Inner City Shen He, Second Escort Mission

Li Cunxiao pricked up his ears, listening to the sounds behind him as they gradually grew clearer from faint whispers.

His eyes narrowed, and his pace suddenly quickened. Without bothering to hide it, he charged forward.

As expected, this move provoked the "tails" behind him. Two men suddenly emerged from the broken walls and ruins near the black market exit.

But Li Cunxiao had long prepared for the possibility of being robbed by other robbers. Like a loach, he slipped into the maze of alleyways, and before long, he vanished from sight.

The two men chasing after him wore anxious expressions. Yet when they reached an intersection and looked around in every direction, they found nothing. They had clearly lost him.

The taller of the two could not help complaining to the shorter one:

"I told you there was a fat sheep, but you kept dragging your feet. Great. The cooked duck has flown away!"

"Keep your voice down!"

The short man jumped at his companion's suddenly raised voice. Though annoyance showed on his face as well, he still stubbornly retorted:

"Don't just talk about the gains and ignore the risks. That guy could afford food from the Firewood Gang's shops. Who knows what tricks he has up his sleeve?"

"Bullshit!" The taller man flew into a rage.

"What Firewood Gang shop? I saw it clearly. Didn't that guy end up buying Demon Meat from an outside stall?"

"Damn it, even those street stalls sell Demon Meat for five taels a pound. Who can afford that?"

"It took me years to manipulate blood essence. If I'd had enough Demon Meat, I would've succeeded long ago—"

"Yeah, if I'd had enough Demon Meat, I would've succeeded long ago!"

For some reason, the tall man grew more and more agitated as he spoke. His voice boomed through the silent alley like exploding thunder.

The short man shuddered and backed away several steps, his right hand already drawing the short blade at his waist halfway out. He had no idea what was going on.

They had merely lost a fat sheep. No matter how angry he was, there was no need to go this far, right?

What neither man noticed was that Li Cunxiao stood at that very moment in the shadow of a ruined wall, only a meter or two away.

Not only was he dressed in black night clothes and had his face darkened, even every patch of exposed skin had been smeared black.

Like a black man silently blending into the night, he seemed strangely harmonious with the darkness.

When he had seen the two men emerge, Li Cunxiao had planned to circle around behind them and deal with the tall one first. He had not expected the man to suddenly become abnormal.

He immediately suppressed the urge to strike and continued hiding in the shadows, playing the part of a night elf.

"Did you eat too much Demon Meat?"

The short man suddenly thought of a possibility. His feet quietly shifted position, and as he spoke, his eyes had already locked onto a gap in a broken wall.

"Demon Meat? I... I really have lately..."

The big man suddenly quieted down, seeming to return to normal. The short man's movement to retreat slowed despite himself.

But then the tall man raised his head. The bloodshot veins in his eyes formed dense webs like spider silk, and with heavy, ragged breaths, he lunged forward!

"I really haven't eaten enough. Not enough!"

He moved so fast that it far surpassed anything the short man knew his companion capable of. He only had time to stab toward the other man's chest before a massive force slammed into his abdomen. The blow was so powerful that it felt as though his intestines had been shaken apart.

"Calm down... Old Zhou, I—"

"I want meat!!!"

The tall man had gone utterly mad. His fists hammered like pile drivers against the short man's chest and stomach. Even as his own bones groaned under the strain, even as chunks of internal organs sprayed from the other man's mouth, those fists continued rising and falling at terrifying speed, leaving afterimages as they flew, until—

Schtk.

A blade tip pierced into the back of his neck and emerged from his mouth. The tall man's movements abruptly froze, but the next instant, he tried to turn around. His mouth stretched so wide that the corners of his lips split apart, while thick saliva hung in strings and dripped down.

Schtk. Schtk.

The veins on Li Cunxiao's left arm bulged as he rapidly drove the short blade in his right hand into the man's eyes.

Had the disguise been washed from his face at that moment, it would have revealed skin purple-red like a Blood Tiger's. He had clearly entered an explosive state.

The tall man's brain had been pierced by two fatal strikes. His body went limp, and he finally collapsed.

The Vajra Scepter flickered with light, increasing by nearly one-eighth.

Li Cunxiao silently looked at the smaller corpse. Terror still lingered in its eyes, its chest visibly caved in, while bloodied fragments of organs lay sprayed from its mouth.

As for the tall corpse...

Summoning his courage, Li Cunxiao lit a fire striker.

By the faint glow, he saw a pair of eyes shrouded in gloom.

They were filled with bloody red.

He suddenly shivered violently, quickly searched the bodies, then got up and left.

Though the two little tails had been dealt with, Li Cunxiao still watched carefully behind him. He took several wide detours before returning to the small courtyard.

"Eating too much Demon Meat really can drive someone insane..."

Chill after chill surged through Li Cunxiao's heart. He suddenly realized just how fortunate he was.

Without the Vajra Scepter, let alone absorbing Killing Intent, he might have long since fallen into demonic madness like that man. He might even have hurt Wood Fork.

"The living conditions of bottom-tier martial artists are truly brutal."

"If they don't eat Demon Meat, their cultivation advances slowly."

"If they do eat Demon Meat, they might go mad at any moment."

"Only the great Lineages of the Inner City, or forces like the Flying Tiger Escort Agency, can provide quality cultivation resources."

"Strength. Strength..."

After casually checking what he had taken from the corpses and putting away the less than ten taels of silver, Li Cunxiao took out Demon Meat and began chewing it in great mouthfuls.

Train!

Cultivation knew neither days nor months. In the blink of an eye, several days passed. After reaching the Great Accomplishment of Blood Qi, Li Cunxiao could consume roughly half a pound of Demon Meat every day, and his reserves of Blood Qi and Killing Intent grew in tandem.

Combined with the progress accumulated from his counterattack at the black market a few days earlier, the Vajra Scepter was expected to be filled in about half a month.

Meanwhile, word gradually spread throughout the escort agency that the Chief Escort had made an exception to teach Li Cunxiao an Internal Cultivation Method.

After all, the gate to the inner courtyard stood right there. With a new face among those coming and going—and a notably fierce-looking one at that—it was easy for people to notice.

Since few knew about the county office incident, opinions varied wildly over the Chief Escort's exceptional promotion.

Some believed that Li Cunxiao's virtue did not match his position. He might have talent, but he lacked contributions to match it.

Others believed that troubled times called for extraordinary measures. Besides, the young masters of the Inner City could pay to learn the method, so why could Li Cunxiao, who came from the same humble background as most escort masters, not receive an exception?

Still others thought the whole group was talking nonsense. Tiger Form Fist was martial arts passed down by the Chief Escort. He could give it to whoever he pleased. Since when was it their place to point fingers?

The third kind of remark ended all discussion, because Zhang Lishi's authority in the Flying Tiger Escort Agency was absolute.

At most, everyone discussed it privately as after-meal gossip. No one dared openly oppose his decision.

Li Cunxiao also keenly noticed that among the escort masters he knew, people like Qian Laosan had become increasingly warm toward him, while a small number had grown increasingly distant.

He ignored all that. He simply ate meat and trained, continuously strengthening his control over his explosive state under Heart and Lung Circulation, striving to shift freely between his explosive state and normal state.

He also did not stop teaching Qin Yu and He Bi. Through everyone's arguments, Li Cunxiao had realized that if he wanted to continue developing within the escort agency, he needed people who supported him.

Qin Yu and He Bi were undoubtedly suitable candidates. Over this period, the relationship between the three of them had warmed rapidly.

He Bi considered himself a talent scout and could still interact as an equal, while Qin Yu had swiftly transformed, evolving directly into a little brother who followed Li Cunxiao's lead in all things.

Qin Yu: Loyal! Faithful!

Just when Li Cunxiao thought he would steadily endure like this until the Vajra Scepter was filled, news arrived that was both expected and unexpected:

The second escort mission was about to begin.

Though only three or four days had passed since the previous one, it was clear that amid the unrest, the value of an escort agency was rising.

Yet this was not what concerned Li Cunxiao. What concerned him was the choice of escort master leading this mission. It was not one of the hired escort chiefs, but Zhang Lishi's personal disciple—a Second Realm Martial Artist who had broken through to the Muscle Realm with Tiger Form Fist.

Shen He, the fourth young master of the Shen family of the Inner City.

Inner City, Zui Chun Lou.

"Junior Disciple Ye is extraordinarily gifted. In barely a year, he has broken through four minor barriers in a row and achieved Blood Qi Perfection."

"Now he need only wait for Master Zhang to teach him the method of luring demons. The Muscle Realm is within reach!"

A warm smile rested on Shen He's face. Across from him, even Ye Chengxiao, usually so aloof, could not help showing a few traces of pride.

"The three senior disciples are all my elders. Your praise truly embarrasses me."

As he spoke, his gaze unconsciously wandered through the inner room, subtly sweeping over everyone in the private chamber.

Shen He was a member of the Inner City's Shen family. Though they could not compare to the Murong, Ye, and Xiao families among the Three Great Families, he still came from a major Lineage.

He wore a round-collared robe of woven brocade, with a strip of patterned satin sewn along its central seam, and exquisitely carved jade hung from his waist.

Seated on his left was Jiang Qi, the daughter of the Jiang family of the Inner City. She too wore a round-collared robe in men's attire, looking valiant and spirited, though she spoke less than the other two.

The final person was Xiao Mei, seated on Shen He's right. Like Ye Chengxiao, she came from the Xiao family, one of the Three Great Families of the Inner City, and was likewise from a collateral branch.

Yet compared to Jiang Qi's martial attire, this Lady Xiao was dressed with considerable warmth and boldness.

Her lofty cloudlike coiffure fell down past her slender neck. Below her collarbones, her low-cut top formed a deep U-shape, paired with a high-waisted skirt in contrasting colors, every detail revealing the depth of a hidden ravine.

Yet draped over her shoulders was a gauzy silk shawl, hazy and half-concealing, appearing and vanishing like a glimpse through mist.

When Ye Chengxiao looked over, Senior Sister Xiao happened to be looking at him as well. Her eyes seemed to ripple with water, and her lips were lush and glistening...

"Junior Sister's skills have improved again."

Shen He suddenly spoke. Ye Chengxiao instantly realized his lapse and hurriedly raised his cup to conceal it.

But Xiao Mei merely smiled sweetly, picked up a pomegranate seed from the fruit platter, and lightly curled it into her mouth with the tip of her tongue.

"Senior Disciple Shen is joking. Tiger Demon Fist is best at strengthening one's bones and foundation. If I had improved even a little, I wouldn't be able to wear this dress."

Jiang Qi could not help sneering.

"Junior Sister has misunderstood. What Senior Disciple Shen meant was not the martial art taught by Master Zhang, but the Jade Chamber Art inherited by your Xiao family."

Xiao Mei was not angered at all. She merely covered her mouth and smiled, her charm so captivating that Ye Chengxiao could not help looking at her once more.

Alas.

Seeing his uninitiated junior disciple in such a state, Shen He could not help sighing inwardly.

He was still full of youthful vigor and had faced too few temptations. Only after fighting with real blades and real blood like Shen He had several times could one regard female beauty as fleeting clouds before one's eyes.

Still, he had heard that Ye Chengxiao had devoted himself wholeheartedly to the martial path since entering the sect and did not indulge in pleasure. His behavior today was not all that strange.

Without such dedication, he likely could not have achieved Blood Qi Perfection in less than a year.

Back when I began martial arts at sixteen, Sensing Qi and subduing Qi had also advanced by leaps and bounds.

Yet the two hurdles of the major and Minor Circulations of Blood Qi dragged on for ages. It took nearly a year and a half before I reached Blood Qi Perfection, and Jiang Qi was roughly the same.

With Ye Chengxiao's talent, becoming Master Zhang's disciple is merely a matter of time.

Thinking of this, Shen He became even more tolerant of this junior disciple who had yet to formally enter the sect.

After three rounds of wine, Ye Chengxiao had drunk enough. His cold disposition faded, and he opened up.

Everyone came from extraordinary backgrounds and possessed comparable experience. For a time, they talked of heaven and earth, and the atmosphere became lively. Of them all, Shen He's topics were the most entertaining.

"...I never expected there to be so many wandering heroes, bandits, and thieves outside Chuqiu City. I have always been confined within the city. I truly was a frog at the bottom of a well."

"I do envy Senior Disciple Shen somewhat, being able to follow the escort cart, travel in all directions, and broaden your horizons."

Ye Chengxiao still possessed a youth's temperament. Hearing those exciting tales, he could not help sighing with emotion.

What he did not notice was that the two ladies present both gave Shen He strange looks at his words. Shen He's expression stiffened, but he quickly returned to normal.

"Junior Brother is joking. Escort Missions mean exhaustion from travel, sleeping outdoors and eating in the wind. How could that be any kind of life?"

Yes. If not to learn Master Zhang's Minor Yaksha Saber, why would he, a dignified young master of the Shen family, suffer wind and rain alongside people born from the mud, leaving his face covered in dust and grime?

Ye Chengxiao found it exhilarating, but Shen He only found it humiliating.

But what could he do? The Shen family lacked the foundations of the Three Great Families.

"By the way, I heard there is a Li Sanlang in the escort agency lately, and the Chief Escort made an exception to teach him an Internal Cultivation Method."

"He sensed Qi and subdued Qi in a month. That speed is enough to rival us Inner City disciples."

Xiao Mei seemed unable to find a topic, so she brought up something she had happened to hear.

Shen He and Jiang Qi merely smiled at this, while Ye Chengxiao was even more arrogant.

"I have heard of this as well. In the Outer City, that speed truly is not slow."

"But in the Blood Qi Realm, martial artists who can manipulate blood essence are the least scarce. The Great Accomplishment of Blood Qi is where the real grinding begins."

Shen He also echoed him.

"That Li Sanlang comes from humble origins. He likely cannot afford much Demon Meat. In a few years, he may simply vanish into the masses."

"Without entering the Muscle Realm, one remains nothing more than an ordinary mortal."

At the side gate of the escort agency, the workers busily loaded and unloaded goods.

The autumn wind blew, making the Escort Banner embroidered with the Winged Tiger snap and flutter.

Beneath the banner, escort masters in white round-collared robes and red headbands gathered together. Compared to the previous mission, their number had increased to twelve, while the escort chief leading them had changed from Ge Yingyang to Shen He.

Li Cunxiao keenly noticed that compared to their warmth and respect toward Ge Yingyang before, everyone now showed an extra measure of ingratiation toward Shen He.

Shen He stood amid the crowd, wearing the same white round-collared robe and red headband, but bright brocade lining showed from his turned-back collar and cuffs.

From afar, he looked dressed no differently from the escort agency's men. Up close, however, one could distinguish the difference in their status.

Shen He walked past the escort masters one by one, speaking polite formalities. A moment later, he came before Li Cunxiao, who was organizing his equipment.

"Li Sanlang? I've heard of you."

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