Pulling Back

Regarding the Yonghe Escort Agency incident, after asking the person involved, Wei He also visited the agency to check on the ailing Cheng Zhengxing.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to help with the agency's troubles.

Cheng Zhengxing was an elder at the Third Stage Qi and Blood. Although advanced in years, his foundation was still solid, and his martial prowess was not to be underestimated.

With this incident, even someone at the Third Stage Qi and Blood like him had fallen ill. Now, everything depended on Cheng Shaojiu's capabilities.

He had asked multiple times, and the answer he received was always the same: no problem.

Cheng Shaojiu seemed confident.

Wei He then put his worries aside slightly and returned to his life of hunting in the mountains.

He had stopped the process of condensing the Nine-Cloud Flower. His Five Ridges Palm was now perfected, and the only thing left was to perfect the Boundary-Breaking Pearl again.

Just as he had expected, after ceasing all Qi and Blood consumption for training, his Qi and Blood accumulation speed far exceeded normal.

It was at least twice as fast as usual.

He could clearly feel a continuous flow of Qi and Blood entering the Boundary-Breaking Pearl, being absorbed, integrated, and stored.

Two days later.

Wei He returned from the mountains. This trip yielded nothing; he hadn't even encountered a single mountain bandit. He was utterly unlucky.

Normally, if he couldn't find prey, he could at least rob some mountain bandits to get some food.

But today, his luck was bad; there was truly nothing.

Wei He decided to rest for a while at the Natural Dwelling before heading back to spend some time at the wine shop.

The wine shop was named Guest Seat Workshop, a name that held a hint of the unusual amidst its ordinariness.

Although it was called a wine shop, it actually functioned as a teahouse. People looking to sell themselves to make a living would occasionally be found there, waiting to set their price.

But in these times, everyone was barely managing to support themselves, and no one had the spare capacity to take someone in.

Wei He lifted the cloth curtain and, at first glance, saw a long-haired girl in the corner.

The girl sat on the ground, her eyes red and swollen. Although she wore only a simple, patched gray dress, it couldn't hide her delicate skin and beautiful features.

The customers nearby, unlike their usual indifference, had gathered to the side, frequently casting glances at the girl.

But no one spoke up to buy her, and the scene became somewhat awkward.

Wei He sat down at an empty table and ordered a pot of tea.

"What's the deal with that girl?" he asked the teahouse girl who brought the tea.

"She's also an unfortunate soul," the teahouse girl sighed.

"Tell me about it," Wei He said.

The teahouse girl sized Wei He up carefully, feeling that he might have the means to buy. She then stopped and explained in detail.

"That girl's name is Shangguan Lin. Her family was once a scholarly household, and her grandfather even served as an official in court. Now, their family fortunes have declined. Her parents offended a manager from the Blood Robe Gang, and now their family is ruined.

With no other options, Shangguan Lin has had to come out and sell herself to survive."

She sighed.

"No one dares to buy her now because they're afraid of offending that Blood Robe Gang manager. You have to understand that anyone who can hold a managerial position within one of the Three Gangs is formidable, both in their personal strength and the forces under their command.

Furthermore, the Blood Robe Gang is known for its ruthlessness..." She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.

Although everyone was tempted to take the beautiful girl home, they were all worried about offending the Blood Robe Gang manager.

Wei He understood.

He had indeed met a Blood Robe Gang manager before. When the Three Gangs and Two Sects came to try and recruit him, it was a manager who had come.

However, that manager was only at the Second Stage Qi and Blood, just like him now.

He hadn't expected that a mere manager would have such a significant deterrent effect outside?

He thought about the core disciples at the Second Stage Qi and Blood in the Huishan Fist Academy. Comparing himself to them, it seemed he had truly become someone of importance?

"If you wish to buy her, guest, it would be best to be cautious. The Blood Robe Gang manager is someone even the surrounding Bronze Mountain Gang and Green Wolf Gang dare not provoke," the teahouse girl kindly reminded him.

"Mm, I understand. Thank you," Wei He replied with a smile, as she had meant well.

But the Bronze Mountain Gang and Green Wolf Gang? Organizations with only a dozen or so ordinary people could have such a formidable reputation?

In these two small gangs, the leaders were merely strong men who knew some basic martial arts. They had broken through to the First Stage Qi and Blood, and relying on their fierce Qi and exceptional talent, they had gathered a group of thugs.

Such small gangs would have a new batch of members every so often. In these chaotic times, they were like weeds.

However, although Wei He was tempted, he had no intention of buying.

He wasn't looking for this kind of delicate girl; instead, he hoped to find a capable girl to protect his sister.

But such people were hard to find. He planned to, when the time was right, hire a junior sister or senior sister from the academy, or...

A shadow flashed before his eyes.

'The time is not yet ripe.' Wei He picked up his teacup and took a sip.

His purpose for coming here was to gather intelligence on exotic beasts. After hunting for a long time, he had gained considerable experience and could now attempt to hunt exotic beasts.

The last time he was escorting a caravan, he encountered that Black Madman at the bridgehead at night, and the memory still left a deep impression on him.

So, to prevent any accidents, he planned to be fully prepared, gather enough intelligence, and then make his move.

After sitting for a while, with no clues about strange beasts today either, Wei He finished his tea, got up, and pushed aside the curtain to walk out of the wine shop.

Suddenly, he saw the newcomer he had taken on, Ouyang Zhuang, walking past on the street with a handyman.

"Huh? Senior Brother Wei!" Ouyang Zhuang looked at Wei He in surprise. "Aren't you going to Yonghe Escort Agency today?"

"The escort agency? Why? Why would I go today?" Wei He was also surprised.

"You don't know? News came out from Yonghe Escort Agency this morning that they can't afford to compensate the Zhao Family from the Inner City for the lost escort. They've borrowed money everywhere, but they're still short seven hundred taels of gold.

If they can't pay it back now, they'll have to close down and go bankrupt." Ouyang Zhuang replied.

"In debt? Seven hundred taels of gold?" Wei He was stunned.

Only seven hundred taels?

His heart skipped a beat.

"What's wrong, Senior Brother?" Ouyang Zhuang asked cautiously, seeing Wei He's expression change.

Without another word, Wei He turned and ran back home. He needed to get the money and then head to the escort agency.

This Cheng fellow was being difficult. He had asked him several times. If he had said it earlier, and if he had only been short this much money, Wei He would have lent it to him directly to help him through this difficult time!

At the Cheng family's living room.

A red sandalwood square table sat between Cheng Shaojiu and a middle-aged man in a black vest.

Behind each of them stood a group of people.

One side had more people, the other side had fewer.

Fewer people stood behind Cheng Shaojiu.

He placed his hand on the tabletop, his fingers pressing down on a piece of yellowish paper. His expression was very unpleasant.

The paper contained black text on a white background, detailing the collateral and compensation terms from their last escort mission.

"Speak, your Yonghe Escort Agency owes us an explanation today," the middle-aged man in the black vest said in a deep voice.

Sunlight slanted into the hall, illuminating specks of dust dancing in the air.

"You lost the escort, causing my Zhao Family to lose face. How will this be resolved? You should come up with a plan."

Silence.

Cheng Shaojiu's lips were dry and cracked, his complexion gloomy.

He had been working hard everywhere for the past few days, raising money, but in the end, he was still short five hundred taels of gold.

This was the best he could do.

"Can you not grant a few more days?" he asked in a low voice.

"Granting more days, Young Escort Leader Cheng, we have already granted many days based on our past cooperation. We have done all we can," the middle-aged man said coldly.

"Tell me, the final shortfall, what about this five hundred taels of gold? If you really can't come up with it, why not accept my previous suggestion and trade your Silver-Kissed Black Snake husbandry method?"

The people behind Cheng Shaojiu all showed suppressed anger and indignation.

The value of the Silver-Kissed Black Snake husbandry method was far greater than a mere five hundred taels of gold. This was clearly an attempt to take advantage of their misfortune!

But for the past few days, Cheng Shaojiu and the others had been borrowing money everywhere, yet they couldn't gather the five hundred taels of gold.

Those friends who usually spoke generously were now closing their doors to them.

Not to mention five hundred taels, not even one tael would be lent.

Now everyone knew that Yonghe Escort Agency was in trouble, and no one was willing to lend money, lest it be like throwing a meat bun at a dog – never to be seen again.

At this point, the Cheng family members also roughly understood that someone had set a trap for their family, with the sole purpose of obtaining the Silver-Kissed Black Snake husbandry method.

Cheng Shaojiu remained silent for a long time. Although the Silver-Kissed Black Snake was the foundation of his Cheng family, something his uncle Cheng Zhengxing had painstakingly obtained back then.

But in these difficult times, if he didn't let go of these external possessions, the entire escort agency might not survive.

He sighed in his heart.

"I understand. Fine, I agree, to use..."

"Wait a moment!"

Suddenly, a low shout interrupted.

The black-vested man on the opposite side raised his hand to stop him.

Beside him, a short, dwarfish man had appeared at some point. The dwarf seemed to have said something to him.

The black-vested man's expression was calm as he stood up.

"My family has ordered that we no longer want the Silver-Kissed Black Snake. If you cannot produce the money, Yonghe Escort Agency must be disbanded immediately, and you are not allowed to operate an escort agency in the Outer City!"

He had just received instructions from his family. His family had secretly reached an agreement with another escort agency. As long as they completely forced Yonghe Escort Agency out of business, that agency would pay a price far exceeding that of the Silver-Kissed Black Snake.

Moreover, once Yonghe Escort Agency was completely ruined, could the Silver-Kissed Black Snake husbandry method still be kept hidden?

With a little manipulation, wouldn't it all still be theirs.

"You!" Cheng Shaojiu's heart jolted, and he abruptly stood up.

The caravan guards and captains behind him all glared angrily.

"You damn—!"

Someone couldn't help but curse, but was immediately pulled back and restrained.

"What?" the man in black vest sneered. "Want to fight? Do you think only your Cheng family has people? We are the Zhao family of the Seven Families Alliance. Try laying a hand on us, you mere country bumpkins from the Outer City?"

Cheng Shaojiu looked at the expectant eyes watching him from all around.

He silently raised his hand, stopping the agitated crowd behind him.

"No matter what, as long as the people are still here, everything is still possible."

He took a deep breath, his voice seeming to tremble slightly.

That's right, the Silver-Kissed Black Snake was gone, but it didn't matter.

The escort agency had fallen, but that didn't matter either.

As long as the people were still here, everything could be rebuilt.

But these words, beyond comforting himself, what other effect could they have?

For an escort agency of Yonghe Escort Agency's scale, even the younger Cheng Zhengxing had toiled hard, fighting for territory and market share, to build such a great foundation with great difficulty.

Now that it had collapsed, would the people truly still be there?

Cheng Shaojiu's hands were trembling slightly.