Harboring Delusions

The snow on the ground was already over a foot deep, and it was still falling nonstop.

In such terrible weather, no matter how anxious Luo Qiang and the others from the escort agency were, they had no way to continue their journey.

Left with no choice, Luo Qiang arranged for everyone to take turns standing watch over the escort silver in the room around the clock.

Zhao Ya and Zhou Hua had already stood watch for half the night, so they naturally did not need to guard it any longer.

He and Zhou Hua went to the front hall, ordered a few bowls of shredded pork noodles, and planned to return to sleep after eating.

Just as they were eating, Wei Yu and several runners entered as well.

Although Wei Yu was only a runner now, he was highly regarded by Chief Escort Meng Lei, who even seemed inclined to take him on as a personal disciple.

This gave Wei Yu a rather unusual standing within the escort agency.

Take last night's watch, for example. Zhao Ya, Luo Feng, and the others all had to obey Luo Qiang's orders and did not dare slack off in the slightest, while he could openly sleep the night away.

This had also gathered a group of people around Wei Yu.

They all knew that as long as Wei Yu cultivated step by step, his future would surely be boundless, so they had gathered around him early on and treated him as their leader.

After entering the hall, Wei Yu and the runners merely nodded slightly at Zhao Ya, completely ignoring Zhou Hua, who sat beside him.

Then they took a table nearby and began ordering food and wine.

During an escort run, the agency covered everyone's meals, but only enough to fill their stomachs.

If they wanted to eat well, they had to pay out of pocket.

Wei Yu did not care about that.

He was riding high these days. Not only was his monthly pay far more generous than everyone else's, but his share from every escort run was greater as well.

As a result, Wei Yu had accumulated quite a bit of money and naturally did not care about the cost of one meal.

Before long, the food and wine were served. Wei Yu and the others toasted one another, eating and drinking with great delight.

Just then, a woman's voice came from outside.

"Shopkeeper, make me a bowl of noodles."

As she spoke, a woman walked in.

She was the woman who had checked in late last night.

The moment they saw her, the previously noisy hall fell silent.

Wei Yu and the others in particular were stunned speechless.

These runners had not merely never married—some had never even touched a girl's hand. Every day, they did nothing but practice martial arts, eat, and sleep. Where had they ever seen such a breathtaking beauty?

Faced with so many staring eyes, the woman remained utterly unflustered. She calmly chose a clean table, sat down, and gently smoothed her loose black hair.

Her poised and graceful manner made many people secretly swallow.

Wei Yu held his wine cup as he stared blankly at the woman, his gaze gradually turning feverish.

Luo Qiang had repeatedly warned them that whenever they encountered women on the road, especially beautiful women, they had to keep their distance.

But Wei Yu felt such rules only applied to ordinary people.

And he was no ordinary person.

His looks might not be considered handsome, but he was certainly presentable.

Moreover, even the chief escort had praised his talent on the path of martial arts without reserve.

Thus, Wei Yu believed that wherever he went, he ought to be the greatest among geniuses, the protagonist among protagonists.

At that moment, the woman's noodles were served.

"Madam, here are your noodles. Please enjoy."

The woman nodded, picked up her chopsticks, and began eating.

Some said that no matter how beautiful and refined a lady was, she could not possibly look too elegant while eating noodles.

But this woman was an exception.

She ate the noodles in small bites, and every movement carried an indescribable charm.

Wei Yu's gaze grew even hotter.

At last, unable to suppress the restlessness in his heart any longer, he took a deep breath, stood up, and walked over to the woman's table.

"Miss, I am Wei Yu, an escort from the Prosperity Escort Agency in Dancing Elephant City. May I ask your name?"

This sudden attempt at conversation left everyone in the hall astonished.

Yet the woman seemed not to have heard him at all and continued eating her noodles with complete focus.

This disregard made Wei Yu's face gradually turn from pale to red, until it even began to purple.

If the woman ignored him the whole time, Wei Yu truly did not know how he would be able to return to his seat.

Finally.

The woman finished her noodles, set down her chopsticks, and looked up at Wei Yu.

"Were you talking to me?"

Wei Yu felt as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders and hurriedly nodded.

"Yes. I saw that you were eating here alone, Miss, and for a moment I could not restrain myself. I was somewhat rash. Please forgive me."

After saying that, Wei Yu silently praised himself.

Listen to that. How proper and polite.

Sure enough.

The woman gave a radiant smile.

"My name is Cheng Jingxue."

Wei Yu's eyes lit up. "Cheng Jingxue. What a lovely name!"

The fact that she had told him her name was a good start.

"You said you're an escort from the Prosperity Escort Agency. Are you really that impressive?"

"Haha, you flatter me, Miss. I would not call myself impressive. I merely work harder than most people."

The two then began chatting, and as they talked, Wei Yu simply moved over to Cheng Jingxue's table.

Seeing this, everyone in the hall had different thoughts.

The runners who followed Wei Yu had only one thought: their boss was incredible.

He had actually dared to strike up a conversation with her, and the important thing was that he had succeeded.

If he managed to win the beauty's heart, that would be truly amazing.

Unlike them, Zhao Ya felt no envy at all. Instead, he became quietly wary.

This woman was extraordinarily beautiful and appeared too weak to even truss a chicken, but for some reason, the more Zhao Ya looked at her, the more his scalp prickled.

Zhao Ya had always trusted his instincts, so he could only secretly shake his head at Wei Yu, whose lust had overcome his fear.

This fellow had clearly been blinded by beauty. Zhao Ya only hoped he would not drag others down with him.

At this point, Wei Yu was having an increasingly pleasant conversation with the woman who called herself Cheng Jingxue.

"Such heavy snow is falling, Miss Cheng. Why are you traveling alone in this weather? Isn't that extremely dangerous?"

"Alas, I have no choice. If it were possible, who would want to travel through the snow in this damned weather?" Cheng Jingxue sighed.

"Oh? Do you have some unavoidable reason?" Wei Yu asked with great concern.

"It is because... forget it. There is no point in telling you." Cheng Jingxue hesitated.

But unexpectedly, this only stirred Wei Yu up.

The moment he saw Cheng Jingxue's dejected expression, boundless heroic spirit rose in his heart.

"Miss Cheng, although we have only just met, I feel as though I have known you for a long time. If there is anything troubling you, please tell me. I will certainly do everything in my power to help you resolve it."

"Oh? You can really help me?" Cheng Jingxue's eyes brightened.

"Of course. I, Wei Yu, am an escort of the Prosperity Escort Agency, and I will soon advance to a second-realm martial artist. What problem could possibly stump me?"

"It is not really anything serious. There are merely a few bandits pursuing me, trying to kill me."