Ten days flew by in a flash.
In the humble woodshed at the back of Xingyi Martial Arts Hall, an oil lamp flickered, its flame no bigger than a bean. Chen Jianghe's shadow, practicing martial arts, stretched across the mottled earthen wall. He had just finished his stance and breathing exercises, and slowly opened his eyes.
[Destiny: Heaven Rewards Diligence, and Diligence Will Surely Bear Fruit] [Current Skill: Three-Body Stance (Minor Accomplishment)] [Progress: 78%] [Current Skill: Five Elements Fist (Minor Accomplishment)] [Progress: 10%] [Effect: None]
Lin sat on the edge of the bed, mending an old garment by the dim yellow light. Her stitches were fine, but her movements were a little slow—her gaze kept drifting toward her son despite herself.
She looked up at him and spoke softly. "Jianghe, you've been training harder than usual these past few days."
Wiping his face with a sweat towel, Chen Jianghe went over and sat beside her. "Mother, I'm fine. Practicing martial arts is like rowing upstream: if you don't advance, you fall behind. I've only just broken through to Bright Strength, so now's the time to shore up my foundations."
"I know." Lin set down her needle and thread.
For the past ten days, Chen Jianghe had pushed himself nearly to his limits. He rose at the hour of the tiger and didn't rest until the hour of the rat, alternating between stance training and the Five Elements Fist with hardly a pause.
His mother, Lin, had watched with worry in her heart. Several times, she had wanted to say something, but in the end she had only silently brought him thick bowls of meat broth.
Chen Jianghe knew what his mother was worried about.
He had never once mentioned what had happened in the alley that night.
But ever since then, his mother had not gone out alone. Even when she went to the nearby market to buy thread, rice, or other necessities, she always chose the busiest hours, hurrying there and back.
Some things didn't need to be said to be impossible to hide.
In this world, with a blade hanging over your neck, becoming stronger was the only way to survive.
As he was thinking, familiar footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.
"Jianghe!"
The door curtain lifted, and Su Derong poked half his body inside, waving his fan.
Seeing Lin there too, he put away his fan, composed himself, and bowed. "Aunt Lin."
Lin hurried to her feet. "It's Third Young Master. Come in and sit. I'll get you some water."
"No need, no need." Su Derong waved a hand and smiled. "I just need to talk to Jianghe for a bit, then I'll be on my way. I won't keep you from resting."
Understanding, Lin picked up her sewing basket. "Then you two talk. I'll go check whether there's still water heating in the front courtyard." With that, she lifted the curtain and went out.
Only then did Su Derong sit down opposite Chen Jianghe. He laid his fan across his knees, and his usual smile faded a little. "Jianghe, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"Go ahead, Senior Brother."
"In three days, the escort agency has a shipment to escort."
Chen Jianghe's heart stirred. "Are you leading the team, Senior Brother?"
"I have to lead this one." Su Derong tugged at the corner of his mouth, a somewhat rueful smile on his face. "The agency doesn't have many Dark Strength escort guards to begin with, and the ones we do have are all tied up with other work. We really can't spare anyone. My title of Young Gang Leader is all well and good for putting on airs, but when it's time to shoulder a burden, I can't exactly hide away."
He paused and looked at Chen Jianghe with an earnest gaze. "I wanted to ask whether you'd be willing to come along."
Chen Jianghe was silent for a moment and didn't answer right away.
Su Derong didn't press him. He simply sat quietly, waving his fan as he waited.
After a long while, Chen Jianghe finally spoke. "Senior Brother, how risky is this shipment?"
"To be honest, fairly risky." Su Derong smiled, but his tone was serious. "We're escorting twenty crates of medicinal herbs. The route goes through Black Wind Ridge and Wolf Tooth Gorge, both places crawling with bandits. And there's the Green Dragon Gang, still eyeing us hungrily outside the city. Medicinal herbs are light and valuable, so they're bound to attract greedy eyes. As long as we don't run into a Force Transformation expert, we can handle it. And an expert like that wouldn't personally ambush an escort for a few crates of herbs."
He paused and lowered his voice. "Jianghe, you know what I'm like, so I'll be straight with you. This shipment was specifically requested to be escorted by a Dark Strength guard from the Su Family. But the agency really can't spare anyone, and we can't exactly announce that the Su Family has no one capable of doing the job... So I had to grit my teeth and accept it. If you come along, I'll feel a lot more at ease."
Chen Jianghe understood what he meant.
Su Derong had laid all his cards on the table: the escort agency was in a bind, so as the Su Family's direct heir, he had to step up. But he didn't have enough confidence on his own and needed someone he trusted at his side.
Besides, escorting a shipment meant leaving Yilin County and the martial arts hall. It would let him avoid the Sun Moon Cult's entanglements for a while.
He had kept Zhang Mingyuan's dying words in mind.
If he stayed in Yilin County, there was no guarantee the Sun Moon Cult wouldn't follow the clues and track him down. Better to leave for a while. He could earn money and lie low at the same time.
"Since you've put it that way, Senior Brother, of course I'll go." Chen Jianghe nodded. "It's just... I don't know the first thing about the rules of escorting a shipment or the taboos along the road."
"That's easy." Su Derong's smile returned. "I'll teach you the rules on the way. As for the taboos... There are three that matter most: don't show off your money, don't make enemies, and don't go looking for trouble. Our first priority is to deliver the goods safely. Everything else comes after that."
Su Derong slapped his thigh and stood. "Then it's settled. Meet at the escort agency in three days, at the hour of the dragon. Prepare your own rations, waterskin, and change of clothes. If you need a different weapon, pick one out from the agency's storeroom tomorrow. Put it on my account."
"Thank you, Senior Brother." Chen Jianghe rose and cupped his fists.
"Good. I'll head back to the agency and make arrangements."
Early the next morning, Chen Jianghe left the martial arts hall.
He turned into an inconspicuous blacksmith's shop at the western end of the city.
The forge was roaring, and the clang of hammer on iron rang without pause.
A burly man with a bare chest and knotted muscles was hammering a piece of red-hot iron. When Chen Jianghe entered, he didn't even look up. "What do you need made?"
"Can you make this from the drawing within three days?" Chen Jianghe pulled a piece of rough paper from inside his robe. The design was one he had sketched from memory the previous night: a simple ring-like structure, with raised, thicker sections over the knuckles and gaps on the inside for his fingers.
The blacksmith stopped hammering, took the drawing, and glanced at it. Then he sized up Chen Jianghe. "You practice martial arts?"
"I do."
"Three taels of silver." The blacksmith held up three thick, soot-blackened fingers. "I'll make it from fine iron, with the edges reinforced and polished. Come pick it up in three days."
Chen Jianghe didn't haggle. He pulled three taels of silver from inside his robe and set them on an anvil nearby. "I'm obliged, Master."
The blacksmith took the silver, tucked the drawing into the leather apron at his waist, and raised his hammer again. "Come pick it up in three days."
Chen Jianghe nodded and left.
After leaving the blacksmith's shop, he bought some coarse cloth at a street corner and sewed a dozen or so sturdy little pouches. He filled each with powdered quicklime, carefully sealed them, and tucked them close to his body.
These tricks weren't exactly respectable, but when your life was on the line, who cared what was respectable?
Three days later, at the hour of the dragon.
Chen Jianghe arrived at the Su Family Escort Agency on time.
He had changed into a clean indigo martial outfit—the escort guard's uniform Su Derong had had someone deliver the previous day.
A waterskin and ration bag hung at his waist. The Butchery Blade that had been with him for three years was wrapped in cloth and strapped to his lower back. Inside his robe, he carried the newly made Brass Knuckles and a dozen pouches of quicklime.
Seven or eight people had already gathered in the courtyard, the atmosphere solemn.
Su Derong stood beside an escort cart, talking to a middle-aged escort guard with a dark complexion.
When he saw Chen Jianghe come in, he beckoned. "Jianghe, come over."
Chen Jianghe hurried over.
"This is Old Zhao, Zhao Tieshan." Su Derong pointed to the middle-aged escort guard. "He's the head of the footmen on this trip and an old hand at escort work. If there's anything you don't understand along the way, ask Old Zhao."
Zhao Tieshan looked to be around forty, with coarse features and a scar about an inch long on his left cheek.
He cupped his fists toward Chen Jianghe, his voice hoarse. "Brother Chen."
"Master Zhao." Chen Jianghe returned the salute.
Su Derong pointed to two other escort guards, both younger. "These are Zhou Yong and Wang Gui. They're both at Bright Strength, and they'll be traveling with us."
Zhou Yong was lean and wiry, with quick, alert eyes. Wang Gui was sturdier and looked honest and simple.
Both nodded to Chen Jianghe in greeting.
"The rest are footmen." Su Derong glanced at the men beside them, who were checking the ropes and cargo. "We've got three carts for this shipment, five escort guards, and six footmen. That's enough people."
Seeing that everyone was ready, Su Derong grew serious. "Everyone, I'll go over the rules for this shipment once more."
His gaze swept over everyone present, and his tone was grave. "First, don't get too friendly with any outsiders along the way, and don't reveal any details about the cargo, route, or itinerary. Second, don't stay at shady inns or drink water from unknown sources. Third, stay calm when something happens, and don't go looking for trouble."
Zhao Tieshan grinned. "Don't worry, Young Gang Leader. We know the drill."
Zhou Yong, Wang Gui, and the others nodded as well. "We know the rules."
"Good." Su Derong clapped his hands. "It's getting late. Load up and let's go!"
Zhao Tieshan called out, and the footmen carried the last few crates onto the carts, then checked again to make sure the ropes were tightly secured.
Su Derong went to the lead cart and pulled a small triangular flag from inside his robe.
The flag was indigo, with the golden character "Su" embroidered on it.
He planted it beside the cart's shaft, then turned to explain to Chen Jianghe. "This is the escort flag. Anyone who makes their living on the road will recognize it as a Su Family shipment. Common bandits won't dare pick a fight with us lightly."
Chen Jianghe silently committed that to memory.
Once everything was ready, Su Derong swung onto the lead mule cart and sat on the left side of the shaft.
Zhou Yong drove the second cart, while Wang Gui drove the last. Chen Jianghe was assigned to the right side of the shaft on Su Derong's cart. The leader had deliberately brought him along so he could offer pointers whenever needed.
"Let's go!"