Zhang Lishi's Gift

Hearing this, Li Cunxiao hurriedly rose and bowed.

"Master has shown me such generosity; this disciple is grateful beyond words. Working at the escort agency is already enough. The shops outside should still be managed by experienced hands, lest this disciple, knowing nothing at all, end up delaying matters instead."

Though Zhang Lishi said nothing aloud, he was quite pleased inwardly that Li Cunxiao knew his limits.

He valued Li Cunxiao highly, but he was no hot-blooded youth anymore. He would not bare his heart and soul to someone with whom he had only a shallow acquaintance.

Entrusting him with an important duty the moment their Master-Disciple Relationship had been formally established was not trust—it was blindness, and it would only harm the gifted disciple he had obtained with such difficulty.

Remaining unruffled by favor or disgrace was the exception; growing arrogant from favor was the norm.

Affection had to deepen bit by bit, and trust had to be given bit by bit. Since both understood this principle, Zhang Lishi was spared any unnecessary explanations.

"Since you say so, let it be. Yue'er, go fetch what your father prepared."

Seeing Zhang Lishi drop the matter, Li Cunxiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course he liked money, but he also understood that too much was as bad as too little.

Once word spread that he had broken through his muscles and flesh in two months, it was easy to imagine what kind of bombshell it would be. It would surely draw countless eyes.

With Zhang Lishi backing him, he was not afraid of malice from outside. But within the escort agency, especially where his senior brother Shi Tie was concerned—although Shi Tie had seemed an honest and upright man at first sight—if Zhang Lishi showed too much favoritism, unnecessary trouble might arise.

He knew clearly that although the speed at which he accumulated Vajra Scepters would surely slow again after breaking through his muscles and flesh, perhaps stretching to several months or even half a year, it would still certainly be faster than martial artists like Shen He and Jiang Qi, who had made normal breakthroughs.

His talent was right there for all to see. As long as he maintained this pace, leaving all others in the dust, he had no fear that Zhang Lishi would fail to value him.

Be high-profile in doing things, low-profile in being a man. He would receive the treatment he deserved sooner or later, so why rush over this little while?

"Sanlang, come and see whether it fits."

Hearing Madam Zhang call him, Li Cunxiao hurriedly rose and stepped forward. Behind Zhang Yuelu, several servants stood in a row, each holding a lacquered tray in both hands. Upon them lay a robe, a headwrap, inner armor and bracers, a tiger-skin belly wrap, as well as a hengdao and a hard iron-backed bow inlaid with gold thread.

The headwrap was made of silk gauze, lined with a support woven from bamboo strips. When wearing it, one first placed the support over the hair bun, then covered it with the silk gauze and tied together the four straps at the back of the head and before the forehead.

The robe still bore the Flying Tiger Escort Agency's signature white round collar, but its material had been changed from cotton to silk. Its lining also had a layer of red brocade, patterned with the presently fashionable precious-phase flowers.

The robe was broad and loose, not at all tight even on Li Cunxiao's sturdy frame. Rich young masters like Shen He would also wear a brocade half-sleeved garment between their inner clothes and round-collared robe. When they left their lapels open, the bright lining would be revealed, casually displaying their luxury.

The inner armor and bracers seemed to be made from the hide of some demon, with even fine willow-leaf iron plates laced within. They felt soft yet tough to the touch. With Li Cunxiao's current strength, he was actually unable to tear even a single slit in them.

As for the tiger skin, it likely came from an ordinary wild beast. This item could be called a belly wrap or a waist guard, fastened tightly on the outside with a leather belt. Its yellow fur was mottled with black stripes. Rather than protecting the waist and body, it seemed more meant to flaunt one's might.

As the saying went, clothes make the man. With such a set upon his tall, powerfully built body, Li Cunxiao seemed to walk with wind swirling around him, every glance brimming with heroic vigor. Wood Fork's eyes shone as he watched, and he clapped excitedly again and again.

"Big Brother looks so imposing, just like a general!"

Zhang Lishi and his wife exchanged smiles, then teased him.

"If the imperial court still held military examinations, Sanlang might well become a Jinwu Guard commander."

The Six Guards were the most elite among the Son of Heaven's imperial troops, divided into the Left and Right Jinwu Guards, Left and Right Imperial Guards, and Left and Right Xiaowei Guards. Amid the present rebellions of the regional military governors, the Jinwu Guards were among the few elite forces the capital court still possessed.

"Junior Brother, try this bow and see how it feels."

Li Cunxiao took the iron-backed bow from Zhang Yuelu. It had been coated with black lacquer, its carved patterns filled with gold thread, then lacquered again and polished until the golden designs showed through the lacquer shell, as though covered by a layer of black glass.

Outlined upon the bow was a lifelike scene of a fierce tiger descending the mountain. The tiger's mouth, where the hand gripped it, was precisely the direction in which the tiger pounced.

Li Cunxiao took a light breath and, without much effort, drew the hard bow of roughly three hundred jin into a full moon. Though the bowstring was surely no ordinary thing either, he gently let it return.

"A fine bow."

Zhang Lishi smiled.

"Though those of us who practice the Tiger Demon Fist are said to possess Steel Muscles and Iron Bones and boundless strength, in the Second Realm we have only about a thousand jin of force. A three-stone bow is just right. Any heavier, and your hands will ache after only a few shots. It can be used for strength training, but it is unsuitable for actual combat."

"Shen He presented this bow. So long as it feels right in your hands, that is enough."

"Thank you, Master, for granting me this bow."

Li Cunxiao acted as though he had not heard Shen He's name at all. Zhang Lishi's smile deepened at the sight. He then had Li Cunxiao fasten on the hengdao as well, looked him over from top to bottom, praised him several times, and only then told the servants to clean up the mess.

After having Madam Zhang take the women and children to the garden, he brought Li Cunxiao into the study and taught him the Tiger Demon Fist methods for Training Tendons, Bones, and Skin.

By the time night had grown deep, Li Cunxiao simply stayed at the Zhang residence. Madam Zhang made special arrangements for Wood Fork to sleep in the same room as him.

After the two brothers washed up and lay down on the bed, Wood Fork was still so excited that he had no desire to sleep.

"Big Brother, can I touch your saber?"

Li Cunxiao drew the saber and handed it to his little brother with the back of the blade facing him.

"Careful. This saber is very sharp."

This hengdao still used the classic buried-sheath style. The difference was that its ring pommel bore a linked-bead pattern, while the scabbard mouth and carrying loop were all decorated with brass.

Though gold and silver had always been prized among common folk, copper was money as well. This full set of finely carved brass fittings alone would fetch more than a dozen taels of silver if sold.

"Big Brother is amazing."

Wood Fork's eyes glittered in the candlelight. In his understanding, from childhood until now, there was almost nothing his big brother could not accomplish.

He was still too young to understand the ways of the world within the escort agency, but there was one thing he did understand.

The better his days at the Zhang residence became, the more formidable it proved his big brother was!

I have to start practicing martial arts early too, so I can help Big Brother!

Seeing his little brother grinning beneath the quilt until it creaked, Li Cunxiao felt warmth rise in his heart, along with a faint sense of accomplishment.

Growing stronger bit by bit in this chaotic age and protecting his family—this was the greatest wish of his life.

Perhaps because of Zhang Lishi's strange medicinal wine, drowsiness came over him after a long absence. Li Cunxiao blew out the candle and fell into a deep sleep.

"Train through the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer. It gets cold and you cannot bear to leave your blankets? Ask yourselves—do you have the right to be lazy?"

"If you think it is bitter and exhausting, roll up your bedding and get out early! Learning martial arts at the escort agency is a blessing countless people could beg for and never obtain. Li Cunxiao, Li Sanlang, understands that much."

"Others are willing to think and willing to suffer. He became an escort master after only two months in the agency! What I admire most is that stone-and-iron kind of stubborn grit in him! Now look at yourselves."

Cui Yao raised his booming voice, correcting the postures of the workers holding Horse Stances while berating them at the same time.

Following behind Zhang Lishi, Li Cunxiao watched from afar and could not help feeling a little embarrassed.

Cui Yao had never said such things to his face.

"Do not be embarrassed. You are here to serve as their example."

Zhang Lishi teased him. When the apprentices and workers nearby saw the Chief Escort, every one of them immediately perked up. Even those whose legs had gone weak ruthlessly pinched themselves twice, forcing their spirits upright.

The moment Cui Yao saw the way those youngsters reacted, he knew someone had arrived. But when he turned around, his gaze passed over Zhang Lishi and landed on the young man, now a whole circle more robust. For a moment, he craned his neck and widened his eyes.

"Li Sanlang?"

"Cui Er, have you not always been asking me to find you an assistant?"

Zhang Lishi smiled and patted Li Cunxiao on the shoulder.

"The assistant you wanted is right here."