Time flew by, and before they knew it, the next day had arrived.
Wang Kai certainly hadn't been bragging. As a legitimate son of the Wang Family, he really did have plenty of clout.
The previous afternoon, he'd promised to get Lin Yi onto the Medicine Escort Team. Less than half an hour later, he returned and told Lin Yi that everything was settled.
After that, Lin Yi used his Martial Scholar privilege to request half a month's leave from the Martial Arts Academy and the martial arts school where he was registered. Then, early the next morning, he went straight to the Wang Family's Medicine Escort Team at the city gate, following the address Wang Kai had given him.
"You're Young Master Lin Yi, aren't you?"
At the gate of Guangling Prefecture City, just outside a convoy of more than twenty people, Lin Yi had barely arrived when a burly middle-aged man walked up to him with a smile. The man wore Golden Chainmail and held a Seven-Foot Steel Spear. His qi and blood were more fearsome than a fierce tiger's.
"My name is Wang Chuan, and I'm the leader of this Medicine Escort Team. I'm in charge of escorting this shipment of medicinal herbs. Young Master Wang Kai has told me about you, and I've agreed to let you join our team."
"Greetings, Leader Wang Chuan."
Lin Yi smiled at his words.
"I am indeed Lin Yi, but I hardly deserve to be called Young Master. And I'll be relying on Leader Wang Chuan's care during this trip. If I do anything improperly, I hope you'll forgive me."
"Haha! You're too modest, Young Master Lin Yi."
Wang Chuan laughed heartily.
"You're a friend of our Young Master Wang Kai, so naturally you're a guest of the Wang Family as well. Even without you asking, I'd make sure to look after you."
"Once the team sets off, just ride behind me. Our destination is Chuanlong County, more than three hundred li from the Commandery City. At the pace of a merchant convoy, we'll set out in the morning and probably won't arrive until tomorrow at noon."
"We'll be on the road for quite a while. If anything unexpected happens, you'll be behind me, and I'll be able to protect you right away."
"Understood! Then I'm grateful for your help, Leader Wang Chuan."
Lin Yi nodded.
As far as he knew, the Medicine Escort Team Wang Kai had found for him was among the strongest of the Wang Family's many teams.
Most of its guards were Peak Seventh Rank experts, with only a few at Late Seventh Rank. There wasn't a single guard below Late Seventh Rank!
As for their leader, Wang Chuan, he was an intimidating expert at Late Sixth Rank.
Even in the Commandery City, where crouching tigers and hidden dragons abounded, someone of his caliber was no small figure. A fighter like Lin Yi, whose strength was at the Peak Seventh Rank, could bring twenty men and still wouldn't be a match for him.
Since Wang Chuan was willing to look after him, Lin Yi didn't put on airs. He obediently followed Wang Chuan's arrangements and mounted a handsome white horse.
Seeing this, Wang Chuan mounted up as well. After waiting about a quarter of an hour for everyone to gather, he swept his steel spear through the air and shouted in a powerful voice:
"Set off!"
"Yes, Leader!"
The men answered. Then, urged onward by the team, the donkey carts rolled quickly along the dusty yellow-earth road.
Before long, Lin Yi saw the towering walls of Guangling Commandery behind him grow smaller and smaller, until they gradually dwindled to a tiny black speck.
I hope everything goes smoothly on this trip!
At the head of the convoy, Lin Yi rode closely behind Wang Chuan, silently thinking to himself.
It was his first time leaving the Commandery City on an errand. No matter how mature Lin Yi's temperament was, he couldn't help feeling unsettled, with a vague sense of unease in his heart.
As it turned out, though, Lin Yi's worries had been entirely unnecessary.
The Wang Family was a top family in Guangling Commandery, and its prestige throughout the region—as a family with Fourth Rank experts—was beyond anything Lin Yi could have imagined.
At the head of the Medicine Escort Team flew a dark-black banner bearing the character "Wang." Along the way, most so-called outlaws and road bandits would let them pass as soon as they spotted it, not even daring to show their faces.
Even the few bandit strongholds with enough power not to fear the Wang Family would let the team pass as long as the escort paid a toll. Everyone would give face to one another, and that settled it.
Thus, the Medicine Escort Team made the journey without a hitch. In just over three days, they safely completed an escort run.
Lin Yi received sixty taels of silver from the Wang Family as payment. He spent it all on Qi and Blood Pills to help with his cultivation, and his cultivation advanced considerably.
Over the next eight days, Lin Yi went on three more escort runs with the team, earning a total of one hundred and eighty taels of silver.
With the help of that one hundred and eighty taels, along with the fifty taels of Martial Arts Subsidy Silver he'd received as a Martial Scholar, Lin Yi's cultivation had surged during this period. His progress leaped forward at a startling pace each day.
And so, after a stretch of peaceful cultivation, the time for his fifth escort run arrived in the blink of an eye.
"Good morning, Young Master Lin Yi!"
"Good morning, Young Master Lin Yi!"
"Morning, Uncle Wang!"
"Morning, Brother Li!"
"Morning, Uncle Liu!"
As soon as Lin Yi arrived at the Medicine Escort Team with his long saber in hand, its members greeted him with cheerful smiles. Lin Yi smiled and returned each greeting in turn.
After eleven days together, he'd grown fairly familiar with the team members. They weren't exactly brothers-in-arms ready to die for one another, but they were friends. More importantly, Lin Yi was in an excellent mood.
"After eleven days of hard cultivation and spending several hundred taels of silver, my cultivation finally reached the limit of Seventh Rank Early Stage—99%—last night."
Lin Yi's eyes gleamed with a smile.
"At this rate, with the terrifying aptitude of my Martial Saint Body, I have a very good chance of breaking through to Seventh Grade Mid Stage within the next four days, even without any resources."
"With the payment from this escort run on top of that, breaking through to Seventh Grade Mid Stage will be a breeze. Then I'll have a real shot at second place in the Entrance Examination."
Second place in the Entrance Examination came with four thousand taels of silver—something Lin Yi yearned for more than anything.
Now that those four thousand taels were within arm's reach, of course he was delighted.
"Young Master Lin Yi, you're here!"
At the front of the Medicine Escort Team, Leader Wang Chuan greeted Lin Yi as soon as he saw him arrive.
"Mm. Big Brother Wang Chuan, where are we escorting the herbs this time?"
Lin Yi replied.
"This time we're headed to Beicang County, two hundred li from the Commandery City. It's relatively close, and the roads along the way are fairly easy to travel."
"We'll leave this morning and should arrive by dusk at the latest. After loading the herbs and making the return trip, we should be back tomorrow night. It's a fairly easy assignment."
"We'll be back tomorrow night? It really is an easy assignment."
Lin Yi smiled when he heard this.
If they returned tomorrow night, he'd still have two days to break through to Seventh Rank Mid Stage.
With that much time, his breakthrough was all but certain.
As he thought this over, Lin Yi waited for the others to arrive. Then he set off for Beicang County with Wang Chuan and the other guards from the Medicine Escort Team.
The journey went just as smoothly as the previous ones. As the sun sank in the west and evening drew near—
At the end of the official road, a small, low county town came into view of the Medicine Escort Team.
"Liu Fusheng, manager of the Beicang County branch of Wang's Pharmacy, respectfully welcomes the branch physician, the instructor of the escort team, and the other lords from the Main Family to Beicang County!"
At the gates of Beicang County, Wang Chuan and Lin Yi rode in on their tall horses, leading the guards of the Medicine Escort Team. They found that the road outside the gates had already been swept and sprinkled with water, with yellow earth spread over it.
On both sides of the gate, dozens of people stood in two neat rows. Led by a plump, middle-aged man dressed in purplish-red silk, they bowed respectfully to Lin Yi and the others in unison.
"Mm."
Wang Chuan, who had always been extremely courteous to Lin Yi, now wore a stern expression. He gave a low grunt.
"I am Wang Chuan, a collateral-line member of the Guangling Commandery Wang Family's Main Family. Today, I've come to Beicang County on the Patriarch's orders to collect this year's crop of Blood Origin Grass. Liu Fusheng, have you prepared all the herbs?"
"In reply to Lord Wang Chuan—"
As soon as Wang Chuan finished speaking, Liu Fusheng cupped his hands. His plump face wore a fawning smile.
"The Blood Origin Grass was all harvested yesterday, and it's now stored in the warehouse, ready for you to collect."
"But it's getting late, and traveling at night is inconvenient. Why don't you and the other lords stay in the city for the night?"
"Your humble servant has already prepared a fine feast in the city to welcome you all."
"Mm. Lead the way."
Wang Chuan nodded without refusing.
"Yes, Lord Wang Chuan, and all the other lords, this way, please!"
At his words, Liu Fusheng bowed respectfully, his plump body folding into a perfect ball. He smiled broadly, his fleshy cheeks bunched together, giving him the kindly appearance of a Laughing Buddha. Then he led Lin Yi and the others in a grand procession toward the finest tavern in the city.
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