fighters on.

The place was backed against the mountain wall and shielded by the guardhouse, so the mountain wind barely reached it. It was just the right sort of dead corner.

When Cheng Kai saw Wei He emerge, he came closer and smiled.

"This is the entertainment we put on during every escort run."

"Entertainment?"

"That's right." Cheng Kai stroked his little mustache and smiled. "When we escort goods, drinking is forbidden and gambling is forbidden. Other than idle chatter, there's nothing to do along the way. Often, we aren't even allowed to talk loudly or for too long. After enough time, it's only natural for people to feel stifled."

He paused, then continued, "So whenever we're close to reaching our destination, we hold an internal sparring match. First, since drinking is prohibited, trading blows can refresh the mind and get the blood circulating.

"Second, it helps establish everyone's place internally. Whoever is strong and whoever is weak, everyone gets a clear idea, so that if trouble comes, they won't be left without a bottom line."

Wei He immediately understood.

After all that talk, it simply came down to this: wherever there were people, there was no escaping the distinction between high and low.

Just then, a loud shout rang out from the field.

The two escorts suddenly slammed into each other.

One was a tall escort wielding an Iron Rod. His staff work was fairly well structured, with measured attack, defense, advance, and retreat. Not a single movement was disorderly.

The other was short and stocky, barehanded. His punches were fast and fierce, stirring up gusts of wind as he fought. They seemed quite powerful as well.

After the two grappled at close range for a while, the staff wielder found himself too close to properly use his weapon. Yet he was not quick enough to pull away and open the distance. In the end, he lost a move, took a hit to the shoulder, and was defeated.

"Bai Shengfeng's Hengpie Staff is considered fairly good among the lot. Back then, he even made a name for himself by knocking down five thugs in Nanshan Town with a single staff. Who would have thought he'd still lose to Li Er?"

Cheng Kai commented.

Wei He watched. The two fighters were merely average. Though he could not judge their strength, just from their striking speed and reaction speed, they were clearly at an ordinary level.

By his estimate, they were only a little stronger than normal people. Their fighting simply had some form to it.

After Li Er won one match, he was still not satisfied and fought another, winning again.

Only then did his advantage truly show. His endurance was exceptional; after two matches in a row, he was not tired at all.

"How about it? Want to go up and give it a try? Li Er's Jiushan Fist isn't weak. Even I'd need to sharpen my focus to beat him." Cheng Kai smiled at Wei He.

"Alright." Wei He did not waste words. He removed his cloak, took several steps forward, and entered the field.

"Wei He." He cupped his hands in greeting.

"Li Er." The short, stocky Li Er looked fierce. Under the firelight, a scar could be seen cutting through his left eyebrow. His muscles bulged in solid blocks, giving him a formidable appearance.

After exchanging greetings, the two stood still where they were.

Wei He was observing him carefully. Although he had watched two matches earlier and roughly understood Li Er's style, now that he was truly in the ring, he was in no hurry.

Under the torchlight,

Li Er was the one who could not hold back. After winning twice in a row, his confidence was soaring and his momentum was at its peak. He threw a punch straight at Wei He.

It was a straight punch, merely a probe. He used fast punches.

One hand struck while the other guarded, ready to change moves at any moment.

If Wei He could not keep up with his speed, he could immediately press the attack, seize the advantage in one burst of momentum, and win.

If Wei He could keep up, then he could test his style, strength, and the like.

Wei He raised both fists before his head and gave a light deflecting flick.

Pff.

Their fists met, and Wei He felt his body jolt. The other man's punch was remarkably heavy. Even someone like him, whose blood and vitality had broken through once, felt his fist go numb from merely deflecting it.

No wonder Li Er had easily won two matches in a row earlier.

But unfortunately.

Wei He's free left fist snapped forward, sending an identical straight punch toward the other man's chest.

With a whoosh, his fist became a pale blur. It was likewise a straight punch, but it was far faster than Li Er's.

Just as Li Er prepared to dodge aside, the fist unexpectedly curved at once and struck his shoulder dead-on.

Bang.

Li Er staggered backward, losing a move.

Unwilling to accept it, he rushed in again.

The two continued to exchange blows, but after only a few moves, Li Er took another punch to the abdomen.

This time, he saw it clearly. Their strength was not far apart, but the gap in their striking speed was simply too great.

Wei He practically stood in place without moving. A few punches were all it took to end the fight.

"Impressive! I willingly concede defeat!" Li Er said, face flushed red. He cupped his hands, then slunk away in embarrassment.

The cheers and shouts around them gradually died down. No one knew Wei He very well, so naturally no one cheered for him.

"Anyone who wants to come up, come up. But think it through first. Li Er's Jiushan Fist is powerful, and even he lost. If you're too weak, don't go looking to be humiliated." Cheng Kai called out loudly from the side.

"I'll do it." One man stepped forward, a short knife in hand. "Sorry, but weapons are what I'm best at."

"It's fine." Wei He answered. Once you were out in the world, sooner or later you would encounter someone carrying a weapon.

The man slashed twice with a swish, swiftly chopping at Wei He. Though he used the back of the blade to avoid accidental injury, the knife flashed brilliantly and looked terrifying.

But Wei He's blood and vitality surpassed these men's, and his reaction speed had long exceeded that of ordinary people. He dodged several times, tripped the man to throw him off balance, then swung a punch.

The short knife was immediately knocked from his hand and fell to the ground.

He won this match as well.

Wei He did not leave the field after finishing. Instead, he looked around, intending to continue gaining practical combat experience.

Though he said nothing, everyone understood what he meant.

Continue.

Very soon, another two people entered the field, and both were easily dealt with by Wei He.

With the disparity in blood and vitality, dealing with these ordinary escorts was exceedingly easy for him.

Only now did he truly understand how immense the boost in strength from the blood and vitality realm was. Everyone seemed to move in slow motion.

"Better let me do it." At last, a tall woman with long legs stepped out.

Her name was Cheng Jing. She was also a member of the Cheng Family, though only a distant relative. But she was not an escort; she was one of the only two caravan guards among everyone on this run.

"If Jing girl is stepping in, then there'll be something worth watching." Cheng Kai stroked his beard and smiled.

He had just been considering whether he should enter the field himself. Otherwise, if Wei He truly swept aside every veteran's pride, things would become difficult.

As one of the rare female escorts, and a caravan guard responsible for managing the escorts, Cheng Jing possessed considerable skill. In Shiqiao Town, where the Cheng Family was based, she was also a capable fighter with some reputation.

"I've fought quite a few formidable people in town. Shiqiao Town and Nanshan Town have five small gangs in total, and I went to challenge the capable fighters from each gang one by one. I only lost once.

"Within the escort agency, I rank below only the Head Caravan Guard and the young master. If you defeat me, then in all of Shiqiao Town, excluding martial masters, you can rank among the top ten."

Cheng Jing spoke each word clearly and precisely. Her eyes shone as she stared straight at Wei He without blinking.

"You have provoked the veterans one after another, planning to step on everyone's reputation and make a name for yourself in one stroke. If I weren't here today, that would be one thing. But since I am, I must deal with it!" Her voice was crisp and forceful, ringing like struck metal.

Wei He fell silent for a moment. "That wasn't what I—"

"Don't bother arguing. I've seen plenty of people like you. Quiet on the surface, but with more wild ambition in your bones than anyone else!" Cheng Jing said decisively.

"You misunderstand—"

"I do not misunderstand. There's nothing wrong with wanting to rise, but you chose the wrong method."

"Can you listen carefully?" Wei He's voice rose without him realizing it.

"What use is listening? Even if you could speak flowers into bloom, it wouldn't hide the fact that you're this kind of person. Enough nonsense!"

Cheng Jing raised one leg high and chopped it down.

Swish!

Her leg blurred like an axe cleaving downward. Its speed was actually no slower than Wei He's.

She had also broken through once in blood and vitality!

Seeing two Alliance Leaders appear overnight, both familiar names, he could not help feeling somewhat moved.

As several friends mentioned in this chapter, this book was indeed meant to be written slowly. All along, Old Rolling had felt that he wrote too impatiently. Many things were written on nothing but a burst of passion; once that passion was spent, he lost the motivation to continue. Later, no matter how he forced himself to gather momentum again, the quality suffered greatly. The root cause was simply a lack of passion.

Purely updating for the sake of updating, he often did not want to write at all.

But he did not intend to do that with this book. He planned to slowly try a new approach, gradually advancing step by step to write out what Old Rolling truly wanted to write.

Rather than rushing for quick success and instant gain, then bursting everything out in one breath.

There was a saying: wine aged for years grows richer and mellower. This time, he wanted to see if it would work.