Escort Run

Leaving Hundred Herb Hall, Jiang Che suddenly spotted a shop selling cooked food not far across the street.

The aroma of roast chicken drifted over.

Jiang Che sniffed and could not help feeling tempted.

Compared to exotic beast meat, this roast chicken was simply a peerless delicacy.

He walked over. "Boss, how much is the roast chicken?"

"Three hundred copper coins each! Freshly roasted today. Would you like one, sir?"

The owner was a short man, not even reaching Jiang Che's chest in height.

"Sure, give me one!" Jiang Che took out some copper coins and paid without hesitation.

To the Jiang Che of the past, three hundred copper coins would have been an enormous sum.

But after buying expensive exotic beast meat, he now felt that this roast chicken was dirt cheap.

Though it was not exotic beast meat, eating more meat could still replenish a little Qi-Blood. It was useful, at least to some extent.

Besides, both he and his sister had been craving it.

After it was wrapped in lotus leaves, Jiang Che carried the roast chicken home.

As he neared home, Jiang Che suddenly noticed several burly men in black jackets, short blades tucked at their waists, going door to door and asking about something.

They looked fierce and vicious, pounding on doors until they shook.

An old man whose door had been forcibly smashed open looked as pale as death, while the child behind him cried without stop in terror.

"They're from the Thunderbolt Gang..."

Jiang Che recognized them.

If he had been the Jiang Che of the past, he might have been afraid.

But now, he was already a Martial Artist.

These ordinary gang members, who had not even cultivated Qi-Blood, were no match for him no matter how strong they looked.

In a sense, a Martial Artist was no longer an ordinary person.

Jiang Che walked straight over.

When the Thunderbolt Gang members saw Jiang Che approach, they were just about to stop him.

But then they saw the disciple uniform of White Cloud Martial Hall he wore and felt the sharp aura radiating from him. Their expressions immediately changed.

"He's a Blood-Qi Realm Martial Artist..."

They muttered under their breaths.

"Retreat!"

The leader did not want to clash with a Martial Artist and immediately led his men away.

"Sir, what was that about?" Jiang Che stepped forward and asked.

The old man was bald and wore a short white jacket. He stared at the retreating Thunderbolt Gang members, fear still lingering on his face.

"Alas, what a sin! Those fiends from the Thunderbolt Gang!"

The old man's voice was hoarse, still trembling from the lingering fright.

"Lately, they've been losing people one after another. It's strange as hell! Every corpse had its head missing, its belly cut open, and all its organs gone. It was a horrific sight!

"But they still haven't caught whoever did it. Their gang leader said someone was playing tricks and pretending to be ghosts, so they send people out to investigate every day. But I think..."

The old man shrank his neck and lowered his voice. "It must be some evil spirit!"

Jiang Che nodded and said no more.

"It seems that Green-Eyed Monster is becoming more and more brazen..."

The moment Jiang Che recalled the scene from that night, a chill ran through his heart, and he unconsciously quickened his pace.

His strength had improved greatly since he first broke through, but he still felt he was no match for that Monster.

"At the very least, it's in the Stone Skin Realm... No, perhaps even the Iron-Hide Realm!"

Jiang Che thought to himself.

When he returned home, Jiang Ling had her head lowered as she stitched something.

"Brother, you're back!" Seeing Jiang Che return, Jiang Ling swiftly hid what she was holding behind her back, then hurried over.

"Didn't I tell you not to take this kind of work anymore?" Jiang Che frowned, his tone carrying a touch of helplessness.

"I don't know what else to do at home, so... being idle is being idle anyway." Jiang Ling's face reddened slightly, and a trace of panic flashed through her eyes.

Suddenly, she seemed to smell something, and her eyes instantly lit up.

"Huh?"

Seeing her expression, Jiang Che's lips unconsciously curved into a smile. He took out the roast chicken wrapped in lotus leaves.

"Wow! Roast chicken!"

Jiang Ling cried out in delight, practically bouncing with excitement.

"I'm attached to the escort agency now. I get thirty taels of silver a month, and another ten taels for every escort run! It's only roast chicken—we can eat it every day!" Jiang Che patted her head.

"Wow, roast chicken every day!" Jiang Ling's eyes widened round as saucers.

Then the siblings sat around the table and began feasting heartily.

After finishing the roast chicken, Jiang Che took out several packets of dried exotic beast meat wrapped in oil paper from his robe and carefully spread them over the table.

"Brother, what's this?" Jiang Ling asked curiously.

Jiang Che handed her a strip. Jiang Ling picked it up and sniffed it, immediately knitting her brows.

"What a fishy, gamey smell. What is this?" Jiang Ling's little face instantly scrunched into a ball as she put it back in disgust.

"This is dried exotic beast meat. Martial Artists use it to replenish Qi-Blood," Jiang Che explained.

"This... can people really eat it? Won't it upset your stomach?" Jiang Ling's face was full of doubt.

"Of course it can... Though it really doesn't smell very good, and it... uh, doesn't taste very good either." Jiang Che gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "But to replenish Qi-Blood, you have to eat it no matter how awful it tastes!"

With that, he picked up a strip of dark red dried meat, broke off a small piece, drew a deep breath, and put it into his mouth.

Once he started chewing, the fishy, gamey stench became even stronger, instantly filling the entire room.

His sister covered her nose and left.

Jiang Che did not dare chew for long. He swallowed it with a stiff upper lip.

Yet it felt stuck in his throat and would not go down, nearly choking him to death. He hurriedly gulped down a large mouthful of water before finally managing to force it down.

Not long after, he felt a warm swelling sensation in his lower abdomen.

The body that had not been replenished in time after excessive martial training seemed to be gradually recovering as well.

His eyes lit up. He picked up a brush and recorded the type of dried meat and the Qi-Blood sensation it produced.

Then he began trying the next piece.

After testing all the dried exotic beast meat, Jiang Che compared them carefully and found that the most effective one was surprisingly not dried Pig-Sheep Beast meat, but the dried meat of a snake-like exotic beast!

It was a Black Beast called the Shadow Ring Snake, an exotic beast bred from ordinary venomous snakes.

"Looks like Senior Brother Zhang was right. What suits others may not necessarily suit me..."

"I'll buy this one from now on."

Jiang Che silently committed it to memory.

That day, Jiang Che was practicing his fist technique in the Disciple Courtyard of White Cloud Martial Hall.

Sweat soaked his training clothes, and every punch carried the sound of wind.

After eating exotic beast meat for several days in a row, Jiang Che felt his Qi-Blood had grown much stronger.

Though he was still inferior to Zhang Xiong and the others.

He was already far stronger than before.

"Layered Cloud Fist is almost at minor mastery too..."

[Layered Cloud Fist: Beginner (86/100)]

Jiang Che looked at the Proficiency Panel, joy rising in his heart.

Everything was slowly getting better.

"Senior Brother Jiang!" An ordinary apprentice from the Martial Arts Hall called from the entrance. "Someone's looking for you!"

Jiang Che stopped, wiped away his sweat, and walked toward the entrance.

A trace of excitement stirred in Jiang Che's heart. Could it be...?

Outside stood a man dressed in a fitted green outfit.

"Brother Jiang Che?" the man asked.

"That's me." Jiang Che nodded.

"I'm Li Qiang, an escort master from the Zhenyuan Escort Agency."

The man cupped his fists.

"There's an escort run to Hengsha City in three days—delivering goods, that is. We're short on hands, so Manager Wang sent me to ask whether you're going."

Hengsha City!

Jiang Che's heart skipped a beat.

It was finally here!

"I'm going!" Jiang Che agreed without the slightest hesitation.

"Good! Gather at the escort agency entrance at the Hour of the Rabbit three days from now." Li Qiang turned and left after speaking.

Jiang Che stood where he was, excitement stirring in his heart.

He finally had a chance to go to Hengsha City!

But soon, he furrowed his brow.

What about his sister, Jiang Ling?

He could not rest easy leaving her home alone.

Especially now that the Thunderbolt Gang had begun causing trouble, and there was also Green-Eyed Monster...

He had to think of a way.