Parents

"Daddy, will there be meat tonight?"

Watching the white porridge bubble away, Jiang Xiaoxi propped her chin in both hands, her childish face revealing a sorrow far beyond her years.

"There isn't." Jiang Fu took a puff of dry tobacco and exhaled. "Your mother went to the market to buy tofu. Tonight we're having pickled vegetable tofu soup."

"Ah?" Jiang Xiaoxi looked thoroughly unwilling. "We've eaten pickled vegetables for so many days. Your daughter wants meat."

"There isn't."

"But Second Brother gets to eat meat. Why can't Xiaoxi?" The young girl's eyes brimmed with tears, feeling terribly wronged.

She glanced toward the main hall. Inside, a young couple was eating a plate of meat, their mouths glistening with oil.

Meanwhile, she could only swallow her drool—or wait until her second brother and second sister-in-law had finished, then go lick the plate.

"Why are you crying!" Jiang Fu glared at her. "Your brother is practicing martial arts and needs meat to nourish his body. Once he becomes a Martial Artist, you can eat whatever delicacies from land and sea you want."

"But..." Jiang Xiaoxi's voice softened. "Second brother hasn't gone to the Martial Arts Hall for many days. He stays in the room with sister-in-law every day."

"What does a child like you know?" Jiang Fu scolded, though his brows furrowed slightly as well.

Ever since his second son, Jiang An, had married, he had rarely gone to the Martial Arts Hall during the past half month.

Moreover, only after Jiang An began practicing martial arts did he understand how much silver it consumed. In barely two months, the Jiang family had already incurred considerable debt just to support Jiang An's training.

But whenever he thought of Jiang An's talent for martial arts, anticipation soon filled him again.

Endure it. Hold on a little longer, and things should get better.

Just then, Zhang Yun returned from outside carrying a vegetable basket. Her steps were hurried, and her face was filled with excitement.

"Old man, there's news about the child! There's news about the child!"

"So flustered—what news?" Jiang Fu frowned.

"The child, our child—Ping'er. I found news about him." Zhang Yun spoke happily.

During this period, she had constantly been asking after Jiang Ping's whereabouts. Unfortunately, she had found nothing before, but now she finally had news.

"Big Brother!" Jiang Xiaoxi could not help screaming before bursting into tears.

Only after Jiang Ping left home did the young girl realize how much she missed her Big Brother. When Big Brother had been around, she had never suffered hardship.

Yet Jiang Fu merely gave a cold snort. "Why were you asking about him? He's not dead yet?"

"What are you saying!" Zhang Yun could not help grabbing a wooden stick and striking her old companion.

How could he curse his own child like that?

"Mother, where is Big Brother? Xiaoxi wants to find Big Brother." Jiang Xiaoxi tugged at Zhang Yun's sleeve as she cried.

"Your Big Brother is in Yang City. He hasn't gone far." Zhang Yun comforted her youngest daughter, then shot a glance at her husband. "Vegetable Seller Aunt Wang said she saw Ping'er leaving the city with a group of people this morning. It seemed to be Four Seas Escort Agency. Ping'er has gone to work for the escort agency."

"Four Seas Escort Agency?"

At that moment, Jiang An and his wife emerged from the main hall after finishing their meat. He had heard everything his mother said and could not help commenting,

"Four Seas Escort Agency is quite formidable. Since he left the city with people from the agency, he was probably chosen as one of their porters. One long trip takes three to five days, and he should earn several dozen or even over a hundred copper coins."

"So much?" Zhang Yun was startled. She ran a small business, yet she could hardly earn that much money in three months. Then she smiled. "Ping'er has made something of himself."

"What has he made of himself?" Jiang An curled his lip. "That's money earned by selling one's life. If they encounter bandits on the road, cannon fodder like them will be the first to come to grief."

Four Seas Escort Agency had been in the limelight recently, so he had looked into it and heard a little about escort missions.

"What? Ping'er will be in danger?" Zhang Yun's expression changed drastically. Her voice trembled. "Let's call him back."

"Since he has already joined the escort agency, it is impossible for him to leave whenever he wants. Anyway, I've never seen anyone in this line of work return with their body whole. Even if they don't lose their lives, they will definitely lose an arm or a leg."

Jiang An shrugged and stated a fact.

Escort agencies did indeed make quite a lot of money, but one had to live long enough to spend it. Otherwise, people would have trampled one another in their rush to join—would it ever have been his brother's turn?

"My Ping'er!" Upon hearing this, Zhang Yun covered her face and sobbed, regret filling her heart.

Seeing her mother cry, Jiang Xiaoxi, who had only just stopped weeping, began bawling again.

Jiang Fu grew irritated by the noise and could not help shouting,

"What are you crying for? If he dies, then he dies. When he chose this line of work, he never considered us. Why should we worry about that unfilial son? Let him do as he pleases."

"What kind of words are those?" Zhang Yun glared at him furiously. Jiang An was the one who comforted her with a few words.

"Mother, don't worry. I know several people in the Martial Arts Hall who have some influence. I'll ask around. If I can get Big Brother to leave the escort agency, I will definitely bring him back."

Outside Yang City, on the official road.

Jiang Ping wore a set of blue robes, with a belt knife at his waist. His thick, long hair was pinned up with a jade hairpin.

His complexion was no longer dark; instead, it had become somewhat fair and clear.

As a result, his heroic facial features stood out completely. Coupled with his tall, slender frame, he no longer looked like someone born into poverty, but rather like a young master.

Yet this "Young Master" was currently leading a horse for someone.

Seeing Jiang Ping leading a horse as well, Liu Wensheng could not help saying, "brother Jiang, how has your skin become more and more delicate? Aren't we practicing under the same sun?"

"You're too honest. You can practice beneath the shade of a tree—do you have to stand in the sun for it to count as training?"

Of course, Jiang Ping's change in complexion could not have resulted merely from avoiding sunlight.

Rather, it was a natural transformation as he advanced deeper along the path of Martial Dao.

"Speaking of which..." Liu Wensheng moved closer. He glanced at the figure seated on the horse Jiang Ping was leading and lowered his voice. "brother Jiang, this Miss Chen is fair-skinned and beautiful, with curves in all the right places. She seems rather well matched with you."

"Don't talk nonsense." Jiang Ping shot him a look. "She is our client, and we must escort her properly. How can you randomly play matchmaker?"

Besides, there was something he did not say.

On the way here, Jiang Ping had exchanged a few words with Lady Chen and discovered that she was very insecure. She did not even dare look him in the eye.

"Right." Liu Wensheng looked ahead again, toward the young man walking beside Escort Huang, and asked suspiciously, "Why is Fang Yong traveling with us? With Head Escort Liang looking after him, he should not have come out on an escort mission so soon."

"To gain experience." Jiang Ping recalled the secret Escort Huang had told him before their departure.

Fang Yong had unexpectedly entered the ranks of Ninth Grade Martial Artists with his considerable talent. He already possessed some strength.

However, this matter needed to remain secret for now and could not be publicized. Few people knew of it, so Jiang Ping could not tell Liu Wensheng plainly.

Yet that was precisely why Head Escort Liang had felt at ease letting Fang Yong follow Escort Huang out to gain experience.

Of course, since Fang Yong had become a Martial Artist, Jiang Ping was unwilling to lag behind. He ought to reveal a little of his own talent.

So he displayed the fist force of the sixth level of the Nourishing Life Technique before Escort Huang, making the senior once again want to give Jiang Ping silver.

"Keep up. It'll be dark soon. There's a post station ten li ahead. We'll rest there for the night." Escort Huang turned his head and said.