Shunfeng Escort Agency, Zhang Yi

The group traveled at high speed, quickly leaving the tea shed behind. Since they were not far from Mountain City, it took them less than half an hour of rapid riding to reach the city gates.

It seemed that Zhao Qiankun and his four companions held significant status in Mountain City. The guards at the gate let them pass immediately upon seeing them, without a single question. One could judge the whole by a part; it was clear that the influence of the Shunfeng Escort Agency was extraordinary.

After entering the city, Xu Yang followed the group to a location in the west. He looked up to see a vast estate with carved beams and painted rafters, possessing an exquisite, antique charm. Above the main entrance hung a plaque inscribed with four large golden characters: Shunfeng Escort Agency.

Seeing such a magnificent building for the first time, Xu Yang felt a surge of surprise. Fortunately, he did not show it, keeping his expression calm, which left Zhao Qiankun, who was observing him in secret, with nothing to gain.

"Little Brother Xu, this is a branch of our Shunfeng Escort Agency. The Yin Moon Hall would never dare to cause trouble here, so we can stay safely." Zhao Qiankun said to Xu Yang with a smile.

Xu Yang nodded and was about to reply when the main gates of the mansion swung open. A burly man of about forty-five or forty-six walked out, laughing heartily. The man said, "You arrived late, Vice Chief! You made me wait quite a while! Please, come in quickly!"

Zhao Qiankun laughed, "You are too polite, brother. There is no need for such formalities between us." As he spoke, he and the man walked side by side, and Xu Yang and the others quickly followed. They entered the mansion and were led by the man into the reception hall.

Once everyone was seated, the man waved his hand to dismiss the servants. He turned to Zhao Qiankun and asked with a serious expression, "Brother Zhao, what happened? Why are you so late? And why are you injured?"

Zhao Qiankun snorted angrily, "I don't know who leaked the information, but I was ambushed by the Yin Moon Hall elder, Old Ghost Yin, outside Mountain City. I nearly capsized in the gutter, but thanks to Little Brother Xu Yang's righteous intervention, I am safe."

"Oh! Old Ghost Yin came to Mountain City? I wonder if he has accomplices; this makes things difficult." Having said this, he glanced at Xu Yang. "This! I am not sure, but Old Ghost Yin has been severely wounded by Little Brother Xu, so he should be unable to deal with us for some time." At this point, Zhao Qiankun quickly introduced the others to Xu Yang.

It turned out that the two men were Zhao Qiankun's disciples. They were brothers with a telepathic connection, skilled in joint-attack techniques; the older was Zhao Long and the younger was Zhao Hu. The woman was Zhao Qian, his daughter. As for the other man, he was Lei Yue, the son of the chief escort, Lei Dong, which explained his arrogant expression.

The burly man was Zhang Yi, the leader of the Shunfeng Escort Agency's Mountain City branch. He and Zhao Qiankun were sworn brothers with a deep bond. Upon hearing this, Xu Yang quickly stepped forward to pay his respects to everyone.

Zhang Yi smiled at Xu Yang and said, "I am a few years older than you, so if you don't mind, just call me Second Brother!" "How could I? You are both seniors in the martial arts world, and I have a connection with Chief Lei, so I should be the junior," Xu Yang replied quickly upon hearing this.

"Oh, and what is your relationship with our Chief?" Zhao Qiankun asked quickly, while Lei Yue, standing to the side, also looked at Xu Yang with surprise.

Xu Yang reached into his robes and took out a pitch-black token. One side was engraved with a fierce tiger, and the other was inscribed with a large character for "Secret," with a small "Li" character in the bottom right corner.

Zhao Qiankun and Zhang Yi's expressions changed simultaneously upon seeing the token. They exclaimed, "This is Brother Li's identity token. How did it come to be in your hands?"

Xu Yang handed the token to Zhao Qiankun, his face full of grief, and said, "Master Li gave this to me before he passed away. He told me to use this token to find Chief Lei and you, Senior Zhao."

Zhao Qiankun carefully examined the token to confirm its authenticity before asking Xu Yang, "What exactly happened? Can you tell me in detail?" Xu Yang nodded and recounted the events, though he did not mention a single word about the treasure.

Zhao Qiankun and Zhang Yi looked at each other in disbelief. A moment later, Zhang Yi said, "How could this be? With Brother Li's martial arts, he should not have perished together with the Poison Elder!" "Sigh! I never expected Brother Li to be gone just like that. It is truly heartbreaking," Zhao Qiankun sighed, shaking his head.

After a while, Zhao Qiankun said to Xu Yang, "It seems you are Brother Li's successor, so I shall call you nephew! What are your plans, nephew?"

Xu Yang bowed to him and said, "Master Li's intention was for me to gain experience first, and then inherit his position."

"In that case, you can stay at our Shunfeng Escort Agency for a while. Once the matter with the Yin Moon Hall is resolved, you can continue your journey. Otherwise, it is too dangerous, and the Chief and I would not be at ease!"

Xu Yang looked grateful and said, "Then many thanks, Senior." "Haha, nephew, what are you saying? You only provoked the Yin Moon Hall because of us; this is the least we can do," Zhao Qiankun replied with a smile.

He then turned to Zhang Yi and said, "Brother, Nephew Xu is still injured. Quickly arrange for him, the young master, and Qian to get some rest!" Zhang Yi nodded and summoned servants to lead Xu Yang and the others to the guest rooms.

Xu Yang parted ways with the others and followed the servants to his room. The furnishings were incredibly refined, a sight he had never seen in his life. However, because of his injuries, he had no heart to admire them and sat directly on the bed to circulate his energy and heal.

On the other side, after Xu Yang left, Zhao Qiankun's expression changed immediately. He said to Zhang Yi, "How are things? The news has leaked, and the Yin Moon Hall must know by now. What are Chief Lei's instructions?"

"I have already sent the message. I don't think there will be any complications. Chief Lei set out personally two days ago and should be halfway here. He will arrive in another day," Zhang Yi replied solemnly.

He then changed the subject and asked Zhao Qiankun, "What do you think of this Xu Yang? Is there anything wrong with him? Brother Li actually died; could there be some secret hidden in this?"

Zhao Qiankun shook his head and said, "There is nothing suspicious about this kid; he is just a rookie who has just entered the world. His martial arts are decent, but that is only because of the internal energy transfer from Brother Li."

He paused slightly before adding, "However, Brother Li's death is indeed hard to believe. There must be some secret, as Brother Li had become very mysterious in recent years. For him to suddenly perish with the Poison Elder, there must be something fishy."

"Should we capture Xu Yang and interrogate him?" Zhang Yi asked.

Zhao Qiankun waved his hand and said, "Forget it. Xu Yang is Brother Li's successor, and he saved my life, so it is not appropriate to act now. Furthermore, Chief Lei will be here soon, and given his character, he would not agree to us doing this. Let's handle the immediate crisis first; as for Xu Yang, there will be opportunities later."

"Fine! What you say makes sense. But what about the Yin Moon Hall? Their strength is no less than ours. Damn it, who leaked the news? If I find out, I will grind them to dust," Zhang Yi said bitterly.

Hearing this, Zhao Qiankun's expression also turned ugly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. It was clear he hated the traitor to the bone.

The two discussed for a while longer before Zhao Qiankun rose to go to his room to rest. He did not see the strange, chilling smile that Zhang Yi cast at his back.

The next morning, after a night of healing, Xu Yang's injuries had improved significantly. He rose early and went to the open space outside. He set his stance and began a set of grappling techniques, his movements extremely proficient, faintly revealing the demeanor of a grandmaster.

Although his current martial arts realm was only at the peak of the first-rate, he had already caught a glimpse of the mysteries of the supreme realm. The martial arts world was divided into five levels: unranked, third-rate, second-rate, first-rate, and supreme. The supreme realm was that of a grandmaster, and beyond that lay the legendary innate grandmaster realm. Such experts had not appeared in the martial arts world for a long time.

It could be said that Xu Yang was already a great expert in the world. Even Zhang Yi, a branch leader, was only at the peak of the first-rate, while Zhao Qiankun and Old Ghost Yin were merely at the early stage of the supreme realm.

It was precisely for this reason that Xu Yang was deeply grateful to Li Yuan. Without his internal energy transfer, it would have been impossible for Xu Yang to reach such a realm on his own in just one year.