"Your childhood name was Nezha?"
Seeing Zhang Lishi's keen interest, Li Cunxiao continued answering:
"Yes. I was sickly as a child, so my parents gave me this name in hopes that gods and Buddhas would protect me, keeping me safe and free of illness or disaster."
Before Zhang Lishi could say anything, the beautiful woman beside him smiled and spoke first:
"How interesting. Wouldn't that make Nezha playing Nezha? Truly an auspicious sign."
"He is like my husband—fated with the Buddha."
The harsher the times became, the more fervent the common folk's devotion to Buddhism grew. Names such as Xiao Guanyin and Zhao Bodhisattva had become commonplace. Zhang Lishi's name itself came from the Vajra Warrior, which was why Madam Zhang said the two were fated with Buddhism.
As soon as she said this, everyone naturally laughed along. Even Old Master Zhou visibly relaxed, looking at the young man beside him with several degrees more gratitude. He thought that although this hastily invited youth was young, his mind was quick. If he came to perform opera, he would surely be a performer polished in every direction.
He was just a little fierce-looking.
Seeing the atmosphere ease, Li Cunxiao unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief as well. Yet his gaze still secretly assessed the Chief Escort of the Flying Tiger Escort Agency, not daring to let down his guard completely.
Having lived two lives, this was the first time he had truly understood what it meant for weakness itself to be an original sin.
Even a casual question from someone else could leave a person trembling with fear—not because they had done anything wrong, but because the other party's strength was impossible to resist. A single casual decision could send them soaring into heaven or plunging into hell.
That feeling of having no say in his own fate made him yearn even more fiercely for the power of martial arts. He planned to leave the tavern and immediately seek a master at a martial arts school in the Outer City.
Yet events did not unfold as he had imagined.
At some point, Zhang Lishi had risen to his feet and walked over, carefully examining the young man before him.
Li Cunxiao instantly felt as though he were facing a man-eating tiger. His entire body stiffened, while his blood surged through him in a stress response. Before long, his face had turned purple-red again.
A sense of danger as though he were stepping upon a mountain of blades shrouded his heart, bringing crushing pressure with every passing moment. A mere few breaths felt like several hours to Li Cunxiao.
Just as he was about to collapse under it, Zhang Lishi suddenly withdrew his gaze. Reaching around behind him, he gave him a pat and gripped the great dragon of his shoulder and spine.
Before Li Cunxiao could recover his senses, the man had already returned to his armchair.
"Your bone structure is decent, and your qi and blood are vigorous. What is your name?"
Li Cunxiao jolted, vaguely sensing that an opportunity had arrived, and immediately answered:
"Li Cunxiao."
"Li as in the character with wood, Cunxiao as in cherishing filial piety."
Shi Tie, the senior brother who had remained silent until now, could not help revealing a smile upon hearing this.
"Your parents truly gave you a fine name, Brother Li."
Shi Tie already had a square, upright face. With his gentle manner now, he naturally inspired a measure of closeness.
"Do you want to join the Flying Tiger Escort Agency and work as a hand?"
"Yes!"
Li Cunxiao was overjoyed. As the saying went, he had worn out iron shoes searching everywhere, only to find it without effort. He had planned to join a martial arts school precisely so he could learn martial arts. Yet in terms of strength, the Flying Tiger Escort Agency was renowned even in the Inner City. The martial arts he could learn there went without saying.
So what if he started as a hand? The platform was what mattered most!
Since that was the case, what was there to hesitate over?
He immediately made a deep bow, his manner earnest.
"This boy lost his parents young and has depended on his younger brother for survival. Life has been difficult. Today, I have been fortunate enough to meet such benefactors. I beg you to take us in!"
When he said this, Zhang Lishi, his wife, and his two daughters with married women's coiffures all looked thoroughly pleased. Even Shi Tie's square face softened considerably.
No matter who they were, everyone liked hearing pleasant words.
Hearing that Li Cunxiao had a younger brother, Madam Zhang unconsciously touched the daughter in her arms, tenderness appearing in her eyes.
"Where is your younger brother?"
Li Cunxiao had deliberately said those words for them to hear—he could enter the escort agency as a hand, but he could not leave his younger brother uncared for. Upon hearing her question, he immediately ran backstage and led Li Muxia over by the hand.
Li Muxia had originally been watching the performance backstage. Seeing his elder brother fight so brilliantly, he had covered his little mouth and cheered again and again. He had not expected that after the performance, his elder brother would be kept from leaving. He had been so worried that he could not even eat his candied fruit. Now he was utterly bewildered, only daring to hide carefully behind his elder brother.
He had already been handsome, and while backstage, the opera troupe women had washed and dressed him up. Not only was his hair tied into twin horn buns, he had also changed into a scholar's attendant outfit, making him look exceptionally delicate.
When Madam Zhang and the older daughters saw him, they gave soft cries, maternal affection nearly overflowing from their eyes. Little Que'er, who was about the same age as Li Muxia, had her eyes light up even more. She ran over and tugged on her father's sleeve.
"Father, he's so pretty! I want him to be my scholar's attendant!"
"How improper! You are an unmarried young lady."
"Today is my birthday, and Father promised just now! Senior Brother, say something!"
Zhang Lishi did not know whether to laugh or cry. But seeing the expressions on his wife and daughters' faces, he thought that perhaps it was best to let good fortune come in pairs.
"Since that is the case, Li Cunxiao, you will work as a hand at my escort agency. Your younger brother will enter my residence and serve as a companion scholar's attendant."
There was no room for discussion in his tone, and Li Cunxiao naturally would not refuse.
Setting everything else aside, judging by Madam Zhang and the young ladies' reactions, his younger brother would likely suffer little hardship in the Zhang residence.
With food and clothing provided, and the chance to study and learn to read, it was already far better than their previous days of never knowing whether they would survive until morning.
As soon as Zhang Lishi finished speaking, someone quickly led the two brothers aside. Once the banquet ended, they could go to the escort agency to register their names.
Old Master Zhou, who had witnessed everything, naturally marveled at the brothers' good fortune. In the blink of an eye, they had gone from helping at a tavern to becoming members of the Flying Tiger Escort Agency. Though they appeared to be merely a hand and a scholar's attendant, to people of the Outer City, they were already "people above people" in a certain sense.
The opera troupe performers also began chattering among themselves.
Li Cunxiao understood perfectly well that it was nothing more than his fierce appearance and his younger brother's handsome delicacy provoking their discussion. But he did not care about that.
His gaze swept inch by inch across the faces of those loose-tongued people. Some turned their heads away in embarrassment, while others looked distinctly unnatural, their eyes carrying the meaning of, "Why wasn't it me?"
Yet no matter what kind of gaze it was, the Vajra Scepter in his mind did not change in the slightest. Its glowing luster had only reached a quarter of the lotus-shaped base, while the rest remained dim iron-black.
"Demons are demons, and the human heart is a demon—resentment, greed, slaughter, and other wicked thoughts and evil intentions."
"Is their hostility not enough? Or can the malice in human hearts not be sensed, only discovered by killing them?"
Li Cunxiao could not help letting his thoughts run wild.
Now that joining the escort agency had given him a path to learn martial arts, the only thing he needed to worry about was whether his talent for martial arts was sufficient.
Although Zhang Lishi had said his bone structure was decent, judging from his attitude, it was clearly not impressive enough to merit serious attention.
What had happened today had contained an element of luck to begin with.
And after the banquet dispersed, when he did not see Zhang Lishi's family again at all, Li Cunxiao became even more certain of what he had been thinking.
"Take your clothes. You will stay in Room D-3."
"Today is the Chief Escort's daughter's birthday, so you have half a day off. If you have matters at home, handle them early. Tomorrow, you will report for duty and begin work. Understood?"
Li Cunxiao accepted the clothes from the middle-aged man who looked like a shopkeeper. Opening them, he found a white linen round-collared robe, with a large character for "tiger" embroidered over the chest in red thread, along with a red coarse-cloth belt.
Although both the material and workmanship were far inferior to the escorts' clothing he had seen at the tavern that morning, a faint sense of security rose within him.
At last, he had a place to shelter from wind and rain.
"Little Yu, come here."
The middle-aged man called over another youth to lead Li Cunxiao to his quarters, then said nothing further.
From beginning to end, the man's expression had shifted only slightly when he heard that Li Cunxiao had been taken in through the Chief Escort's charitable whim. But he had shown no unnecessary warmth.
"You're Li Cunxiao, right? You really are lucky. You got into the escort agency without spending a single coin. My father had to ask favors everywhere back then."
The youth named Qin Yu was quite talkative. At first, Li Cunxiao's appearance had made him somewhat restrained, but he soon opened the floodgates of conversation.
"You should know that our escort agency's Tiger Form Fist is something even the young masters of the Inner City fight until their heads crack over. They would pay silver just for the chance to learn it."
Li Cunxiao, who had remained silent all the way, instantly perked up.
"Tiger Form Fist?"
"Brother Qin, could you tell me about it in detail?"
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