After another day and night of traveling, the road-weary group finally spotted a small city in the distance.
This was their destination: Anding County.
"We're finally here!"
Wu Yu, Chen Pi, and the others couldn't help secretly breathing sighs of relief.
From last night until now, they had been on edge, constantly watching out for bandit attacks.
Fortunately, they had encountered no more highwaymen along the way.
After entering the city, they found that Anding County was considerably larger than Qinghe County and seemed much more prosperous.
Of course, there were also more refugees lying along the roadside.
As the convoy entered the city, many refugees cast hopeful looks their way.
But to their disappointment, the convoy did not stop.
It wasn't until they reached a grand estate with vermilion gates that the convoy finally came to a halt.
Naturally, the porters took care of unloading the goods.
At last, the group got to see the mysterious employer they had been so curious about.
A well-dressed, middle-aged couple stepped down from a luxurious carriage.
They were also holding a little boy of about five or six.
The middle-aged man, dressed in a blue silk robe and with a rather refined air, exchanged a few pleasantries with Master Song before taking out several banknotes and handing them over.
Master Song cupped his hands slightly, then turned and led the group away.
They first went to a carriage house and rented three carriages, then promptly left Anding County.
They traveled light and fast, heading toward Qinghe County at top speed.
Even before they turned in for the night, the group still didn't waste any time.
They continued practicing the Wind-Breaking Blade Technique and didn't slack off on the Five Animals Fist, either.
Besides keeping up his daily practice of the Five Animals Fist, Lu Yuan spent the rest of his time on the Wind-Breaking Blade Technique and Flick Finger Technique.
When practicing the Flick Finger Technique, he naturally didn't use his small bag of iron pellets. A handful of pebbles from the ground was more than enough.
Time flew, and three more days passed in the blink of an eye.
They traveled much faster on the way back than they had on the way there.
Before nightfall, the group returned safely to Qinghe County.
"You all performed very well on this escort mission. You've also faced life and death, which will do you a lot of good as you grow. But from here on, you still need to settle down and train even harder!"
Everyone gathered at Song Academy. After Master Song gave them a few words of encouragement, he went back to the Inner Courtyard.
Hong Lei and Fang Chang then brought over the money and gave everyone five taels.
"Wonderful! Now we can finally eat our fill and have meat at every meal!"
"Meat! I want meat—lots and lots of meat!"
Looking at the five heavy taels of silver in their hands, Wu Yu, Chen Pi, Gu Ming, and the others cheered excitedly.
With five taels of silver, their training would surely go much more smoothly from now on.
They could even speed up the first Blood Qi Tempering by quite a bit.
Lu Yuan, however, remained quite calm. Even without the five-tael reward, he had still made more than six taels from his unexpected windfall.
Besides, the value of the Flick Finger Technique couldn't be measured in a few taels of silver.
"Lu Yuan, do you dare compete with me to see who can complete the first Blood Qi Tempering and become a Bright Energy Realm martial artist first?"
Chen Yong suddenly turned to Lu Yuan and said.
Unless he could beat this guy at least once, he'd never be able to put the matter out of his mind.
"Not interested."
Lu Yuan merely gave Chen Yong a faint glance, then turned and walked out of Song Academy.
If nothing unexpected happened, he should be able to begin his second Blood Qi Tempering in a day or two and break through to the Hidden Energy Realm.
If he succeeded, he could pretty much leave Song Academy and start looking into better ways to make money.
To be honest, even for him, coming to Song Academy to practice with these people now felt a bit like playing house with children. It didn't mean much.
A free meal of meat each day was no longer much of a temptation, either.
Once he became a Hidden Energy Realm martial artist, he could take up an official post just about anywhere and enjoy better treatment.
What's more, at his rate of progress, becoming a Transformation Realm martial artist would take no more than a month or two. There was no need to keep himself tied down at a small place like Song Academy.
"Ah... Big Brother's back!"
Seeing the brother she had been longing for return, Little Nannan was overjoyed.
She burrowed straight into Lu Yuan's arms, chattering away nonstop.
"It's good you're back!"
Madam Yang looked Lu Yuan over carefully. Only after seeing that he wasn't hurt did a delighted smile spread across her face.
Before long, a steaming meal was brought to the table.
The family of three sat around it. They didn't say much, but the air was still filled with warmth.
It was clear that after these past few days of recuperation, both Madam Yang and Nannan looked much healthier, and their figures had more or less returned to normal.
As for Lu Yuan, he had grown much sturdier. He wasn't particularly broad or burly, but he was brimming with strength from head to toe.
Madam Yang held Nannan and fed her as she looked up at Lu Yuan. "A-Yuan, how's your martial training going?"
"It's going well enough. I'd say I'm a pretty capable fighter now. Before long, I should be able to pass the Martial Examination and earn an official title!"
Lu Yuan smiled as he replied.
There were still two and a half months until the Martial Examination, enough time for him to attempt his third Blood Qi Tempering and become a Transformation Realm martial artist.
With the Wind-Breaking Blade Technique and Flick Finger Technique as well, he should be able to pass the Martial Examination with ease and earn the title of Martial Scholar.
He might even have a chance at becoming Martial Champion.
"Good... That's wonderful. My son has made something of himself!"
Madam Yang was so moved that her voice trembled. She even raised a hand to wipe her eyes.
She didn't know how capable a fighter A-Yuan meant by "pretty capable," but she did know what it meant to hold an official title.
Ever since A-Yuan had come back from the dead that day, everything seemed to have gotten better.
They could eat their fill now, and even have meat. They had new padded coats to wear, too.
Now A-Yuan even had a chance to earn an official title. Could it be that their ancestors had truly answered their prayers?
When the end of the year came, she would have to burn a few extra sticks of incense for their ancestors!
The next morning.
Lu Yuan opened his eyes, feeling that all the fatigue he'd built up over the past few days had completely vanished. He was full of energy.
After a quick wash, he ate two large bowls of meat and filled himself about seven-tenths full.
He told Madam Yang he was leaving, then headed straight for Song Academy.
Lu Yuan was still the last to arrive. Wu Yu, Chen Pi, and the others were already training hard.
"Did you hear? On the escort mission, not only did they each earn five taels, they also learned a blade technique. I'm so jealous!"
"What's the use of being jealous? The right path is to master the Five Animals Fist as soon as possible!"
The martial trainees who hadn't been selected for the escort mission all looked enviously at Wu Yu, Chen Pi, Lu Yuan, and the others.
Lu Yuan paid no attention to their looks or talk. He simply assumed a stance and began practicing the Five Animals Fist.
After completing this session, he should have mastered it completely.
He was also curious whether he would still gain proficiency after reaching the pinnacle of the Five Animals Fist.
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