Lin Martial Arts Hall's Challenge Letter!

"Lu, wait!"

Lu Cheng turned around and saw Zhao Cheng striding after him with a long halberd slung over his shoulder.

As Zhao Cheng drew closer, Lu Cheng noticed that he even had a travel pack on his back.

"Brother Zhao, this is..."

Zhao Cheng was Li Village's guard. He had just returned from escorting the carts, and this should have been the time for him to rest.

Yet he was dressed like this at such a time...

It was hard not to read something else into it.

As though he had sensed Lu Cheng's thoughts,

Zhao Cheng hurriedly said with a solemn face,

"Hey, Brother Lu, don't misunderstand. Am I the sort of man who flees at the sight of a friend in trouble?"

"The Li Family has supported me for over a year. How could I abandon them at a time like this?"

Lu Cheng quickly waved his hands.

"Brother Zhao, you're overthinking it. How could I see you that way?"

"I was only curious, that's all."

Li Village was not close to Yang City, and it was already getting late.

The two did not linger. They traveled while talking.

Zhao Cheng said,

"I won't hide it from you. Li Village's stipend for me was two packets of Blood-Activating Powder and five taels of silver each month."

Lu Cheng nodded.

At Yang City's market price, a packet of Blood-Activating Powder cost three taels of silver.

But Li Village surely bought it for less than market price.

By that calculation, it came to roughly ten taels of silver a month.

For an Early Stage of Strength Refining martial artist, ten taels a month was truly no small sum.

"Oh? So Li Village no longer wished to retain Brother Zhao?"

Zhao Cheng shook his head.

"That isn't the case."

"Neither Clan Chief Li nor the elders ever mentioned cutting my stipend."

"It's just that over this past year, aside from escorting medicinal herbs, there was nothing else to do. Whether I was there or not made no difference."

"Seeing how difficult Li Village's circumstances are now, I planned to stop taking the stipend for the time being."

"But when I brought it up, Clan Chief Li refused no matter what."

"So I had no choice but to leave temporarily."

Lu Cheng knew that was indeed the truth.

Take a man's money, dispel his disasters.

As a retained martial artist, Zhao Cheng took Li Village's money. Though his status was not low, he still had to follow Li Village's orders and do their work.

If he stopped taking their money, then in what capacity could he remain there?

And how were the people of Li Village supposed to treat him?

It would be awkward for both sides.

Since Li Village would not have any medicinal herbs to escort anytime soon, there truly was no reason for Zhao Cheng to stay.

"Then what are Brother Zhao's plans?"

Lu Cheng had a feeling that the River-Blocking Halberd Technique was about to finish its deduction.

Zhao Cheng had taught it to him without holding anything back. Once it was complete, Lu Cheng naturally had to teach it back to him.

But if Zhao Cheng left, there would be nowhere to find him.

Zhao Cheng shook his head.

"I don't have any plans for now, but I won't leave Yang City. If anything happens in Li Village, I'll rush back at once."

Lu Cheng was delighted. If that was the case, then there was no problem.

The Long Wind Escort Agency's Mystic Eagle Technique was a complete martial arts cultivation method, enough to cultivate all the way to Body Refining Perfection.

But the River-Blocking Halberd Technique also made Lu Cheng intensely curious.

It was both a martial skill and a cultivation method—truly a rare thing.

And the first twelve forms alone, equivalent to an ordinary martial skill, were enough to cultivate strength.

What level, then, could the complete thirty-six forms reach?

If every twelve forms corresponded to one realm, then it could reach Perfected Strength Refining.

But Lu Cheng's instincts told him it would not be so simple.

Could it go straight to Body Tempering?

Lu Cheng shook his head. Everything would have to wait until Heavenly Mandate finished deducing it.

Seeing Lu Cheng first look delighted, then shake his head, Zhao Cheng could not help asking curiously,

"Brother Lu, why are you making that expression? Could it be that you were hoping all along that I would go to Yang City with you?"

Lu Cheng smiled.

"Let me keep you in suspense for now. Brother Zhao will know when the time comes, but I can tell you in advance that it is absolutely a good thing."

Then he added,

"Mm, a very good thing!"

That only made Zhao Cheng more curious.

But no matter how Zhao Cheng pressed him, Lu Cheng refused to say.

Zhao Cheng had no choice but to suppress his curiosity.

As they walked, another thought suddenly came to Lu Cheng.

Once the River-Blocking Halberd Technique was fully deduced, even if it could only reach Perfected Strength Refining, it would definitely qualify as a ranked art.

And a Perfected Strength Refining martial artist had the strength to open a hall and take disciples.

Like the Three Suns Sect and the Cloud Billow Sect, they were supported within by no more than Strength-Refining Martial Artists.

Zhao Cheng could also try opening a martial arts hall.

But that was something to consider only after the River-Blocking Halberd Technique had been fully deduced.

After all, although Zhao Cheng was quite formidable, he was still only an Early Stage of Strength Refining martial artist.

There were plenty of such people in Yang City.

They traveled the rest of the way in silence. After noon, the two returned to Yang City.

After Lu Cheng gave Zhao Cheng the Long Wind Escort Agency's address, they bid each other farewell.

"What? How could this happen?!"

Inside the Long Wind Escort Agency's courtyard,

Liu Chang'an and the other two were all utterly shocked when they saw Lu Cheng return.

Going by the distance, even without counting the delay in Yunshan County, Lu Cheng should not have returned for another seven days.

When they heard Lu Cheng's account, they were all greatly alarmed.

Still, the three reacted somewhat differently.

Liu Wan'er was the first to worry about casualties, though she only asked Lu Cheng about them briefly.

Liu Chang'an, meanwhile, immediately thought of Liu Village.

"What are we supposed to do now?"

"The medicinal herbs are gone. We'll definitely have to compensate them in silver."

"Ten cartloads of medicinal herbs, triple compensation... With such an enormous sum, the clan definitely won't be able to gather it all in a short time."

Though worried as well, Fatty was furious.

"What is Liu Xun even good for? That petty man who only knows how to curry favor with the powerful—does he think this is how a clan chief should act?"

"And Liu Xitian, that ignorant fool, that mediocrity, that useless waste."

"He deserved to become crippled! Bah, he deserved it!"

"A bunch of useless trash! Trash!"

Liu Wan'er and Liu Chang'an turned to look at Fatty, frowning.

Liu Chang'an could not help saying,

"Enough, A-Cai. No one expected things to turn out this way."

"Yes. No matter what, they are elders of the clan, and Uncle Xitian is already crippled. Is it appropriate for you to keep cursing them like this?"

Normally easygoing, Fatty ignored their persuasion entirely. His face flushed red as he snapped,

"What, was I wrong?"

"If they had listened to Lu Cheng, how could they have lost eight cartloads of medicinal herbs?!"

Since getting to know Fatty, Lu Cheng had never seen him this angry.

Certainly, part of it was because the authority of his own clan chief had been seized, something he had always bitterly resented.

But his anger was not entirely without reason.

Putting it fairly, Liu Xun's arrangements had indeed been improper.

Knowing full well that Xiao Kuang of the Emerald Cloud Pavilion and Zhou Yunxiang of Lin Martial Arts Hall were at odds, even harboring grudges against each other, he had still insisted on appointing two leaders.

That alone had been a hidden danger.

As for whether appointing only one leader would have allowed Zhou Yunxiang to cooperate from within and without even more smoothly, that was another matter entirely.

But Liu Xun's failure to see the danger was a fact.

Then there was Liu Xitian.

That fellow had targeted Lu Cheng at every turn along the road and had even rejected Lu Cheng's suggestion.

If he had listened to Lu Cheng, they would never have suffered such tremendous losses.

Liu Chang'an shook his head.

"It's too late to say anything now. Something this serious has happened. Let's go back and take a look first."

Fatty flung his hand aside and left without looking back.

"If you want to go, go yourselves. I'm not going!"

"Ah..."

Liu Chang'an and Liu Wan'er sighed one after another.

Liu Chang'an said worriedly,

"How did things end up like this? I wonder what Lin Martial Arts Hall will say. After all, it was their disciple who acted as the inside man this time. If we can get some compensation, the clan's situation will improve greatly."

Lu Cheng shook his head inwardly. Liu Chang'an's hopes were far too unrealistic.

Lin Martial Arts Hall was merely a martial arts hall. One major difference between it and a sect was its loose rules.

It was basically impossible for the Liu Family to obtain compensation.

Sure enough, before nightfall, the Liu Village people sent to Lin Martial Arts Hall returned with bad news.

Lin Martial Arts Hall refused compensation on the grounds that Zhou Yunxiang had privately accepted the guard job.

They also expelled Zhou Yunxiang and the four disciples from the martial arts hall.

Beyond that, Lin Martial Arts Hall had actually sent Lu Cheng a challenge letter!