Slowing Progress, Escorting a Shipment

Once he had finished all his training, Zhao Ya stood straight as a spear. A glint flashed in his eyes as the attribute panel, visible only to him, opened.

Name: Zhao Ya. Age: 17. Remaining Lifespan: 45 years (+43 days)

Skills: Eight-Part Vajra Art (Mastery 87/5000) Five Tigers Fist (Mastery 193/5000) Gale Saber Technique (Mastery 57/5000) Lightness Skill Grass-Treading Flight (Proficient 1042/2000) Swallow Three Skims the Water (Proficient 844/2000)

[Heart Unlock Progress: 54%]

Looking at these figures, Zhao Ya could not help but frown slightly.

His martial arts progress had clearly slowed over this period.

For example, with the Eight-Part Vajra Art, Zhao Ya sometimes had to practice for several days just to gain a single point of proficiency.

Moreover, the heart unlock progress had only increased by four percent.

All of this made Zhao Ya somewhat anxious.

But he also knew that this was unavoidable.

After all, as his strength grew, he had already trained martial arts such as the Eight-Part Vajra Art and Five Tigers Fist to an extremely profound level.

At this stage, making further progress was bound to be difficult.

It seemed he should find a way to learn some deeper martial arts.

After all, whether it was Five Tigers Fist or the Gale Saber Technique, they were merely second-rate martial arts in the martial world—common goods found everywhere.

But where could he learn them?

Chief Escort Meng Lei did possess a few exceptional techniques, but those were life-saving arts that he would not readily teach to others.

Zhao Ya pondered silently, and the trace of anxiety from earlier had already vanished.

Because he knew there were no shortcuts on the path of martial arts.

If he wanted to grow stronger, to gain sufficient capital, even to attain immortality, then he needed the heart of a martial artist who pressed forward bravely and feared no hardship.

"Brother Zhao Ya, the wind outside is getting a little chilly. Come back inside and sleep!" Zui'er called softly from the doorway.

Zhao Ya turned back and looked at Zui'er beneath the lamplight. Seeing her dressed lightly and looking at him with shy apprehension, he could not help but smile.

"All right, I'll go take a bath first."

Zui'er's face instantly turned even redder, and she hurriedly turned around and went back inside.

A moment later, when Zhao Ya entered the room after washing up, the lamp had already been extinguished.

By the starlight filtering through the window, he could vaguely see Zui'er lying on the bed with the blanket pulled over her head.

Zhao Ya found it amusing.

This little girl was still so shy, even after all this time.

Zhao Ya walked over and gently stroked Zui'er's back.

"Are you asleep? Then I'll sleep too."

As he spoke, he made as if to lie down.

"Don't!" Zui'er fell for it and threw back the blanket with a cry.

Then she saw the smile on Zhao Ya's face and was immediately mortified.

"Don't what?" Zhao Ya asked with a grin.

"Oh, I'm not talking to you anymore!" Zui'er was too embarrassed to bear it and tried to turn away.

But Zhao Ya grabbed hold of her.

"Mmm..."

With a soft moan, the night became infinitely enchanting...

The next day, Zhao Ya had just arrived at the escort agency when Chief Escort Meng Lei called him over.

When he reached the discussion hall, Meng Lei first smiled and asked about Zhao Ya's recent progress in martial arts.

Zhao Ya did not mention that the sinews and membranes throughout his body had begun to tremble. That was simply too shocking.

He merely said that his progress had clearly slowed recently.

Meng Lei had expected this. After offering Zhao Ya a few words of comfort, he finally got to the point.

"This morning, House Hong in the inner city sent word that they have a batch of goods to deliver to River Mouth Town. But Escort Masters Luo and Lin have both gone out on assignments, so I've decided to have you take this escort job. Are you confident?"

River Mouth Town?

Zhao Ya immediately recalled the escort assignment from last year.

It was during that trip that he had obtained the Meteoric Iron Saber.

He wondered how Forge-Iron Manor was doing. Did they know that the woman who had swindled away their treasured saber was already dead?

Thoughts raced through Zhao Ya's mind, but none showed on his face. He immediately stood and said, "Rest assured, Chief Escort. This disciple has received great kindness from the escort agency and will naturally give my all without the slightest negligence. I will ensure this escort assignment proceeds without mishap."

"Hahaha, Zhao Ya, you're overstating things. Sit down. It's only an ordinary escort job; there's no need to be so serious," Meng Lei said with a laugh.

Zhao Ya sat back down.

Meng Lei continued, "This escort job is somewhat different. It's a round trip. After transporting a batch of supplies from Dancing Elephant City to River Mouth Town, you'll escort a shipment of silver back from the bank there. So you'll be delayed on the road for a bit longer."

"However, you followed Escort Master Luo on that route once before the New Year, so you know the way. There shouldn't be any major problems. I'll assign ten runners to you as well. What do you think?"

"Fine, but I want to choose the runners myself."

"Of course. Choose your men and prepare the escort carts today. You'll set out early tomorrow morning. Is that acceptable?"

"No problem!"

When they heard that Zhao Ya would be leading an escort assignment, the runners became excited.

Over these past days, Zhao Ya had built considerable prestige within the escort agency. He was also the youngest, so many of them were willing to grow closer to him.

If they could accompany him on this escort assignment, it would surely be better than following veteran escort masters like Luo Qiang and Lin Sheng.

Thus, when Zhao Ya began selecting people, the runners rushed forward to volunteer.

In the end, Zhao Ya chose ten of them and told them to prepare the escort carts and pack their luggage today. They would set out early tomorrow morning.

Naturally, everyone agreed.

After the meeting, Tan Dong eagerly hurried over.

"Brother Zhao, am I going too?"

"What, you don't want to go?" Zhao Ya asked with a smile.

"No, no, I really do! I'll go back and pack right now."

As he spoke, Tan Dong turned to leave.

"All right, it won't be too late to pack tonight. Go keep an eye on the escort carts first. This journey isn't short, so make sure the carts are properly loaded and nothing goes wrong."

"Understood!"

The day passed amid busy preparations.

That evening, Zhao Ya personally inspected the escort carts once more. After confirming that there were no problems, he told the runners when to assemble the next day before leaving the escort agency.

When he returned home, Zhao Ya told Zui'er that he would be heading out on an escort assignment tomorrow and might be gone for five or six days.

Although Zui'er was reluctant to see him go, she knew that this was his line of work, so she hurried to pack his luggage for him.

This thin garment is for practicing at night, this thicker one is for when the wind blows, and this oilcloth needs to come too, in case it rains...

Watching Zui'er pack without stopping as the bundle gradually grew fatter, Zhao Ya did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"All right, stop packing. I'm only going out for five or six days. Why are you even putting my winter padded coat in there?"

"I'm just worried you might run into wind and rain on the road."

"Don't make it so troublesome. Just pack two changes of clothes."

At Zhao Ya's insistence, Zui'er had no choice but to take out most of the clothing and repack the bundle.

After finishing everything, Zhao Ya took out the short saber.

"Keep this for protection. While I'm gone, try not to go out too much. If anything happens, go to the escort agency for help. Understand?"

Zui'er nodded and took the short saber.

After practicing for some time, Zui'er's saber skills were not particularly impressive, but they were at least decent enough. Dealing with three to five hooligans would not be a problem.

But Zhao Ya still did not feel at ease, so he gave Zui'er three packets of quicklime powder.

"These contain lime powder. If you run into a formidable opponent, throw them at his face, then take the chance to run."

"Mhm, mhm!" Zui'er nodded vigorously.

Zhao Ya had actually considered leaving the hand crossbow with Zui'er, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.

That thing was too difficult to control. One careless mistake could injure herself.

Once everything had been taken care of, Zhao Ya slept for the night, then rose early the next morning and arrived at the escort agency while the sky was still barely light.

By then, all the runners had arrived.

They made one final count of the escort carts and issued the escort documents...

After all the procedures were complete, Zhao Ya waved his hand.

"Set out!"