Return Journey, Reputation

What was it?

One of our brothers almost died!

Qian Laosan's eyes brimmed with indignation. Before he could open his mouth, an old escort master beside him spoke first:

"After Escort Leader Shen left, that cunning beast doubled back. Li Cheng, he..."

"Someone died?!"

Shen He was startled. He took a single stride forward, and only after seeing Li Cheng unconscious but still breathing did he let out a slight sigh of relief.

The Flying Tiger Escort Agency had a great reputation, and this escort job had not been particularly dangerous to begin with. If they lost an escort master, Jiang Qi and the other fellow disciples would surely mock him.

"...He nearly didn't make it. Luckily, Li Sanlang acted in time. Otherwise, after we returned, I wouldn't even know how to explain this to Li Cheng's wife and children..."

Hearing the old escort master's gentle yet pointed tone, Shen He could not help frowning.

His strength was lacking. If he died, who could he blame but himself?

If I hadn't held off the mountain ape, would any of you even be standing here?

Shen He restrained the impulse in his heart and was about to offer some perfunctory words. Yet before he could speak, the gazes of everyone present seemed to carry weight, sealing his mouth shut.

It was a strange feeling. In the Shen family, no one had ever dared look at him like this. No—those servants did not even dare raise their eyes to him. They always kept their heads bowed and their eyes lowered, obeying every command he gave.

But these rough men were different. They stared straight at Shen He, and whatever lay in their eyes felt unfamiliar to this young master.

Indignation? Dissatisfaction?

When the old escort master's words received no response, everyone's eyes left him and shifted to Li Cunxiao, who stood with his head lowered, breathing heavily.

Those gazes changed. They became the kind of respect and trust Shen He was familiar with.

That change gave Shen He a start, and he finally understood the situation before him.

This is bad.

Li Sanlang has become a hero, and I've become the sinner?

It was as though Shen He had been doused with a basin of cold water. He instantly sobered up, and once sober, countless things came flooding back to him:

He had ignored the old escort masters' advice and demanded a forced march. He had slaughtered all the bandits to flaunt his strength, making the escort masters stay at the relay station. He had made wagers over fights for amusement. He had insisted on pursuing the mountain ape, leading to Li Cheng...

No, this is not my fault.

The weak obeying the strong—isn't that the most correct principle?

Though Shen He still did not believe he had done anything wrong, he knew he had to do something to win back their hearts. Otherwise, once they returned to the escort agency, Zhang Lishi's opinion of him would surely plummet.

As for whether Li Cheng lived or died, what others said, or the escort agency's reputation—those were all things a dignified young master of the Shen family could afford not to care about.

Only before Zhang Lishi, before fellow disciples like Jiang Qi, could he not lose face!

"Sanlang, if not for you, I nearly committed a grave mistake!"

Shen He gritted his teeth and said this. Before Li Cunxiao could react, Shen He decisively untied the jade pendant from his waist and stuffed it into Li Cunxiao's arms, leaving no room for refusal.

Then he walked to the mountain ape whose head had exploded and repeatedly swung his sword, chopping its corpse into a mangled mess.

Now, even if an immortal descended from the heavens, they would not be able to distinguish this one from the other mountain apes.

"Beast! Because of you, one brother of the escort agency nearly died!"

After sheathing his sword, he cupped his hands toward the crowd and declared impassionedly:

"Rest assured, everyone. For Li Cheng's injuries, I will certainly find a physician and use the finest medicine on him..."

"If the worst should happen, aside from the escort agency's compensation, my Shen family will provide an additional sum of silver. His wife, children, and elderly relatives will certainly live without worry."

After this performance, regardless of whether it was convincing or sincere, everyone's expressions softened somewhat. Scattered among them, some cupped their hands and offered words such as Escort Leader Shen's righteousness and Li Cheng deserving such treatment.

Shen He then went around asking about each escort master's injuries. He even endured the pain of parting with his own wound medicine, intending to bandage a few of them personally. Yet for some reason, he ultimately gave up, merely adding that he would personally inspect the escort goods and horses.

Once they saw him walking far away, Li Cunxiao, who had seemed dazed, immediately "came to."

His fingers rubbed over the jade pendant, feeling its warm smoothness. The image of a Sea Eastern Green hunting a wild goose was carved with lifelike detail.

A fine jade piece like this would likely be worth close to a hundred taels of silver.

But compared to a human life...

Li Cunxiao said nothing and silently put away the jade pendant. By then, the escort masters had also recovered from the tense atmosphere. Several of the younger men bragged while still shaken with lingering fear, and the tightly furrowed brows of the crowd gradually relaxed.

Yet that night, no one was destined to sleep soundly.

Once dawn fully broke, considering Li Cheng's injuries, one old escort master borrowed the white horse from Shen He and took people ahead to seek treatment, while the escort cart followed behind.

This time, Shen He no longer urged them onward. The caravan traveled at its normal pace and still reached its destination near dusk.

The client who had commissioned the escort still received the escort agency's caravan warmly. Crate after crate of medicinal herbs was carried into a manor guarded by rows of earthen forts.

At the welcome banquet that night, Shen He was entertained separately by the wealthy landlord, while the escort masters gathered in another room. As they recalled the dangers of the previous night, one after another came over to toast Li Cunxiao.

At first, he accepted every drink offered. Later, his head began to spin somewhat. Just then, Qian Laosan and several old escort masters were going to visit Li Cheng, so he hurriedly followed them and slipped away.

Stepping out of the noisy room, the cool night breeze of the countryside refreshed them.

From the main house separated by a wall came the faint sounds of strings, pipes, singing, and dancing. Shen He's conversation with the wealthy landlord mingled with the sweet laughter of women.

Qian Laosan suddenly snorted.

"Qian Yu, he is an escort leader. You've been drinking, so don't lose your head."

The old escort master who had repeatedly warned Shen He cut Qian Laosan off before he could speak. Hearing this, Qian Laosan replied in a strange, mocking tone:

"I was going to say that this Escort Leader Shen understands horses very well. He takes good care of them."

That old escort master was named Gao Huan. He was actually only thirty-five or thirty-six, but he had been doing Escort Missions for nearly ten years, so everyone usually respected him.

For the moment, he did not catch anything wrong with the remark and responded:

"That is true enough. When I came today, I had that strong, sturdy steed to thank. If not for fear of injuring Li Cheng, it could have charged nonstop for an hour or two without issue."

The two escort masters beside them also praised it:

"That horse really is fast."

"It certainly is."

At that, Qian Yu finally revealed a cold smile:

"But today, our horses were quite a bit slower than usual."

"Want to know why? Because that young master said he would care for the horses, yet he only fed the prized steed. Our nag horses went hungry for half the night!"

"If I hadn't been worried and gotten up early to check this morning, at this hour tonight we'd still be outside drinking the northwest wind!"

"Shut your mouth!"

Gao Huan rebuked him coldly. Looking around at the household guards patrolling with torches, he lowered his voice.

"We are away from home. We are the face of the escort agency, so do not make fools of ourselves outside!"

"I will naturally report everything from these past few days to the Chief Escort exactly as it happened."

Qian Laosan turned his head away, his teeth grinding with a creaking sound.

A perfectly fine man had lost an arm because of the willfulness of Shen He, that rich young master. He simply felt it was not worth it!

For a time, no one spoke. Each clenched their fists, and the atmosphere fell silent.

Li Cunxiao was the one who broke the silence.

"How are Brother Li's injuries?"

"His life was saved," Gao Huan said. He did not continue after that, but they all understood what he meant.

Blood Qi was stored throughout the limbs and bones. Losing an arm did not merely make life inconvenient—it also meant there was basically no possibility of further progress in martial arts, and he might even regress.

Big Foot Li had originally possessed Great Accomplishment of Blood Qi cultivation and was skilled in movement techniques. Among the escort masters, he had been considered outstanding.

With his monthly pay and escort mission dividends, he earned twenty or thirty taels of silver each month. His family of six had lived quite comfortably.

But now that he had lost a hand, doing Escort Missions was no longer possible.

Even if Zhang Lishi had always been benevolent and could support his family, such a fall from grace could not possibly feel good.

If one did not earn something with one's own hands, was it not called charity?

The group fell silent once more. Only when they reached Li Cheng's room did Qian Yu force out a smile and prepare to push open the door. Gao Huan suddenly grabbed him.

Muted sobbing came from inside the room.

Though separated by a door, Li Cunxiao seemed to see the man on the bed pressing his remaining right hand hard over his face, his shoulders shaking unevenly.

Only after the sound quieted did Gao Huan deliberately make his footsteps loud. After waiting more than ten breaths, he pushed open the door.

"Big Foot, the brothers have come to see you."

The next day, the caravan set out on its return journey with Big Foot Li aboard, his expression normal as though nothing had happened.

Without the burden of an escort mission, and after their danger that night, everyone was eager to return home.

The journey there had taken three days. The return took only two.

When Chuqiu City's gates appeared in sight, relief showed on every face.

Returning home was the happiest moment for escort masters.

The moment the escort masters entered the agency, it was like hot oil splashed into water, crackling with bustle.

Everyone spoke at once about the dangers of the past few days. Their eyes occasionally swept toward Li Cheng, who forced a smile at one side, and Sister-in-law Li, who silently wiped away tears. Yet in the end, their attention all settled on Li Cunxiao:

"I'm telling you, it was so dark then that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. That mountain ape was as big as a black bear!"

"Li Sanlang reacted fastest. He even snapped his staff. I actually wasn't slow either, it was just..."

"...No matter what, Li Cunxiao truly is a good one!"

"That's right. No wonder the Chief Escort chose those two brothers for the escort agency. What discerning eyes!"

"How did that saying go? Something about a thousand miles or a hundred miles not being many..."

"It's Thousand-mile horse! Li Cunxiao is a Thousand-mile horse!"

Pair after pair of eyes focused on the young man with leopard's head and ringed eyes. Li Cunxiao even spotted Qin Yu in the crowd. Qin Yu looked every bit like a little fangirl, excitedly opening his mouth to say something, though his voice was drowned in the clamor.

Li Cunxiao could only smile and cup his hands toward everyone. His gaze followed Gao Huan as he walked away, as well as Shen He, who hurried after him.

Judging by Shen He's hurried expression, it was clear that he had not failed to notice the commotion here. He simply did not care.

No matter how much attention he drew, he was only an escort master. Compared to that, the urgent matter was to clarify this affair before Zhang Lishi, lest some petty villain strike first and make a false accusation!

"Sanlang, aside from the dividend from this escort job, you can also exchange this Demon Meat at the escort agency for silver or medicinal supplements for cultivation."

"Once processed, Demon Meat is a great tonic even more effective than pills. It just cannot be eaten in excess."

As Qian Laosan directed the workers to carry the simply salted Demon Meat, he explained it to Li Cunxiao.

Though those mountain apes were dead, their corpses were treasures from head to toe and could not simply be discarded.

Though the old escort masters' strength was no higher than Blood Qi Perfection, after so many years of doing Escort Missions, demons were no secret to them.

In the medicine shops of Chuqiu City, anything processed from demons was a prized commodity that was more sought after than available.

Aside from Demon Meat, which contained the most Killing Intent, the other parts were also precious medicinal ingredients after being properly prepared.

The dozen or so mountain ape corpses gained from this escort mission could likely sell for several thousand taels at a high price.

"...Gao Huan and I both have families, and there is no hope for us in martial arts, so we chose silver."

"You are still young. It would be best to exchange your share for Demon Meat."

"Perhaps..."

Perhaps with these, Li Cunxiao could reach Blood Qi Perfection within one or two years and become the Chief Escort's personal disciple?

But before he could voice those words, Qian Yu himself fell silent with a laugh.

How could that be possible?

At the end of the day, Li Cunxiao was merely someone fortunate enough to have been accepted into the escort agency by Zhang Lishi. There was no shortage of people like that among the escort masters here.

Yet five years, ten years later, they would still be escort masters, while those with money and power would still stand above them.

Could hard work alone be enough to become Zhang Lishi's personal disciple?

It could not.

For a moment, Qian Yu felt desolate. He patted Li Cunxiao's shoulder hard, but by the time he turned around, he had already put on a smile again and headed toward his wife and child waiting beneath the corridor.

"Good son, look what your father brought you this time."

Li Cunxiao said nothing. He quietly watched the workers carry away the mountain apes' mangled corpses, lightly supporting his stomach with his right hand as he swiftly left the escort agency.

After returning to his small courtyard, closing the doors and windows, and confirming that it was safe, he took a wax-paper packet from inside his clothes and untied it.

Inside were two palm-thick slices of meat, their surfaces rubbed with salt and several unidentified medicinal herbs. Even after three days, the meat remained bright red, as though it had just been cut from a mountain ape.

Li Cunxiao had secretly cut them off on the night of the attack.

One piece was ordinary mountain ape meat.

The other was meat from the mountain ape with the red line on its forehead—the one Li Cunxiao had blown apart at the head and that Shen He had later chopped to pieces.

Judging by appearance, there was no visible difference between the two pieces. Yet compared to the first, the latter looked fresher and carried a stronger bloody stench, as though displaying greater strength and a more powerful life force.

Li Cunxiao could not help recalling what Qian Yu had said that night.

"A mountain ape close to breaking through to the Second Order Demon level has a thick red line running from its forehead to its lips. Second Order Demons correspond to second-realm martial artists—above Blood Qi, but with muscles and flesh not yet perfected."

"The one I killed also had a red line, but it was thin and faint. It was probably only at the level of having just reached Blood Qi Perfection."

"That corpse might originally have exposed my strength, but it was dark at the time, and I only entered my burst state for an instant. The escort masters could not see clearly."

"Shen He also jumped over the wall in desperation and destroyed the corpse. Mm..."

After carefully reviewing everything and confirming there were no omissions, Li Cunxiao cut the two pieces of meat into strips as thick as his little finger. He boiled a pot of water, scalded them until cooked, and portioned them out.

Finally, he sat before the table, tense and expectant.

Demon Meat could charge the Vajra Scepter because it contained Killing Intent—or rather, intense negative emotions called "demonic thoughts." Killing demons or people harboring malice toward him could likewise charge the Vajra Scepter. This was "subduing demons."

Then would the Demon Meat of demons he had killed still contain Killing Intent?

If it did, then without question, Li Cunxiao could kill demons first and eat their flesh afterward in the future, harvesting from one demon twice and achieving a win-win outcome.

If it did not, then that meant "subduing demons" would draw away all the Killing Intent contained within a demon's body to charge the Vajra Scepter, and that...

Li Cunxiao expressionlessly picked up a strip of meat from the second bowl and swallowed it.