"What was there that couldn't be said?"
Qian Laosan greatly enjoyed the respect of a young genius. Opening his big mouth, he launched into an endless stream of words:
"Blood Qi, muscle and tendon, viscera—these are the three realms of martial arts."
"Escort masters like us are in the Blood Qi Realm. The more formidable veteran escort masters are at Blood Qi Perfection."
"As for Chief Escort's personal disciples, as well as escort chiefs above ordinary escort masters, they are in the Muscle Realm."
"First Escort Chief Cui, Second Escort Chief Cui, and Chief Escort Zhang are all in the Viscera Realm. I've heard that even among the experts in the inner city, this is the highest level."
Qian Laosan spoke without pause. His many years of experience had indeed made him knowledgeable, but whenever the realms above Blood Qi came up, his words became vague.
What exactly was so extraordinary about the Muscle Realm and Viscera Realm?
"Now that you can manipulate blood essence, your next step is to learn an Internal Cultivation Method and cultivate the Blood Qi Heavenly Cycle Circulation. A Minor Circulation is mastery, while a Major Circulation is perfection. I've trained for seven or eight years and only achieved a Minor Circulation of Blood Qi. Brother Li would definitely be much faster than me."
"Unfortunately, you still can't learn the Internal Cultivation Method."
Li Cunxiao's heart skipped a beat.
He knew the escort agency was quite strict about passing down martial arts, but he had broken through two minor barriers in less than a month. Was even such talent not enough to make an exception?
"Why? Haven't I already learned to manipulate blood essence?"
Qian Laosan seemed to think of something, and a peculiar expression crossed his face. After a moment, he shook his head and said as if consoling him:
"Brother Li, I can tell that Second Escort Chief Cui thinks highly of you, but the one who teaches the Internal Cultivation Method is First Escort Chief Cui."
"That person of his..."
"Can't an exception really be made just once?"
Cui Yao frowned as he looked at the middle-aged man before him, whose features resembled his own by seventy percent.
Unlike Cui Yao, whose face bore a knife scar, Cui Wei was also broad and burly, yet had a fair, plump air about him. He looked more like a wealthy squire than a martial artist.
"Why should an exception be made?"
Cui Wei stood at the entrance to the courtyard, watching the richly dressed young masters inside with casual indifference.
"The two brothers were already granted a tremendous favor when Chief Escort Zhang opened his golden mouth and let them enter the escort agency. Otherwise, a restaurant errand boy could save money for an entire lifetime and still never gather a hundred taels."
"Look at the young masters and misses of the inner city. Not only do they pay a thousand taels of silver a year, they also offer silks, satins, pearls, jade, and precious treasures during festivals and holidays."
"Their fathers and mothers are either shopkeepers of this store or heads of that merchant guild. Once the escort agency takes in their children, whenever something needs handling, a single greeting is enough to get everything settled properly."
"What does Li Cunxiao have? Nothing. So he follows the rules."
"A newly promoted escort master must complete three Escort Missions for the agency without error before he can be taught the Internal Cultivation Method."
"Or else," Cui Wei said, looking at his younger brother with a teasing expression, "go ask Chief Escort Zhang yourself. So long as he opens his golden mouth, I won't say a word against it."
"Go fuck your mother," Cui Yao said with a laugh and a curse. Cui Wei immediately glared at him.
"What kind of talk is that? Didn't we come out of the same womb?"
"Forget it. Seeing the Li brothers like that just reminded me of us back then. I only mentioned it in passing."
As for asking Chief Escort Zhang over this, Li Cunxiao did not yet carry that much weight in his heart.
"Stop worrying over nothing. The escort agency isn't going to deliberately send him to his death."
"When new escort masters deliver escorts, they're always assigned easy work. It's just that the Flying Tiger Escort Agency has such a reputation that the people who come knocking are all tough customers. There aren't many easy jobs, so he'll have to wait a while."
"Once he finishes three Escort Missions, I reckon it'll delay him by two or three months at most?"
Cui Yao could not be bothered to keep talking nonsense with his elder brother. He went straight back to the training ground, where he spotted Li Cunxiao from afar in a new set of clothes.
Seeing the man's leather belt around his waist, black leather boots on his feet, and that fierce face with leopard eyes and a ringed beard, Cui Yao could not help recalling the days he and his elder brother had spent in the military governorate.
The Cui brothers had likewise come from impoverished households. Otherwise, they would not have joined the army to live a life licking blood from the edge of a blade.
He would never forget how, under the military governor's indulgence, the elite soldiers of the Wei Bo military governorate had become so arrogant and unruly that after the governor's accidental death, those spoiled soldiers and fierce generals became impossible to control, turning on their masters at the slightest provocation.
At the root of it all, war had been breaking out constantly at the time. To protect himself, that military governor had no choice but to loosen the restrictions on martial arts training. To lead by example, he had even eaten and lived alongside the elite soldiers.
Naturally, this measure had been effective at the time. The Wei Bo military governorate had swept through all before it for a while, until people cried out, "The Emperor of the Capital, the elite soldiers of Wei Bo."
But the consequence was one military mutiny after another. Whenever a newly appointed military governor showed even the slightest flaw, those martial men would turn their blades upon him. The Cui brothers truly could not endure such turbulent days, so they had headed south to Song Prefecture and come to know Zhang Lishi.
Things gained too easily could never win gratitude. Examining and tempering one's disciples was only proper in building a power.
Without sending someone on several Escort Missions, how could one see what kind of person he was? If an errand boy who had joined the escort agency less than a month ago were simply handed the Internal Cultivation Method, what would the older members think?
While waiting for Cui Yao, Li Cunxiao had gradually come to understand these matters as well.
To say nothing else, Gao Cheng, who had apprenticed under the chef at the restaurant, had spent four or five years learning only two dishes. At all other times, he could only work with dough and flour.
At the slightest mistake, the head chef would beat and curse him.
That big, brawny man would be scolded until he had no temper left at all, and still had to serve tea and beg his master to calm down.
Li Cunxiao had even heard Gao Cheng say that at Deyue Tower, two streets away from East Arrival Restaurant, the head chef's apprentice had it even worse—every time he learned a dish, his master would make him take it up the rear once.
"Have you collected everything? You're an escort master now, so you won't be practicing drills with them here, nor will you need to get up at the hour of the tiger to do odd jobs."
"From now on, practice staff techniques with Qian Laosan and the others. When a suitable escort comes up, follow them on an escort mission. Arrange the rest of your time yourself."
"Once you finish three Escort Missions, I'll teach you the Internal Cultivation Method."
Cui Yao did not mention Cui Wei's part in it, and Li Cunxiao naturally understood without words. There was not a trace of resentment on his face.
Yet when Li Cunxiao was about to leave, Cui Yao could not help calling after him.
"Kid, I can see that you're diligent, steady, and patient. Let me give you a few pointers."
"The people in that courtyard are different from you."
Li Cunxiao thought that saying more would be impolite, but Cui Yao seemed to see through his thoughts.
"I'm not talking about the difference between poverty and wealth, nobility and lowliness. I mean the difference between insiders and outsiders."
"To put it bluntly, those people in the courtyard are merely business. How many can truly catch Chief Escort Zhang's eye and be accepted as disciples? The escort agency and wealthy households are simply taking what each needs."
"You errand boys may indeed come from poor families, but we watched you rise step by step. You are our own people."
"In the future, we'll be brothers-in-arms crossing blades together. Without observing and tempering you, who would dare entrust his back to you?"
"You're still young. Be patient. Once you finish your Escort Missions and obtain the Internal Cultivation Method, if you reach Blood Qi Perfection before twenty, Chief Escort Zhang will surely value you highly. You'll have a chance to step into the Muscle Realm."
Li Cunxiao was thoughtful, though he did not entirely believe him.
Whatever the case, the man's willingness to spend so many words was itself a sign that he valued him.
"And another thing: so many children of inner-city lineages spare no expense to come to our escort agency just to learn Tiger Form Fist. Do you think their own lineages have no martial arts inheritance?"
Meeting Li Cunxiao's puzzled gaze, Cui Yao lowered his voice.
"Between Blood Qi Perfection and the Muscle and Tendon Realm lies a difficult pass. One careless step, and a person will be ruined."
"People can die?" Li Cunxiao's pupils contracted.
"Worse than death." Cui Yao gave Li Cunxiao a deep look, his gaze seeming both encouraging and cautionary.
"Chief Escort Zhang's method is the only one of its kind in Chuqiu County."
With that, he turned and left, leaving Li Cunxiao standing silently where he was. After a moment, Li Cunxiao turned and departed as well.
There was no use in overthinking.
Rather than clutching that pitifully little information and letting his thoughts run wild, he might as well do something practical.
Gao Cheng had shown the two brothers much care. Now that he had become an escort master, it was time to repay some of it.
Before you continue