Cheng Li hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
He sighed and explained what had happened from beginning to end:
"That brawny man was the Canal Gang's Branch Hall Master. They called him Iron Butcher."
"And the Young Master Lu he mentioned was Lu Hong, son of the Canal Gang's Hall Master, Lu Polang."
At those words,
the convoy fell into silence in an instant.
Only the chaotic clop of hooves remained, echoing through the quiet night.
The Canal Gang.
A force that ruled the roost throughout Jiangzhou.
The Li Family had only the slightest connection to one of the Canal Gang's branch leaders, yet that alone made them one of Pingcheng's top powers.
The thought that they'd managed to provoke such a colossal force made several Escort Guards want to back out.
Cheng Li continued:
"Brother Chen, I'm truly sorry I couldn't explain this earlier. I was mainly afraid the news would get out..."
Chen Feng figured
the bigger reason was that they'd feared nobody would take the job if they heard they'd be tangling with the Canal Gang.
"If you're willing to lend my Cheng Family a hand, I'll pay you every coin I promised, without a single liang short. And once this is over, I'll reward you handsomely."
After hearing Cheng Li's words,
Chen Feng glanced back at his companions from the Changwei Escort Agency.
He had to consider what they thought, too.
The others only looked at Chen Feng. With Zhang Biao Tou absent, they had no one else to rally around, and had tacitly taken Chen Feng as their leader.
Chen Feng said gravely, "When we reach the next place to rest, we'll stop and discuss it."
"Understood."
Cheng Li replied.
After that, the convoy fell silent for a long while. Though they traveled together, two clear lines had already been drawn between them.
The Xu and Cheng Factions,
and the Escort Agency Faction led by Chen Feng.
The night sky was clear, without a cloud in sight. A full moon bathed the Official Road in bright light,
and cast an eerie gloom over the shrubs on either side.
No one spoke again. They lowered their heads and pressed on.
There was only the occasional rustle from the carriage. It seemed Cheng Tingxue was scolding her maid, but her voice was low,
completely drowned out by the clop of hooves.
Only a faint, lingering fragrance drifted through the air.
It was still dark.
The convoy had already reached the next inn.
After a sleepless night on the road, everyone was beginning to feel tired, even though they were all Martial Artists.
But there was no time to sleep.
They could only rest briefly, replenish their food and water, and then set out again.
The four members of the Changwei Escort Agency gathered together to discuss what to do next.
"Chen Feng, we'll follow your lead."
Wang Huan spoke up.
He was always blunt and spoke his mind, but when it came to a crucial moment, he didn't know what to say.
Chen Feng shook his head. "This is a serious matter. Everyone needs to speak their mind. If we keep things bottled up, something's bound to go wrong."
"Besides, you know better than I do that Cheng Tingxue married into the Xu Family a long time ago. Yet now she's returning to the Cheng Family."
"That can only mean even the Xu Family can't afford to offend Lu Hong. Cheng Tingxue has been forced to return to her family and beg for help. That alone shows how dangerous this is."
Chen Feng himself wanted to keep helping.
First, he'd earn money. Second... he'd heard his Fifth Senior Sister was close to this woman.
Chen Feng wanted to help if he could.
But he couldn't make the decision for everyone else.
Whether they stayed or left was up to them.
The three fell silent.
Then Zhang Jiu spoke up:
"Maybe we should keep going. We're already halfway there, and it's not like we can just leave and make our own way back..."
Chen Feng nodded.
The other two hardened their resolve as well.
"We're in. There's no sense giving up halfway. We've earned a share of that money."
It was Old Li who spoke.
Chen Feng looked at Old Li. He remembered that Old Li's family seemed to be short on money.
He'd heard that after every escort job, Old Li saved his earnings and couldn't bear to spend them.
"Good. I'll go talk to Cheng Li again and raise the stakes."
Chen Feng started to get up.
Just then, a fragrant scent reached his nose.
He frowned and turned to look.
Sure enough, he saw the maid holding Cheng Tingxue's hand as the two women walked toward them.
Cheng Tingxue gave them a slight bow and said:
"Gentlemen, I was in the wrong about what happened earlier. I'll make sure to discipline my servants better from now on. I hope you'll forgive me."
She bit her pearly lip, looking utterly pitiful.
Zhang Jiu flustered, hurriedly saying, "Madam, it's fine, it's fine. It was nothing."
"We..."
Chen Feng quickly raised a hand,
stopping Zhang Jiu from saying another word.
Chen Feng glanced at Old Li and Wang Huan beside him. They, too, were fumbling for words.
He immediately sensed trouble:
"This woman's got quite a few tricks. She knows how to use her charms, and she's got plenty of them."
Chen Feng looked away and cupped his hands.
"I was just about to speak with you, Madam. We've reached a decision. This journey is dangerous, so the reward has to be doubled."
"Also, when there's a disagreement, the four of us must have the final say. Our authority has to be at least greater than that of your Xu Family's two Blood Refining Realm Martial Artists."
"Both conditions are nonnegotiable. Otherwise, there's nothing to discuss."
Chen Feng spoke in an even, unhurried tone.
Zhang Jiu's lips moved, but when he realized Chen Feng was bargaining for everyone's benefit, he let it go.
The maid looked ready to speak, but Cheng Tingxue discreetly tugged at her, stopping her.
Chen Feng frowned.
He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about the maid.
When Chen Feng had first transmigrated, he'd considered doing menial work for a great family.
The pay was better, after all.
But after seeing that servants were treated worse than dogs, he'd abandoned the idea.
Yet the Cheng Family was far too tolerant of their servants. Was it because of Cheng Tingxue?
Chen Feng had no way of knowing.
Cheng Tingxue pondered for a moment, then said:
"Very well. I can agree to both conditions. Once we return to the Cheng Family, I'll give each of you sixty liang of silver."
Chen Feng froze. Sixty liang.
Sixty liang each.
That was more than two hundred liang of silver for all four of them.
At that moment, Chen Feng could clearly hear his companions behind him breathing heavily.
Cheng Tingxue's lavish offer had left them stunned.
After all, their original reward
had been only twenty-five liang.
Of course, Chen Feng had also noticed the detail in her words—"once we return to the Cheng Family."
In other words, if anything went wrong,
they'd get nothing.
Even if someone died on the way,
they'd get nothing.
"Good! It's a deal," Chen Feng replied.
After thanking them, Cheng Tingxue turned and returned to the carriage. Even beneath her gauzy skirt, the astonishing curve of her rear was impossible to conceal.
Chen Feng turned his head away. The others looked ready to drool, and he could only sigh helplessly.
"Hey! Stop staring."
Zhang Jiu jolted and wiped his mouth, laughing awkwardly. "Haha, well, I suddenly remembered something, and got distracted..."
Wang Huan still seemed to be savoring the sight.
He said blankly:
"How can someone be that beautiful? And with a figure like that, too. I'd love to marry her and keep her at home..."
Chen Feng couldn't hold back. "Aren't you already married?!"
"Haha, I'm joking. Just joking."
Chen Feng could only hope these teammates of his wouldn't let their little heads take control of their big ones at a crucial moment.
"Old Li's the steady one, at least..."
Chen Feng turned to look at the other side, only to find Old Li staring blankly at Cheng Tingxue's retreating figure, too.
Chen Feng: "..."
There was no hope for them.
After resting, they immediately mounted their horses and hurried on.
On the run, there was no need to worry about the rule against traveling at night.
A terrifying enemy, one who'd taken two Bone Forging Martial Artists to stop, was still lurking behind them.
So far, only one Branch Hall Master had appeared.
No one knew who else might show up. The faster they got away, the better.
Now there was only one Bone Forging Martial Artist in the group: Cheng Li. Their situation was dire.
The Xu Family's two Martial Artists
saw what the others had decided.
A contemptuous smile flickered across their faces, as if mocking the four of them:
"So they're just in it for a few stinking coins. They come scampering along the moment there's money on offer."
But under pressure from Cheng Li,
the two from the Xu Family didn't dare voice their mockery.
They still had to report back to the Xu Family. They didn't want anything to go wrong and cost them their livelihoods.
Zhang Jiu noticed their attitude.
But he said nothing. Sixty liang of silver, along with Cheng Tingxue's smile,
made him unwilling to make a fuss.
As for Chen Feng,
he was lost in thought.
Ever since Cheng Li had revealed the truth, one thing had been bothering him—
the attitudes of the Cheng and Xu Families.
They seemed rather ambiguous.
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