Wounded Strongman Returns Safely

Who would have thought such turmoil had erupted here back then? No wonder grain prices had remained so high these past few months.

Luo Feng's jaw dropped as he listened, and he could not help asking, "How did you know about all this? I remember the city gates hadn't opened at all these past few months."

Zhou Hua gave a cold laugh. "Do you think closing the city gates can keep everything out? You're far too naive."

After that, he said nothing more and strode quickly toward the front of the escort convoy.

Zhao Ya watched his retreating back, deep in thought.

Luo Feng, however, could not help muttering, "What's with him? He talks as if he's so much more mature."

The escort convoy moved swiftly. By noon, they had already traveled thirty li. At this pace, reaching their destination by evening would not be a problem.

Luo Qiang also breathed a sigh of relief and ordered them to rest where they were and eat lunch.

In truth, well-traveled escort routes like this had fixed rest stops in the past, mostly little roadside shops. They were crude, but at least one could get a hot meal with hot dishes.

But after the refugees had swept through once, all those roadside shops were gone.

Thus, Luo Qiang and the others could only eat the dry rations they had brought themselves.

Zhao Ya took out a piece of dried beef, tore off a strip, and slowly chewed it in his mouth.

He now kept some dried meat on him at all times. He would eat a few pieces whenever he had nothing to do; it not only built up his strength, but also helped pass the time.

Just then, urgent hoofbeats suddenly rang out on the official road. Luo Qiang immediately rose to his feet, climbed atop an escort cart, and looked into the distance.

The others promptly spread out, forming a protective ring around the escort carts.

Then Zhao Ya saw a cloud of dust rolling in from afar. In the blink of an eye, it had rushed up before them.

It was a lone horse, with a burly man seated upon it.

Yet the burly man was in a miserable state. His chest and abdomen were covered in wounds, blood still seeping from them without stop.

Even so, the man's eyes remained frighteningly bright.

And despite the distance between them, Zhao Ya could still sense the incomparably fierce, violent aura of blood surrounding the burly man.

If even Zhao Ya could sense it, Luo Qiang certainly could as well.

The Escort Master Luo's expression changed. Just as he was about to speak, the burly man reined in his horse and stopped before the convoy.

"Do you have any wine or food?"

For a moment, no one dared answer.

The burly man frowned.

"If there's no wine, dry rations will do. I won't eat for free."

As he spoke, he pulled a piece of broken silver from his robes and tossed it over.

Luo Qiang had recovered his wits by then. He caught the silver, grabbed a bag of dry rations, placed the silver inside it, then threw the bag to the burly man.

"Keep your silver, brave sir. Please help yourself."

The burly man caught it casually. He did not stand on ceremony, merely nodding.

"Farewell."

With that, he spurred his horse away.

The man had come in a rush and left just as cleanly. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished down the official road.

Luo Feng watched curiously, unable to stop himself from marveling, "Tsk, tsk. How can that guy act like nothing happened after suffering such serious injuries?"

Just then, Luo Qiang said in a grave voice, "Get up at once. We're leaving this place."

When traveling outside, his word was law. Everyone immediately rose and headed for their destination.

For the rest of the journey, Luo Qiang did not speak a word, his expression exceedingly solemn.

His behavior left everyone uneasy. Even Luo Feng, normally the most lively among them, did not dare speak carelessly.

Fortunately, the rest of the journey passed safely. Before the sun had set, they reached the destination of their trip: Wu Family Camp.

Though Wu Family Camp was called a village, it was in fact a full-fledged fortress.

The entire village was surrounded by rammed-earth walls. Zhao Ya even spotted several watchtowers and arrow towers.

Once its gates were shut, even several hundred ordinary people would have no hope of breaking through in a short time.

Upon reaching the village entrance, Luo Qiang stepped forward to negotiate.

Since they were all acquainted, the gates soon opened, and Zhao Ya and the others escorted the carts into the village.

By the time Luo Qiang finished handing over the goods to their recipient, night had fallen completely.

Fortunately, Wu Family Camp was spacious and even had an inn.

Luo Qiang led Zhao Ya and the others in spending the night at Wu Family Camp. They did not begin their return journey until early the next morning.

Their speed had been held back by the cargo on the way there, but the return journey was different.

They were all traveling light, so they had covered more than half the distance before noon.

They were at most twenty or thirty li from Dancing Elephant City when a group of riders suddenly appeared ahead of them.

Every one of them rode a tall horse. Their leader was a man in a green cloak, with a long saber at his waist, blocking the road.

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

Yet Luo Qiang calmed down instead. A smile spread across his face as he clasped his hands in greeting. "Friend, we are from the Prosperity Escort Agency of Dancing Elephant City. We have just returned from an escort assignment and are preparing to head back to Dancing Elephant City. May I ask why you have blocked our path?"

His words were neither servile nor overbearing, and they made it abundantly clear to the other side that they were returning with empty carts and had no profit to be had.

Unexpectedly, the leading man did not care about any of that. He merely asked coldly, "Let me ask you this: did you see a burly man riding a horse on this official road, one who was wounded?"

Zhao Ya's heart skipped a beat.

Were these people looking for that burly man from yesterday?

Luo Qiang's expression did not change in the slightest. He shook his head. "We have only just passed along this road, and we did not see any wounded burly man."

"Are you sure?"

"No."

"Hmph! That fellow probably couldn't have run far. Let's go." The man called out, ignored Luo Qiang and the others, and led his subordinates onward in pursuit.

Only after they had gone far away did Luo Qiang let out a long breath. Then he immediately ordered, "Move. Return to the city at once."

In truth, he did not need to give the order. Everyone had long since prepared themselves.

The remaining journey passed without incident, and they soon returned to Dancing Elephant City. Once back at the Escort Agency, Luo Qiang immediately went to find the head escort master, evidently to report what they had encountered on the road.

Zhao Ya and the others relaxed.

All in all, although their first escort assignment had run into a few unexpected incidents, it had gone smoothly enough.

Luo Feng was beside himself with excitement and began bragging to the hired hands.

"You didn't see it. This time, when we went out, we ran into a—"

He wanted to continue, but Zhao Ya suddenly stopped him.

"Luo Feng, come with me for a moment."

Luo Feng had no idea why, but he followed Zhao Ya off to the side.

"Brother Zhao, what is it?"

Zhao Ya said in a low voice, "You'd better not go around telling people about what happened on the road this time."

"Why?" Luo Feng still did not understand.

"There's no reason. Just don't go around talking about it. And I believe your second uncle will give you the same warning shortly."

With that, Zhao Ya patted Luo Feng on the shoulder and left.

Luo Feng was baffled, but soon his second uncle, Luo Qiang, gave him a gag order. He was strictly forbidden from telling anyone about what had happened during this trip.