Escort Master Xie Yuan (Part 1)

Early the next morning, Xie Yuan changed into a brand-new escort master's uniform, strapped on his saber and slung his axe at his waist, then arrived at the main courtyard to wait.

Before long, the escort team members began arriving one after another. Very soon, they had assembled into a group of around ten people, with Zhao Xingyang and Qin Hai among them.

An escort team of more than ten people was no small force. Especially with Zhao Xingyang personally leading it, that was enough to show the value of the three escort carts in the middle.

Once the men and carts had lined up neatly, Zhao Xingyang swept his gaze over them. Seeing that everyone was ready, he looked at Xie Yuan and said with a smile,

"Master Xie, you didn't forget to bring your axe either."

Xie Yuan patted his Tiger Bone Axe and replied,

"I'm still more used to this old fellow. I can use it to chop wood and make fires for everyone along the way."

The escort team burst into laughter, and someone said,

"Last time, I saw Xiao Xie helping chop wood behind the dining hall. He scared the cook so badly, the man thought he'd done something wrong."

"Huh? That happened? Xiao Xie, you really haven't forgotten your roots."

"A thirty-year veteran woodcutter at the tender age of sixteen, huh?"

Xie Yuan did not mind their good-natured teasing. He chuckled and said,

"Can't help it. If I don't chop a little wood every day, I just don't feel settled."

In truth, it was not that he had such a passion for chopping wood. After leaving Small Stone Village, his logging business had been put on hold. Without the right setting, his Chopping Wood progress rose far too slowly.

But if there were no conditions, then he would create them.

In an escort agency this large, with several hundred people, wood was needed for eating, drinking, decocting medicine, and bathing. The wood store's pile of firewood stood as high as a small mountain.

Of the four necessities of daily life—firewood, rice, oil, and salt—firewood came first. Naturally, there was a reason for that.

So whenever Xie Yuan had free time, he went to help out for free. Once inside the wood store, he was like a rat that had gotten into a rice jar. Swish, swish, swish—he chopped away at the wood without even needing to fell trees himself. There was still so much firewood that he could never finish chopping it all, which suited him perfectly.

Chopping Wood was his old foundation. The abilities he had comprehended from it possessed boundless power, so he truly could not forget his roots.

Of course, the others did not know that. Seeing it, they only assumed he had a harmless little quirk.

The escort masters all concluded,

"He's downright addicted to chopping wood."

Zhao Xingyang waved a hand.

"Being thoroughly prepared is a good thing. It's getting late. Since everyone is ready, let's set out now!"

The group perked up at once and lined up in formation. A scout led the way with a banner held high. As they passed through the escort agency's gates, he let out a great shout:

"Cloud Province Soaring Dragon, Soaring Dragon of Cloud Province!"

The escort team filed out in a steady stream, men stout and horses strong, gradually making their way out of the city.

The Soaring Dragon Escort Agency could not provide every man with a horse, but escort masters were allowed to ride. As the backbone of their fighting force, the escort masters' condition and mobility were extremely important. It was also a benefit and a mark of status for escort masters.

Thus, Xie Yuan had been assigned a horse this time as well. But he sat crookedly in the saddle, looking rather troubled.

He had never ridden before. He did not know how.

With his physique, sitting upright was not difficult, but the horse always seemed to have ideas of its own.

Fortunately, Zhao Xingyang immediately saw his predicament and rode over beside him.

"Keep your waist and back straight, look ahead, don't loosen your legs..."

Xie Yuan followed his instructions, and things indeed improved considerably.

Then, a row of words suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Horsemanship: (1/10)

That worked too?

Tch, my comprehension really is too high.

Xie Yuan practiced for a while. As his Horsemanship rose by several points, his riding became increasingly steady, and he gradually stopped making a spectacle of himself.

Seeing that he had gotten the hang of it, Zhao Xingyang nodded approvingly.

"You picked it up pretty quickly."

Seeing Xie Yuan enjoying himself immensely, he asked again,

"It's your first time as an escort master, and only your second mission. Are you nervous?"

"Not really. We have so many men, and Head Zhao is leading us. Ordinary riffraff should flee at the mere sight of us, right?"

Xie Yuan felt that with such a large escort team, most escort runs ought to be quite peaceful.

Zhao Xingyang smiled faintly.

"Ordinary riffraff flee at the mere sight of us. The ones who don't flee are no ordinary riffraff."

Xie Yuan stiffened. That made sense.

"But there shouldn't be many powerful Mountain Bandits, right?"

"Not many. But in truth, we still often run into trouble. Large escort teams are no exception—in fact, the larger they are, the more likely it is.

"The more men you have, the more others know your cargo is valuable. Wealth stirs people's hearts. Once greed takes hold, those desperate men stop caring about anything—who cares how strong you are or how strong they are? If they had the brains to suppress their greed, why would they become bandits? Heh. There's an old saying among the outlaws: 'Seek wealth and honor amid danger.' They treat it as gospel."

Zhao Xingyang laughed.

"Since a large force draws attention, what about reducing manpower for light but valuable cargo and sending only elites? I've also heard of things like covert escorts and open escorts."

Xie Yuan was extremely curious about these rules. Though he was an escort master, he was still a newcomer to the trade.

Zhao Xingyang shook his head.

"With fewer men, the risk is higher too. What if you really run into a large bandit force? That's why escort agencies still prioritize stability. You bring enough men and compete in hard strength. If you can handle the job, you take it. If you can't, you disband. That's why there usually aren't many escort agencies in any given place, but as long as one has a name and a signboard, its strength won't be weak.

"As for the rest, those are all special circumstances. You'll learn gradually. This escort run will take several days—enough for you to learn."

Xie Yuan nodded and followed peacefully in the center of the escort team.

The next day, Xie Yuan understood why escort agencies were necessary.

A group of refugees, some twenty or thirty strong, blocked the escort team's path.

"Look. They're holding hoes and wooden clubs, yet they still dare block us."

Zhao Xingyang said to Xie Yuan,

"Perhaps if they don't block us, they'll starve to death today."

Xie Yuan frowned slightly.

"Isn't this an age of peace?"

"That's why there are only twenty or thirty of them."

Zhao Xingyang smiled faintly.

Only then did Xie Yuan remember that every winter, there had often been people in the village who could no longer make ends meet.

He had assumed that in good times, everyone could eat their fill and dress warmly. But that had been an old notion from his previous life.

In truth, here, as long as there was no famine, it could be called an age of peace.

No famine and everyone having food to eat were matters on entirely different planes.

Seeing Xie Yuan fall silent, Zhao Xingyang continued,

"Refugees are the predecessors of bandits. They can even be more ruthless than bandits. Once bandits are living well, they still have reservations. But refugees will disregard everything for food. Don't think we aren't afraid of them—if others ran into them, or if we were careless and fell into their hands, the outcome would be utterly miserable.

"Xiao Xie, go send them on their way."

Xie Yuan nodded, rode forward, and drew his saber.

When the leader on the other side saw this, his eyes turned vicious. He let out a meaningless howl of "Ah!" and charged forward with a hoe in hand.

With a wet squelch, Xie Yuan drove his saber through the leader's chest. He then cut down two more refugees who had lost their minds and charged at him before finally cowing the rest. In an instant, they scattered like birds and beasts.

Xie Yuan flicked the beads of blood from his saber, sheathed it, then tossed the three corpses to the roadside, signaling that the escort team could pass.

Zhao Xingyang nodded slightly.

"You're not soft-hearted. You need that ruthlessness to train martial arts well. Otherwise, no matter how high your skill, it's all useless."

Qin Hai muttered,

"He's that handsome, yet he loves using a huge axe. One look tells you he's a ruthless character. Chief, you were worrying for nothing."