The Chaotic Era Approaches, the Gao Family in Peril

Since Li Cunxiao's arrival that one time, Gao Cheng's life had visibly improved.

Not only did the shopkeeper give him a raise, but Master Zhang, who had always been rigid, seemed to have finally found his enlightenment and taught him the third dish in his five years of apprenticeship.

With hope in his life, Gao Cheng worked even harder, leaving home early in the morning.

After her husband left, Sister-in-law Gao also couldn't stay idle. Although she had a few minor ailments, she was actually a diligent person, handling laundry, cooking, and chopping wood with neatness.

However, after only working for a short while, there was a sudden knock on the door. Sister-in-law Gao was sewing winter clothes for Huzi. Hearing the noise, she picked up a firewood stick and peeked through the door crack. Seeing a familiar face, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Ordinary folk might not understand talk of military governorates being fragmented or too powerful to control. But whether the beggars on the streets were increasing or if the grain in the rice shops was getting more expensive was clear for all to see.

The world was deteriorating, and everyone was being cautious. Without her husband needing to remind her, Sister-in-law Gao had recently started watching Huzi more closely, not daring to let him go out to play.

"Sister Gao, I've come to see you again."

"Aunt Zhou, didn't I tell you I wouldn't go to that so-called preaching session?"

Aunt Zhou wore a white linen dress and a black headscarf, and her body still carried the scent of incense. Her face appeared to be around forty to fifty years old, and years of labor had made her skin exceptionally rough.

But when she spoke, her face didn't show much suffering; instead, it held a hint of compassion.

"If there is an Enlightened Envoy who appears in the world, teaching and enlightening all beings, causing them to escape all suffering..."

"Sister Gao, the world is a sea of darkness and suffering. It is a great blessing to have an Enlightened Envoy preach the gospel."

Sister Gao remained unmoved and raised her hand to close the door. Seeing this, the old woman quickly spoke up.

"It's not for free. If you go, I'll give you eggs."

Sister Gao's hand immediately stopped, and her eyes lit up.

"I get them if I go?"

Seeing Aunt Zhou nod, Sister Gao hesitated. She first went back into the house to instruct her son, telling him not to run around and to practice calligraphy on mud boards at home—this was taught by Li Cunxiao.

After packing her things, she took a basket and went out, causing the old woman surnamed Zhou to twitch her mouth.

She didn't care about any Enlightened Envoy or not. She took the eggs and left. Surely nothing would happen, right?

The sky was clear and crisp, and a flock of wild geese flew across the sky.

Feathers scattered, drifting unsteadily. Just as they were about to fall onto the escort cart, a hand with thick knuckles caught them out of thin air.

Li Cunxiao looked back. The city gate of Chuqiu County had become very small. In front of him, the wooden wheels of the two escort carts rolled over the dirt road, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust.

The Flying Tiger Escort Agency was the foremost escort agency in Chuqiu County. Each time they escorted goods, they valued quality over quantity.

For short distances, it was usually one Escort Leader and eight Escorts.

The eight Escorts had a strength of at least grasping Blood Essence, with some being martial artists who had achieved Minor Circulation or Major Circulation of Blood Qi.

The Escort Leader himself was even a martial artist in the second major realm, the Muscle Realm.

Not to mention that among these eight people, four were equipped with swords and shields, and four with long staffs, all personally trained by the Cui brothers in military formation techniques. Such a team could not be held back by dozens of ordinary bandits.

"So, Brother Li, you can rest assured. If one out of ten escorts from our Flying Tiger Escort Agency has an accident, it's considered rare."

"Which local magnate or gentry near Chuqiu County doesn't give the Chief Escort some face?"

"Only clueless vagrants and refugees dare to clash with our convoy. The more reputable ones, like the Chai Gang or the Eight Kings Bandits, are even less likely to attack us."

While listening to Qian Laosan's rambling, Li Cunxiao scanned the scenery outside the city. It was generally as he said.

Half an hour after leaving the city, only occasional carriages and ox carts passed on the official road, and there were not many travelers. If anything were amiss, it would be immediately apparent.

Not far from the sides of the official road were vast, continuous fields. It was the season of autumn harvest, and golden wheat ears rippled like waves in the wind. Besides busy farmers, there were even some strong households watching nearby.

These were all fields belonging to families within the inner city. One of them might even belong to Zhang Lishi.

"It seems that although the world is about to descend into chaos, there is still a little order at present. Even if it's an order where we are exploited by the masters, it's still better than entering the flesh market and becoming human fodder."

Li Cunxiao listened to Qian Laosan's chatter and asked casually, "Third Brother Qian, tell me, who are the formidable figures outside the city?"

Qian Laosan chuckled upon hearing this and held up three fingers.

"Not many, just three."

"First, the Chai Gang. They occupy Pingqiu Mountain, which is closest to Chuqiu County. Inside, there are many agile hunters. Sometimes, when they lack money and food, these people have resorted to banditry."

"Second, the Eight Kings Bandits. There are about a hundred of them, gathered at Iron Horn Mountain. Twenty li from Chuqiu, it's our territory; beyond twenty li, it can be considered the Eight Kings Bandits' territory."

"Third Brother, why twenty li?" Li Cunxiao asked, as it concerned the safety of the escorts.

"Ahem, as military books say," Qian Laosan was quite pleased. These well-worn phrases could only be shown off to newcomers.

"When the situation is relaxed, cavalry can travel one hundred and twenty li day and night, and chariots and infantry eighty li; when the situation is urgent, cavalry can travel one hundred and fifty li day and night, and chariots and infantry one hundred li."

"This means that elite soldiers can travel eighty li a day. This eighty li is the distance over which their blades and spears can exert deterrence."

"However, the Chuqiu city guards are far from elite, and there are no cavalry at all."

"Those people, their travel speed is similar to ours, twenty to thirty li a day, so you understand, right?"

Li Cunxiao pondered, recalling the soldiers he saw when leaving the city. Their attire was quite neat, but they didn't even wear a decent piece of armor.

Only some of the leaders wore half-body iron lamellar armor. According to what others in the troop said, these leaders were all confidantes of the county magistrate.

Wasn't the city guard simply County Magistrate Murong Bai's private army?

Silently noting this down, Li Cunxiao was about to ask what the third thing was when a shout suddenly came from the front of the convoy:

"Alert!"

Qian Laosan's expression turned serious as he took the lead with his saber and shield, while Li Cunxiao stepped back, forming a spear formation with three others. In the distance, only a few dark dots could be seen at the end of the official road.

Seated atop a tall horse was the escort leader who had just shouted, Ge Yingyang.

He drew his bow and nocked an arrow. At some point, the pupils in his eyes had changed from brown rings with black centers to golden rings with black centers. The golden outer rings expanded, making it seem as if there was no white in his eyes at all, resembling the eyes of a falcon.

"Hah!"

With a soft cry, the arrow shot through the air like lightning. Those beside him couldn't even see its shadow. But a moment later, they heard the escort leader let out a cold snort:

"Cunning beast, it's quite fast to get away."

Li Cunxiao had been paying attention to the only Second Realm martial artist in the convoy and had naturally seen the change in the man's eyes.

He couldn't help but recall the descriptions in the Sixteen Pure Yang text about the supernatural phenomena that would arise when a martial artist broke through to the Second Realm using the "Luring Magic."

But looking again now, Escort Leader Ge's eyes had returned to normal.

After the convoy traveled a bit further, the other escorts finally saw a pool of blood by the bushes along the roadside. Li Cunxiao smelled the foul odor and immediately felt a sense of familiarity.

It was a demon.

"Demons are lurking by the roadside even in broad daylight?"

Escort Leader Ge and a few of the more experienced escorts looked grim. A few escorts in their twenties, however, hadn't noticed and were simply praising Escort Leader Ge's divine archery skills.

The saying "Hundred Paces Through Willow" referred to the ancient practice of taking a step as a "kuǐ" (a single step) and two steps as a "bù" (a double step). A hundred paces was about 120-130 meters, but the arrow Escort Leader Ge had just shot had traveled nearly 200 meters.

"Could Escort Leader Ge's ability be 'Eagle Eye'?"

Li Cunxiao had heard that among the eight escort leaders in the agency, who were all Second Realm martial artists, four were direct disciples of Chief Escort Zhang Lishi, while the other four were recruited and each possessed unique skills.

In fact, those who reached Blood Qi Perfection after the age of twenty but were not accepted by Zhang Lishi found their best path by becoming disciples of these four escort leaders.

As for Chief Escort Zhang Lishi, he was famous for his twin long sabers and was known as "Tiger-Eyed Mad Saber."

Tiger eyes? Could that mean night vision?

The alert was lifted, and Qian Laosan stepped back, whispering to Li Cunxiao:

"The third most dangerous character is demons. They can be found by the roadside, in the bushes, and even in streams."

"There are hundreds of thousands of demon species, and their abilities are incredibly varied. They are ferocious, cruel, and devour humans. You can bribe bandits with money, but demons don't reason with you."

"Our escort agency's ability to travel unimpeded relies entirely on the maps that Chief Escort and the others have painstakingly acquired through dangerous escort missions—maps detailing which areas have which demons and their habits."

"If you, Brother Li, become an escort leader someday, you'll have the chance to see this map."

After saying this, Qian Laosan lost his desire to chat. From then on, the convoy didn't stop again, except for a brief halt at noon to eat some dry rations.

Occasionally, they encountered groups of refugees along the way. Some of the bolder ones were shot dead from a hundred meters away before they could even get close, and the rest dared not approach.

At a quarter past You Shi (酉时一刻) in the afternoon, the convoy smoothly arrived at its destination: a fortified village (坞堡) under construction.

The owner of the fortified village was the client who had entrusted them with the escort mission, the prominent local magnate of Wowo Township, the Xie family. Li Cunxiao and the others would rest there for a night, resupply food and water, and return the next day.

"Escort Leader Ge, my brothers have worked hard escorting the goods! Someone, prepare the wine!"

The head of the Xie family was a hospitable man. Before the cargo on the carts was even unloaded, he had already arranged for people to welcome and entertain the Flying Tiger Escort Agency. The respect and eagerness in his attitude surprised Li Cunxiao.

"Surprised?"

With the escort mission completed, Qian Laosan immediately became lively again. He slung an arm around Li Cunxiao's shoulder and chuckled softly:

"The Xie family is certainly a major clan in this rural area, but in terms of martial strength, they only have Xie Thirteen as a Second Realm martial artist, and they can barely muster a dozen people at the Blood Qi Realm. They're far inferior to our agency."

"Besides, for these two carts carrying nearly a thousand taels of silver in goods, who else can guarantee their safe delivery without any loss besides us?"

Li Cunxiao remained silent for a moment, watching the household retainers unload the goods. They weren't food or daily necessities, but bolts of silk, furs, gold and silver jewelry, famous porcelain, and spices—all items of luxury and enjoyment.

Meanwhile, in the fields outside the fortified village, the ragged tenant farmers were sweating profusely, wielding their sickles on land that didn't belong to them, striving to do more before nightfall—after harvesting the rice, they still had to dry and hull it.

Li Cunxiao suddenly felt a sense of unreality.

The world was clearly on the verge of fragmentation and widespread conflict, yet while the poor farmers toiled for a mouthful of food and a few taels of silver, the masters on the field ridges could spend lavishly for their own dignity.

In his past life, this would have undoubtedly foreshadowed a storm brewing from the bottom.

But...

"...Brother Li? What are you looking at?"

Qian Laosan noticed Li Cunxiao's gaze and followed it. He saw the beautiful scene of the wind blowing through the fields, creating golden waves. He assumed Li Cunxiao, having grown up in the city, had never seen such a sight and teased him:

"Speaking of which, Chief Escort also has a manor. Usually, Great Escort Shi is stationed there. The scale of it is much more magnificent than this..."

Great Escort Shi was Zhang Lishi's eldest disciple, Shi Tie.

Li Cunxiao had heard that Shi Tie himself owned several businesses in the city and was quite wealthy. Chief Escort Zhang Lishi, of course, was even more so.

However, Zhang Lishi himself was not a powerful figure in Chuqiu County. The foundation of the Flying Tiger Escort Agency was built by him and the Cui brothers, fighting with sabers and spears. It had only been twenty years, yet it had already become a force that even inner-city families vied to recruit.

All of this stemmed from Zhang Lishi's own martial prowess.

In his previous life, chaotic times often presented opportunities for those at the bottom to rise and for society to be reshuffled.

But this was a world where demons and martial arts coexisted.

The future was destined to be a stage for the strong, and the weak would not even have their dying cries noticed.

During the night banquet, Li Cunxiao was extremely restrained, politely drinking a few cups before finding an excuse to return to his room to rest.

He took out the demon jerky from his embrace, and as the heat and Malevolent Qi melted away, he practiced the Tiger Form Eight Styles repeatedly in his room.

After a long while, when the whistling fist winds in the room finally stopped, Li Cunxiao, having worked up a sweat, felt refreshed. The worries of the day vanished without a trace.

Since only strength could allow him to establish himself in this world, what he needed to do was to firmly grasp that strength in his hands.

Focusing his mind, within his consciousness, the Vajra Scepter, replenished by the piece of demon jerky, was finally full again, emitting a faint golden light.

He thought for a moment and then, with a low mental command:

Break!

The Vajra Scepter remained unresponsive.

Although Li Cunxiao had expected this, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

He had originally hoped that the Vajra Scepter could not only break through but also deduce and elevate existing martial arts to a new realm.

But it seemed that wasn't possible now.

Without the proper methods, even the cleverest cook cannot prepare a meal without ingredients.

However, if the Vajra Scepter couldn't do it now, perhaps it would have room for upgrades in the future?

"I remember the Vajra Scepter has a single-pronged, and also three-pronged, five-pronged, and nine-pronged forms."

"Vajra Scepter, you need to step up. You are already a mature treasure, you must grow on your own."

Li Cunxiao muttered about his future prospects, simply washed himself with hot water, and went to sleep early.

Gao Cheng hummed a little tune, carrying half a roast goose and some braised bones he had packed, walking home with light steps.

As the saying goes, when good things happen, one's spirits are high. The Li brothers he had been worried about finally had a good place to go, and Li Cunxiao could even support his former good elder brother. His son's illness was cured, his own wages had increased, and the shopkeeper and Master Zhang had also become kinder.

"Heh, better days are still ahead."

Gao Cheng thought gleefully. However, as he neared his home, he was caught off guard by the sight of two constables in dark uniforms guarding his doorstep, and his expression immediately changed.

These constables and yamen runners had another nickname: "Bad People." They were often selected from the ranks of strong and brave young men with checkered pasts.

The advantage of this approach was that, coming from the same street background and familiar with underground gangs, these "Bad People" could find leads for apprehending criminals and thieves.

Moreover, unlike some hereditary clerks, these "Bad People" were expendable if they were injured or killed.

In short: temporary workers.

"Are you Gao Cheng?"

Before Gao Cheng could approach, the man among the constables, whose collar vaguely showed a tattoo, spoke first, his eyes looking at him like he was a fat sheep:

"Your wife participated in a Vegetable Demon Cult gathering and was apprehended on the spot. She has now been taken to prison."

"Speak! What connection does your family have with the Ming Cult!"

Gao Cheng's face instantly turned ashen, and the paper-wrapped food in his hand fell to the ground with a snap.

"Officer, it's a misunderstanding!"