Departure for Green Mountain City

Chen Jing was leaving Shuang'an Town.

Wang Chong said that when he had served in the border army, his centurion had opened a martial hall in Green Mountain City after retiring.

He was taking Chen Jing to Green Mountain City to call in that favor and send Chen Jing into the martial hall to learn some real skill.

This was not only Instructor Wang's way of repaying Chen Jing for saving his life, but also because he felt that Chen Jing had a talent for martial arts and should not be buried in Shuang'an Town.

"This was your master's wish as well."

"He once told me that if you ever wanted to go out and make your way in the world, he hoped I could help find you a path. I agreed."

So Wang Chong said.

Chen Jing returned silently to the butcher shop, his heart filled with emotion despite himself.

He still remembered that snowy night half a year ago.

After he had crossed over, Butcher Zhang had picked him up from the snow, his whole body frozen purple, his life nearly snuffed out.

Butcher Zhang had cursed all the while, saying, "Your father here must've had eight lifetimes of rotten luck to pick up a half-dead thing like this."

Yet as he cursed, he dragged him into the house, poured a bowl of scalding ginger soup down his throat, and even took off his own ragged padded coat to wrap around him.

That was the first human speech Chen Jing had heard after crossing over.

Rough, vicious—yet it had saved his life.

Butcher Zhang had not only saved his life, but had also given him a mouthful of food. In this world where human lives were as worthless as grass, a mouthful of food was a road to survival.

And what that old man had given him was far more than a mouthful of food.

He had also taught him the butcher's craft without holding anything back, and even before his death, he had planned a way out for Chen Jing.

That kindness was as vast as the heavens. Chen Jing feared he might never be able to repay it in this lifetime—and now he had nowhere left to repay it. Butcher Zhang was already gone.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

In those three days, Chen Jing took care of everything that needed taking care of.

He drove the last two spotted pigs out of the pigpen, one pig with one stroke of the knife, then hung the pork at the meat stall for a final clearance sale. Within two days, it was all sold out.

When the neighbors heard he was leaving, this one bought an extra two taels, that one had an extra half-catty weighed out. It counted as a silent farewell.

After selling out the meat, he sealed the pigpen, then used thick wooden planks to nail shut the storefront of the meat stall, lest thieves break in.

After that, he covered the chopping block with oilcloth, put the bowls and chopsticks neatly in order, and scrubbed the stove until it was spotless.

The last thing was packing his luggage.

He dug out the earthen jar Butcher Zhang had hidden beneath the stove. Inside were the bits of silver and copper coins saved up over the years.

Together with the reward silver from suppressing the bandits, it came to around seventy or eighty taels in total.

He divided the silver into two portions. The larger portion he hid close to his body, while the smaller portion he exchanged for broken silver and copper coins and placed in his bundle for spending on the road.

Dry rations, wound medicine, changes of coarse cloth clothing—he packed them away one by one, then went to a carpenter and picked out a fine White Wax Pole.

Then he asked the town blacksmith to add a spearhead forged of hundred-refined steel. The spearhead was fitted onto the tip of the shaft and riveted dead with iron hoops.

The bright silver spearpoint paired with the White Wax Pole shaft; when he weighed it in his hand, the weight was just right.

Finally, he tucked that heavy black Butcher Knife at the back of his waist.

This Butcher Knife had been the tool Butcher Zhang had used for over ten years, and now it was going to follow him as he ventured through the jianghu.

On the morning of the third day, Chen Jing looked around the courtyard where he had lived for more than half a year, drew back his gaze, turned, and stepped out through the courtyard gate.

He took out the copper lock polished to a bright shine.

With a click, he locked the door.

Then he shouldered the White-Shaft Spear, carried his bundle on his back, left the alley, and headed to the old locust tree at the town entrance to meet up with Instructor Wang.

When he arrived at the town entrance, Wang Chong was already there.

He wore a set of short, fitted martial clothes, a cloth belt tied around his waist, his iron spear resting across his shoulder.

He had assigned the militia training and patrol matters to an experienced old hand, and with the roaming bandits in the surrounding area having just been cleared out, it did not matter if he left for a few days.

Seeing Chen Jing walk over with the spear on his shoulder, Wang Chong looked him up and down, then nodded slightly. "Let's go."

He turned and strode out of town.

Chen Jing looked back one last time at Shuang'an Town behind him.

The morning fog had not yet fully dispersed. Gray walls and blue-tiled roofs appeared and disappeared in the thin mist, and a few rooster calls came from deep within the alleys.

He withdrew his gaze and tightened his grip on the White-Shaft Spear.

Then he quickly caught up with Wang Chong's pace.

Shuang'an Town lay in a remote location, nearly a hundred li from Green Mountain City.

Wang Chong and Chen Jing traveled at a fairly quick pace, but mountain roads were not like flat ground. Even hurrying as fast as they could, it would still take them two days.

They would also have to spend one night out in the open along the way.

Of course, if they had ridden horses, they could have arrived in a single day.

But the post station's horses for getting around cost at least ten taels at the drop of a hat. Wang Chong did not have that kind of spare money, let alone Chen Jing.

Fortunately, Wang Chong had traveled to and from the county seat many times.

He knew this road as well as the lines on his palm.

He knew where they could take shortcuts, where there were water sources, and where they needed to reach before dark to find a place to stop and rest.

The two of them followed the mountain road.

The mountains and fields of early spring had already begun to show green. A few scattered pink blossoms had opened on the wild peach trees by the roadside, and the ice in the mountain stream had completely melted, flowing with a rushing sound.

Wang Chong was not much of a talker. Along the way, he only occasionally explained things to Chen Jing: which fork in the road was easy to take wrong, and which stretches might have wild beasts appearing.

Chen Jing silently kept it all in mind.

From time to time, he nodded in acknowledgment.

Before dark, Wang Chong led Chen Jing off the mountain road and into a small village beside it. The village was not large, with only a dozen or so households.

It mainly made its living off the feet of passing merchants and travelers, and so had opened a small inn to outsiders.

Wang Chong pushed open the wooden door of the little inn with practiced ease.

He ordered two bowls of noodles and space on a shared sleeping platform.

The inn's attendant recognized him, greeted him with a smile, saying, "Instructor Wang, heading to the county seat?" then went to the kitchen to put the noodles on.

Though this little inn was simple and crude, it had quite a few guests.

There were actually a dozen or more people sitting in the main hall. Judging by their clothes and bearing, there were traveling merchants, porters, and several men with weapons at their waists.

These days, the world was not peaceful. There were always wandering bandits, robbers, and mountain brigands popping up, and people away from home were willing to travel together in groups, so they could look after one another.

Chen Jing and Wang Chong sat in a corner eating noodles. At the table beside them, a young merchant in a blue cloth long robe looked them over a few times.

His gaze circled over Wang Chong's iron spear and Chen Jing's White-Shaft Spear, then he carried his teacup over with a beaming smile.

"This strong warrior, I heard from the waiter that you are an instructor. May I ask where you have come from?" the merchant asked, cupping his hands.

Wang Chong looked up at him. "Shuang'an Town."

"Shuang'an Town?"

The merchant's eyes lit up. "I heard that some days ago, a band of wandering bandits caused fierce trouble in Shuang'an Town, but were later wiped out. Could it be that you lent your strength?"

Wang Chong's expression grew restrained. He cupped his hands toward Green Mountain City. "It was the lords of Six Gates who made the move. At most, we only rendered assistance from the side."

The smile on the merchant's face grew even warmer. Since he knew news of the lords of Six Gates, Wang Chong's identity could be said to be beyond doubt.

He pulled over a stool and sat down beside them, introducing himself:

"This one's surname is Bai, and I am a steward of White Horse Pharmacy in Green Mountain City."

"On this trip, I am escorting a batch of medicinal herbs back to Green Mountain City, and I hired several escort masters from Wei Yuan Escort Agency to protect us along the way."

"But in these times, the mountain roads are not peaceful. Since you two are militia braves who have fought wandering bandits, your skills must surely be no poor thing."

"Why don't we team up and travel together tomorrow? We can look after one another on the road as well."

As the merchant spoke, he jerked his chin toward a table nearby.

Over there, at two tables, sat ten men in fitted martial clothes altogether.

They wore sabers at their waists and had thick, powerful arms.

Their leader was a middle-aged escort master with a full beard. He was holding a bowl of wine and looking this way, but his expression could not be called pleasant.

The other escort masters also cast their gazes over one after another.

Some sized up Wang Chong's iron spear, while others stared at Chen Jing's overly young face, their eyes carrying a bit of unconcealed displeasure.

Chen Jing took it all in, and his heart was as clear as a bright mirror.

These escort masters clearly did not welcome them.

The reason was simple enough.

This employer from the pharmacy had invited other martial men to travel with them right in front of the escort masters. It was the same as questioning their ability to guard the escort.

Besides, Wang Chong and Chen Jing were strangers through and through. Letting strangers travel with the escort team was itself an added risk.

It was just that Steward Bai was the employer. Even if the escort masters were a hundred times unhappy in their hearts, they could not refute the employer to his face.

They could only pressure them with their eyes, hoping Wang Chong would know what was good for him and decline.

Of course Wang Chong saw it too, but holding his noodle bowl, he thought for a moment and still nodded. "Fine. Then we'll team up."