Muscle and Tendon Strength, Encountering Demons at Night

Shen He wore a false smile as he conversed with the escorts before him.

On the surface, this personal disciple of the Chief Escort seemed bold and generous, approachable, as though he had become one with the escorts.

But if one could split open his skull and glimpse his inner thoughts, even a master archer like Ge Yingyang would find only the two words: "impatient."

Before the escort mission had even begun, Shen He was already sick of it.

Or rather, he had never wanted to take on an escort mission in the first place. He had simply had no choice.

An escort mission meant rising before dawn and returning after dark with a pack of crude men, sleeping rough and eating wherever they could.

There were no beautiful maids to attend him, no fine wine or delicacies, and he even had to endure these middle-aged men's snoring and sweat stench.

He was the young master of the Shen Family, a man raised with a golden spoon in his mouth. How could he possibly be satisfied with such a life?

Only a greenhorn like Ye Chengxiao would harbor fantasies about this so-called life of the martial world!

But if he was unwilling, why had he come?

Shen He sighed inwardly. He thought of the conversation at last night's banquet, of Xiao Mei and Ye Chengxiao, and of the Three Great Families.

The Xiao Family and the Ye Family had both sent collateral descendants to the Flying Tiger Escort Agency, while Jiang Qi and Shen He were indisputably members of their families' Direct Lineages.

This is the gap in a family's foundations.

Shen He kept his false smile in place and suppressed his impatience. He passed the escorts one by one, and only when he stopped before Li Cunxiao did his smile gain a trace of sincerity.

Not kindness, but amusement at the sight of his appearance.

As Zhang Lishi's personal disciple, the unmarried female members of Zhang's household were naturally people Shen He needed to keep close to.

To say nothing of the others, Third Lady Zhang Yuelu was only nineteen and still had a chance of breaking through to the Muscle Realm. The Shen Family had long intended to form a marriage alliance with her.

Unfortunately, Zhang Lishi was a doting father. Shen He had heard that not long ago, Zhang Lishi had even politely declined Murong Bai's proposal, so the matter could only be set aside for now.

And while Fourth Mistress Que'er was only ten, she would reach marriageable age in another five or six years. Every family in the inner city had their eyes on her.

So when a handsome youth suddenly appeared at her side, Shen He had been quite startled and had sent people everywhere to inquire.

Yet it turned out that he was merely a bookboy Zhang Lishi had taken in on a whim, while his elder brother had entered the escort agency alongside him.

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

Shen He sized up the tall young man before him and said with great interest,

"I saw your younger brother at Master Zhang's residence. He could be called jade-faced and delicately featured, with vermilion lips and a square mouth; his eyes shone like bright stars, and his bones were refined and graceful."

"He truly had little Que'er so utterly bewitched that her Divine Soul was turned upside down."

"So how was it that you, the elder brother, had a leopard's head and round eyes, looking so fierce? Majestic, certainly, but somewhat savage as well."

When Li Cunxiao first heard that Shen He knew of him, he was somewhat nervous. Yet Shen He was merely making fun of his looks, leaving him rather speechless.

"Wood Fork is indeed more handsome than I am. Madam and the ladies of the residence have all shown him much care. Cunxiao is deeply grateful."

Li Cunxiao knew that his current strength was insufficient and did not wish to deal with these young masters from the inner city. So he gave a dry, polite reply, hoping to send Shen He away. Unexpectedly, Shen He became interested instead.

He had seen countless people fawn over him. Someone who treated him with respect while keeping him at arm's length was rather rare.

Besides, he had heard that this Li Sanlang had once been a waiter at a tavern. By rights, he should have been a coarse fellow of the streets.

Whether Shen He's teasing made him embarrassed or angry, Li Cunxiao instead knew how to speak in official niceties and even slipped in a word of gratitude.

With such worldly wisdom, it was no wonder he had won Master Zhang's favor for a time and been granted an Internal Cultivation Method.

At this thought, Shen He could not help but feel a little mischievous. He teased,

"Breaking through two stages in one month—Filial and Righteous Li Sanlang, I'd say you have some talent."

"The treatment at this escort agency is naturally not bad, but escort missions mean sleeping rough and eating in the wind. It cannot compare to serving as a guard in a great family."

"You would lack neither food nor clothing, and it would be quite respectable. Perhaps some noble patron might even take notice of you, and you could soar into the sky in a single leap."

It had to be said that with Li Cunxiao's imposing appearance, even if his martial strength was lacking, he would still make an excellent decoration standing at someone's side.

What did that mean? Was he trying to poach me?

Li Cunxiao could not make sense of Shen He's intentions. Nor could he possibly betray Zhang Lishi, the man who had truly recognized his worth. He could only answer cautiously,

"Escort Leader Shen is joking. My brother and I once had no clothes to cover ourselves and no food to fill our bellies. We have relied entirely on the Chief Escort's generous favor."

"Escort missions naturally mean sleeping rough and eating in the wind, but one reaps what one sows. Being able to live in peace is already more than enough for me."

Shen He chuckled at this, though he was not particularly disappointed. In the end, he had merely been looking for some casual amusement.

Whether Li Cunxiao agreed or refused, it had always been a trivial matter.

Li Cunxiao did not understand how to seize an opportunity, but Shen He would not take it to heart or become angry over it. Still, when Li Cunxiao encountered an insurmountable hurdle in the future and languished in the Blood Qi Realm, he might greatly regret not having seized this chance.

Smiling, Shen He patted Li Cunxiao on the shoulder and turned to leave.

"What a weirdo."

Li Cunxiao glanced at Shen He's retreating back, then busied himself arranging his equipment.

This escort assignment had come suddenly. When he received the news yesterday, his chainmail was still short of being finished. Li Cunxiao had no choice but to hurry to the blacksmith's shop and add another five taels of silver.

The blacksmiths had worked through the night for the sake of the silver, rushing the job so Li Cunxiao could wear this suit of chainmail.

The chainmail reached from his upper arms to his hips and weighed only a little over ten jin. Li Cunxiao wore it beneath his leather armor.

After reaching Great Accomplishment of Blood Qi, both his strength and endurance had improved noticeably. He could easily bear this weight and still move freely in battle.

If blades or swords came slashing or thrusting at him, they would first have to pierce the leather armor, then the chainmail. Two layers of protection greatly increased his safety.

Before long, the escort cart convoy had finished preparing and set off at once.

This time, Wood Fork was absent among those seeing them off. It was only an ordinary escort mission, and Li Cunxiao did not want his younger brother to beg Que'er for permission every time.

Qin Yu, however, stood among the crowd and waved enthusiastically at Li Cunxiao. According to him, over the past few days he had begun to feel as though he could manipulate blood essence. Perhaps after returning from this escort mission, he might be able to subdue his qi.

The convoy left the city. Shen He rode a tall horse at the very front, followed by two inferior horses pulling carts, four carts in total. Twelve escorts walked on either side of the escort carts.

An inferior horse could also be called a draft horse. Its explosive power was lacking, but its endurance was strong.

The fine horse beneath Shen He was not from the escort agency, but his own. Its entire body was white except for a patch of jet black on its forehead. One could tell at a glance that it was an excellent horse.

Song Prefecture lay deep within the Central Plains. It had broad farmlands but few pastures, unlike Longyou, which produced fine horses.

A horse like this likely cost a hundred taels of silver. Feeding it each day required refined fodder, and it ate better than ordinary commoners.

It was no exaggeration to say that a fine horse was the luxury carriage of ancient times. It was expensive to buy and even more expensive to maintain.

Riding such a splendid horse made Shen He's aloofness all the more apparent.

At first, while everyone was chatting and laughing, he occasionally responded. But after they had traveled more than ten li and the surrounding population grew sparse, Shen He's expressions became fewer and fewer. The escorts gradually stopped talking as well.

This was not a short escort mission. One way took three days, six days for the round trip, covering two hundred li in all.

Yet the veteran escorts had arranged every route, location, lodging place, and rest stop with perfect clarity. They could even state the exact locations of the streams where they would draw water.

With such thorough preparations, the first day passed without incident. Before darkness fell, the group lodged at a familiar manor and rested early.

The escort leaders each had their own rooms, while the escorts shared two to a room. Li Cunxiao stayed with Qian Laosan.

Before sleeping, Qian Laosan could not help gossiping for a while. One moment he complained that Shen He looked down on everyone, the next he spoke of the extravagant, intoxicating places in the inner city, and then he wondered whether his son, once grown, might be able to enter the Chief Escort's discipleship.

After a night passed and dawn had only begun to brighten the sky, the people of the escort agency set off again. Li Cunxiao was already familiar with the routine and felt no discomfort. Shen He, riding atop his horse, was visibly growing somewhat irritated.

In truth, at the escorts' pace, this journey could have been completed in two days one way.

But the escort agency sought stability in all things. The delivery date could not possibly be set with such razor-thin precision.

When Shen He was before Zhang Lishi, he had loudly praised this cautious approach. Yet now that he was on the road, he felt they were moving too slowly and wasting his time for nothing.

By the time they stopped at noon to eat dry rations, Shen He saw the mush in his bowl, cooked from dried meat and sun-dried wheat rice, and finally could no longer hold himself back. He proposed increasing their pace.

Several veteran escorts in the convoy had considerable objections, but because of Shen He's status, they ultimately agreed.

After all, though this went against convention, they had traveled this route several times before. The escort agency's reputation also stood behind them, so it was unlikely anything would go wrong.

Li Cunxiao was fairly supportive of this. First, he had no ability to oppose it. Second, an escort mission had too many eyes around him, so he could not freely eat Demon Meat. His efficiency in accumulating Killing Intent was more than half slower than usual. Returning earlier would naturally be a good thing.

Thus, everyone quickened their pace. That afternoon, they passed the village where they had originally planned to rest and hurried toward the next stop.

"Up ahead is Anping Station. Once we reach it, we can arrive at our destination before noon tomorrow and begin our return trip in the afternoon."

As dusk approached, Qian Laosan spotted the station's signboard in the distance and turned to explain it to Li Cunxiao.

Upon seeing the station, the other escorts in the convoy all unconsciously let out a breath of relief.

They had hurried all day, and everyone wanted to rest as soon as possible.

Shen He had traveled on horseback, and his horse was a fine steed. Forty-odd li was nothing to it.

While everyone else was weary, both man and horse remained full of vigor.

As usual, Shen He rode alone at the front. But when they were still a hundred paces from the station, he seemed to notice something and narrowed his eyes slightly.

And when they were fifty paces away, a station attendant noticed the convoy and eagerly came forward.

"Honored guests."

"Stop." At that moment, one of the veteran escorts in the convoy also noticed something wrong, and his expression turned grave.

"Where is your proprietress? Tell her to come out."

The attendant did not realize anything was amiss. He merely rubbed his hands together with a smile. "She's busy in the kitchen right now."

"Honored guests, please come with me. The hot water has already been prepared. Hurry inside and wash away the dust of the road."

At those words, several of the younger escorts showed interest. But Li Cunxiao only watched the leading veteran escorts.

"Escort Leader, something is wrong."

The veteran escort leaned close to Shen He and said in a low voice,

"We have stayed at this station several times. The owner, Baldy Lai, is a widower. Where would a proprietress come from?"

"And I do not recognize this attendant at all. I fear..."

Another escort also stepped forward and said,

"Escort Leader, as the saying goes, when traveling on an escort mission, 'Three Not Staying, Two Not Separating.'"

"These people have unknown origins. We do not know their numbers or strength. Rather than stepping into a pit with one foot, we should turn back."

"I saw an abandoned village earlier. Water is easy to obtain there. We have many men, and if we take turns keeping watch, we can get through one night."

The "two not leaving" meant blade never leaving one's body, escort goods never leaving one's person. The "Three Not Staying" meant never staying at a newly opened inn, an inn that had changed owners, or an inn run by prostitutes.

A newly opened inn concealed the dangers lurking in human hearts. An inn with prostitutes entangled men and women, and one careless misstep could lead to being tricked and losing the goods. Those entrusted with escorting goods did not dare take such risks lightly.

As for an inn that had changed owners, there was no telling whether bandits who had murdered for goods had changed their faces and opened a thieves' inn. It was the same principle as avoiding newly opened inns.

The station before them was precisely an inn that had changed owners.

"What you have said is all the counsel of experience."

Shen He's first sentence made everyone breathe easier, but then his tone abruptly changed.

"However, from what I see on the map, there are no major cities around this station, and naturally no prominent powers."

"What sort of storm could a few wandering petty thieves possibly stir up?"

The veteran escort immediately grew anxious, and his words could not help gaining a barb.

"Escort Leader, your martial arts may be peerless, but the brothers' strength is not even one ten-thousandth of yours."

You were in the Muscle Realm, so of course you were not afraid. But were they at the same level as you?

The brothers all had families to support. If fathers died, if husbands died, could a young master from the inner city bring them back to life?

The moment Li Cunxiao saw conflict arise before they had even encountered an enemy, he felt that things were going badly.

Fortunately, Shen He did not make him worry.

Seeing the veteran escorts' reluctance, Shen He did not force them. He merely smiled.

"You brothers have traveled hard all day. Wait here while I clean up the lodging for you. I'll be right back."

With that, he lightly squeezed the horse's belly with his legs. The white steed immediately neighed and shot forward like a gust of wind. The station attendant's eyes flashed with viciousness as he drew the short blade from behind his waist with his right hand and opened his mouth to howl.

But Shen He was simply too fast. So fast that in the blink of an eye, all that remained before the attendant's eyes was a flash of cold light. The next moment, heaven and earth spun.

A head rolled away, trailing a winding streak of blood before stopping in front of the escort carts.

Everyone was stunned at first, then shocked. Several young escorts were still shouting praises of the Escort Leader's might, while the veteran escorts had already readied their blades and shields, driving the draft horses forward at speed.

As he passed the head, Li Cunxiao only glanced at it once, but his heart tightened.

Human bones were far harder than most people imagined. The executioners who beheaded people with a single stroke on television were, in reality, all highly skilled veteran headsmen.

To sever a person's head with one strike, both the angle of the blade and the force behind it had to be precise.

The attendant's severed neck was not smooth, yet his head had still parted from his body in an instant. Clearly, the force behind Shen He's casual strike had reached a terrifying degree.

Everyone raised their guard as they approached the station. Yet the expected ambush never came. Instead, miserable screams rose endlessly around them.

The wails were loud and shrill, as if their owners were suffering through a brutal massacre—

And that was indeed the case.

When the people of the escort agency entered the station, they saw corpses scattered everywhere. By the station gate and along the walls lay another two or three bodies clutching bows, their chests and abdomens pierced through by blades.

Shen He stood with his back to the group. On the ground before him was a woman dressed as a young married wife. She struggled as she spoke, half threatening and half pleading.

"I—I belong to Iron Horn Mountain. You can't kill me!"

"Iron Horn Mountain?"

Shen He tilted his head and thought for a moment. Then realization dawned on him.

"So you belong to those bandit bastards. Hahahaha, eight bandits dared call themselves kings and hegemons? Eight Kings Bandits—what did your leader send you out here for? To open a brothel?"

He sliced open the woman's clothes with his sword, immediately exposing the spring scenery beneath.

The young married woman had lost a group of comrades and was filled with hatred and fear. But seeing what seemed to be a chance to live, she still forced out a smile.

"If you do not find me beneath you, I can warm your bed."

Shen He was somewhat tempted at her words, but after looking carefully, he immediately lost interest. He thrust out his sword, choking off the woman's stunned expression in her throat.

As he wiped the blood from his sword with her clothes in disgust, he said,

"Forget it. You aren't worthy."

"Brothers." Shen He turned to face the group. His smile held the satisfaction of release, as if it had even become a little more sincere. "The lodging has been cleaned up. Shall we?"

Everyone stood stunned for more than a dozen breaths. Only after the veteran escorts stepped forward did they recover their senses and begin praising Shen He's valor.

Li Cunxiao stood amid the crowd, looking at the dozen or so corpses, then at Shen He, who basked in the praise in his spotless white robes. His heart was filled with both shock and burning eagerness.

Among the corpses on the ground, quite a few had blood sprayed far away and bulging muscles. They had clearly been in a state of erupting Blood Essence, and their strength had been at least at Great Accomplishment of Blood Qi.

Yet Shen He had killed them one by one with effortless ease, without even a trace of resistance visible.

The gap in strength between the Muscle Realm and the Blood Qi Realm was actually so vast?

That shock did not fade even after night fell. This was true for Li Cunxiao and for everyone else as well.

Thus, when Shen He said the night was boring and put up prizes for everyone to spar and provide some entertainment, the veteran escorts felt it was inappropriate but could only tacitly allow it.

The corpses in the station courtyard had long since been dealt with.

The bonfire gave off warmth. Shadows crisscrossed and flickered. Some shouted encouragement, while others placed bets and opened wagering pools.

After several rounds, those who had won silver were jubilant, while those who had lost stormed away in anger.

Shen He sat beside the campfire, somehow having started to drink. From afar, he spotted Li Cunxiao hiding among the crowd and grew interested:

"Li Sanlang, you haven't competed yet, have you? Come forward!"

The escorts around them immediately began to jeer and egg them on. Among the younger ones, one even faintly revealed malice as he stepped forward with a provocative grin.

Not everyone had accepted Li Cunxiao, who had "luckily" received instruction from the Chief Escort.

Li Cunxiao looked at everything before him and frowned inwardly.

By custom, no one drank during an escort mission, for fear that wine would lead to trouble.

When escorts sparred, they generally did not wager anything, treating it only as a warm-up game.

But Shen He cared only for his own enjoyment. The moment he opened his mouth, he was betting five taels, ten taels—nearly equal to an escort's monthly pay. Once the fight began under such stakes, some people could no longer hold back. Not only did tempers flare, but their strength was wasted for nothing.

The thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Just as Li Cunxiao was about to speak, a shrill howl suddenly rose from near the courtyard wall, followed by a miserable scream.

"Demons!"