Earthworm Jerky: The Martial Exhibition

Every three months, the assorted servants of the Prosperity Escort Agency held a martial exhibition to assess each person's progress in martial arts. Zhao Ya naturally knew this.

In previous exhibitions, they were generally overseen by the escort masters. Sometimes, when all the escort masters had gone out on assignments, even senior Escort Guards would serve as judges.

But never before had the chief escort personally presided over and watched one.

Zhao Ya's thoughts turned as he nodded. "All right, I'll tell him."

The servant left.

As Zhao Ya sorted the goods, he mulled over the matter.

As the chief escort of the Prosperity Escort Agency, Meng Lei might not be swamped with ten thousand affairs every day, but he certainly would not be so idle as to come watch a group of servants demonstrate their martial arts.

Especially coupled with that final line: reward the excellent, punish the poor.

Zhao Ya fell into thought.

The Prosperity Escort Agency—or rather, all the escort agencies in Dancing Elephant City—operated in much the same way.

Aside from a small number hired from outside, the escort masters and the backbone of the agency, the Escort Guards, were mostly trained in-house.

From that perspective, agencies like Prosperity Escort Agency were actually more like martial arts schools.

The benefit of this was that the escort masters and Escort Guards they trained possessed extremely high loyalty to the agency.

But the drawbacks were obvious as well: it was too slow, and too unpredictable.

After all, not everyone was suited to martial arts training.

More often than not, after pouring vast resources into cultivating someone, they would end up stuck at some bottleneck, unable to advance an inch. That was simply commonplace.

Thus, the quality of the servants became critically important.

At that thought, Zhao Ya slowly let out a breath.

He was not planning to dazzle everyone at the martial exhibition, earn the chief escort's favor, and soar to the heavens in a single step.

That would also run contrary to Zhao Ya's principle of keeping a low profile while building himself up.

But if he could show something at this exhibition, it should help with his current predicament.

With that thought, Zhao Ya silently made up his mind.

Noon.

Bridgehead Two-Meat Shop.

Tan Dong stared wide-eyed at Zhao Ya, who had already eaten twenty meat pies and was still chewing in huge mouthfuls.

In the blink of an eye, another five meat pies from the table disappeared into Zhao Ya's stomach.

Then Zhao Ya took a sip of hot soup and finally let out a burp.

"Are you full?" Tan Dong asked cautiously.

"Mm. This will do."

In truth, Zhao Ya could have kept eating. The instant the meat pies entered his stomach, his powerful digestive system would crush and absorb them.

But Zhao Ya felt that continuing would be a bit too shocking, so he stopped while he still could.

Tan Dong breathed a sigh of relief. Only after paying for the meal did he ask, "Old Zhao, you said you had something important to tell me. What is it?"

"Oh, it's nothing much. It's about the martial exhibition."

Zhao Ya then casually explained the matter. This time, Tan Dong could no longer sit still.

"What? The chief escort is personally overseeing it? And there'll be rewards and punishments? It's over, it's over, this is really over! I definitely won't pass. What am I supposed to do?"

Tan Dong knew his own abilities all too well.

He had practiced all his Five Tigers Fist on the bellies of those girls in the pleasure houses.

Suddenly.

As though he had thought of something, he looked at Zhao Ya with an eager expression.

"Brother Zhao, you're my own blood brother. You have to help me."

"Help? How am I supposed to help? Go plead for you? Stop joking. I've only been at the Escort Agency for a little over a month myself," Zhao Ya said.

"That's not what I mean. Haven't you been practicing boxing this whole time? You're definitely better than me, so could you give me some extra lessons over these next few days?"

"Extra lessons?" Zhao Ya looked at Tan Dong. "You mean you want me to drill you?"

Tan Dong nodded like a pecking chicken. "Yes, yes, yes! The harsher, the better. As long as I can pass the martial exhibition five days from now, I'll do anything."

Looking at Tan Dong's pleading face, Zhao Ya found it a little amusing.

Why was this fellow so much like those students from his previous life who crammed at the last minute before a major exam?

"But my time..."

"As long as you agree, Brother Zhao, I'll cover all your meals for the next few days."

"As for time, if you squeeze it, there's always some to be found."

After work that afternoon, at the training grounds of the Prosperity Escort Agency.

"You practice first. Let me see exactly what level you're at," Zhao Ya said.

Tan Dong answered and began practicing, but Zhao Ya stopped him after only a few moves.

Zhao Ya frowned. "Is this really the Five Tigers Fist you're practicing?"

"Of course it is. What else could it be?"

"But even your opening stance for the Five Tigers Fist is wrong. Forget it, I'll demonstrate it for you."

With that, Zhao Ya straightened up, calmed his mind and steadied his breath, then suddenly stepped forward with a hooking hand. His left leg followed into a forward bow stance, and his right fist shot straight out...

Zhao Ya began demonstrating the form, move by move.

He had learned the Five Tigers Fist more than a month ago. Every day, Zhao Ya had practiced diligently without ever slacking off.

Thus, while his Five Tigers Fist could not be called exquisitely refined, it was still fierce as a tiger and swept through the air with crisp, decisive force.

Smack.

After completing the final movement, Zhao Ya brought his feet together and pressed down with empty palms. His breathing was steady, without the slightest disorder.

[Five Tigers Fist proficiency +1]

A prompt appeared. Zhao Ya felt his understanding of the Five Tigers Fist deepen a little further. He was quite satisfied with that, and he turned to Tan Dong.

"Did you understand?"

Tan Dong involuntarily raised a thumbs-up.

"Brother Zhao, your fist technique is really something. I think it's even better than some Escort Guards'."

Zhao Ya glared at him. "Enough nonsense. Start by practicing your opening stance."

They practiced for a full two hours. Only when the sky had gone completely dark did Zhao Ya and Tan Dong leave the Escort Agency.

"Come on, Brother Zhao. Let's go back to my place and eat."

"Eat at your place?"

"That's right. Don't worry, what we're having this time is something you can't buy outside. The real good stuff," Tan Dong said mysteriously.

This was Zhao Ya's first time visiting Tan Dong's home. Compared to his own house in the slums, Tan Dong's home was far more spacious and grand.

It was a large courtyard with three layers, complete with east and west wing rooms, a gatehouse, and everything else.

Yet aside from a few rough-working old servant women, there was no one else in the enormous residence.

"My father and older brother never live here normally. It's just me at home."

Tan Dong explained briefly, then led Zhao Ya to the kitchen. Before long, he brought out a small box.

Inside were strips of jerky. Their color was dark and dull, making it impossible to tell what kind of animal they came from.

"Here, try a piece first."

Zhao Ya picked one up and examined it before his eyes for a moment. A faint fragrance drifted straight into his nostrils.

At the same time, his stomach began to churn, seemingly craving the jerky intensely.

Zhao Ya put it into his mouth. After only a slight chew, the jerky seemed to melt like ice and snow, flowing instantly into his stomach.

Boom.

The moment it entered his stomach, the jerky turned into a current of heat and was completely absorbed by his digestive system. Zhao Ya felt his spirits lift, and even the blood and qi throughout his body seemed to grow slightly more vigorous.

Surprise appeared on Zhao Ya's face.

Such a tiny strip of jerky contained at least as much nourishment as five jin of cured meat.

Tan Dong grinned at the sight. "How is it? Surprised? This is the real good stuff. It's immensely beneficial for martial artists like us."

"What animal's meat is this?" Zhao Ya asked.

"It's jerky made from a variant species of earthworm cultivated through a secret method. It contains abundant blood and qi, replenishes vital energy, and strengthens one's blood and qi."

As he spoke, Tan Dong handed the box to Zhao Ya.

"It's yours."

End of chapter.